{"id":36482,"date":"2021-08-24T11:15:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T15:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=36482"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:20:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:20:36","slug":"exhausted-signs-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/lifestyle\/exhausted-signs-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Signs That You’re Exhausted (Not Just Tired)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you stifle yawns in 2 p.m. meetings and find yourself passed out cold during the previews on movie nights, you probably already know you\u2019re run down. But there\u2019s a big difference between being pooped out and being exhausted<\/em> \u2014\u00a0and the signs aren\u2019t as obvious as just feeling tired<\/a>. It\u2019s important to know the difference, because exhaustion<\/a> can be downright dangerous.<\/p>\n

“Sleep is one of the most under-appreciated facets of health,\u201d says Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen, MD, medical director of Optavia<\/a>. \u201cThe consequences of sacrificing it can ripple throughout various areas of your life. Exhaustion has been linked to issues with appetite regulation, heart disease, increased inflammation<\/a>, and a 50 percent increase in your risk of viral infection.” Recent research<\/a> also found a link between exhausted immune cells \u2014 bouts of little sleep can run down your immune system \u2014 and IBS symptoms.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re tired and <\/em>you\u2019re experiencing any of the symptoms below, it might mean you\u2019re exhausted \u2014\u00a0and it\u2019s time to devote some serious time to sleep<\/a>, ASAP.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>Celebs Are Getting Energy Boosts from Oxygen Therapy, Should You?<\/a><\/p>\n

6 Clues That You\u2019re Totally Exhausted<\/h2>\n

1.\u00a0Your lips are dry.
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If your lips are cracked, your skin is scaly, and you\u2019re suffering from frequent headaches, dehydration<\/a> may be to blame. Yes, this is a common woe in cold-weather climates. But, if you\u2019re feeling drained, you should know it goes hand-in-hand with exhaustion. \u201cYou feel more fatigued the more dehydrated you are,\u201d says Michael J. Breus<\/a>, PhD, a board-certified expert in clinical sleep disorders. \u201cIf you\u2019re constantly craving something to drink or experience dry skin and lips, you might be dealing with a level of hydration that can lead to exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou won\u2019t retain knowledge very well, as your brain depends on sleep to re-process what you experienced during the day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Water affects so many systems within your body that it\u2019s impossible to maintain your energy levels if you\u2019re not drinking sufficient amounts of H20<\/a>, he explains. \u201cPeople often forget to hydrate because it just isn\u2019t on their minds. Everyone\u2019s different, but I always tell people you should drink water to the point where your urine is clear,\u201d says Breus.<\/p>\n

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RELATED: <\/strong>You’d Never \u00a0Guess These 7 Dehydration Symptoms<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Your\u00a0mind is all fuzzy.<\/h3>\n

Your brain needs sleep like a car needs gas; neither runs very well on empty. \u201cAmong other things, your body uses sleep to stabilize chemical imbalances, to refresh areas of the brain that control mood and behavior<\/a>, and to process the memories and knowledge that you gathered throughout the day,\u201d says Dr. Andersen.<\/p>\n

This is especially important during the 90-minute period known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. When it\u2019s disturbed, your mind might be sluggish the next day. \u201cYou won\u2019t retain knowledge very well, as your brain depends on sleep to re-process what you experienced during the day,\u201d says Dr. Andersen. Exhaustion can leave you vulnerable to forgetting important things, like a big meeting at work, or feeling especially irritable, says Dr. Andersen.<\/p>\n

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RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>8 Signs You’re Way Too Stressed (And How to Deal!)<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Your\u00a0workouts have sucked.\u00a0
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Not crushing it<\/a> at the gym like you usually do? Being exhausted causes every aspect of your life to suffer \u2014 including exercise, according to Dr. Andersen. \u201cExercising requires mental focus<\/a> as well as physical activity,\u201d Andersen says. \u201cIf your brain is falling behind because you are not well-rested, your ability to properly challenge your body<\/a> will be limited\u00a0\u2014 and that’s in addition to the many performance consequences that come with poor sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another big sign: You can\u2019t even bring yourself to make it to the gym. \u201cOur bodies are programmed to find the easy way out, which was useful 10,000 years ago when survival was difficult. Today that means one night of lost sleep can lead to weeks of missed workouts and unhealthy meals,\u201d says Dr. Andersen. (If it’s just a hit of motivation that you’re lacking, though, check out these 33 sources of workout motivation<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

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RELATED: <\/strong>4 Science-Backed Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out<\/a><\/p>\n

