Tired
Feeling tired means needing rest, in your body, your mind or both. It's the most ordinary feeling on this list and one of the easiest to mistake for another, because sadness, stress and boredom can all feel like tiredness from the inside.
- On the wheel: Flat, then drained, then tired
- Next to it: Worn out, burned out
- Nearby: Drained, listless
- Often points to: A body, a mind or a social battery that needs a different kind of rest
Body, mind or people
A nap won't do much if what you need is a break from people. Each kind of tired has its own fix:
- Body tired is heavy limbs, yawning and eyes that close on their own. Sleep is usually the answer.
- Mind tired is reading the same line three times while every decision feels hard. It wants quiet and fewer choices.
- People tired comes after a day of being "on" for others, when you want a closed door more than a bed.
"I slept nine hours and still woke up exhausted. Then I realized I'd spent the whole weekend hosting my in-laws. I didn't need more sleep. I needed an evening where nobody needed anything from me."
Where the NHS looks first
The NHS sorts the common causes of tiredness into three groups.1
| Kind of cause | Examples the NHS gives |
|---|---|
| Psychological | Stress, depression, and life challenges such as bereavement or looking after a new baby |
| Physical | Some illnesses, such as glandular fever and COVID-19, and some treatments and medicines |
| Lifestyle | An unhealthy diet and not getting much exercise |
Feelings are on that list. Carrying strong ones takes energy, even when you're sitting still.
One bad night can lower the bar
After one night without sleep, healthy adults felt more stress, anxiety and anger at mildly stressful tasks than people who had slept, in a lab study of 53 of them.2 When the tasks got hard and stressful, both groups felt about the same.2
Being tired seems to lower the point at which small things start to feel like too much.
That's worth knowing on the day the dishwasher breaking makes you want to cry.
Rest, less load, or comfort
| Feeling | What it's like | What tends to help |
|---|---|---|
| Tired | Low on rest | Sleep, quiet or time alone |
| Drained | Used up by too much for too long | Less load as well as more rest |
| Sad | Heavy about something you've lost | Naming it, comfort, company |
When rest isn't making a dent, read drained. When the tiredness comes with a heavy mood, read sad.
Getting the right rest
- Name the kind first. Body, mind or people? Then pick the rest that matches.
- Keep sleep regular. The NHS suggests sticking to the same sleep times, aiming for 6 to 9 hours, and avoiding screens in the hour before sleep.1
- Cut one demand this week. Say no to one thing, or make one decision once and stop revisiting it, so a tired mind has less to carry.
- Move a little. It sounds backward, but the NHS lists regular exercise among its self-help steps for tiredness.1 A ten-minute walk counts.
What kind of rest do you need most right now: sleep, quiet, or a break from people? Write what one hour of that rest would look like this week, and when you could take it.
Answer this with JoyA few weeks, and no idea why
The NHS suggests seeing a GP if you've been feeling tired for a few weeks and you're not sure why, and getting advice sooner if tiredness affects your daily life or comes with other symptoms, such as weight loss or mood changes.1
Fatigue and lack of energy are also on the National Institute of Mental Health's list of possible signs of depression.3 That doesn't make tiredness depression, but it's one more reason a lasting, unexplained tiredness deserves a checkup.
Questions people ask about being tired
Why am I always tired and have no energy?
Often more than one thing at once: stress, low mood, poor sleep, illness, some medicines, diet and lack of exercise are all on the NHS list.1 Write down which ones apply this month before you go looking for a single cause.
Why am I so tired even though I sleep a lot?
Sleep fixes body tiredness and not much else, so an overloaded mind or a week with no time away from people may not recover in bed. Long sleep with ongoing tiredness is also worth mentioning to a doctor, since some illnesses cause it.1
Related
- Drained: when you're used up, not only tired.
- Overwhelmed: when there's too much at once.
- Irritable: when tiredness shortens your fuse.