Why lack of sleep is bad for your health

Many effects of a lack of sleep, such as feeling grumpy and not working at your best, are well known. But did you know that sleep deprivation can also have profound consequences on your physical health?

When you might need more sleep than normal

There are some situations when you'll need more than the standard eight hours of sleep a night. It’s not unusual to want 10-15 hours of rest and sleep a day if you are:

• recovering from illness
• pregnant
• living with a chronic illness
• have been through extreme physical exertion, such as running a marathon

One in three of us suffers from poor sleep, with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed.

However, the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus.

Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes – and it shortens your life expectancy.

How much sleep do we need?

Most of us need around eight hours of good-quality sleep a night to function properly – but some need more and some less. What matters is that you find out how much sleep you need and then try to achieve it.

As a general rule, if you wake up tired and spend the day longing for a chance to have a nap, it’s likely that you’re not getting enough sleep.

A variety of factors can cause poor sleep, including health conditions such as sleep apnoea. But in most cases, it’s due to bad sleeping habits.

Find out the common medical causes of fatigue.

What happens if I don't sleep?

Oversleeping

Although it isn’t as common as not getting enough sleep, sleeping too much can also cause problems.

Oversleeping has been linked to physical problems such as diabetes and heart disease.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, oversleeping can occur in 15-40% of people with depression.

Everyone’s experienced the fatigue, short temper and lack of focus that often follow a poor night’s sleep.

An occasional night without sleep makes you feel tired and irritable the next day, but it won’t harm your health.

After several sleepless nights, the mental effects become more serious. Your brain will fog, making it difficult to concentrate and make decisions. You’ll start to feel down, and may fall asleep during the day. Your risk of injury and accidents at home, work and on the road also increases.

Find out how to tell if you're too tired to drive.

If it continues, lack of sleep can affect your overall health and make you prone to serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Here are seven ways in which a good night's sleep can boost your health:

1. Sleep boosts immunity

If you seem to catch every cold and flu that’s going around, your bedtime could be to blame. Prolonged lack of sleep can disrupt your immune system, so you’re less able to fend off bugs.

2. Sleep can slim you

Sleeping less may mean you put on weight! Studies have shown that people who sleep less than seven hours a day tend to gain more weight and have a higher risk of becoming obese than those who get seven hours of slumber.

It’s believed to be because sleep-deprived people have reduced levels of leptin (the chemical that makes you feel full) and increased levels of ghrelin (the hunger-stimulating hormone).

3. Sleep boosts mental wellbeing

Given that a single sleepless night can make you irritable and moody the following day, it’s not surprising that chronic sleep debt may lead to long-term mood disorders like depression and anxiety.

When people with anxiety or depression were surveyed to calculate their sleeping habits, it turned out that most of them slept for less than six hours a night.

4. Sleep prevents diabetes

Studies have suggested that people who usually sleep less than five hours a night have an increased risk of having or developing diabetes.

It seems that missing out on deep sleep may lead to type 2 diabetes by changing the way the body processes glucose – the high-energy carbohydrate that cells use for fuel.

5. Sleep increases sex drive

Men and women who don’t get enough quality sleep have lower libidos and less of an interest in sex, research shows.

Men who suffer from sleep apnoea – a disorder in which breathing difficulties lead to interrupted sleep – also tend to have lower testosterone levels, which can lower libido.

6. Sleep wards off heart disease

Long-standing sleep deprivation seems to be associated with increased heart rate, an increase in blood pressure and higher levels of certain chemicals linked with inflammation, which may put extra strain on your heart.

7. Sleep increases fertility

Difficulty conceiving a baby has been claimed as one of the effects of sleep deprivation, in both men and women. Apparently, regular sleep disruptions can cause trouble conceiving by reducing the secretion of reproductive hormones.

How to catch up on lost sleep

If you don’t get enough sleep, there’s only one way to compensate – getting more sleep.

