Dr. Manmohan Sharma

Tiredness isn't just a result of working too hard. Tiredness or fatigue can be described as a lack of energy, motivation and can be physical, mental or a combination of both. Tiredness is often a symptom of a much larger health issue such as Anemia, Diabetes, Thyroid disease or heart diseases. Some of the common causes of fatigue are:

1. Lack of sleep: Fatigue is one of the first symptoms of sleep deprivation. A minimum of 7 to 8 hours of sleep is needed on daily basis to keep a person healthy. Quality of sleep also plays a major role here. Patients of sleep apnea also commonly show signs of fatigue. 
2. Bad diet: A balanced diet helps you maintain your weight and keeps you energized. Eating a lot of junk food can make your blood sugar level fluctuate. When the sugar level drop below normal, the person is likely to feel tired and drained out. 
3. Anemia: Anemia is a condition where the body suffers from a lack of iron. Without enough iron the red blood cells in blood cannot carry oxygen to all parts of the body. This makes the heart work faster to pump blood and can make you tire easily.
4. Caffeine: Caffeine is said to wake the system up and boost energy levels. However, like sugar, caffeine make energy levels fluctuate. As the level of caffeine in the body reduces, the person will begin to feel tired. Not drinking enough water along with your coffee can worsen this situation. 
5. Dehydration: Water is necessary not only to keep the body hydrated, but also to keep it energized. This is because the loss of fluid in the body can result in lowering the blood volume. This makes the heart work harder to pump oxygen to the brain and other parts of the body. 

Fatigue is often not diagnosed till very late. There are many reasons for this. Primary amongst these are:

1. Age: We assume that we are feeling tired only because we are growing older. However, the cause of fatigue may have nothing to do with age.
2. Gradual onset: We are often not aware of how tired we are until we reach a point where we are completely drained out. Fatigue has a very gradual onset and is rarely noticed in the early stages. 
3. Misinterpretation: Complaints of feeling tired are often mistaken for lack of motivation and laziness. 

The easiest way to prevent fatigue is to maintain a regular waking and sleeping schedule and to eat a healthy diet. Also, try and be physically more active.