Hydration 3
Feeling Fatigued: 5 Reasons Why Feeling Flat Out Exhausted Isn’t Normal
Have you ever told your medical professional – I am so tired, I’m suffering from exhaustion? Was the reply ‘that’s normal for someone that is (insert new mother, working professional, commuter, etc)”.
If you find yourself dragging yourself out of bed? Using coffee or caffeine drinks to keep you going? Or wanting to take a nap under your desk mid-afternoon? This is not normal.
Exhaustion isn’t Normal
Fatigue is one of the medical conditions that is non-specific to any particular condition. Because it isn’t a clear cue, it is often pushed aside. This takes work to find out why you are tired. And your reason, may be different then why the person at the desk beside you is holding their eyelids open with toothpicks.
Some of the usual culprits that are blamed include:
- Working too much
- Too much stress
- Poor eating habits (content or frequency)
- Iron Deficiency or Anemia
- Low vitamin D
- Lacking enough vitamin B12
All of these will definitely impact your body fatigue levels. But there are also a list of other reasons that are often never considered. This blog gives you a snapshot of five other common possibilities.
Reason #1: Hydration
This isn’t just about drinking water, although that is super important, but are you actually missing the electrolytes in your body that keep things going. Mineral electrolytes such as potassium and magnesium support endurance and energy levels throughout the day.
Before you go reaching for a sports drink – keep in mind that these drinks are filled with sugar, which can actually cause you to crash further. Click here for a homemade electrolyte drink you can make ahead and take with you to the office.
Want to know more about water hydration and fatigue click here.
Reason #2: Low ATP
You may remember ATP from high school science class. The most important thing to remember – it is the fuel that is responsible for energy in the body. It’s like running a car with an empty gas tank. It certainly isn’t going to perform to expectations, and may actually crawl to a slow stop along your journey.
Your body makes ATP through some complicated cycles in the body. Most of which involve adding and removing nutrients. If you are lacking in these nutrients the cycle will just stop.
Feel like you’ve hit a wall? This may be that your ATP production is slowed right down, and your body is yelling at you to stop.
Reason #3: Toxicity
When you look out the window of your condo or car you may see a thin layer of dirt covering it. It seems like everything is clear. But the second the window is washed its like a whole new world is displayed bright and full of life.
Toxicity in the body is sort of like that dirty window. When it creeps into your life slowly you sometimes don’t notice it is there, but as soon as it is gone it’s like a whole new body.
We get exposed to all kinds of toxicity. Some people are genetically predisposed to absorb more, and some people just don’t detoxify well. Toxicity can be in the form of car pollution such as from sitting in the endless traffic. It comes from airplane travel overhead, living close to a highway or busy street. Perhaps you are living in or near a construction site, drink water from old pipes, live or work in an older building. Living near a golf course or park that is sprayed with pesticides can contribute to toxin exposure.
We can’t avoid toxin exposure in the 21st century, but we can make sure to clean our windows regularly, ensuring that it doesn’t build up.
Reason #4: Adrenals
Maybe you’ve heard about adrenal fatigue or adrenal exhaustion. Your adrenal glands are small (the size of walnuts) and sit on top of your kidneys. They are responsible for your ability to fight or flee a situation. They also regulate our ability to deal with stress. The more stress, the more these little walnuts are squeezing out hormones to help our body deal with the threats. Threats can be physical or mental.
Just like anything you use over and over again, without refilling these precious gems, they run out of steam. When you adrenals are low, your energy is low. You probably will also notice a few other things happening in your body.
Some of the common symptoms of adrenal exhaustion include: weight gain around the middle, adult onset acne, hair falling out more quickly then usual, inability to feel energized in the morning.
Want to know if your adrenals may be the culprit, click here.
Reason #5: Sleep
You’ve probably read all about the need for dark spaces, no electronics and appropriate levels of sleep. But it doesn’t always fit everyone’s lifestyle. Need to know more about sleep check out our insomnia blog here.
Sleep is not as linear as we hoped. For some of us creative time is at night. Others have children or work nights. Whatever your challenge may be, there are always ways to help you get better quality sleep.
Research actually tells us that it isn’t about the number of hours you get, but about the quality of sleep you get in those hours. That is why some people seem to soar on little sleep, and others feel like they are moving mountains when their sleep gets cut short.
One of the contributors to better quality sleep are neurotransmitters – these are the hormones in our brain that help us to calm our brain and fall into deep sleep.
Ready to Reclaim Your Health!
Need to figure out if you are burned out? Check out our burnout scale and find out…
The Author, Christina Carew, is a naturopathic doctor who practices strategic medicine in Toronto.
