A question we have received several times is: “I’m tired all the time, what should I do? I’m probably exhausted.”
When you experience great fatigue or exhaustion, you have probably gone through significant or underlying stress over a longer period. You may also have experienced a traumatic event in life.
After prolonged stress, you often have depleted your supply of the neurotransmitter serotonin. When serotonin levels drop below a good value, you may, for example, have trouble falling asleep or waking up at night, experience worry and/or anxiety.
When serotonin has become very low, the adrenal glands do not receive signals from the brain to produce cortisol and DHEA.
You may feel exhausted, down, and have difficulty handling stress and pressured situations. Here is information we hope can support you if you recognize yourself in this.
Patience
The most important thing is to be patient with yourself and your life situation. To pause and be kind to yourself.
If you have pushed yourself too far, there is no “quick fix”; it takes time to return to your former self or rather: a “new self.”
Recovery
Recovery can take a long time but it is definitely possible! Giving yourself time every day for relaxation, rest, and sleep is very important. Rest. Sleep. Reduce stress. Say no to everything you can’t handle.
1. Relaxation
If you have trouble relaxing, techniques like a pre-recorded meditation or breathing exercises are helpful. Other tips include talk therapy, meditation, relaxing music, and walks in nature.
Meditation is a fantastic tool to pause for a moment, which anyone can learn, little by little. Meditation releases calming neurotransmitters that transform reactions into relaxing states.
2. Listen to your body
If you find yourself feeling sad, angry, or panicked by saying yes to things and taking on tasks like a new assignment at work, you need rest. This feels different for everyone, but remember there is nothing wrong with you, you just need to take care of yourself.
3. Rest
If you feel like it’s “shaking” inside – a feeling often relatable for someone with exhaustion – it is of utmost importance to rest, and resting with warmth can be beneficial. Like taking a bath, having a hot water bottle on your body, going to a spa, or getting a massage.
Even closeness to someone you can relax with works. Or just holding someone's hand. Someone who can help you regulate yourself.
You can also drink a cup of herbal tea or miso soup or eat a fruit. Anything that gives a feeling of well-being and provides “comfort.” Being close to animals also offers great comfort, if the opportunity exists.
Healthy diet
4. Clean food
It is important to choose as clean a diet as possible with as much nutrition as possible.
5. Nutritious food
Real, nutritious food includes vegetables in all colors and forms, sprouts, fruit, berries, nuts, and seeds. Feel free to vary the vegetables so you get different colors on your plate at each meal. Something that contributes a lot of nutrients is green juices.
Since "living" foods are full of nutrients, we get pure energy from them. Unrefined carbohydrates (whole grains, beans, and vegetables) and good protein as well as good fats like cold-pressed olive oil and Omega 3 are also important.
6. Cut down on gluten and dairy
It is worth trying to avoid gluten and dairy products for a while to see how you feel and instead try plant-based products.
Fish can be good but in smaller doses because unfortunately today it contains a lot of heavy metals which weakens us, and we also have the whole environmental issue around fish which means it is no longer an obvious choice.
7. Avoid stimulants
It is important not to overstimulate the body with, for example, too much coffee, cocoa, alcohol, or sugar. If you are very exhausted, you can easily get palpitations or anxiety from certain foods and drinks.
Yes, you read that right, you can get anxiety from food and drink if, for example, the liver is not capable of handling the intake. At certain times in life, the liver has too much work.
Alcohol is one example that can be felt immediately when exhausted. Sometimes you can feel it right away, sometimes you notice it after a few hours.
8. Drink water
Feel free to drink water, lemon/lime water, and herbal teas.
How often should I eat
9. Eat less and more often
If you are exhausted, it can be good to eat a little less and more often. This is because when you suffer from low levels of adrenal hormones, blood sugar can fluctuate, and low blood sugar can strain the adrenals.
To reduce this, it is important not to get too hungry. Then you may feel even shakier.
10. Do not fast
If you are exhausted, you should not do partial fasting or full fasting as it can stress the body even more. This is something you can do when you are 100% recovered and the body has all the building blocks again.
The body needs nutrients to handle a detox.
Training
11. No hard training
Training hard is not a good idea when you’re exhausted – instead, you need to train more gently. For example, yoga, dancing, cycling, swimming, or forest walks.
You can gradually build up your training over time until you feel more energy and find tougher workouts manageable. Then training gives you the energy it should.
12. Training should make you happy
After training, you should feel happy and fulfilled; if you feel sick, the training is too intense. Once you’ve built up herbs, adaptogenic herbs can be a very good idea. Adaptogens are herbs and plants that help increase the body’s ability to adapt to various forms of physical, mental, chemical, and biological stress as well as changing situations.
Which adaptogen suits you best is something you need to try out. But we recommend taking one adaptogen at a time.
Feel free to read more about adaptogens.
Dietary supplements
13. Take supplements
Suggestions for important supplements that support in various ways.
Vitamin C – a superb antioxidant that really supports us in all situations.
B-complex – B vitamins are so important.
Extra B-12 – it’s a good idea to get a blood test to check your B-12 levels.
Lactic acid bacteria (probiotics)
Magnesium – very good for anxiety, pain, and stress.
Q10 – for cellular and heart energy.
Lemon balm – both calming and uplifting.
An herbal blend for good sleep – such as Sleep Balance.
L-Theanine – a fantastic amino acid for stress and anxiety.
Iodine – supports the thyroid.
Selenium – very important for both the thyroid and the immune system.
Infection & inflammation
14. Take care of infection and inflammation
Keep in mind that if you carry a long-term infection, your immune system and adrenal glands are working overtime. It’s important to find out and take care of the infection or inflammation.
Common infections can be digestive or dental problems. Here, culprits like bacteria, viruses, fungi (candida), parasites, or heavy metals are important to remove from the body as they worsen conditions and cause fatigue.
This is difficult to know and understand on your own, so we recommend that you visit a nutrition therapist or a functional medicine doctor and get tests done. Ask for help!
Get in touch with us if you have any questions and take care out there.
