Fatigue: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment. Chronic Fatigue, Muscle Fatigue (After a meal)

There are many reasons for fatigue, but a nap can definitely help you deal with it. Although it is not always possible, nap can save you a lot of time and stress. You just need to do it the right way. 

First, check the temperature. The best temperature for a nap is 60- 68 degrees F (15-20 C). Dim the lights in the room, in order to stimulate melatonin. Then, take the ideal nap position, which is achieved by lying a bit upright so as to avoid deep sleep. 

There are a few types of a nap differing in length that you can choose from, depending on what you want to achieve:

• The power nap (15-20 mins) - Your top choice for getting right back to your work. If you choose that one, you can drink a cup of coffee right before lying down. The caffeine won't kick in for 20 minutes, but it will right around the time after you're already awake. And hold a pencil or pen while drifting off to sleep - the pencil will drop and wake you up naturally.
• The NASA nap (26 mins) - Ideal for a day, when you're to work long hours. It's been scientifically proven to improve pilot performance by 34% and alertness by 54%.
• The bad nap (30 mins) - Should be avoided as it's a cause of a sleep hangover. You would need up to 30 minutes after it for any restorative benefits to kick in.
• The slow-wave sleep nap (60 mins) - Your first choice before an important presentation or a meeting. It benefits our cognitive memory processing, remembering places, facts, and faces.
• The full sleep cycle nap (90 mins) - Great before a big test or a project deadline. It only helps your creativity as well as emotional and procedural memory. 

It is helpful to eat more complex carbohydrates as opposed to the simple ones, as one of the natural remedies for fatigue and depression. Simple carbohydrates (e.g. sugar from cakes and cookies, artificial syrup, candy) get quickly burned up. Even tough they might temporary give you a boost in energy when your glucose spikes, you’ll use it up pretty fast. Complex carbs (e.g. peas, beans, whole grains, and vegetables), on the other hand, are able to give you a steadier and greater energy level. This is also helpful when you are physically active. Avoid getting exhausted by ingesting glucose about 30 minutes before you might normally hit the wall, in order to give time to the glucose to be absorbed into your blood.

As a way to deal with sudden extreme fatigue, PMS fatigue, shortness of breath fatigue, etc, use peppermint oil. In order to quickly perk yourself up, put two drops of peppermint oil on a tissue or handkerchief, hold it to your nose, and breathe deeply. 

Alternatively, take a bath with peppermint oil: 

1. Add two drops of the peppermint oil and four drops of rosemary oil to bathwater for an invigorating and revitalizing soak;
2. You'll need to soak in water until you feel better.

If stress and fatigue trouble you and you want natural remedies for fatigue, try drinking ginger tea. You don't need caffeine to get energized as the same effect can be achieved with the help of ginger tea. Ginger tea possesses strong stimulating properties that are equally great when it comes to dealing with mental and muscle fatigue.

All you need to do is add hot water to a slice of ginger and let it steep for a few minutes before drinking.

It is perfectly normal to feel a bit tired and drowsy after having a meal. In fact, there is a rational explanation why you might feel this way. Among other hormones, you also get an increase in hormones in the brain, e.g. serotonin, which may lead to some drowsiness. Moreover, food influences melatonin production, which induces sleep. Consider taking some time for yourself one of the "natural" remedies for fatigue, which is very useful.

Aside from foods that fight fatigue there are foods that may cause it. You may feel really tired after eating because you might be allergic to certain ingredients in the food you ate. Once your body absorbs that ingredent, fatigue comes on stage, as your immune system is trying to protect your body. It has to expend a good deal of energy to get rid of an allergen that has got to your body. Therefore, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor and find out if you are allergic to something.

Too much unhealthy food is one of the fatigue causes. We are all human, and it is hard for us to avoid temptations and say no to some foods. But you don't have to refuse them completely. You can choose foods that are both healthy and delicious. Do it by making 80 percent of your meal consist of complex carbohydrates and proteins and 20 percent consist of simple carbs or sweets. This way you won't feel bad about not eating sugars and you won't feel bad about breaking the rules.

If you wonder how to overcome fatigue after eating and other types of fatigue, start by eating slowly. By eating slowly, you will eat less and your body will get more time to process the nutrients you consume. As a result, you may avoid the feeling of a food coma after a meal.

If fatigue after eating troubles you, lie on your left side after a meal. By lying on your left side after a hearty meal, you help your stomach process the recently consumed foods and perform its duties.

You may feel less fatigued after a meal, by drinking lemon water 20-30 minutes after a meal, which is a good fatigue treatment.

In order to avoid tiredness after a meal and sudden extreme fatigue, drink a large glass of water about 20-30 minutes before you eat. It is well known that water fills our stomach and aids in digestion, by helping our bodies flush out excess glucose in the urine. Besides that, our brain often confuses dehydration with hunger. So, by following this advice, you might avoid both overeating and feeling tired.