It won’t happen with a single early night. If you’ve had months of restricted sleep, you’ll have built up a significant sleep debt, so expect recovery to take several weeks.

Starting on a weekend, try to add on an extra hour or two of sleep a night. The way to do this is to go to bed when you’re tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clocks allowed!).

Expect to sleep for upwards of 10 hours a night at first. After a while, the amount of time you sleep will gradually decrease to a normal level.

Don’t rely on caffeine or energy drinks as a short-term pick-me-up. They may boost your energy and concentration temporarily, but can disrupt your sleep patterns even further in the long term.

Read these common energy booster myths.

Tips for getting a good night’s sleep.

Read about ways to beat insomnia.

5 ways to wipe out winter tiredness

Do you find it harder to roll out of bed every morning when the temperature drops and the mornings are darker? If so, you’re not alone. Many people feel tired and sluggish during winter. Here are five energy-giving solutions.

What is winter tiredness?

If you find yourself longing for your warm, cozy bed more than usual during winter, blame the lack of sunlight.

As the days become shorter, your sleep and waking cycles become disrupted, leading to fatigue. Less sunlight means that your brain produces more of a hormone called melatonin, which makes you sleepy.

Because the release of this sleep hormone is linked to light and dark, when the sun sets earlier your body also wants to go to bed earlier – hence you may feel sleepy in the early evening.

While it’s normal for all of us to slow down generally over winter, sometimes lethargy can be a sign of more serious winter depression. This health condition, known medically as seasonal affective disorder, affects around one in 15 of us but can be treated. Read more about how to recognise winter depression. If your tiredness is severe and year-round, you could have chronic fatigue syndrome.

Try these tactics to boost your vitality during the winter months.

Sunlight is good for winter tiredness

Open your blinds or curtains as soon as you get up to let more sunlight into your home. And get outdoors in natural daylight as much as possible, even a brief lunchtime walk can be beneficial. Make your work and home environment as light and airy as possible.

Get a good night's sleep

When winter hits it’s tempting to go into hibernation mode, but that sleepy feeling you get in winter doesn’t mean you should snooze for longer. In fact if you do, chances are you’ll feel even more sluggish during the day.

We don’t technically need any more sleep in winter than in summer. Aim for about eight hours of shuteye a night and try to stick to a reliable sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. And make sure your bedroom is conducive to sleep – clear the clutter, have comfortable and warm bedlinen and turn off the TV.

Read about how to get a good night’s sleep.

Fight winter tiredness with regular exercise

Exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing on dark winter evenings, but you’ll feel more energetic if you get involved in some kind of physical activity every day, ideally so you reach the recommended goal of 150 minutes of exercise a week. Exercise in the late afternoon may help to reduce early evening fatigue, and also improve your sleep.

Winter is a great time to experiment with new and different kinds of activity. For instance, if you’re not used to doing exercise, book a session at one of the many open-air skating rinks that open during the winter. Skating is a good all-round exercise for beginners and aficionados alike. There are also many dry ski slopes and indoor snow centres in the UK, which will offer courses for beginners.

If you’re more active, go for a game of badminton at your local sports centre, or a game of 5-a-side football or tennis under the floodlights.

If you find it hard to get motivated to exercise in the chillier, darker months, focus on the positives – you’ll not only feel more energetic but stave off winter weight gain.

Read lots more tips for exercising in winter.

Learn to relax

Feeling time-squeezed to get everything done in the shorter daylight hours? It may be contributing to your tiredness. Stress has been shown to make you feel fatigued.

There’s no quick-fire cure for stress but there are some simple things you can do to alleviate it. So, if you feel under pressure for any reason, calm down with meditation, yoga, exercise and breathing exercises.

Find out more by checking out these 10 stress-busters.

Eat the right foods

Once the summer ends, there’s a temptation to ditch the salads and fill up on starchy foods such as pasta, potatoes and bread. You’ll have more energy, though, if you include plenty of fruit and vegetables in your comfort meals.

