By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Are you exhausted 24/7? One of these factors might be the culprit
037952fc0f43996a2117c7e2684f393cd7d6e48a3c417c57175f9219c1ef1546
Are you completely exhausted for no apparent reason? One of these factors may be the culprit. - photo by Chakell Wardleigh
Tiredness never was happiness. Do you get a decent amount of sleep every night? Can you not function without napping during the day? Are you completely exhausted for no apparent reason? One of these diseases may be the culprit.

Anemia

Anemia is a condition when your red blood cells do not carry enough oxygen throughout the body. Your cells could be misshapen or there may just not be enough of them. The most common type of anemia is iron deficiency anemia. Anemia typically affects women and children more so than men, but those with autoimmune diseases can also be at risk. Apart from fatigue, other symptoms include pale skin, dizziness, weakness, brittle nails and sensitivity to cold. Anemia can be treated with iron supplements or blood transfusions, but be sure to consult your doctor before taking any medications.

Thyroid disease

One of the major symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland is excessive fatigue. Hypothyroidism affects women more than men. The thyroid controls many functions in the body, including metabolism. Unexplained weight gain, sensitivity to cold, hair loss, depression, and dry, pale skin are among many symptoms of thyroid disease. Hypothyroidism can be treated with synthetic hormones prescribed by your doctor.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that puts the patients joints and organs in a chronic state of inflammation. Women in between the ages of 40 and 60 are more at risk for the disease, but it can affect anyone at any age in rare cases. Along with fatigue, swollen and tender joints, unexplained fevers and joint stiffness are symptoms of on-setting arthritis. Although it is not curable, rheumatoid arthritis can be treated with anti-inflammatories.

Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes is becoming a rising epidemic in the United States alone. Diabetes prevents your pancreas from correctly processing sugar. Diabetes can be set off by a number of factors such as being over the age of 46, family genetics, race, high blood pressure and excessive weight gain. The disease causes irritability, excessive thirst, fatigue and blurry vision. Diabetes can be treated and in some cases cured if one begins to practice a healthier lifestyle.

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder. The main factor of the disease is when one stops breathing completely and starts again repeatedly through the night. Symptoms include exhaustion throughout the day, loud snoring during the night, gasping for air during sleep, insomnia, difficulty paying attention and headaches. Sleep apnea can be treated with different types of airway pressure devices, surgery or therapy.

Depression

Depression and anxiety are culprits of chronic fatigue. One of the major symptoms of depression is insomnia, which causes fatigue later on. Depression affects millions of people around the world, both male and female. The main symptoms of depression are feelings of hopelessness, lack of interest in usual pleasures, no motivation, appetite changes and irritability. Depression can be treated with therapy, medication or lifestyle changes.

Allergies

Although you wouldnt think so, underlying food allergies can cause excessive fatigue. Food intolerance can bring many symptoms to the table either minutes or hours after eating. Symptoms include abdominal cramping, diarrhea, acid reflux and unexplained fatigue. A blood test can most likely determine food intolerance.

Chronic hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is not reserved just for diabetics. Many people can suffer from a constant state of low blood sugar. If left untreated, low sugar levels can lead to shakiness, sweating, chills, nervousness, dizziness, impatience, extreme fatigue, loss of consciousness and nausea. Ingesting fast-acting foods with carbohydrates can treat hypoglycemia, or diagnosing and treating the underlying cause of dropping sugar levels.

Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency has become a spiraling problem in the last decade. Although most people have not changed their daily routines, the sun vitamin is continuing to drop low in every reason. Being overweight, having limited sun exposure, gastrointestinal problems and having darker skin can put you at further risk of vitamin D deficiency. Chronic low levels of this vitamin can lead to more serious conditions in the long run, including osteoporosis, depression, multiple sclerosis and heart disease. Symptoms include intense fatigue, irritability and weak muscles. Treatment includes prescribed vitamin D supplements and increased time spent in direct sunlight.

Stress

Do you feel like you could rip all of your hair out and not have a care in the world? Your stress levels have gotten out of hand if you answered yes to that question. Stress is completely draining to our bodies. When we are stressed, we are constantly in fight or flight mode, and because of that, we may not get an adrenaline rush when we actually need to fight. Stress has so many negative effects on the body. It leads to muscle pain, intestinal issues, frequent illnesses and fatigue.

There are more serious conditions that can come to pass if stress goes untreated. If you feel like your life is completely derailed, maybe take a day off to relax and pamper yourself. No one should go through life feeling completely exhausted and miserable all the time. Treat yourself, and reduce those stress levels!
Sign up for our e-newsletters
From the book 'Outliers' comes proof that good health is more than just genetics
8ccd7d661f85d37c8298791c9a56bec6e0f8449d4aea5c09c6ffcf527854f186
Friends Jim Young, left, Mike Natale, Jeff Natale and Ryan Kiernan were on Greenwich High School football team together and Jim and Mike were captains. Jim, who was the youngest in Sherry Young's family, was welcome in the homes of the other three boys who still had siblings around and grandparents near. - photo by Sherry Young
As I look back on my life and the lives of others, both personally and in the reading I have done, I am convinced of the necessity of positive human contact in our lives. We are doubly blessed when we are able to make good friends or are a part of a family where we are accepted and loved.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers tells of a time in the 1950s when Dr. Stewart Wolf met a physician who practiced in the area of Roseto, Pennsylvania. Roseto was settled by a group of Italian families from Roseto, Italy, who re-created their life again in America.

This was in the 1950s before drugs and measures to prevent heart disease became important. In their conversation the physician said, You know, Ive been practicing for 17 years. I get patients from all over, and I rarely find anyone from Roseto under the age of 65 with heart disease.

Wolf was surprised by these words as, It was impossible to be a doctor, common sense said, and not see heart disease.

Wolf enlisted the aid of a sociologist and friend John Bruhn to help him. They found, There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, and very little crime. They didnt have anyone on welfare. Then we looked at peptic ulcers. They didnt have any of those either. These people were dying of old age. Thats it.

They checked into diet, genetics and possibilities of something in the foothills of eastern Pennsylvania but nothing made sense.

What they found was that Rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in Italian on the street, say, or cooking for one another in their backyards. (Researchers) learned about the extended family clans that underlay the towns social structure. They saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof and how much respect grandparents commanded. They went to Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and saw the unifying and calming effect of the church. They counted 22 separate civic organizations in a town of just under 2,000 people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures.

What they found eventually convinced the medical establishment to look beyond the individual and understand the culture people are part of their friends, families and town they came from. They determined that the people we surround ourselves with and the values of the world we inhabit have a profound effect on who we are.

Likely, this study could have been done with other ethnicities. However, my family's experiences with the Italian families in Connecticut ring true to the study. Our hungry and growing sons, especially our youngest son, Jim, who was left home alone with two beady-eyed parents, all had some memorable experiences being fed and loved in the Cos Cob multigenerational families. Proof of the African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child.

We live in an age when the contact we have with people often is on the internet, and many of us live among strangers. Unless we make the effort to reach out, we will become isolated, especially as we age. The Rosetan study is proof that reaching out and communicating may be good for our health.
Latest Obituaries