If you have any of the signs of fatigue and you just cannot stand drinking pure water, try drinking self-made juice. It is important that you blend the juice yourself, because the juice or fruit drinks bought from a store usually contain a lot of sugar, but lot less of the high-fiber and high-nutrient pulp, thus, resulting in more fatigue and calories for you.

Drinking some potato water can be helpful in fighting fatigue, due to the fact that potato contains potassium. Since our body does not produce potassium naturally, we have to consume it. Without enough of it, our muscles wouldn’t move as they should and our nerve impulses wouldn’t fire in the correct manner.

What to do:

1. Slice up one unpeeled potato.
2. Add the slices to a glass of water.
3. Let it steep overnight in your fridge.
4. Drink in the morning.

Talking can be a simple yet effective way to combat tiredness. We often find ourselves being tired when we are quiet and just follow a routine.

The solution is to actively participate! Not only can speaking bring almost the same benefits as movement (moving your muscles while talking does count), but it also gives us an extra boost in focus and energy to counter the feeling of fatigue. Therefore, chat with a co-worker, or pick up a phone and call your friends for a few minutes.

Ginkgo can promote blood flow to the brain, which can make you feel more alert and less sluggish. What you need to do is take 15 drops of ginkgo tincture in the mornings.

According to some studies, minty aromas help people exercise longer as well as complete clerical tasks faster and more accurately. Therefore, keep something minty around. It can be as simple as packaged mints, gum, minty lotions, and tea or a bit of fresh mint that can even be added into drinks and salads. 

Dark chocolate contains mood-enhancing anti-oxidants which can perk one up. Moreover, dark chocolate is richer in cocoa and contains less sugar than milk chocolate, thus, making it less likely to cause an insulin spike and induce fatigue. 

Also, according to an English study, dark chocolate can be helpful in treating chronic fatigue syndrome. In order to experience the benefit, choose chocolate of 70% or above.

Slouching is not only making you look like you are tired - it makes you feel tired, too. When you slump, you put excess strain on your neck, back and hips. Moreover, when your joints are aligned in a wrong way, your whole body has to work more than it should. An additional benefit of standing or sitting tall is in an improvement of the oxygen flow to your brain, which can increase your body's alertness and attentiveness.

It can be really hard to start working on some project, but the only thing that stands between you and the desired result is your initial inertia. It is well-known that as soon as you make yourself start, your fatigue may disappear completely. So, persuade yourself not  to think about the work, but get down to working right now.

You are awesome. You know that! Make sure to remind yourself a few reasons what makes you such a great person. Think of some of your positive qualities and compliment yourself on them. You'll quickly realize that your fatigue is gone. Make this an everyday habit to avoid tiredness.

Movement is an incredible remedy for fatigue. However, you might not be able to actively work out at the moment, due to physical or time restraints. So, instead, go for a walk! This way, you'll get some oxygen and change of scenery. Find time to squeeze a walk into your daily schedule, in order to avoid fatigue before it arrives.

It's not a secret that caffeine can give you the energy you need for a short period of time, which is exactly what you might need to finish some project. Just remember that this energy burst won't last long and you may feel even more tired when the caffeine's effect wears off. Therefore, use coffee sparingly. 

You can also take caffeine as a supplement (e.g. in pill or powder form). However, regardless of the form you take it in, you should try not to exceed the recommended dose of 150-600 mg.

Another thing to remember is that coffee may worsen one's menstrual symptoms, so be aware of that.

Keeping a food journal and marking how tired you are after eating foods can really help you understand the dynamics of your fatigue. You will see if your drowsiness or even muscle fatigue is related to the foods you take or it's a general condition. 

Does diabetes cause fatigue? It may, and it's possible that the reason why you feel so tired after eating something is undetected diabetes. Your body cannot produce insulin or respond correctly to the consumed sugars. That is why you might want to consult a doctor and take a blood or oral glucose tolerance test.

By drinking some herbal tea 20-30 minutes after a meal, you may feel less tired and reduce chances of chronic headaches and fatigue.

Skipping breakfast may seem like it's not a big deal at all. After all, you might not have an appetite or time at the moment. However, when you skip breakfast, you’re more prone to overindulging in the afternoon. And that will lead to your empty stomach being hit even harder, which may make you feel even more tired and result in stomach pain, headache, fatigue, etc.

If you aren't hungry, you don't have to force yourself into eating a full meal - fruit or yoghurt can be enough.

You may want to use the digestive enzyme Carbozyme before eating bread, pizza, refined carbs, sugars, etc., to avoid stomach pain, headache, fatigue, etc. The digestive enzyme Carbozyme isn't a carb blocker and it's rather used to help your body deal with the harshness of processed foods.