As a medical investigator she focuses on finding the biomedical reasons for symptoms that are often unique to each patient.
She helps her patients remove the obstacles that stand in the way of living a healthy vibrant life. Christina focuses on empowering patients to make informed decisions on their health journey.
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.
Homemade Electrolyte Drink
Regardless of the season, dehydration is inevitable unless you are consuming a large amount of electrolyte drinks each day and some how avoid both the intense heat from the outdoors and/or heating system as well as the intense cold from outdoors and/or air conditioning systems.
The contrast between hot and cold as well as the air constantly blowing on you, evaporates water from your skin fast. Early signs of dehydration include:
- Brain fog
- Dry lips, mouth and skin
- Fatigue and weakness
- Premature aging
- Constipation
- High or low blood pressure
- Urinary tract infection or dark urine
- Joint pain
- Headaches
- Cravings for sugar or salt
It is also common to mistake thirst for hunger! Do you have a hankering for a bowl of soup, plate of fruit, juicy vegetables? It may be your body looking for hydration in anyway it can get it.
It’s not enough to have water, you also need the important electrolytes that keep the water balance of the body. These minerals include: sodium, potassium and even a little bit of sugar. While there are an abundance of energy and electrolyte drinks on the market, they are generally over saturdated with sodium, sugar and a bevy of food colouring.
It’s easy to make your own homemade electrolyte drink following this recipe.
Homemade Electrolyte Drink
(Make in 1L container)
Ingredients:
300 mL coconut water
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 half a lemon (lime or orange), juiced
1/4 tsp sea salt
water
Fill container with 300mL of coconut water, mix in maple syrup, citrus juice (strain out the seeds) and sea salt. Fill remaining space in container with water and shake well. Drink immediately or refrigerate. Since this has no ‘preservatives’ it is best to drink it within 24 hours of preparation.
Alternatives: Swap maple syrup for other sweeteners such as stevia or molasses.
Want to know more about hydration and its effects on your body read our hydration blog.
The Author, Christina Carew, is a naturopathic doctor who practices functional and strategic medicine in Toronto.
As a medical investigator, she is in the business of changing people’s lives. Dr. Christina focuses on finding the biomedical reasons for symptoms that are often unique to each patient and helps her patients remove the obstacles that stand in the way of living a healthy vibrant life.
Want to know if her approach is right for you – sign up for a free 20-minute consult at https://healingme.ca/book-appointment-naturopathic-doctor/
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.
How can I be dehydrated if I am not thirsty?
ROLE OF WATER
If I told you that you could speed up your brain, and your metabolism in one simple step would you do it? The cheapest, and one of the most important, health changes you make is being conscious about how much water you are consuming.
It seems simple, but how often does someone actually ask you, how much water do you drink regularly? The most likely the culprits are trainers, naturopathic doctors and perhaps the someone who is braced by your side in a moment of dizziness.
At least once a day, a patient asks me something along these lines: ‘Why is drinking water so important? I get liquid all day in my (insert coffee, pop, juice, smoothie), and I go to the washroom at least a half a dozen times a day. I’m feeling fine.’
Let’s think about our body the vehicle that we get to drive in while on earth. The body vehicle requires several types of fuel and the most precious one is water.
The source fluids in our body (blood and lymph) are all driven by water. I think of dehydration like pushing ketchup through our circulation instead of tomato soup. It is no surprise that something thicker would take a lot more energy to make its way through our network to support our body, it would be harder to absorb and would take a long time to travel from A to B.
Scientists argue that our body is ~60% water, with certain organs requiring more hydration then others – the brain and heart for instance are ~73% water. No wonder some people get headaches and chest pain when they are dehydrated!
So, What is Water’s Role in the Body?
- Helps with digestion by forming saliva in the mouth
- Used to make neurotransmitters and hormones in the brain
- Regulates sweating, respiration and overall body temperature
- Serves as a shock absorber for the brain, spinal, cord and bones
- Delivers oxygen all over the body
- Helps joints to remain mobile by creating lubrication
- Flushes body waste (mostly urine)
- Provides an environment that allows the cells in the body to grow, reproduce and survive
- Keeps mucosal membranes (such as those in the lungs) moist
As our body gets dehydrated the cells begin to shrivel and dry out, meaning their ability to function is impacted and in some cases will shut off permanently. If our skin is starting to show signs of dehydration (such as dryness, lack of elasticity, flaky lips or dry mouth) we have possibly already started damage from lack of hydration in other (non-visible) parts of our body.