Winter vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, swede and turnips can be roasted, mashed or made into soup for a warming winter meal for the whole family. And classic stews and casseroles are great options if they’re made with lean meat and plenty of veg.

Here are 10 hot meal ideas that are both winter-warming and healthy.

You may find your sweet tooth going into overdrive in the winter months, but try to avoid foods containing lots of sugar – it gives you a rush of energy but one that wears off quickly. Here are some quick and easy ways to cut down on sugar.

Find out more about energy-giving foods.

Now, read more articles on how to beat tiredness and fatigue.

The energy diet

The best way to eat if you want to banish tiredness is to have a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from the four main food groups in the right proportions.

The four food groups are:

• fruit and vegetables
• potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
• milk and dairy foods
• beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other non-dairy sources of protein

Eat at regular intervals

If you eat at regular times, your body knows when your next meal is coming and learns to manage feelings of hunger and sustain your energy levels.

Try to eat three meals a day and limit snacks – especially high-fat ones – between meals.

Breakfast boosts your energy

Breakfast gives you the energy you need to face the day. Despite this, up to one-third of us regularly skip breakfast, according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA).

Go for healthier options, such as porridge with fruit, vegetable omelette, or wholemeal toast with a scraping of low-fat spread or jam.

If you can't face eating as soon as you get up, take a high-fibre snack to eat on the run, rather than snacking on high-sugar or high-fat foods.

Here are five healthy breakfasts, plus how to choose healthy breakfast cereals.

Aim for at least 5 A DAY for more vitality

Most people in the UK eat too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetables are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre – essential nutrients that your body needs to work properly.

Try to incorporate at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg into your daily diet. They can be fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced.

Find tips on how to boost your fruit and veg intake.

Read more about how to get your 5 A DAY.

Slow-burning starches give sustained energy

Starchy foods – also called carbohydrates – such as potatoes, bread, cereals and pasta are an important part of a healthy diet. They're a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients.

Starchy foods should make up just over a third of everything you eat. There are different types of starch. Where possible, go for slow-burning wholegrain or wholemeal varieties, as they release energy gradually.

Read more about healthy starchy foods.

Sugar steals your stamina

Adults and children in the UK eat too much sugar. Sugar is not only bad for your teeth, it can also be bad for your waistline. It gives you a rush of energy, but one that wears off quickly.

Cutting out all sugar is virtually impossible. There are natural sugars in lots of foods, including fruit and veg, and you don't need to avoid these.

However, it's a good idea to cut down on foods with lots of added sugar, such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, non-diet fizzy drinks and chocolates.

Read the facts about sugar.

Iron-rich foods prevent fatigue

Four in 10 (40%) girls and women aged 16-24 and almost half (44%) of girls aged 11-15 have low iron stores, according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

Being low on iron can make you feel tired and faint, and look pale.

While red meats, green vegetables and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals are good sources of iron, the important thing is to eat a range of foods to get enough iron.

Here's more advice on good sources of iron.

Non-alcoholic drinks boost zest levels

Watch your alcohol intake. It can dehydrate you, which will make you feel tired.

Make sure you stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids – the government recommends 6-8 glasses every day. This is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water and lower-fat milk are healthier choices.

Read more about healthy drinks.

Eat enough to pack a punch

Make sure you eat the right amount for your activity level. The average man needs around 2,500 calories a day, and the average woman needs 2,000 calories. Remember, we all overestimate how active we are.

Learn how to understand calories.

Self-help tips to fight fatigue

Many cases of unexplained tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Use these self-help tips to restore your energy levels.

Energy-sustaining snacks

• wholegrain cereal with reduced-fat milk
• a piece of fruit
• salad with grilled chicken
• hard-boiled egg or lean ham and mustard sandwich on wholemeal bread
• a low-fat yoghurt
• wholemeal toast, a fruit bun or slice of malt loaf – each with low-fat spread

Eat often to beat tiredness

A good way to keep up your energy through the day is to eat regular meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours, rather than a large meal less often.

