A new study performed by researchers of Indian-origin is all set to answer your questions. You might have experienced this often. When we do some mental activity such as studying or working on a report that needs a lot of concentration, we tend to feel extremely tired physically. And, this makes us wonder why do I feel tired when I was only stressed mentally?
Dr. Mehta, assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Centre School of Public Health conducted a small study to analyse the co-relation between mental stress and physical fatigue. The study found that when we get involved in mental and physical tasks at the same time, some specific areas, called prefrontal cortex (PFC) are activated in our brain. This can causes our body to get tired or fatigued much sooner than if we had done only a physical work.
During this study the researchers simultaneously monitored the brain and muscle function. The findings suggested that when we do mental and physical work at the same time the oxygen supply to the brain gets divided, which may accelerate the development of physical fatigue.
If you notice, most of the time we do physical and mental work together using both the body as well as the brain. For e.g., travelling to attend an important meeting. Considering this fact it is very likely for a working professional who faces physical as well mental stress each day to develop physical fatigue.
Andrew, age 29, has a new role as regional marketing manager. Frequent travelling on most days of week does not allow him enough time to relax at home.
Maya, a 38 year old mother of two children works in a software company. After winding up office-work late in the evening, she finds it really difficult to take charge of all her household responsibilities due to lack of energy.
Andrew and Maya represent many of those who spent most of their waking time either working, travelling or in other routine household work. In today’s turbulent and competitive economic conditions health often takes a back seat for many of us. Long work hours, meetings around the clock, frequent phone calls, and never ending work pressures allows very little or no time for relaxing. You may look and act relatively normal, however, suffer from a general sense of unwellness or gray feelings. This feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy is called fatigue. Some people suffer from another serious form called adrenal fatigue. People who suffer from adrenal fatigue often have difficulty getting up in the morning, suffer from lack of energy and have to constantly rely on some stimulants like colas or coffee to stay alert and awake.
Fatigue mainly results from some biochemical changes that occur in the body. Unhealthy lifestyle with poor diet, lack of sleep and rest, too much pressure at work, stressful jobs, etc. increases the chance of developing adrenal fatigue. Overall, a very stressful lifestyle that allows no time for mental and physical rest can lead to fatigue. Many people do not realize that they actually are facing a chronic illness until it starts showing some of its complex consequences on body.Irritable mood, poor concentration and attention, reduced hand-eye co-ordination,lack of energy, body pains are some of the health consequences caused by fatigue. Extreme tiredness or fatigue can also put you in a very unsafe condition to do certain activities that require alertness and attention.
A study reveals that nearly 72 percent of people working in IT /ITES industry report having mental and visual fatigue due to use of computer. This indicates fatigue is for real and you need to take action to overcome it, before it reaches a serious stage. Relying on stimulants is not a healthy solution. You need to find out a healthier solution that gives long term benefits. Clinical studies suggest that massage therapies can reduce the levels of stress hormones and increase beneficial hormones, thereby energising you.
Fatigue is Now Recognized As a Serious Disease
Have you been taking your feelings of constant tiredness very lightly so far? It’s time to take some action because fatigue is now recognized as a disease than just a symptom.
We often tend to ignore the demands of our body as the professional and social demands seem far more important to us than our health. Although at times we clearly feel the need to give some time to our body and mind to relax, our hectic and stressful lifestyle does not allow that. Fatigue mainly presents with feeling of weariness, constant tiredness, or lack of energy and can arise due to biochemical changes that occur in the body. When ignored, the symptoms can get worse and turn into a condition medically known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Some people also develop a condition called Adrenal Fatigue and report constant tiredness, difficulty getting up in the morning, and need for stimulants to stay awake.
Since there is no definitive test or diagnostic criteria to define fatigue, people who suffer from it remain undiagnosed and those who report these symptoms are often tagged as complainers. In fact, some medical professionals too consider symptoms of fatigue just psychological and not physical. However, with the new report released by Institute of Medicine in February 2015, fatigue will be taken more seriously as a disease that has mental as well as physical consequences.
As per the new criteria the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome will now be known as Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease, or SEID for short.
- Profound fatigue lasting at least six months
- Feeling extremely exhausted after even minor physical or mental activity
- Constant tiredness
- Unrefreshing sleep
- Memory problems
Many people do not realize that they actually are facing a chronic illness until it starts showing some of its complex consequences on body. Fatigue is for real and you need to take action to overcome it, before it reaches a serious stage. Relying on stimulants is not a healthy solution. You need to find out a healthier solution that gives long term benefits.
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