What Does Dehydration Feel Like?
Sometimes dehydration is really obvious dry skin, flaky lips, dry mouth and it makes sense to us that fluid is missing and these things are dry. However, there are lots of other symptoms that you may not associate with dehydration, some of these include:
- Dizziness or light-headed
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Weak pulse, rapid breathing
- Muscle cramps and twitches
- Fainting
- Tiredness
- Small amounts or infrequent dark coloured urine
- Loss of strength or stamina
- Constipation
- Kidney stone formation
- Brain fog
- Low blood pressure
- Cool hands/feet (as a result of reduce blood pressure)
- Dry nasal passage (some people will experience bloody noses)
- Sunken eyes
Not Convinced Yet – Have You Thought About Water’s Role In Waste Removal?
I think of water as the garbage delivery vehicle of the body. Water is the foundation of both blood and lymph – the two fluids that carry all the important nutrients to the body, but also pick up the particles and toxins we do not need. Blood and lymph deliver these items to the liver and kidneys, who will package and send the unwanted contents out through our urine, sweat and bowels.
Our urine becomes increasingly concentrated with the more unwanted contents we have leaving the body. But just like the garbage truck sometimes it gets full. What happens when the garbage truck is too full – it leaves. Garbage can’t be removed without the collection truck, similarly toxin and unwanted particles in our body need water to travel in to remove them.
When garbage is left hanging around, it starts to create chaos from smell to attracting animals, etc. Without ample urine leaving the body, the particles that should be excreted hang around and wreak havoc. Sometimes this results in being reabsorbed in the body instead of leaving. The last thing you want is to bring the garbage back in the house.
Ever notice when you are sick it feels like you are constantly running to the washroom or blowing your nose? These functions serve to get the bad guys out of the body. Advice for overcoming sickness is to drink plenty of fluids and eat mom’s chicken soup. Replenishing and accumulating fluid is significant in getting the germs out and washing away and residual microbes.
So, how much water is enough?
While everybody is different, generally when your urine is clear is a good indicator of being appropriately hydrated. Consider things like working out and/or sweating at work. For every kilogram of weight loss through sweat, one liter of fluid is lost (for each pound lost, you lost 15.4 oz. of fluid).
There are a number of online calculators and water drinking apps that can sync to your phone that can help with the task of figuring out a place to start such as:
- Plant Nanny: //fourdesire.com/works/plantnanny – keep your cute plant alive while remembering to drink water every day
- Waterlogged: //waterlog.gd/ – graph your progress, create a custom cup size and regular reminders to build a good water consumption habit
- iHydrate: //www.ihydrateapp.com/ – allows you to track multiple drink types and will even calculate the water in these that can work toward your water consumption goal
Calculate your water intake: start with your weight in pounds and divide it by 2. This is the number of fluid ounces baseline you should drink daily. With increased activity (thinking, exercise, stress) you need to add 0.1x weight in pounds additional fluids for each hour of increased activity.
Example: 150lb person. Daily water intake in ounces 150lbs/2 = 75 fluid ounces each day (2.2 litres of water). With 2 hours of exercise + 2 hours of class: 150lbs x 0.1 = 15 ounces x 4 hours = 60 ounces. Total for the day is 75+60 ounces= 145 ounces or 4.2 liters of water.
Low Tech Hydration Reminders
Need a couple of low-tech ideas? I have a patient who fills mason jars each day with the amount of water she wants to drink and puts them in the fridge. She always knows how much, or how little, she has consumed by the contents left at the end of the day.
I have another patient who wraps rubber bands around the reusable metal water bottle that he carries. Every time he completes the bottle he removes a band.
It’s Time To Just Do It
Infusing your body with this nectar of the earth can help reduce aches and pains, improve memory and thought and extend your life. Think about the plant that you forget to water, after a few bouts of dehydration it may die in your care, however your grandmother probably has some plants that have been around for generations. The life of the plant is directly affected by the amount of water it consumes.
Improving your water consumption can help to shift the balance of health in your favour. Aren’t you ready to start feeling amazing?
Bonus: all sign-ups from this page will receive a water consumption calculator, water consumption ideas and additional benefits of water consumption. You can opt-out at any time but it will always be filled with ideas that can help you get your health back on track.
Sources
NHS Choices: //www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Dehydration/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
Clinical Key: Dehydration in Sport and Dehydration in Adults
Active Running and Sports: //www.active.com/triathlon/articles/cracking-the-code-on-sweat-rates
Note: This blog provides general information and discussion about medicine, health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately-licensed health care worker.