Fatigue

Everyone is tired or fatigued at some time. The major cycle in your life is work, fatigue, and rest, in that order. Fatigue is characteristic of your body. It does not occur in a man-made machine, which operates as long as its parts are intact and it has fuel. But your body, a living machine, has a definite limitation - its work continues, it gradually loses its responsiveness, becomes less irritable, turns out less work, and finally may not respond at an.

The feeling of fatigue usually expresses itself in three ways: first, there is a feeling of tiredness and a marked desire for rest. Second, efficiency is greatly reduced. Third, there may be definite physiological changes in your body, low blood pressure, loss of muscle tone, tremors, and poor muscular coordination, and in other ways.

Fatigue, however, may express itself in many ways, for there are many different forms of it. The fatigue of a student, for example, who has worked all evening on a difficult lesson, is different from that of a labourer who has worked all day at a back-breaking task, or that of a business executive who worries with the stress and strain of organisation.

Causes of fatigue

Several factors cause fatigue, but in general, they come down to two main causes: lack of fuel or food, and the excessive accumulation of byproducts of activity. Muscle activity uses up stores of glycogen of sugar. It also must have oxygen, for a muscle deprived of it will soon cease to contract. Lactic acid and carbon dioxide are the chief by-products of muscle activity, but there are also toxins from other sources which may help produce fatigue. Some of these toxins may come from bodily infections and some may be absorbed from breathing or from the digestive process. But in addition to these factors, there are certain causes of fatigue which are more or less obscure. Some of these are less physiological than psychological, such as lack of interest in what you are doing. When you do something that bores you, you tire easily; if you are interested in your work, you forget the amount of energy you put into it. You also tire more quickly when standing than when you are walking, for in walking each leg rests half of the time.

Another cause not related to the amount of work you put out is an upsetting of homeostasis, or constancy of the internal environment. If there is an imbalance in the constituents of body fluids, such as loss of salt in sweating, fatigue, for they are sensitive to toxic products. Nerve endings are especially sensitive to fatigue products. Stagnation, of lymph or blood, which often occurs when you are inactive, brings about premature fatigue. Adolescents use much more of their energy for growth, so they have less for work and tire quickly.

Three common types of fatigue

The three common types of fatigue will be described as clear-cut and definite. There are intermediate types also, having the characteristics of more than one major type.

Normal physical fatigue

Ordinary muscular fatigue is a normal physiological result of activity. It is initially experienced as an uncomfortable feeling, which mounts in intensity the longer the activity is prolonged, and eventually it develops into pain. This protects the body anc1, warps that the muscles are becoming exhausted. Physiological symptoms of this type of fatigue include erratic and uncoordinated movements. This fatigue is quickly corrected by rest, which gives time for fatigue products to be removed.

Psychological fatigue

Chronic fatigue has little relation to your amount of activity. It has its basis in your mental and emotional life, and is greatly promoted by anxieties and .tensions. Such fatigue leaves you unrefreshed by a night's sleep. During the course of the day as you get into the heat of your work, your tiredness wears off, and you actually feel better in the evening than in the morning.

Certain types of personalities are plagued with this fatigue more than are other types. Businessmen and executives are prone to it because of the conflicts and tensions of their work. Correcting psychological fatigue involves re-conditioning the patient to his work, helping him to gain a balanced philosophy of life, and a program of regular exercise and relaxation to direct his interests into channels other than routine work.

Disease fatigue

Most diseases will produce fatigue. Many forms of chronic fatigue are due to diseases which remain - hidden for long periods of time. Diseases especially inclined to cause fatigue are tuberculosis, diabetes, heart trouble, and under-activity of the thyroid gland. The person who feels tired most of the time without any apparent cause should consult his doctor. The symptoms of disease fatigue, like those of other types, may include low blood pressure, exaggerated reflexes, a general lack of energy, and poor muscular coordination. General nervous disorders may be common such as nervousness, irritability, and insomnia.