Read more about healthy eating.

Perk up with exercise

You might feel too tired to exercise, but regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, and you’ll have more energy. Even a single 15-minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.

Start with a small amount of exercise. Build up your physical activity gradually over weeks and months until you reach the recommended goal of two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

Read more about starting exercise.

Find out the physical activity guidelines for adults.

Lose weight to gain energy

If your body is carrying excess weight, it can be exhausting. It also puts extra strain on your heart, which can make you tired. Lose weight and you’ll feel much more energetic. Apart from eating healthily, the best way to lose weight is to be more active and do more exercise.

Read more about how to lose weight.

Sleep well

It sounds obvious, but two-thirds of us suffer from sleep problems, and many people don’t get the sleep they need to stay alert through the day. The Royal College of Psychiatrists advises going to bed and getting up in the morning at the same time every day; avoid naps through the day, and take time to relax before you go to bed.

Read more about how to get a good night’s sleep.

Reduce stress to boost energy

Stress uses up a lot of energy. Try to introduce relaxing activities into your day. This could be working out at the gym, or a gentler option, such as listening to music, reading or spending time with friends. Whatever relaxes you will improve your energy.

Read more about how to relieve stress.

Talking therapy beats fatigue

There’s some evidence that talking therapies such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) might help to fight fatigue. See your GP for a referral for talking treatment on the NHS or for advice on seeing a private therapist.

Read more about counselling.

Cut out caffeine

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. It says the best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks (this includes coffee, tea and cola drinks) over a three-week period. Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.

You may find that not consuming caffeine gives you headaches. If this happens, cut down more slowly on the amount of caffeine that you drink.

Drink less alcohol

Although a few glasses of wine in the evening helps you fall asleep, you sleep less deeply after drinking alcohol. The next day you’ll be tired, even if you sleep a full eight hours.

Cut down on alcohol before bedtime. You’ll get a better night’s rest and have more energy. The NHS recommends that men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, which is equivalent to six pints of average strength beer or 10 small glasses of low strength wine.

Read more about how to cut down on alcohol.

Drink more water for better energy

Sometimes you feel tired simply because you’re mildly dehydrated. A glass of water will do the trick, especially after exercise.

Read about healthy drinks.

10 medical reasons for feeling tired

Any serious illness, especially painful ones, can make you tired. But some quite minor illnesses can also leave you feeling washed out. Here are 10 health conditions known to cause fatigue.

Sick or tired?

If you’re getting your eight hours of sleep a night but still feel exhausted, it’s time to see a doctor.

It’s also worth seeking medical advice if you have any of these symptoms:

• confusion
• dizziness
• blurred vision
• unexplained weight loss or gain
• swelling
• constipation
• insomnia
• depression
• headaches

1. Coeliac disease

This is a type of food intolerance, where your body reacts badly when you eat gluten – a substance found in bread, cakes and cereals.

One in 100 people in the UK are affected, but research suggests up to 90% of them don't know they have the condition, according to patient group Coeliac UK.

Other symptoms of coeliac disease, apart from tiredness, are diarrhoea, anaemia and weight loss. Your GP can check if you have coeliac disease through a blood test.

Read more about coeliac disease.

2. Anaemia

One of the most common medical reasons for feeling constantly run down is iron deficiency anaemia. It affects around 1 in 20 men and postmenopausal women, but may be even more common in women who are still having periods.

Typically, you'll feel you can't be bothered to do anything, your muscles will feel heavy, and you'll get tired very quickly.

Women with heavy periods and pregnant women are especially prone to anaemia.

Read more about iron deficiency anaemia.

3. Chronic fatigue syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME) is a severe and disabling tiredness that goes on for at least six months. There are usually other symptoms, such as a sore throat, muscle or joint pain, and headache.

