Generally, we have seen that extremely busy schedule has made mental fatigue our next-door neighbor that keeps on knocking on our doors time and again. It has embraced every individual be it a school-going kid, office-going man, or a housewife.
What is Fatigue? Fatigue is a situation that is seen in most people and many of them are not aware of the causes and symptoms of this particular condition. Understanding more about fatigue can help you to take the required steps to beat mental fatigue and to come out of this situation in a better way.
Some Important Causes of Fatigue
It is normally characterized by a mental state of awareness or even a series of sicknesses. It can be either a mental weakness, physical weakness, or a combination of both. The situation can vary from a normal feeling of lethargy or a burning sensation in muscles. Mental fatigue is experienced basically through the condition of drowsiness, but physical fatigue can cause discontinued functioning of some normal activities. Some of the important causes include:
1. Anaemia – The condition of anemia in a person can cause fatigue as a deficiency in hemoglobin will make the red blood cells not able to carry oxygen from the respiratory organs to various parts of the body resulting in fatigue. Anemia is caused by the deficiency of iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid.
2. Hypothyroidism – An inactive thyroid gland may also cause mental fatigue. A feeling of run-down, depression can result in an under-active thyroid. A slow metabolism caused by hypothyroidism can lead to fatigue and sleepiness.
3. Urinary Tract Infection – An undiagnosed urinary tract infection can cause fatigue. In most cases, this infection gets unnoticed and finally leads to fatigue.
4. Excess Caffeine Intake – Even though a cup of coffee can give you an immediate energy burst but in contrast, it can have negative effects on some individuals leading to fatigue owing to excessive caffeine intake.
5. Food Tolerance – There are certain categories of food that make an individual feel sleepy after about half an hour of consumption of such foods. Few to name are foods rich in fats and carbohydrates. Below is the diagram showing how increased carbohydrate consumption increases fatigue.
6. Sleep Apnoea – Sleep apnoea is a disorder that makes some people stop breathing temporarily repeated times when at sleep. Sleep apnea is normally seen in people who are overweight or suffering from obesity and less and disturbed sleep can lead to fatigue.
One can get rid of fatigue by keeping in mind the above-discussed causes and take proper steps to beat mental fatigue.
Symptoms and Signs of Mental Fatigue
Mental fatigue is often related to burnout and other related conditions or maybe due to immense stress you have been taking for a long time. This condition can occur not only for people who are working for long stressful hours but also in people who are facing serious issues in their personal life. Very few people can make out the difference between stress and fatigue. Make sure that you take proper steps to beat mental fatigue at the earliest as these symptoms slowly worsen after some time.
1. Weak Immunity – Studies have shown that the immune system of the person suffering from fatigue can get affected. You may experience chronic pains and will be more prone to diseases.
2. Sleeping Disorder – Some people will have problems sleeping normally and in some cases, they turn to become insomniacs adding more stress to the existing condition.
3. Fatigue – The person suffering from mental fatigue can feel that they are losing the flavor and fun of life and always remain tired as well as unmotivated. This can have a drastic impact on his professional life as well as personal relationships.
4. Feeling of Low Self-Esteem – The person who has mental fatigue will have a sense of helplessness and failure throughout his life. The feeling that any tasks performed brings in no satisfaction can add more to increase desperation.
5. Procrastination – Even the simplest of the task can seem to be huge or a big burden and hence this will make them avoid or delay their work or assigned responsibilities.
6. Isolation – The person will make themselves isolated from the family members as well as friends by locking themselves in his own place.
7. Dangerous Consumption – People suffering from mental exhaustion either tend to eat more or will end up taking excess drinks or drugs. They try to run away from stress and exhaustion and feelings by getting into all bad habits.
Understanding the symptoms of fatigue can help a person to make sure that he is suffering from this particular condition and need to be treated at the earliest for getting back into their normal life.
Beat Depression in Natural Ways
Beating your depression should be the initial part of your steps to beat mental fatigue. Mental fatigue is a serious condition like cancer, hypertension, and blood sugar as it generally affects the entire lifestyle of a person. There are several methods that you can practice in your normal life to get rid of this.
1. Do Yoga and Meditation – Meditation is one of the most common and successful methods that can help to come out of depression. It is a free source of treatment and that can give you noticeable results. Doing yoga practices sincerely at home can also prove to be fruitful to overcome mental fatigue in a natural way.
2. Consumption of Vegetables in Daily Life– Good consumption of green vegetables is good for this condition as they are natural antidepressants. Especially vegetables like broccoli and spinach not only add nutritional value to your body but also can energize you.
3. Proper Healthy Diet – In today’s fast world people find less time to have a proper diet or eat home-cooked foods. Make sure that you include a lot of water and carbohydrates in your diet that can increase your mood and make you feel light on both stomach and mentally. Consumption of vitamin supplements can also give you the lost nutrition especially calcium supplements or fish oil tablets.
4. Mingling with People – It is advised that the people suffering from mental fatigue should never keep themselves locked. Meeting friends, mingling with people, sharing jokes, sharing feelings, chat, laugh and try to be always in a group who can give you a positive vibe and thoughts as it is one of the best treatments for mental fatigue.
The body accepts natural remedies faster than any other mode of treatment. Hence try it initially from your side and define steps to beat mental fatigue for yourself and get back to your normal life.