You’re here because you want to answer the question, “Why do I feel tired all the time?”
Lots of people think that the reason more and more people are feeling tired all the time is just that we’re leading busier and busier lives.
And while there’s some truth to that – it’s not the whole answer.
Many people who feel tired all the time could be suffering from an underlying condition causing their fatigue.
So by all means, before you start worrying about having a condition, make some changes to your lifestyle to see if you can improve your energy and stop feeling so tired.
more: 30 Scientifically Proven Ways To Boost Your Energy And Combat Fatigue
Try getting better sleep, eating better, adding whole foods to your diet, drinking more water and staying hydrated, cutting back on caffeine and alcohol, and giving yourself more time to de-stress.
Those are some great ways to make tweaks to your lifestyle and add energy to your day.
But if after a couple weeks you’re still feeling exhausted all the time, even after making some of the changes above, it could mean an underlying condition is causing your fatigue.
Underlying conditions can be very serious to your health – so if you suspect you might be suffering from one of these causes of fatigue you should immediately talk to your doctor to get the treatment that will help you.
Here are 9 reasons that could be why you feel tired all the time, and what to do about it:
The Most Common Reasons You Feel Tired All The Time
1. Diabetes
What Is Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a very common chronic condition that affects millions and millions of people.
In fact, more than a million people get newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every single year. Even worse, many more people have this condition and are undiagnosed.
When you have type 2 diabetes, it means your body can’t process glucose properly.
Glucose (sugar) is your body’s fuel. When your body can’t process it properly, it builds up in your bloodstream and doesn’t get to the places your body needs fuel most.
That can cause fatigue, tiredness, and exhaustion – and if left untreated can cause much more serious complications.
more: What Causes Diabetes Fatigue And Can Diabetes Make You Tired?
What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes can make you feel tired all the time.
In addition, people suffering from type 2 diabetes might feel really thirsty and frequently have to use the bathroom to urinate.
Type 2 diabetes can cause weight loss, irritability, and even abnormal hunger. Yeast infections and blurred vision are also symptoms.
How Do You Test For Diabetes?
Talk to your doctor if you suspect you might have type 2 diabetes.
There are 2 major tests that your doctor can do. The first is a fasting plasma glucose test, which will require you to fast for 8 hours, and then test your blood glucose level.
The second test is an oral glucose tolerance test, which will draw blood before and after you drink a glucose syrup, and measure your blood glucose levels in response.
2. Rheumatoid Arthritis
What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes your body’s immune system to attack itself.
ra will cause your immune system to attack and damage healthy joint tissue, and also cause damage to bone and cartilage throughout your body.
It’s hard to catch quickly, but if you’re vigilant about watching for the symptoms and you notice them it’s important to talk to your doctor right away.
more: What Causes Fatigue During Exercise?
What Are The Symptoms Of Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The difficulty with diagnosing ra is that it shares symptoms with many other diseases. These common symptoms include fatigue, low energy, loss of appetite, and joint pain.
In addition, complicating matters, many people who have ra are susceptible to other diseases that cause fatigue, like anemia and thyroid disease.
Symptoms to look out for include morning stiffness in your joints lasting for more than an hour. In addition, look for at least 3 joint areas with soft tissue swelling or fluid.
At least one joint area swollen in your wrist, knuckle, or middle finger joint could point towards ra, as could that swelling happening to the same joint on both sides of the body at the same time.
Finally, lumps of tissue under your skin or bone erosion in your wrist or hand joints are symptoms connected to ra.
How Do You Test For Rheumatoid Arthritis?
If you suspect you might have Rheumatoid Arthritis, talk to your doctor about seeing a specialist.
A rheumatologist will be able to give you an exam and evaluate your condition, and diagnose whether you have ra or not.
There is additionally a blood test that looks for a rheumatoid factor in your bloodstream, but it’s not as conclusive.
3. Depression
What Is Depression?
Depression is a serious condition that affects nearly everything about your life.
It can disrupt and damage almost every aspect of your life, from your sleep schedule and sleep quality, to your eating habits and digestion, to how you feel and your mood throughout the day.