Read more about chronic fatigue syndrome.

4. Sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is a condition where your throat narrows or closes during sleep and repeatedly interrupts your breathing.

This results in bad snoring and a drop in your blood's oxygen levels. The difficulty in breathing means you wake up often in the night and feel exhausted the next day.

It's most common in overweight middle-aged men. Drinking alcohol and smoking makes it worse.

Read more about sleep apnoea.

5. Underactive thyroid

An underactive thyroid gland means you have too little thyroid hormone (thyroxine) in your body. This makes you feel tired.

You're also likely to put on weight and have aching muscles. It's most common in women and happens more often as you get older.

Your GP can diagnose an underactive thyroid by taking a blood test.

Read more about having an underactive thyroid.

6. Diabetes

One of the main symptoms of diabetes, a long-term condition caused by too much sugar in the blood, is feeling very tired. The other key symptoms are feeling very thirsty, going to the toilet a lot, and weight loss. Your GP can diagnose diabetes with a blood test.

Read more about diabetes and find out how to make smart sugar swaps.

Find your local diabetes support services.

7. Glandular fever

Glandular fever is a common viral infection that causes fatigue, along with fever, sore throat and swollen glands.

Most cases happen in teenagers and young adults. Symptoms usually clear up within four to six weeks, but the fatigue can linger for several more months.

Read more about glandular fever.

8. Depression

As well as making you feel very sad, depression can also make you feel drained of energy. It can stop you falling asleep or cause you to wake up early in the morning, which makes you feel more tired during the day.

Read more about depression.

Find your local depression support services and your local depression self-help groups.

9. Restless legs

This is when you get uncomfortable sensations in your legs, which keep you awake at night.

You might have an overwhelming urge to keep moving your legs, a deep ache in your legs, or your legs might jerk spontaneously through the night.

Whatever your symptoms, your sleep will be disrupted and of poor quality, so you'll feel very tired throughout the day.

Read more about restless legs.

10. Anxiety

Feeling anxious is sometimes perfectly normal. But some people have constant uncontrollable feelings of anxiety, which are so strong they affect their daily life.

Doctors call this generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). It affects around 1 in 20 people in the UK. As well as feeling worried and irritable, people with GAD often feel tired.

Read more about anxiety.

Find your local anxiety support services.

Energy booster myths and facts

Many people believe that detoxing can boost their energy and that superfoods will help in the fight against fatigue. But is there scientific evidence to back this up?

Detox doesn't boost energy

Detox diets are often touted as energy boosters, but there’s no scientific evidence to support this claim. If you’re eating well, there’s no need to use these diets.

Detox supporters claim that our bodies are overloaded with "toxins" from pollution, smoking, food additives and so on. Detoxing is done through a range of methods, including massage, fasting followed by a strict diet of raw vegetables, fruit and fruit juices, and water; colonic irrigation, and supplements, usually taken over seven to 10 days. Supporters of detox claim this is a way to get rid of the toxins.

But there’s no scientific evidence to show that our bodies need help to get rid of waste products – this is what our kidneys do – and there's no proof that detox diets work.

The British Dietetic Association has said that detox diets are "marketing myths rather than nutritional reality".

So what does work?
Some people say they feel more focused and energetic after a detox diet. But this could be because they believe they’re doing something good for their bodies.

For the vast majority of people, a healthy, balanced diet based on starchy carbohydrates (wholegrain where possible), with lots of fruit and vegetables, plus some milk, dairy, meat or other source of lean sources of protein, is a better way to protect your health.

Find out how to have a balanced diet.

Read more about the diet that will give you more energy.

'Superfoods' are a myth

Newspapers, magazines and the internet are full of stories about miracle superfoods. Celery, broccoli, beetroot juice, jam, popcorn, cereals and even the great British cuppa, to name just a few, have all been hyped as superfoods in the past two years.

