We’re all worried about the winter blues and the associated issues that can make us feel tired or affect our sleep patterns. Come spring, and it feels as if the same feeling of exhaustion persists, but without the same, obvious culprits. So why do we feel tired even in spring, when everything should be brimming with vibrancy, ourselves included?
There are a few core underlying health issues that could make you experience spring fatigue on a whole new level – and addressing only the consequences is not the way of functional medicine. We strive to find the root problem and come up with a holistic approach to your lifestyle that will, in time, help eliminate the fatigue, too. So, let’s tackle the potential spring fatigue culprits and the most effective ways to defeat them and restore your energy levels!
Demystifying adrenal fatigue
Stress is often at the core of many health-related symptoms and long-term illness. Too much prolonged stress can cause an excess of cortisol production in your body (also known as the stress hormone). Since adrenal glands are in charge of cortisol production, these essential glands tend to be overworked in times of stress or illness, depleting your body of vital micronutrients and ultimately leading to adrenal fatigue.
In such situations, it’s important to follow this crucial advice from Dr. James Wilson:
“The particular kind of rest you need when you have adrenal fatigue comes not so much from lying down, but from standing up for yourself, and from removing or minimizing the harmful stresses in your life.”
Discover your stressors and do your best to reduce tension and anxiety in your life. As Dr. James Wilson adds: “Stress can be physical, emotional, psychological, environmental, infectious, or a combination of these.” In the meantime, you can alleviate symptoms and help your glands recover with the Adrenal Fatigue 4-Pack bundle of helpful vitamins and minerals.
Spotting and treating mitochondrial dysfunction
Here’s a short biology refresher: our cells contain organelles called mitochondria, responsible for the production of energy. In fact, they produce about 90% of the energy we need to survive. When mitochondria cannot function properly, be it as a result of environmental or lifestyle factors, or genetics, you will likely feel exhausted.
When this is your underlying issue, you might also experience muscle weakness, poor tolerance to physical activities, even muscle pain. This is an issue that functional medicine tackles from many different angles, including diet, supplementation, and lifestyle changes to improve your quality of life. Ideally, booking an appointment would help us determine the diagnosis and take the treatment from there.
Dealing with burnout
Exhaustion can come in many shapes and forms, but when you are overworked, sleeping poorly, and your diet is subpar, you are likely experiencing what is commonly known as burnout. For the perfectionists, ambitious folk out there: you’re not alone, many people push themselves too hard from time to time, leading to this overwhelming feeling of tiredness that no amount of sleep alone can whisk away. Much like other listed forms of fatigue, burnout deserves its own strategy:
- Introduce a healthy sleeping schedule to restore your circadian rhythm and thus help your body balance hormone production.
- Switch to healthy snacking – many people prone to burnout will reach for sugary snacks in order to get that immediate energy rush only to feel extra sluggish afterwards. Slow-releasing carbs are better for your energy.
- Add a physical activity into your schedule, such as walking or yoga to slowly get your body in shape without putting too much stress on yourself.
Post-COVID fatigue on the horizon
When your body is battling a viral infection such as COVID-19, it’s only natural to experience some level of exhaustion immediately afterwards. Especially for those who have been unfortunate enough to develop more severe symptoms such as high fever and pneumonia, the recovery phase might take a while longer. This lingering sense of tiredness and a lack of energy can last for several months after an infection, so you should take action and remedy this feeling:
- Boost your immune system to bounce back more quickly with the right diet and supplementation.
- Be extra careful with your exercise – for many people, returning to physically taxing activities should be postponed in order to avoid another infection or worsening symptoms.
- If your regular amount of sleep isn’t enough, taking a nap during the day might help slowly recover your energy.
Making meaningful changes in your lifestyle
Even though many of the listed culprits are completely different, you might have noticed a pattern in how you address them: systematically and in a holistic manner. If you have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, a simple case of burnout or post-viral fatigue, you should take things slowly and address your lifestyle. With more complex issues such as mitochondrial dysfunction, it’s best to get in touch with us when you can, so that we can set you on a path of proper recovery with a customized plan that matches your needs.
