THE HIDDEN CAUSES OF Fatigue

Fatigue is a common issue, even when you think you're doing everything right. Despite getting enough sleep, exercising and managing stress, many of us still feel constantly drained. Hidden causes, from caffeine overload to hormonal imbalances and even undiagnosed health conditions, may be silently contributing to your ongoing exhaustion. Discover what's zapping your energy.

- Carrol Baker

You've clocked up plenty of snooze time, stuck religiously to your new exercise regime, cut your work hours to reduce stress, but you still feel tired... all the time.

Feeling fatigued is not uncommon. In fact, it's nipping at the heels of many Australians — among them, working parents. A 2021 study by McKinsey & Company reported 62 per cent of employees were feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.

Exhaustion weighs on our minds, it zaps our energy, impacts on our relationships with those around us and can make us feel depressed.

Holly Phillips, author of The Exhaustion Breakthrough, writes that fatigue can have a ripple effect. "When it strikes, it can knock you off your equilibrium or take you down for the count with a barrage of symptoms," she explains. Among these are "shortness of breath, sluggish digestion, random aches and pains, frequent sinus infections or migraine headaches." And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Sometimes when we push ourselves beyond our physical and emotional capabilities, our minds, bodies and spirits pay the price. Looming deadlines, juggling way too many balls in the air and being constantly exposed to negative energy can propel us towards an inevitable breaking point.

While some causes of fatigue are commonly known, such as poor sleep habits or chronic illnesses, others tend to fly under the radar.

Too much caffeine

In cafes, bistros, workplaces and kitchens across the nation, there are millions of us blissfully enjoying the heady pick-me-up of a morning brew. We live in a caffeine-infused culture - coffee becomes a social lubricant, an instant pick-me-up and a simple pleasure to be enjoyed, one sip at a time.