There is no official definition of a superfood. The EU has banned the use of the word on product packaging, unless the claim is backed up by convincing research.

These claims are almost always exaggerated. It’s actually incredibly difficult to prove that one particular food is better for our health than all the others we eat. Studies on so-called superfoods tend not to do this.

So what does work?
When it comes to keeping healthy, it’s important to eat a variety of foods, rather than concentrate on one food in the hope it will work miracles. Eat a balanced diet containing a range of foods to ensure you get the nutrients your body needs. Limit your intake of alcohol and high-fat, high-sugar and salty foods.

Read about the evidence and health claims behind 10 popular superfoods. This report also debunks the superfood myth.

Energy drinks have mixed benefits

Many people turn to energy drinks such as Red Bull and Lucozade Energy for a quick boost.

Energy drinks are loaded with sugar and caffeine (sometimes more than twice the caffeine that's in a can of cola) so they’ll certainly give you a temporary energy jolt. However, the boost is short-lived and may be accompanied by other problems.

The caffeine in energy drinks can make you feel irritable and restless. It can increase your blood pressure, while the sugar can contribute to weight gain, especially if you don’t exercise regularly.

So what does work?
Plain water is a better choice than an energy drink. For a quick surge of energy, snack on fruit.

Vitamin supplements aren't as good as eating well

Think taking a multivitamin each day will make you feel less tired? Think again.

Most people don’t need to take vitamin supplements, because they can get all the nutrients that they need from a healthy, balanced diet. Popping pills doesn't offer you the same benefits as eating well.

The Department of Health recommends certain supplements for some groups of people. Read more about who needs to take a vitamin supplement.

As a general rule, it's better to get your vitamins from food rather than tablets.

Evidence suggests that fruit and vegetables are good for us, not just because of the individual vitamins and minerals they contain, but because of their combination of different nutrients and fibre. Increasing the amount of fruit and veg you eat will benefit your health more than taking supplements will.

So what does work?
Forget the multivitamin packs. Eat a healthy balanced diet instead. That will give you all the energy you need, as well as being good for your overall health.

Here are eight tips for healthy eating.

Common energy stealers

Not sure what’s causing your fatigue? Here are some common energy zappers that may be to blame – and tips on how to overcome them.

Being a couch potato

Sitting in one position for long periods of time can sap your energy, even if you’re watching the TV or using the computer. Your body equates the stillness with going to sleep.

Solution: stretch often, get up and walk around away from your desk or sofa. Frequent breaks will keep your body alert.

Why sitting too much is bad for your health.

Read more about getting started with exercise.

Poor posture wastes energy

A lot of your energy goes on keeping you upright. Bad posture – such as hunching forwards and slumping in your seat – puts your spine out of alignment. The more out of balance your spine is, the more your muscles have to work to compensate.

Solution: whether you're moving, sitting or standing still, try to make sure that your head is lined up over your body – not sticking out in front of it. Aim for your ears to be directly over your shoulders.

Read about common posture mistakes and how to fix them.

Crash dieting makes you tired

While it will boost your energy to lose excess weight, going on a crash diet isn’t helpful. Very low-calorie diets, especially ones that give you less than 850 calories a day, will make you feel even more tired and can damage your health in other ways.

Solution: lose weight by eating healthily, cutting out junk and sugary foods, and reducing your portion size. Aim to lose no more than 2lbs a week.

Read our review of the 10 most popular weight-loss diets.

Find out how to lose weight sensibly.

Cabin fever

It’s all to easy to become homebound, especially if you have a young child, you work from home or you’ve been driven indoors by the cold days and long, dark nights of winter. However, lack of light and fresh air is a key cause of tiredness.

Solution: get out for a 10-minute walk at least once during the day, or when you're most tired. Even if it’s cloudy, you’ll be exposed to more natural light than inside and you’ll feel more alert. If you simply can't get out the door, a few minutes in a room filled with natural light may also help.

