The causes and treatment of lethargy, fatigue, and cravings for sleep are topics that many people search for as a result of several different factors including psychological, biological, and environmental factors.
Stress can play a role in increasing fatigue and the desire to sleep, as well as poor quality or poor quantity of sleep.
There may also be issues from the biological side (health issues) such as anemia or thyroid disorders that lead to feelings of lethargy and fatigue, so it is always advisable to talk to a doctor to determine the exact cause and take the necessary steps to recover and maintain overall health.
In this article, we will learn about the causes and treatment of lethargy, fatigue, and cravings for sleep, with reference to diagnostic methods to enjoy a healthy life.
Table of Contents
What is lethargy?
A sign of listlessness is the feeling of not feeling like doing anything, whether it is going about one’s daily activities or having fun with friends. One cannot find the enthusiasm one needs to keep going. One feels out of control, constantly tired (weakness) and stuck in a stupor from which one cannot get out.
People affected by listlessness lack enthusiasm for life and what it has to offer. Everything seems monotonous and nothing engages them. Simple things like colors or scents, which often give pleasure, have no meaning. A sense of boredom dominates that cannot be overcome by reading a book or engaging in a relaxing activity, because it is impossible to even concentrate, whether at school or during a workday. These people may find themselves going from task to task without completing or accomplishing anything. Feeling so inactive is hard, especially if you used to lead an active and joy-filled life.
Listlessness in humans can be compared to torpor in mammals and birds. Metabolism slows down and body temperature drops to conserve energy. Animals enter a state of torpor before hibernating or in reaction to a natural disaster such as a storm or fire.
The same happens to humans who suffer from listlessness. The body almost completely shuts down in relation to daily life and refuses to function as it should. This passivity is the body’s attempt to protect itself because it senses that something is wrong.
lethargy: causes
One may not be aware of the cause of one’s listlessness and disinterest in life. Tiredness may be such that in the morning one cannot get out of bed, and when one gets up, one immediately moves to the couch. The monotony of daily tasks begins to weigh you down, and you try to avoid them instead of facing things head-on.
For example, people mostly wash dishes in 5-10 minutes without thinking about it. On the other hand, if you suffer from this condition, this simple task becomes huge and so you try to avoid it until you accumulate a week’s worth of dishes.
This is not laziness or indolence, but a physical condition. Others may be insensitive and invite us out of this torpor, but it is not that simple. One must find the origin of one’s feelings of melancholy and fight them. This condition could be related to depression, so it is useful to consult a specialist to understand the origin of listlessness and get the right advice.
Other forms of listlessness, however, are due to a deficiency or absence of vitamins and minerals that should instead be present in the diet. For example, anemia is due to a lack of iron and can cause the lassitude and fatigue that one feels when one is listless.
Another cause of listlessness can be heat if the temperature is high, as in some countries. This is not a medical condition but can be a problem if you need to work and get things done. To avoid heat exhaustion, if you suffer from heat-related listlessness it is advisable to drink plenty of fluids and stay indoors with the air conditioning on or a fan.
Symptoms of lethargy
After knowing the causes of lethargy, there are some symptoms that a person feels when they are lethargic, which usually include the following
- Irregular sleep: Insufficient or interrupted sleep can lead to persistent fatigue. Factors such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or irregular sleep patterns can significantly affect energy levels.
- Lack of movement: Lack of physical activity can lead to decreased stamina and increased feelings of lethargy. Exercise can help boost endorphins and energy levels.
- Eating unhealthy foods: Diets high in sugar and processed foods can lead to an energy crash. Nutrient deficiencies, especially iron, vitamin D and B vitamins, can also increase fatigue.
- Depression and anxiety: Mental health conditions often manifest as physical symptoms, including lethargy. The emotional weight of depression can deplete energy, while anxiety can cause physical tension and fatigue.
- Psychological stress: Chronic stress can lead to fatigue whether it’s due to home, work, or personal life pressures and daily life issues.
- Chronic diseases: Conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, and chronic fatigue syndrome can cause a persistent feeling of lack of energy. It is essential to consult a doctor if lethargy is accompanied by other symptoms.
- Medications: Some medications may list fatigue as a side effect. Reviewing these medications with your doctor can help determine if they are exacerbating the condition.
- Environmental factors: Seasonal changes may trigger seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in many people during the fall and winter periods, leading to lethargy due to reduced exposure to sunlight.
- Poor air quality: Living in environments with high pollution or allergens can negatively affect energy levels.
How to treat lethargy
After knowing the causes of lethargy, if there is a medical reason for lethargy, then it is advisable to visit a doctor to treat the issue, however, a person can help himself to reduce the feeling of lethargy by doing some things:
- De-stress: Too much thinking can affect the body’s energy and vitality, and yoga can help eliminate stress, as can massage and relaxation.
- Eat a healthy, well-rounded diet: This means not skipping any meal or any essential nutrients, especially vegetables and fruits, while avoiding fatty foods and sugars that lead to lethargy.
- Drink adequate amounts of water: To help prevent dehydration that causes lethargy, it is recommended to drink 8 glasses of water per day.
- Get enough rest and sleep: Irregular sleep and the lack of daily hours of sleep causes constant drowsiness and lethargy.
- Exercise: Regular exercise on a daily basis to ensure that the body maintains its vigor and strength needed to perform various daily tasks.
- Take cold showers: This helps greatly in energizing the body and blood vessels, and avoid taking hot showers.
- Maintain weight: Weight gain is one of the most prominent factors that lead to lethargy and the inability to practice various activities, and in case there is excess fat in the body, it is advisable to follow a diet to get rid of this excess fat.