Depression is also a chronic illness, and it can last for months or even years at a time if left undiagnosed and untreated.
more: The Top 15 Reasons You’re Always Tired
What Are The Symptoms Of Depression?
One of the difficulties in diagnosing depression is that everyone gets different symptoms, and depression manifests itself differently depending on the person.
If you notice decreased energy, or a change in your sleeping and eating patterns, they could be symptoms of underlying depression.
In addition, if you feel your memory and concentration have gotten worse, and you’re feeling hopeless, or worthless, or overwhelmingly negative, those are strong symptoms of depression as well.
How Do You Test For Depression?
Talk to your doctor if you suspect you might be suffering from depression.
Your doctor might recommend you to a specialist, who will test by asking you whether you’ve experienced 5 or more of these symptoms over the past two weeks:
Trouble falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much, feeling tired or having little energy, poor appetite or overeating, feeling bad about yourself – or that you are a failure or have let yourself or your family down, little interest or pleasure in doing things, trouble concentrating on things or remembering things, moving or speaking slowly, thoughts of suicide or that you’d be better off dead, chronic pain, headaches, or constipation that doesn’t get better with treatment, or persistent irritability and recklessness.
4. Thyroid Disease
What Is Thyroid Disease?
Your thyroid is a gland on the front of your neck about 4 to 6 cm in length. It regulates hormones that control your metabolism.
When your thyroid is out of balance, it can make you feel tired and fatigued even if you haven’t exerted yourself.
When your thyroid produces too much of its hormones, it’s called hyperthyroidism, and it speeds up your metabolism. If it produces too little of its hormones, it slows down your metabolism and it’s called hypothyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism mainly affects women in their 20s and 30s, while hypothyroidism mostly affects women over the age of 50.
more: 9 Strange Reasons You’re Tired All The Time
What Are The Symptoms Of Thyroid Disease?
When you have hyperthyroidism (too much):
It can cause muscle fatigue, weakness (especially in your thighs), unexplained weight loss, feeling too warm, increased heart rate, shorter and lighter menstruation, and feeling very thirsty.
When you have hypothyroidism (too little):
It can cause weight gain, feeling too cold, heavier and longer menstruation, constipation, fatigue, muscle soreness, and an inability to concentrate.
How Do You Test For Thyroid Disease?
If you suspect you might be suffering from thyroid disease talk to your doctor.
Your doctor will be able to confirm a diagnosis with a blood test, and thyroid disease is completely manageable and treatable.
5. Anemia
What Is Anemia?
Anemia is a condition where your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells.
Red blood cells bring oxygen all over your body, and when you don’t have enough you can feel weak and out of breath even when you haven’t exerted yourself.
Causes of anemia are varied and include iron deficiency, vitamin deficiency, blood loss, internal bleeding, and chronic conditions like cancer, kidney failure, and rheumatoid arthritis.
In addition, women are more susceptible to anemia during menstruation because of the iron lost from the blood. Pregnant women also need more iron for their body, so they are more susceptible to anemia as well.
more: Diabetes Fatigue Might Be Why You’re Tired All The Time
What Are The Symptoms Of Anemia?
People who suffer from anemia feel tired and fatigued all the time. They feel extreme weakness in their body and muscles as well.
Other symptoms include difficulty sleeping and lack of concentration. Rapid heartbeat, chest pains, headache, and fatigue from non-intensive exercise are also reported.
How Do You Test For Anemia?
If you suspect you have anemia, talk to your doctor about it.
Your doctor will give you a physical exam and also conduct blood tests to check your red blood cell levels.
From the results of your exam and blood tests, your doctor will be able to diagnose whether or not you’re suffering from anemia.
6. Heart Disease
What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease, also known as congestive heart failure, is when your heart isn’t pumping blood as well as it should.
This causes many problems throughout your body, and can lead to very serious conditions like a heart attack or stroke.
more: The Biggest Reasons You Feel Tired During Your Workouts
What Are The Symptoms Of Heart Disease?
Heart disease manifests itself in several different ways.
You might feel fatigue that gets worse and worse as you exercise.
In addition, you could suffer from swelling in your arms and legs, and shortness of breath.
How Do You Test For Heart Disease?
Talk to your doctor immediately if you suspect you’re suffering from heart disease.
Your doctor may conduct several tests, including blood tests, chest x-rays, echocardiograms, and electrocardiograms.
Based on those tests, your doctor will make a diagnosis.
7. Sleep Apnea
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition where your breathing gets interrupted during your sleep.
The most common type, obstructive sleep apnea, causes your upper airway to close or collapse for a few seconds while you’re asleep.
When that happens, your brain realizes you’re not breathing and wakes you up. This can happen dozens or even hundreds of times during the night.
If you wake up feeling tired no matter how much sleep you get, you could be suffering from sleep apnea.
more: How To Tell If You’re Too Tired: Signs Of Chronic Fatigue
What Are The Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea?
People suffering from sleep apnea almost always snore during the night while they’re sleeping.
If you suffer from sleep apnea, you’ll wake up the next day feeling tired, no matter how much you slept the night before or how uninterrupted you thought it was.
How Do You Test For Sleep Apnea?
Talk to your doctor if you suspect you have sleep apnea.
To be tested, you’ll spend the night at a sleep clinic where they will monitor and observe your sleeping patterns.
They’ll measure things like brainwave activity and breathing while you’re sleeping, and make a diagnosis based on that data.
8. Chronic Fatigue
What Is Chronic Fatigue?
Chronic fatigue is a condition that can come on suddenly and wipe you out.
All of a sudden you feel really fatigued and exhausted, and you get tired really easily – way more easily than you used to.
You feel like you can’t do what you need to do in your day, and you can’t take care of the things that you have to take care of in your day to day life.
more: 12 Reasons You’re Always Tired
What Are The Symptoms Of Chronic Fatigue?
Symptoms of chronic fatigue include headache, muscle and joint pain, and weakness.
In addition, you might experience tender lymph nodes and an inability to concentrate.
The main symptom is of course a feeling of extreme fatigue and tiredness that comes on seemingly out of nowhere and doesn’t go away.
How Do You Test For Chronic Fatigue?
Unfortunately, there is no clinical test for chronic fatigue. It’s still a new disease, and not enough is known about it yet.
Talk to your doctor if you suspect you have chronic fatigue syndrome.
Your doctor will begin by ruling out other diseases and conditions that might be causing your fatigue before diagnosing you with chronic fatigue syndrome.
more: Why Am I So Tired All The Time?
9. Underlying Conditions
There are other conditions that might cause feelings of extreme tiredness and fatigue that don’t go away.
Go through this list of conditions that might be causing your tiredness before you talk to a doctor about one of the conditions above.
Could you possibly be pregnant?
Did you recently begin a new diet or exercise program?
Have your work hours changed recently – for instance a switch to a night shift or extended hours?
Do you have a new source of stress in your life? For instance, trouble at work, divorce, money problems, death of someone close to you, or anything else?
Have you recently begun taking any new medications?
more: Why Do I Always Feel So Tired?
Is there a trigger in your life that causes you to feel really tired? Do you get tired at specific times?
Are you using any supplements or herbal products that were not prescribed to you by your doctor?
Any of those underlying conditions or changes in your life might cause fatigue and feeling extremely tired.
If you can’t get to the bottom of it, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor and find out how to start feeling better as quickly as possible.
In summary…
The Biggest Reasons You Feel Tired All The Time
- Diabetes
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Depression
- Thyroid disease
- Anemia
- Heart disease
- Sleep apnea
- Chronic fatigue
- Underlying conditions
Related posts:
The Top 12 Medical Reasons For Feeling Tired
What Causes Diabetes Fatigue And Can Diabetes Make You Tired?
