What is your body telling you?

Can FATIGUE be a message your body is sending you?

          Maybe you need more sleep?

          Maybe you need to just sleep better?

Or could it be something entirely different…

like being over-stressed (sometimes we can be stressed and not even know it)…

like working too many hours… or

not taking a break in your hurry-hurry, all day long. 

Eating junk food? (Could that cause it?  Well, Yes.  It can.)

Drinking energy drinks? (Could that cause it??  Yes.)

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One of the first tips in figuring it out, is to really, truly focus on listening to your body.  Our bodies absolutely do send us messages.

Our body tells us lots of things:

1.     It tells us when we’re thirsty, hungry, or in pain;

2.     A fever tells us we have an infection or illness;

3.     Coughing and sneezing sends the signal it needs something cleared out for your respiratory system;

4.     Sweating tells us our body’s over-heating, and it regulates its own temperature;

5.     Digestive issues can be signs of dietary or other issues, and

6.     Muscle tension or cramps could be a sign we need to rest, or give our body more hydration or electrolyte balance.

So it’s really, really important for us to pay attention to what it’s telling us.

When we see signs, it pays us to give it our full attention, to think what we might be able to change.

Some of us don’t slow down long enough to do that.  We just don’t have time…

If we have a sinus infection, a migraine, edge a, digestion problems, sleep problems, achy or stiff joints, or overweight, or many other ailments—or a doctor’s diagnosis that they can’t figure out from the tests, exactly what the problem is…there are changes we can make that are very do-able if we “decide” to make them.  And most of the time those changes alleviate our problems.

What do you think will happen if you don’t recognize what your body is saying?  It’s reaching out to you… but if you won’t listen, and get it figured out… there is no doubt it will get louder and louder, and you will eventually be in need of medical attention.  The best course is to listen to your body.  Work hard to hear clues.

You can try this pill, or that food, or this supplement, or that doctor…but the cause is likely in your lifestyle, and the way you eat and care for your body.  And as long is the “cause” stays the same and is not improved, your body will not improve regardless of all the health food or supplements you take.

Even though there are many urgent messages that our body sends us, I’m going to focus on just one message today, and that is Fatigue.  It seems so many people are just tired.

If you’re fatigued, somehow you’re spending more energy than your body is making.  That could come from sooo many possible directions.  There’s no magic bullet.  Everything works together in our bodies.

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Some signals of fatigue are:

1.     Feeling physically weak, like your muscles are tired and heavy.

2.     Mental Fog or difficulty concentrating.

3.     Frequent yawning, especially if it occurs despite having had sufficient sleep.

4.     You might become clumsier.

5.     Feeling irritable, short-tempered, or easily frustrated.

6.     Significant drop in energy level.

7.     More sensitive to light and noise.

8.     Muscles may become sore, tense, or achy due to fatigue.

9.     Slow reflexes and reaction times.

10. Changes in appetite.

11. Becoming restless, hard to sit still.

12. In extreme cases of fatigue, you could experience brief episodes of "microsleep," where you involuntarily doze off for a few seconds, even while trying to stay awake.

So… What to do!!

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To find the cause, you might:

1.     Begin keeping a journal of your routines: sleep, what you eat, and when, and how often; and any exercise or any particular stressors or events, etc., and add how you felt afterward.

2.     Also experiment with adjusting to healthier habits.  Some changes you could make, I’ve listed below.  Try some of these, and see if your body feels more rested and at ease.

Healthy Habits:

1.     Sleep:  Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep, going to bed close to the same time each night, and getting up close to the same time.  Turn off electronics at least an hour before bedtime, and begin an evening, before-bedtime routine so your body and mind know it’s about time to sleep.

2.     Food/Drink:  Eat as much “real” food as you can, with little or no processed food (which is not really real food, but gives you a sense of eating real food while getting almost no nutrition). 

a.      Drink as much water as you can during the day, keeping water with you at all times. 

b.     One important thing you might try is leaving off all sugar and flour products. 

c.      Even for a couple of weeks, this might give you a good education of what your body might be telling you. 

d.     Many people have symptoms that decrease with just these two omissions from their diet, and after only a short period of time.

3.     Try leaving off alcohol for a couple of weeks, reduce or quit smoking. 

4.     Exercise:  If you do not get any exercise, that one thing alone could cause you to feel fatigued.  If you are pretty much a couch potato, get up. 

a.      Just getting up starts putting your body and brain in gear.  Think what actually moving your body more, could do. 

b.     Our bodies were made to move.  Find a peaceful place, and Walk.  Every day.  It doesn’t matter how far, if it’s only a few steps to begin with. 

c.      Then, Go further each day.  Truly, your health (and your life) does depend on moving your body.  A Lot.

5.     Time:  Think about whether or not you over-extend yourself with commitments. 

a.      That might be a habit it’s time to change.  Learning to set boundaries for yourself is hard at first—because you may not know where they should be, and you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. 

b.     Work through it if you think this may be your issue.  You can do it, and your “life” will be so happy if you improve this.

6.     Stress:  Did you know that prolonged, high stress levels can contribute to mental health issues? 

a.      Reflect on how much time you spend just “being”, in a quiet place, or a peaceful place, or taking a peaceful walk—anything to give yourself some “space”. 

b.     If you’re not doing that, you might try doing something toward this for only a few minutes, every day. 

c.      Stress seems to be a main cause of fatigue in many instances, and sometimes we just don’t realize we’re stressed—we’re just living pretty fast.  Too fast. 

d.     Meditation is also very helpful for Stress.  Every Day.

7.     You could also have a medical condition causing your tiredness.  I would suggest if you think this is the actual culprit, that you see a Functional Medicine Physician, so they can do appropriate tests, and work to find the true cause.  I can help you find one, or you can look one up on IFM.org.

My own health problem several years ago was not fatigue—I probably didn’t ever slow down long enough to realize I might be tired.  I had eczema.  To the point my fingernails were dying and coming off.  I took ibuprofen before bathing, so I could bear to take a bath or shower.  I suffered for years, under doctors’ care.

No medicine, nor home remedy, nor anything else helped me; and with the doctor saying he couldn’t find what was causing it, it put me in a position to do my own research.  I finally discovered Functional Medicine at this point.

I changed the things in my life, that I have listed above—all 7 of them, and my eczema went away.  I did not do anything to treat the “diagnosis” of “eczema”.  I made my body healthier, and the side effect was, my eczema disappeared—after 4-5 years of doctors’ care and a basket full of creams and medicines, with no improvement.

These same changes, that I used myself, will no doubt help you too, as they have helped hundreds and thousands of people worldwide.  These changes can help you, whether you need help with continual fatigue, or any other illnesses or problems I have mentioned.

Does it sound too simple to be true?  If you try it, for just a short time, I think it will give you a whole new insight and respect for how our bodies were created—to heal themselves if we help them.

Be sure to know…I’m not knocking doctors.  We need them, and I use them when I need to.  But so many of our “ills” are totally from our lifestyle, and we are our own Best Doctor, when we pay attention.

Functional Medicine looks for the root of the problem, and that’s what will make you well—addressing the root of the problem.

All of it works together when you make basic changes.  And you don’t have to make changes all at once.  One small change at a time can change your life.  I’d like to help you.  If you’d like for me to help you find your way through the maze, just message me.

To Changes in Your Health…

To Your Feeling Better, Looking Better, and Having Energy to Spare…

and the Excitement to start the next day…

Thank you for reading.

Sharon