Musings | Why Am I So Tired?
“I am so tired even my tiredness is tired”
Joking aside, the fatigue you may be experiencing is real, and there are good reasons for it. First of all, it is dark out most of the time, and it is cold! These two factors alone may make you feel like you want to hibernate. In addition, the last 22 months have demanded a lot of us - there has been much to process, and we are adapting to it.
Today, we offer resource options that you may find helpful as you seek to understand your fatigue and address it.
What kind of tired are you? How to tell - and get your energy back (10 minutes for quiz and article review)
You may know you are tired but have no real idea why. This article/quiz combination will help you reflect on habits that may be helping or hindering your sense of recovery. Once you understand the underlying causes of your fatigue, you can take steps to address it.
This is your brain on pandemic: What chronic stress is doing to us (3- minute read )
The good news is that you can recover from the possible constant brain fog you may be experiencing. The bad news is that long-term stress can negatively impact cognition and motivation, making us feel tired. We will feel better; it will just take time.
Why change is so hard: Self-control is exhaustible (3-minute read or 3-minute video)
Change usually involves some kind of learning. We may need to learn to change our behavior (i.e., starting to work out, remembering to make lunch each day, or quitting smoking), or we may need to learn a new routine (i.e., returning to the office or adjusting to a longer commute) and learning is tiring. When we are learning, we are focused on what we are doing; we need to practice a lot of self-control and pay close attention to our actions. We only have a finite amount of brainpower to do this, making us tired.
The mental load: Managing a burden you can’t actually see (5-minute read)
Do you always have something to do, something to think about, a list on the go? Work can be demanding in and of itself, but life can be too (grocery lists, meal prep, bill payments, chores, kids activities, exercise are just a few items that may live in your head). We often don’t consider this element of our life load, but it is real, and it can significantly contribute to feelings of fatigue (and frustration). Check out the linked article to learn more and review this article for guidance on talking to others and your partner about your mental load.
The seven types of rest we all need (5-minute read)
Do you get enough sleep most evenings only to wake up still feeling tired? If that describes your reality, you will be relieved to learn that sleep and rest are not the same things. Often confused as synonymous terms, they are pretty different, and we need both to feel restored. Sleep, which generally occurs at night when we are, well, sleeping, represents only one type of restorative activity. Did you know there are seven types of rest and that we desperately need all of them?
There are lots of reasons you may be feeling tired - it is dark and cold, the long term stress associated with the pandemic can mess with our brains, there is a lot of learning required as you adapt to a new routine, and needing sleep is only one of the ways we can get tired. Remember, there are good reasons you may be feeling fatigued, do what you can to understand them and try to help you recover.
Resources & Sources
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