Exhaustion: How to tell the difference between being tired and experiencing fatigue

Feeling tired in a world that is increasingly unpredictable and competitive is normal. Occasionally, you might find it difficult to focus on the task at hand, sometimes sleep is all you yearn for. But when this tiredness becomes constant coupled with weakness, you may be experiencing exhaustion or fatigue.

Why you get exhausted

Experts say the average adult will experience fatigue at least once in their life. Fatigue is more than a feeling of tiredness or sleepiness.

While having a nap or getting a good night’s sleep could ‘cure’ tiredness, exhaustion persists day after day and could affect one’s physical and mental health.

Dr Sarah Brewer, GP and Healthspan medical director, is quoted by Women’s Health as saying:

It’s not like normal tiredness. It’s like you’re trying to move through thick mud, and think through thick fog. All you want to do is lie down and sleep – and then sleep some more, after that.

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Although it’s not a mental disorder, exhaustion can be caused by a mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. Lifestyle choices like alcohol or drug use, excessive or lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits and insufficient sleep can lead to exhaustion.

How to tell if you are fatigued

According to the NHS, some signs of extreme tiredness or exhaustion include:

• Feeling very tired all the time which might affect the performance of daily activities
• Still feeling tired after sleeping or resting
• Trouble sleeping, eg. waking up multiple times during the night

• You may have problems with thinking, memory and concentration
• Inability to set goals or to go through with them
• Difficulty nurturing relationships due to reduced emotional capacity to deal with people