Long Term Effects of Fatigue

If you are living a fast-paced, caffeine-fueled lifestyle, it may be time to slow down and rethink what energizes you. Are you ending your workday feeling exhausted every day? Exhaustion is not just a physical feeling; extreme tiredness can also impact your health. The first step in recovering from fatigue is to learn how to get some rest!

Emotional Intelligence

When tired we tend to make emotional instead of logical decisions. Exhaustion causes receptors inside the brain to shut down, making us rely on our emotions to react in different situations. That means you begin making decisions based on fight or flight responses.

Here are a few ways fatigue impacts our emotions:

• Jumpiness
• Sense of helplessness         
• Irritated          
• Constant frustration          
• Loss of humor

Cognitive Impact

Cognitive skills are our ability to reason. Lack of sleep can lead to permanent problems such as long and short-term memory loss. Basically, if you cannot remember or correctly process information in the short-term, your long-term memory is relying on misinformation. Here are a few side effects of how fatigue impacts our cognitive skills: 

• Confusion 
• Difficulty concentrating       
• Forgetfulness          
• Cannot think logically          
• Feeling overwhelmed

Health Problems

Exhaustion can also lead to serious chronic health problems by suppressing our immune system. Often stress is usually the culprit behind fatigue. We don’t give ourselves permission to stop and rest. The more stress we are under, the more we push ourselves to succeed.

Stress leads to elevated blood pressure, heart disease, and gastrointestinal problems. There really is no such thing as powering through fatigue. The only cure for fatigue is to rest.

New Routines

If you find yourself working excessively long days, go home, eat and go to bed; then it’s most definitely time to change your nightly habits. Allow yourself time to transition from the workday. Set some new ground rules for your life:

• No TV, phones or electronic devices in the bedroom          
• Set a strict sleep and wake up schedule          
• Only do some light reading before bed          
• Avoid watching emotionally draining TV dramas before bed          
• No caffeine after 2:00 pm         
•  No talking about work 30 minutes after arriving home

Getting some rest and learning how to handle stress is the first step in taking back control of your life. Treat yourself, learn to prioritize and think positive is an easier lifestyle to maintain.