Feeling REALLY tired?
Aug 14, 2020
Every single day in the clinic, I meet mothers who just cant seem to bounce back to life. Their energy levels have dropped through the floor, and they often struggle to sleep and feel anxious over the smallest of things.
The saddest part about it is that they often feel like they are the only ones who can’t cope with everyday life. They beat themselves up with statements likes ‘I should be able to do it all’, and ‘what is wrong with me?’
Well I am here to tell you ladies that you are NOT alone on this one- in fact, it is becoming one of the most common things I help people with!
There are so many factors when it comes to adrenal or chronic fatigue states- from diet to lifestyle, emotional health to hormonal imbalances… and no two women are ever the same.
When I work with fatigued mums, each of the above are address, rebalanced or rebooted… because its so important that a person is treated as an individual. The overstimulation of the Sympathetic nervous
So how can fatigue effect the rest of the body?
If you experience any of the following symptoms, consider that it may be your sympathetic nervous system in overdrive, which then in the long run depletes the adrenal glands… Classic signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:
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Fatigue and weakness, especially in the morning and afternoon
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A suppressed immune system
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Increased allergies
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Muscle and bone loss and muscular weakness
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Depression
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Cravings for foods high in salt, sugar or fat
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Hormonal imbalance
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Skin problems
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Autoimmune disorders
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Increased PMS or menopausal symptoms
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Low sex drive
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Light-headedness (dizziness) when getting up from sitting or lying down
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Decreased ability to handle stress
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Trouble waking up in the morning, despite a full night’s sleep
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Poor memory
There are multiple reasons your adrenal system can become fatigued, and it is estimated that up to 80% of adults will developed a fatigued adrenal system in their lifetime.
What are your adrenal glands?
Your body has two adrenal glands, located just above each of your kidneys. As part of your endocrine system, your adrenal glands secrete more than 50 hormones, many of which are essential for life and include:
Glucocorticoids: These hormones, which include cortisol, help your body convert food into energy, normalize blood sugar, respond to stress and maintain your immune system’s inflammatory response.
Mineralocorticoids: These hormones, which include aldosterone, help keep your blood pressure and blood volume normal by maintaining a proper balance of sodium, potassium and water in your body.
Adrenaline: This hormone increases your heart rate and controls blood flow to your muscles and brain, along with helping with the conversion of glycogen to glucose in your liver.
Together, these hormones and others produced by your adrenal glands control such body functions as maintaining metabolic processes, such as managing blood sugar levels and regulating inflammation; regulating your body’s balance of salt and water; controlling your “fight or flight” response to stress; maintaining pregnancy; Initiating and controlling sexual maturation during childhood and puberty; producing sex steroids such as estrogen and testosterone.
Ironically, although your adrenal glands are there, in large part, to help you cope with stress, too much of it is actually what causes their function to break down.
In other words, one of your adrenal glands most important tasks is to get your body ready for the “fight or flight” stress response, which means increasing adrenaline and other hormones. As part of this response, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, your digestion slows, and your body becomes ready to face a potential threat or challenge.
While this response is necessary and good when it’s needed, many of us are constantly faced with stressors (work, environmental toxins, not enough sleep, worry, relationship problems and more) and therefore are in this “fight or flight” mode for far too long — much longer than was ever intended from a biological standpoint.
- Anger, fear, anxiety, guilt, depression and other negative emotions
- Overwork, including physical or mental strain
- Excessive exercise
- Sleep deprivation
- Light-cycle disruption (such as working the night shift or often going to sleep late)
- Surgery, trauma or injury
- Chronic inflammation, infection, illness or pain
- Temperature extremes
- Toxic exposure
- Nutritional deficiencies and/or severe allergies