Physical and Mental Health

Here’s How to Conquer Fatigue Holistically.

A balanced lifestyle is vital to feeling energetic and experiencing stamina naturally and sustainably.

Many people suffer from occasional or chronic fatigue for various reasons. The main reasons for feeling lethargic revolve around misaligned lifestyle choices with one’s biological and mental position.

However, chronic diseases, genetic makeup, environmental factors, and aging can also cause a lack of energy in some cases.

I exclude illness and other factors but only focus on lifestyle factors in this article, even though they might be crucial for some people.

My emphasis in this post is on creating a balanced lifestyle to increase energy and defeat fatigue naturally. Balance is essential in this context, as our biological systems are interconnected.

Surviving and thriving without energy is impossible. Our bodies need certain conditions to produce energy. The fundamental requirements are air, water, food, sleep, rest, exercise, and sunlight.

Even though they sound so basic and straightforward, many people struggle to meet these essential requirements for energy production; thus, they suffer from fatigue.

I conducted a comprehensive literature review on this topic. However, it was overwhelming to fit them into a single article. Therefore, I thought it could be more beneficial to share my observations and personal experience to elaborate on a natural and holistic approach to beating fatigue and increasing energy.

Like many people, I suffered from a lack of energy in my younger years. But, ironically, the older I got, the more energetic I felt due to consciously making beneficial lifestyle changes.

Even though age is a known factor for fatigue, it is not a significant cause of lack of energy.

In my opinion, we can be energetic at any age as long as we meet fundamental requirements and align our lifestyle with these natural necessities. Some of us might need extra nutritional supplements and relaxation boosts as we age.

Our metabolism plays a critical role in feeling energetic or lethargic. Some of us have faster, and some have slower metabolic rates.

However, the critical biological factor for energy production is our mitochondria, as introduced in this article: 12 Tips to Get Denser Mitochondria for Joyful Energy.

I won’t repeat the details in this article as I covered them in the previous one.

But, briefly, these minuscular organelles, known as mitochondria, create ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) via cellular respiration by breaking down nutrients in every human. The denser our mitochondria, the more cellular energy we produce.

However, having sufficient energy does not necessarily equate to being energetic. Several other factors affect our energy sources and utilization. For example, we might have excellent mitochondrial health, but if we are sleep-deprived for a day, we might feel very sluggish.

Stress is one of the factors for energy drainage. If acute stress passes the threshold and turns into chronic stress, we experience fatigue more frequently.

Our body needs acute stress and inflammation for recovery from damage. Nevertheless, long-lasting stress with too much inflammation puts us in a vulnerable state affecting the health of cells and organs.

In addition, our emotions play a significant role in the accumulation of stress. For example, how we respond to stress also plays a critical role in managing it. Emotional stress is one of the root causes of a nervous breakdown and symptoms of chronic fatigue affecting our mental health.

We can cope with stress using various natural methods. Some common approaches are mindful living, working in a flow state, meditation, recreational reading, therapeutic writing, listening to music, social conversations, yoga, and activities that give us pleasure.

Gentle workouts, dance, and outdoor activities can also help reduce stress. High-quality nutrition and sleep are valuable contributors to reducing stress.

Nutrition is also a direct factor in creating energy or causing fatigue. As we are all unique, we need customized nutrition for our individual requirements. No one diet works for everyone.

Our metabolism, structure, gender, and genetic makeup require specific nutrients.

However, we all need fundamental nutrients such as minerals, vitamins, proteins, and healthy fats. The lack of some vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, B12, and vitamin D is well known for their effects on the energy system.

However, too many nutrients can also be problematic. Therefore, balance is a vital concept that we must always keep in mind.

For example, while some of us are tolerant of carbohydrates to some extent, some of us are sensitive to them. Excessive and frequent carbs consumption can cause blood glucose fluctuation, insulin spikes, fat gain, and metabolic syndrome.

Insulin is a tricky hormone affecting several other hormones. Insulin resistance may reduce our energy as we operate in constant energy-saving mode. So aiming for insulin sensitivity can be an excellent health goal.

Food affects our hormones. Our endocrine system also depends on the quality of the food we consume. Hormones play a critical role in our energy system. Stress and sleep also affect our hormones.

Deficiency or excess of some hormones causes fatigue. For example, while cortisol is an excellent hormone to manage stress, elevated cortisol levels affect melatonin adversely hence causing sleep deprivation and leading to a crash in the long term.

While nutrition is vital for creating energy, mobilizing nutrients and balancing energy are provided by regular movement. Therefore, daily exercise is a crucial requirement for our health.

People who undertake moderate exercise regularly are more energetic than sedentary people. Exercise also helps us eliminate toxins, allergens, heavy metals, and pathogens through motion by activating the lymphatic system.

Nutrition that does not align with our body can cause food intolerance, allergies, and bloating. Food intolerance, bloating, and allergies are known causes of fatigue.

For example, when I experienced leaky gut syndrome, my energy levels were extremely low. Even sleep and exercise did not help much to beat fatigue.

In addition, dehydration, as simple as it sounds, is a significant cause of lethargy. Balance of electrolytes contributes to feeling energetic. Air pollution is also a known factor in feeling sluggish.

So, fundamental needs like food, water, and air that we sometimes take for granted can play a critical role in energy production.

In addition to environmental factors, sunshine contributes to energy production, directly affecting our hormones and neurotransmitters.

For example, exposing our eyes to morning sunlight causes a significant energy boost during the day. It reduces melatonin and increases energy-producing hormones.

Ironically, what we consume for fun also can cause fatigue. Typical examples are alcohol, drugs, and tobacco smoking.

So refraining from anything toxic to our body, especially at excessive levels, looks like a good rule of thumb to increase energy and reduce fatigue.

And addictive behavior such as social media could be an energy drainer. Social Media Fast Was The Best Decision For My Mental Health And Well-Being.

Some people love coffee as an energizer in the morning. It does wonders for some of us, but too much caffeine also causes a crash in the long term. The body needs more caffeine gradually to produce the same effect.

I used to love drinking coffee; however, my digestive system couldn’t cope with it. As a workaround, I learned to use cold showers to have the effect of caffeine in the morning. It worked for me.

I also heard that it worked for some other people.

Interestingly some of us have more energy when we eat food, but I feel more energetic on an empty stomach, especially in the mornings. Therefore, after trial and error, I stopped eating breakfast, which helped me remain vibrant during the day.

Fasting works for some people but does not for others. Therefore, we need to customize our needs based on individual requirements.

There is not a single solution that works for everyone. Therefore, while considering fundamental human needs, we must find practical ways to tweak our lifestyle to create better energy and reduce fatigue.

Therefore, investing time and systematically experimenting with different approaches until we find the optimal solution for our vitality can be a practical and sensible approach.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

If you are a new reader and find this article valuable, you might check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting on my reviews, observations, and decades of sensible experiments.

Sample Health Improvement Articles for New Readers

I write about various hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, adrenaline, glutamate, and histamine.

One of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.

To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences. Below are links to these articles for easy access.

Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorder, and Major Diseases.

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Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, Cod Liver Oil, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.

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