Fatigue is characterised by persistent tiredness and a lack of energy, creating a feeling of exhaustion that prompts the desire for extended rest and cessation of any activity at the moment. After a day of hard work or unaccustomed heavy labour, fatigue can occur. With advancing age, energy levels of the body go down, and one can experience fatigue. It can also arise for various reasons, without doing much work, negatively impacting an individual's quality of life, as well as their physical and mental health.

ALSO READ: Do you know why you are constantly tired?

Due to fatigue, the performance of a person is affected. It can cause muscular weakness, vague pains, aggravation of chronic health problems, anxiety, and reduced concentration.

ALSO READ: Self-help tips to overcome exhaustion

I have come across young people or otherwise healthy persons complaining of fatigue and seeking a solution. It can be due to medical problems, mental and or lifestyle factors.

Common medical problems causing fatigue are uncontrolled diabetes, underactivity or overactivity of the thyroid gland, anaemia, poor nutrition, any acute or chronic infection, chronic illness like cancer, and alcohol use. Some medicines used to treat allergy, depression, sleeping pills, and antihypertensive pills can cause fatigue. It can also be due to chronic obstructive lung disease, chronic kidney disease, or chronic heart failure. Dehydration due to any reason can cause fatigue.

Fatigue can be due to anxiety and or depression. Amount of work at hand more than one can handle, burnout at work, stressful work atmosphere due to a boss, and or some difficult colleagues can result in fatigue.

Among lifestyle causes, doing work or exercise beyond one’s physical ability results in fatigue in the majority of people. Excess stress, whether physical or mental, causes fatigue. Obesity can cause fatigue due to multiple reasons. Higher levels of body fat cause chronic inflammation, which is associated with fatigue. Sleep is disrupted due to obesity, resulting in fatigue. It also alters hormone balance, including the ones regulating energy and metabolism. Lack of physical exercise or any physical activity results in a feeling of lethargy and fatigue.

Heavy fatty meals lead to one feeling dull and experiencing early fatigue. Disturbed sleep is a cause for fatigue. Regular use of alcohol depletes the body of essential nutrients, resulting in fatigue. Chronic constipation, where bowels are not cleaned regularly, makes one feel dull and tired easily.

If one feels weariness after some illness, he or she should wait patiently, because things do improve over time. Proper rest, diet, and, where necessary, nutrient supplements, aid in quick and complete recovery. Relevant investigations done point out a medical cause for fatigue. Treating the cause cures the affected person completely, and they feel fresh and good afterwards.

But other factors need to change in lifestyle to overcome fatigue. Diet is a very important factor in this. One should avoid fried fatty food, ready-to-eat fast food, and junk food. Instead, a balanced diet containing essential nutrients should be adopted. It is vital to drink more water. Alcohol and tobacco also need to be avoided. Regular physical activity and or exercise keeps one feeling fresh and more energetic. It also prevents obesity, which causes fatigue due to multiple reasons. Adequate, uninterrupted deep sleep is beneficial in avoiding stress and resultant fatigue.

One should also avoid mental stress. Problems do come in everyone's life, but if one becomes stressed over it, it does not help, except for causing anxiety and a sense of exhaustion. It also impairs the focus on efforts and decision-making regarding solving the problem at hand.

Work is important for a livelihood; hence has to be done by all able-bodied persons. With conscious regular practice, an individual should try to 'leave home when in office’, and ‘leave office when at home’. This effort would keep them feeling fresh and not exhausted easily due to work. Regular breathing exercises and meditation help in relaxation and avoiding fatigue.

Dr Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine.