Feeling exhausted is so common that it has its own acronym, TATT, which stands for ‘tired all the time’.
Tiredness is one of the most common complaints GPs see in their surgery. Many patients complain of feeling exhausted, even though they’re sleeping well. Often it goes on for several months.
At any given time, one in five people feels unusually tired, and one in 10 have prolonged fatigue, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Women tend to feel tired more than men.
It’s unusual to find anything physically wrong. Most of the time, fatigue is linked with mood and the accumulation of lots of little stresses in life.
A blood test is often taken from patients complaining of tiredness to rule out a medical cause, such as anaemia or an underactive thyroid gland.
There’s more chance of a medical reason for tiredness if there are other symptoms as well, such as heavy periods, weight loss, a change in bowel habits, hair loss, and extreme thirst.
If you want to work out how you became tired in the first place, it can help to think about:
- parts of your life, such as work and family, that might be particularly tiring
- any events that may have triggered your tiredness, for instance, a bereavement or relationship break-up
- how your lifestyle may be making you tired.
Physical causes of tiredness
There are lots of health complaints that can make you feel tired. Not just the well-recognised ones like anaemia and thyroid problems, but also more surprising ailments, such as diabetes and food intolerance and a sleep disorder called sleep apnoea.
Read more about the medical causes of tiredness below.
Being overweight or underweight can cause tiredness. That’s because your body has to work harder than normal to do everyday activities. If you’re underweight, you have less muscle strength, and you may feel tired more quickly.
Pregnancy, especially in the first 12 weeks, can also sap your energy.
Psychological causes of tiredness
Psychological tiredness is far more common than tiredness that's caused by a physical problem.
One key reason is anxiety, which can cause insomnia and in turn lead to persistent fatigue. A survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that nearly a third of the population are severely sleep-deprived, often because of job and money worries. The Foundation’s report, Sleep Matters, suggests a link between insomnia and low energy levels.
The worries and strains of daily life can be exhausting, even positive events, such as moving house or getting married. And emotional shock, such as bad news, bereavement or the break-up of a relationship, can make you feel drained.
Mental health problems such as depression or anxiety can make you feel more tired. They can also prevent you from getting a proper night's sleep.
Lifestyle causes of tiredness
Tiredness can often be attributed to lifestyle factors, such as drinking too much alcohol, or having a bad diet. If you drink alcohol in the evening, it tends to wake you in the middle of the night. And if you drink a lot regularly, it can make you depressed and affect your sleep.
If you have a disturbed sleep pattern – for instance if you work night shifts, sleep in the day or look after young children – it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep, and you’ll feel tired during the day.
How to tackle tiredness
It may be common to feel tired all the time but it isn’t normal. If you’re worried, see your doctor for advice and reassurance and to rule out anything serious that might be causing tiredness.
10 medical reasons for feeling tired
Any serious illness, especially painful ones, can make you tired. But some quite minor illnesses can also leave you feeling washed out. Here are 10 health conditions that are known to cause fatigue.
1. Coeliac disease
This is a type of food intolerance, where your body reacts badly when you eat gluten, a substance found in bread, cakes and cereals. One in 100 people in the UK are affected, but research suggests that up to 90% of them don’t know they have the condition, according to patient group Coeliac UK. Other symptoms of coeliac disease, apart from tiredness, are diarrhoea, anaemia and weight loss. Your GP can check if you have coeliac disease through a blood test.
Read more about coeliac disease.
2. Anaemia
One of the most common medical reasons for feeling constantly run down is iron deficiency anaemia. It affects around one in 20 men and post-menopausal women, but may be even more common in women who are still having periods.
Typically, you’ll feel you can’t be bothered to do anything, your muscles will feel heavy and you’ll get tired very quickly. Women with heavy periods and pregnant women are especially prone to anaemia.
Read more about iron deficiency anaemia.
3. Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (also called myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME) is a severe and disabling tiredness that goes on for at least six months. There are usually other symptoms, such as a sore throat, muscle or joint pain and headache.
Read more about chronic fatigue syndrome.
4. Sleep apnoea
Sleep apnoea is a condition where your throat narrows or closes during sleep and repeatedly interrupts your breathing. This results in bad snoring and a drop in your blood's oxygen levels. The difficulty in breathing means that you wake up often in the night, and feel exhausted the next day.
It’s most common in overweight, middle-aged men. Drinking alcohol and smoking makes it worse.
Read more about sleep apnoea.
5. Underactive thyroid
An underactive thyroid gland means that you have too little thyroid hormone (thyroxine) in your body. This makes you feel tired. You’re also likely to put on weight and have aching muscles. It’s most common in women, and it happens more often as you get older.
Your GP can diagnose underactive thyroid by taking a simple blood test.
Read more about underactive thyroid.
6. Diabetes
One of the main symptoms of diabetes, a long-term condition caused by too much sugar in the blood, is feeling very tired. The other key symptoms are feeling very thirsty, going to the toilet a lot, and weight loss. Your GP can diagnose diabetes with a blood test.
Read more about diabetes.
Find your local diabetes support services.
7. Glandular fever
Glandular fever is a common viral infection that causes fatigue along with fever, sore throat and swollen glands. Most cases happen in teenagers and young adults. Usually, glandular fever symptoms clear up within four to six weeks, but the fatigue can linger for several more months.
Read more about glandular fever.
8. Depression
As well as making you feel very sad, depression can also make you feel drained of energy. And it can stop you dropping off to sleep or cause you to wake up early in the morning, which makes you feel more tired during the day.
Read more about depression.
Find your local depression support services and self help groups.
9. Restless legs
This is when you get uncomfortable sensations in your legs, which keep you awake at night. You might have an overwhelming urge to keep moving your legs, or a deep ache in your legs, or your legs might jerk spontaneously through the night. Whatever your symptoms, your sleep will be disrupted and of poor quality, so you’ll feel very tired through the day.
Read more about restless legs.
10. Anxiety
Feeling anxious is sometimes perfectly normal. However, some people have constant, uncontrollable feelings of anxiety, which are so strong that they affect their daily life. Doctors call this generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). It affects around around one in 20 people in the UK. As well as feeling worried and irritable, people with GAD often feel tired.
Read more about anxiety.
Find your local anxiety support services.