Read more about overcoming the winter blues.

Sugary breakfast cereals

Sugary breakfasts, such as processed cereals, pastries, muffins and toast with sugary spreads, will give you a quick surge of energy as your blood sugar peaks. But your sugar levels will slump just as quickly a couple of hours later. The result? You crash as you run out of energy.

Solution: to get a steady release of energy all morning long, eat a breakfast that’s based on unrefined starch. For example, home-made porridge with semi-skimmed milk and a little honey, wholemeal cereal with fruit sliced over it, or an egg with wholewheat or granary toast. Try to choose breakfast cereals that are wholegrain and low in salt and sugar.

Choose healthy breakfast cereals, plus our suggestions for five healthy breakfasts.

Constant worrying drains energy

If you’re fretting about something all day long, your heart rate and blood pressure rise, and your muscles tighten, leading to fatigue and aches.

Solution: set some time aside to concentrate on your worries. Try to think of positive solutions, then put the worries out of your mind. Schedule that dental appointment for first thing in the morning, so you don't spend all day fretting about it.

Read some tips to relieve stress.

Exercising too much

Regular exercise is good for you, but working out intensively every day may not be good for your energy levels, especially if you’re a beginner or trying to get back in shape.

Solution: take a day off between strenuous bouts of exercise. Beware of leaving more than two or three days between sessions, or you might fall out of the habit.

Read more about starting exercise.

Winter days increase fatigue

The shorter days of winter disrupt your sleep/waking cycle, leading to fatigue. Less sunlight in winter also means your brain produces more of a hormone called melatonin, which makes you sleepy.

Solution: Get outdoors into natural daylight as much as possible, do some exercise every day and eat the right foods for energy, such as fruit and veg.

Read more about how to combat winter tiredness.

Why am I tired all the time?

Feeling exhausted is so common that it has its own acronym, TATT, which stands for "tired all the time".

Dr Rupal Shah, a GP in south London, says tiredness is one of the most common complaints she sees in her surgery. “I see loads and loads of patients who complain of feeling exhausted, even though they’re sleeping well. Often it’s been going on for several months.”

At any given time, one in five people feels unusually tired, and one in 10 have prolonged fatigue, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Women tend to feel tired more often than men.

“It’s unusual to find anything physically wrong. Most of the time, fatigue is linked with mood and the accumulation of lots of little stresses in life,” says Dr Shah.

Dr Shah says she routinely takes a blood test from patients complaining of tiredness to rule out a medical cause, such as anaemia or an underactive thyroid gland.

“There’s more chance of a medical reason for tiredness if there are other symptoms as well, such as heavy periods, weight loss, a change in bowel habits, hair loss, extreme thirst and so on.”

If you want to work out how you became tired in the first place, it can help to think about:

• parts of your life, such as work and family, that might be particularly tiring
• any events that may have triggered your tiredness, such as a bereavement or relationship break-up
• how your lifestyle may be making you tired

Physical causes of tiredness

There are lots of health complaints that can make you feel tired. Not just the well-recognised ones like anaemia and thyroid problems, but also more surprising ailments, such as diabetes, food intolerance and a sleeping disorder called sleep apnoea.

Read more about the medical causes of tiredness.

Being overweight or underweight can cause tiredness. That’s because your body has to work harder than normal to do everyday activities. If you’re underweight, you have less muscle strength, and you may feel tired more quickly.

Pregnancy, especially in the first 12 weeks, can also sap your energy.

Psychological causes of tiredness

Psychological tiredness is far more common than tiredness that's caused by a physical problem.

One key reason is anxiety, which can cause insomnia and, in turn, lead to persistent fatigue. A survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that nearly a third of the population are severely sleep-deprived, often because of job and money worries. The Foundation’s report, Sleep Matters, suggests a link between insomnia and low energy levels.