4. You\u2019re super stressed (and trying to ignore it).\u00a0
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that stress<\/a> can keep you up at night, but the way you deal with it is what might cause exhaustion-inducing insomnia<\/a>, according to research in the journal Sleep<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>For the study, researchers asked nearly 2,900 men and women about the stress in their lives, including how long it affected them, how severe it was, and how they handled the pressure. A year later, the researchers found that people who coped with stress by distracting themselves, dwelling on the issues, or trying to completely ignore it had higher instances of chronic insomnia<\/a>, which they characterized as three sleepless nights a week for a month or more. This can turn into a vicious cycle of stress and exhaustion fueling one other. The researchers suggest using mindfulness techniques<\/a> to ease stress might be a better way to cope.<\/p>\n

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RELATED:\u00a0<\/strong>What Mental Health Experts Do to De-Stress<\/a><\/p>\n

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“Even a single night of interrupted sleep could\u00a0screw you up the next day.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

5.\u00a0You\u2019re eating more junk than usual.\u00a0
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Find yourself hitting up the office vending machine on the regular? \u201cThe more exhausted you are, the more you crave high-fat<\/a>, high-carbohydrate foods,\u201d says Breus. Exhaustion often corresponds with high levels of cortisol<\/a>, the stress hormone. To decrease cortisol, your brain will often seek out a hit of the neurotransmitter serotonin. \u201c[Serotonin] is a calming hormone. An easy way to access it is by ingesting comfort food<\/a> full of carbs and fat,\u201d says Breus.<\/p>\n

Even worse, all that junk\u00a0food<\/a> can just wind up making you more exhausted. \u201cWith highly processed, highly glycemic foods like soft drinks, candy bars, or bagels, blood sugar and insulin levels will rise dramatically,\u201d says Dr. Anderson. \u201cThe elevated insulin levels actually cause blood sugar to plummet, so your brain triggers [more] cravings for something full of sugar<\/a>, fat, and calories.\u201d Then, it starts all over again. Instead of reaching for comforting junk, Dr. Andersen recommends fueling your body with healthy low-glycemic foods<\/a> like fruits and whole grains that can help stabilize your blood sugar and keep your insulin levels from swinging wildly in either direction.<\/p>\n

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RELATED:<\/strong> 3 Guided Meditations for Productivity, Sleep and Cravings<\/a><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0You sleep poorly even once a week.\u00a0
<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You probably know that chronic insomnia can trigger exhaustion. But did you know that even a single night of interrupted sleep could screw you up the next day<\/a>? In a study in the journal Sleep Medicine, <\/em>61 study participants slept for eight hours for one night. The next night, their rest was interrupted by four phone calls that instructed them to finish a short computer challenge before they could continue sleeping. Researchers found that after a night of fragmented sleep, people experienced worse moods along with weaker attention spans, suggesting that interrupted sleep might be as detrimental as the exhaustion that comes with full-on sleep restriction.<\/p>\n

Or, maybe instead of dealing with interrupted sleep, you just go to bed way later than you should. \u201cBedtime procrastination\u201d is a buzzy term in sleep medicine. In a study in Frontiers in Medicine<\/a>, researchers discovered that on nights when the 177 participants reported procrastinating their zzz\u2019s, they slept less and with worse quality. Plus, they experienced more intense fatigue the next day. \u201cSet your bedtime and stick to it, counting back seven hours from when you need to wake up to determine the ideal start to your sleep latency period, or falling asleep time,\u201d advises Dr. Andersen. \u201cDecrease stimulation 30 minutes before you plan to sleep by shutting off cell phones, televisions and other devices.\u201d You might even want to try these snazzy orange glasses<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ready to make a change? Check out these bedtime rituals<\/a> to help you battle insomnia, yoga poses<\/a> for better sleep, plus tips for the best nap ever<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not a Daily Burn member? Sign up at\u00a0dailyburn.com<\/a>\u00a0and start your free 30-day trial today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published January 2015. Updated August 2017 and August 2021.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Read More
<\/strong>Can You Really Catch Up on Sleep?<\/a>
<\/strong>Always Tired? 12 Ways Wellness Experts Combat Exhaustion<\/a>
Love Evening Workouts? 5 Ways to Avoid Sleepless Nights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

All images except for the cover image via Pexels. Cover image via Shutterstock <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all have times when we feel run down. But these six symptoms might mean you\u2019re not just worn out \u2014 you\u2019re exhausted. Here’s how to pull through. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":67288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13,15],"tags":[291,289,280,282,341,408,93],"class_list":["post-36482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-sleep","category-stress","tag-clean-eating","tag-exercise","tag-sleep","tag-stress","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2sleep","tag-time-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}