Doctors say more and more young women are presenting at their consulting rooms with a new kind of ‘fatigue’. And it’s not treatable the usual way, by getting more sleep. It’s associated with life pres-sures – from over-work to social isolation…
A recent report on life ‘burnout’ from Mental Health UK, reveals 50 percent of women aged 18 to 24 and 47 percent of women aged 25 to 34 reported exper-iencing extreme or high levels of life pressure and stress ‘always’ or ‘often’.
“It is a persistent reduction in physical, mental, or emotional energy that is dis-proportionate to activity levels and not fully relieved by rest,” explains MHUK’s Dr. Ahmed El Muntasar. He says he’s also seeing a significant increase in female patients presenting with prolonged ex-haustion…
Deidre Bowen, Director of UK Programs at MHUK, told ELLE magazine, half of the young women reporting fatigue said they are regularly working overtime or have taken a second job due to the rising cost of living, the highest of any age group, while 40 percent of women aged 25 to 34 reported fears around job security or redundancy.
Besides job stresses, many young woman are reporting feelings of isolation – the result of working so hard and such long hours that they are emotionally out of touch with their friends and families.
Cardiologist Dr. Jan Stritzke, adds: “Modern life has intensified both the psychological and biological load. Digital overstimulation, hybrid work and disrupted circadian rhythms all intersect.”
Like a rubber band
The effects commonly manifest themselves as periods of low energy, foggy cognitive performance and low motivation. And that leads to unhappiness – even depression – in women who can’t figure out how to deal with it.
The experts say it’s really a simple problem: Like stretching a rubber band. If you stretch it past its normal range of extension, it gets harder and harder to stretch. And, eventually, it breaks. And the fatigue becomes chronic.
Tough to tackle
Many of the causes of this epidemic of fatigue – and outright exhaustion in some cases – are beyond an individual’s control. Even beyond a physician’s or psychologist’s reach.
But one dimension of the wellness universe that can be manipulated for the good in this situation is diet.
Eat your way to health?
There’s no magic formula for ‘eating your way to health’.
“Fatigue is not a weakness of character—it is a measurable loss of biological regulation,” says Stritzke. “If recovery is not structured, depletion becomes chronic. The modern woman does not need more resilience; she needs biological recalibration.”
And an important part of the restructuring program is finding out what your system lacks and remed-iating the deficiency.
“How, what, and when we eat has an enormous influence on energy,” says Rhian Stephenson, regist-ered nutritionist and founder of health-supplement brand Artah. “Irregular eating and skipping meals can disrupt blood sugar, appetite hormones, and circadian rhythm, all of which can increase fatigue, energy fluctuations, and cravings throughout the day.”
What you can do
The key, the experts agree, is establishing and maintaining a consistent, healthy nutritional routine day to day.
This means no longer skipping breakfast in lieu of caffeine, in order to better regulate blood sugar, cortisol, energy, and metabolism. Reducing decision fatigue by choosing a handful of go-to meals you can rotate on repeat can also help, ensuring at least 1 oz / 28.4 g of fiber and 0.55 g of protein per pound of weight every day, or adding a supplement if necessary, ELLE sums up.
Of course, it’s also important to make sure you’re eating a balanced diet including at least 50 percent fresh fruits and veggies, 25 percent whole grains and equivalents, and 25 percent protein – preferably complete, plant-based foods…
My take
The ELLE story just makes me think of how important it is – as a fundamental tenet of anyone’s life – to eat sensibly and consistently, with your health in mind.
It gives you a firm foundation on which to build and maintain more robust physical and – by associ-ation – mental health…
~Maggie J.