The worries and strains of daily life can be exhausting – even positive events, such as moving house or getting married. Emotional shock, such as bad news, bereavement or the break-up of a relationship, can make you feel drained.

Mental health problems such as depression or anxiety can make you feel more tired. They can also prevent you from getting a proper night's sleep.

If you think your tiredness may be rooted in low mood, try this short audio guide to dealing with your sleep problems.

Lifestyle causes of tiredness

Tiredness can often be attributed to lifestyle factors, such as drinking too much alcohol, or having a bad diet. If you drink alcohol in the evening, it tends to wake you in the middle of the night. If you drink a lot regularly, it can make you depressed and affect your sleep. “I’m always surprised to find how often patients who complain of tiredness are drinking far too much,” says Dr Shah.

If you have a disturbed sleep pattern – for instance, if you work night shifts, sleep in the day or look after young children – it can be difficult to get a good night’s sleep, and you’ll feel tired during the day.

Read more about how to change your lifestyle to boost your energy.

How to tackle tiredness

It may be common to feel tired all the time, but it isn’t normal. If you’re worried, see your doctor for advice and reassurance. “We can rule out anything serious,” says Dr Shah. “Just knowing there’s nothing wrong can be reassuring in itself.”

Now read why lack of sleep is bad for you.

Could your snoring be sleep apnoea?

Snoring can be a symptom of a disorder called sleep apnoea, which is hard to identify and has serious health risks.

Video: sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is very common, but less than one in four sufferers are diagnosed. Although sleep apnoea can affect men and women of all ages, it's most common in middle-aged men, affecting about one in 25, according to the Sleep Apnoea Trust.

Sleep apnoea causes daytime sleepiness that can seriously affect people's work and social lives, and their ability to drive safely.

What is sleep apnoea?

Sleep apnoea is when the throat narrows or closes during sleep and repeatedly interrupts your breathing.

This results in a fall in the blood's oxygen levels. The difficulty in breathing causes the brain to wake you up.

This can happen hundreds of times a night without you realising. It leads to poor sleep quality and severe sleepiness during the day.

The good news is that something can be done if you're diagnosed with sleep apnoea.

Symptoms of sleep apnoea

You may not be aware that you have problems breathing while asleep. Often it's a partner or a family member that notices.

However, you may notice these symptoms:

• snoring
• episodes during sleep where you stop breathing
• restless/unrefreshing sleep
• frequent trips to the toilet every night
• morning headaches
• excessive daytime sleepiness and irritability
• poor concentration
• loss of libido

Overweight men aged between 30 and 65 are most likely to have it. Sleep apnoea appears to be less common in women.

Sleep apnoea also affects children, particularly if they have enlarged tonsils or adenoids.

Health risks of sleep apnoea

If left untreated, the condition can increase the risks of high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

People with sleep apnoea are significantly more likely to have a road accident than other people.

Tests show that drivers who are sleepy due to sleep apnoea perform worse than drivers with blood alcohol levels over the legal drink drive limit.

Read how Terry, who has sleep apnoea, fell asleep while driving.

Diagnosing sleep apnoea

Most people who have sleep apnoea can be diagnosed by doing a home recording. Recorders are available from special sleep clinics, and can be worn overnight in bed.

These measure either just the blood oxygen level, or oxygen plus snoring, heart rate and breathing using sensors.

See more about diagnosing sleep apnoea.

Treating sleep apnoea

If you are diagnosed with sleep apnoea, you're likely to be prescribed continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP).

This is where you wear a mask over your nose and mouth, and a machine raises and regulates the pressure of the air you breathe in. This prevents your airway from collapsing during sleep.

CPAP has good results. By controlling the apnoea, it improves sleep quality. You're more likely to wake up feeling refreshed, and stay alert throughout the day.

CPAP also suppresses the snoring, meaning that your partner can sleep better too.

See more about treating sleep apnoea.

Find sleep apnoea services in your area.