Treating lethargy and fatigue after eating
Eating food, especially when eating a hearty meal, causes a feeling of heaviness and fatigue, so many people tend to feel lazy and lethargic immediately after eating, and to treat lethargy, fatigue and a strong desire to sleep after eating, it is recommended to follow the following tips:
- Eat a healthy diet: Eating healthy foods helps treat lethargy and fatigue after eating, so it is recommended to choose foods that are good for the body, which contain the necessary vitamins and minerals for the body, and in contrast, fatty foods that contain large amounts of fat, as well as sugars and fast food, as they increase the desire for rest.
- Eat small, frequent meals throughout the day: It is recommended to eat frequent small meals throughout the day, preferably divided into five small meals instead of three large ones.
- Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening: Drinking caffeinated beverages can help you feel more awake and alert, but this is temporary, as these beverages affect your daily routine and cause sleep disturbances.
- Exercise: Light exercise during the day, especially after eating, can help maintain energy levels, including walking or your favorite sporting activity, such as cycling.
- Organize sleep: Getting a good night’s sleep is important to minimize fatigue, by getting into the habit of going to bed early and waking up early, avoiding eating shortly before bedtime, providing a quiet atmosphere in the room, and avoiding sitting in front of electronic boards before falling asleep.
Treatment of lethargy and fatigue for pregnant women
Most women suffer from fatigue and lethargy during pregnancy, especially as the pregnancy progresses, due to the large size of the fetus, which puts a burden on the body and makes it more inclined to sit and move less.
To help treat lethargy, fatigue, and sleep cravings for pregnant women, here are some tips:
- Choose healthy foods: Pregnant women need a balanced diet and eat foods that provide her body and the fetus with important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, eat snacks and avoid unhealthy foods such as fried foods, fats and fast food, which will help maintain weight during pregnancy and ease of movement.
- Exercise: Pregnant women should consult their doctor about appropriate exercise during pregnancy, as it is essential to maintain their physical fitness and treat lethargy and fatigue in women.
- Staying hydrated: Drinking plenty of water and fluids contributes to moisturizing the body during pregnancy, especially since dehydration drains the body’s energy.
- Take a daytime nap: Most women suffer from sleep disturbances at night due to the frequent need to urinate or difficulty getting comfortable in different sleeping positions, so it is recommended to replace the interrupted sleep periods at night with a short daytime nap to treat lethargy and fatigue throughout the day.
- Relaxation: It is recommended to practice some procedures that help you feel relaxed, such as deep breathing, taking a warm bath, and massaging the body, which is important for a good night’s sleep.
Treating lethargy and fatigue with herbs
A range of herbs can help treat lethargy, fatigue and oversleeping, but talk to your doctor first if you are taking any medications to treat certain medical conditions, as some herbs can interact with prescribed medications and affect their effectiveness, or cause side effects.
Ginseng herb: Known for its energy-boosting, fatigue-reducing properties, this herb can also help stimulate brain function, thanks to a host of energy-enhancing compounds, including ginsenosides, eleutherosides, and seugianosides
Despite the benefits of ginseng in treating lethargy, fatigue, and sleep cravings, some possible side effects should be kept in mind, namely insomnia, diarrhea, increased heartbeat, and high blood pressure, and this herb can interfere with common medications, such as some medications to treat diabetes, depression, and heart disease, so consult a doctor first before taking it.
Sage can help boost cognition in adults and, when used as a dietary supplement, may help improve mood, increase alertness and attention, and reduce fatigue.
This is because sage is rich in several powerful plant compounds, such as luteolin, rosmarinic acid, camphor, quercetin, and apigenin.
Guarana herb : Added to energy drinks and supplements for its energizing effect, guarana contains a group of chemicals, including caffeine, saponins, and tannins, known to have positive effects on energy and the brain.
Peppermint: Inhaling peppermint essential oil helps boost energy, mood, and alertness, and can reduce fatigue, but be careful not to ingest the essential oil as it is toxic.
Rosemary: The benefits of rosemary oil or rosemary oil are similar to those of peppermint oil in treating lethargy, fatigue and fatigue, by promoting brain health and improving cognitive performance, as it contains compounds called terpenes that are beneficial to the brain.
Foods that help with lethargy and fatigue
Here are some foods that help treat lethargy, fatigue and cravings for sleep:
- Fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables: Fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables help optimize the body’s energy supply.
- Lean proteins: Red meat adds saturated fat to the diet, and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon and tuna, can add heart-healthy fats.
- Whole grains and complex carbohydrates: Choosing foods made with whole grains and complex carbohydrates ensures that your body gets the full benefits of the fiber-rich grain hulls.
- Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds are some of the best foods for overcoming fatigue and fighting hunger. Nuts include almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and seeds such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.
- Bananas: Bananas have a high potassium content, in addition to fiber, carbohydrates, and a range of vitamins, all of which provide the body with energy, thus contributing to the treatment of lethargy and constant fatigue.
- Oats: Eating oats contributes to the feeling of fullness in case of a weight loss diet, and it also provides the body with energy.
- Chia seeds: Chia seeds are an excellent source of prolonged energy because they contain carbohydrates, healthy fats, and fiber.
Frequently asked questions
Does following a routine help fight lethargy and laziness?
The answer is yes, sleeping and waking up regularly and setting daily tasks can help you stay focused and resist the urge to sit around and be unfulfilled.
Can this condition cause physical pain?
Sitting too much and wanting to sleep all the time can cause joint and back pain, so it is always advisable to resist these feelings and try to practice the simplest exercises or even walk outside and breathe fresh air.
Conclusion
Lethargy can stem from various factors, including lifestyle, mental health, medical conditions, and environmental influences. By identifying the underlying causes and implementing practical solutions, individuals can regain their energy and improve their overall quality of life