How To Tell If You’re Too Tired: Signs Of Chronic Fatigue
The Top 15 Reasons You’re Always Tired
Diabetes Fatigue Might Be Why You’re Tired All The Time
Why You Feel So Tired Even After 8 Hours Of Sleep
oh gosh, i’m always tired and it’s because i do so much for others specially my family. i just hope there’s no underlying condition.
thyroid disease can really make you feel very tired and so much more. i hope this doesn’t happen to any of us because it’s really a pain.
i find daily life a constant struggle because of lack of energy. my husband told me to go see a doctor and i was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea.
well, this is always the case for me. as a full-time mom and a part-time teacher, i’m always dealing with kids so you can just imagine. haha!
oh my,,i feel tired all the time and i thought it was because of my busy schedule. i hope my exhaustion is not because of the health problems mentioned in this post.
lack of sleep is on the top for me. i feel exhausted and irritated and all those sort of feelings. i easily get mad and oh so moody.
i am anemic and my doctor said it is because of nutritional deficiencies. he advised me to eat foods high in iron such as dark-green leafy vegetables, fish and red meats.
i like this post, it’s really informative. thanks for sharing this, i learned so much from it. i’m reading more of your posts tonight!
these are really surprising reasons why one may feel tired at all times! you may not find it unusual when you feel tired occasionally but if you continually feel so drained, then it is better to see a doctor diagnose underlying conditions.
i always feel tired and i suspect i have chronic fatigue syndrome. it is sad to know that there is no clinical test for it yet but yes, i will go see my doctor now so he can rule out what is causing my fatigue.
one thing my parents noticed about me is i always want to sleep all the time! i feel very depressed but i don’t tell them because it might freak them out. i am currently finding ways on how i could manage it.
say goodbye to stress. take a break. it will help ease the tiredness that you feel. if you have a positive mindset, you will surely get your energy back!
give yourself more time to de-stress. Go out woth your friends or watch a movie. it would really help a lot.
knowing the conditions that might cause feelings of extreme tiredness and fatigue that doesn’t go away is very important before you consult a doctor. everything is discussed in here. this post is worth sharing.
yes i use herbal supplements that is not prescribed by my doctor. could that be the cause why i always feel tired? gosh! i think i need to stop taking it and talk to my doctor first.
so i am not the only one who experience feeling tired at all times. i always turn to sugary drinks and coffee to remain awake and alert all day. i hope it is just because of not enough sleep and not one of the reasons discussed here.
i suffer from type 2 diabetes and my doctor told me everything i need to know about it. he said my condition can become a reason for feeling tired all the time.
Chronic fatigue, leave me alone! I just hate the feeling of being tired.
i always ask myself “why am i so tired?”… i will read this article thoroughly maybe it can explain my sluggishness.
now i know what symptoms to look out for. my joint is swelling and i am having second thoughts whether it is RA or not. plus i am always tired. i will consult a specialist regarding this.
i was surprised when i read this post. i didn’t expect that thyroid disease can make me feel tired at all times. gotta do some additional research on how i could avoid having any of these diseases.
i need to figure out first why i am feeling fatigued all the time and then learn what to do about it. that will be easier for me.
who would not like to feel good right? but let us face it. sometimes life gets in the way. our good habits fade off and the result – us feeling fatigued.
you are right. i should make some changes to my lifestyle to improve my energy to stop getting tired before i worry about having a condition. nice advice!
a big thanks for this article! you clearly explained everything and gave us all the symptoms we should watch out for.
i recently began a new diet and exercise program and that might be the cause why i always feel exhausted. i got nothing to worry about.
feeling exhausted is acceptable for me because of my busy social life, crazy work schedules and family commitments but, it is another story if my fatigue is because of the reasons above.
i didn’t know that being tired could be a sign of heart disease. this could be one of the warning signs. i am so thankful i saw this article. such a great help!
there is no doubt that a healthy diet, enough sleep and regular workout can give you more energy. see a doctor if you are still feeling exhausted 24/7 because that is absolutely not a good thing!
hmmm, so these are the probable reasons why i always feel sluggish and tired even if i slept for hours. this post is worth reading.