Fatigue

[firenze11]

I'm wondering what you all do when you're feeling fatigue set in. Every year, around this time I start getting really tired, I've been really active for the past couple of months hoping it would help, but I'm not sure.

I think I must get very mild SAD, but I don't have any depression symptoms except that I get so tired in the fall/winter. (I realized I keep going in around January asking my doc to do blood work - but it's always great, so I'm guessing it's the season)

I know exercise is supposed to help, but I feel like it's actually making me more tired this year, especially after morning workouts. I'll be great for a few hours after then I crash hard. It is so frustrating.

I've been taking spin and swim classes with my swim class at 6:30 pm and one of my spin classes the next morning at 8. I just couldn't do it today. Mentally I felt I should go and I knew I could push through it and I tried to tell myself to toughen up but my body gave a big fat no.

So, back to the question, what do you do when you're feeling fatigue set in? Any tips/tricks. I think I eat pretty well, I exercise, I try to go to bed early and get at least 8 hours of sleep - of course I'm in school so keeping stress down is hard but I'm doing pretty well with that.

[Veronica]

I sleep more. I've been getting 9 - 10 hours of sleep lately. In the summer it's 8 - 8.5 usually.

Veronica

[SadieKate]

You know, professional athletes actually take breaks in their off seasons. Nobody in their right mind should be training at the same level 12 months a year. Have you considered whether a short break in your training would be a good thing? I think a lot of recreational athletes neither take seasonal breaks or think about periodization. Have you?

[OakLeaf]

And try to get more sunlight. If you don't have windows at work, see if you can install full-spectrum bulbs or at least bring in a lamp of your own. It made a huge difference to me when I had an office without windows. If you don't run, try swapping out a brisk 1-2 hour walk for your swim class one or two days a week. Get outside during your breaks, even if it's just to stand in the doorway (trying to avoid the cigarette smokers ). If you're lucky enough to live away from a lot of ambient artificial light, use thin curtains in your bedroom; if you must draw heavy shades at night, then open them in favor of privacy curtains as soon as you're awake in the morning.

But they're right - listen to your body. Once you've maximized your exposure to natural light, fresh air and a good diet, don't try to force yourself beyond that. You are an animal in nature and like it or not, you participate in nature's cycles. IMO, people are healthiest when they acknowledge that and work within it.

[firenze11]

I'm not really lacking sleep which is part of why I'm frustrated. I get a good 8-9 hrs/night but my body is still tired.

I'm wondering if maybe I started training too hard too quickly. I took it relatively slow this summer and then when I got to school I'm doing 3 back to back days of pretty tough workouts. So I don't really think I fit into the category of training hard all summer (unless the breast cancer walk counts) and now needing an off-season break. I feel like if I do less I'll be doing next to nothing. Maybe 3 days together (one feels like a two-a-day with late swim early spin) is too much and 3 days spaced out would be better.

[jobob]

Perhaps. Seems like everyone is different with respect to their tolerances for (over-)training.

Around the end of August last year I suddenly became very fatigued, so much so that I would be exhausted after a relatively easy ride. I had really ramped up my training that spring & summer and, after I saw my Dr and had some tests done, best as we could tell it was my body telling me "enough already". I ttok a couple of months off and felt much better by December. Now I'm a lot more careful in how much I ramp up, and I'm better at recognizing the signs.

You might consider cutting back on your schedule for a few weeks and see if that helps. Also, if you haven't had a checkup in a while, it wouldn't hurt.

[firenze11]

Thanks. I think I will maybe cut back for a bit just to see if it helps or not, I feel better today after skipping spin so maybe it was good to take a day off. I'm also thinking about going to the doc to ask about possible mild SAD. I guess it wouldn't hurt

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Yes, I know what you mean. Yesterday I literally wilted at my desk as it was getting cloudy AND dark at 4:30 pm.

Some of the suggestions on here I have already implemented. When I start to feel wilty I get out and start walking. I started walking at lunch with some people I work with. I walk my dog in the dark of the morning and then the dark at night, but it feels good to get outside. I try to get out as much as I can.

On the training end. Take a break. I am realizing I was stupid to train as much as I did with an injured leg and now I'm finally, after a year, getting back on track. I would take a few weeks off and just do some different things, maybe hit the gym, swim, walk or heck, just do nothing. It makes you appreciate good, non fatigued workouts even more.

Do you weight train? This is the time of year I amp up my weight training-except last year I got the big idea that I didn't need it and got injured. If I only took my own advice huh....?

The artificial lights- I don't like them They are a weird kind of light, I checked several out, you really need to see them before you buy them. The light kind of annoyed me, I have no idea why.

[firenze11]

Tahoe, thanks for the suggestions.

I definitely think I'm going to start weight training, and maybe a little yoga again. I'm cutting down a bit on my workouts when I feel like my body's too tired to do them, it's not fun when I make myself go and feel exhausted the rest of the day.

I went to the doc today and asked him about SAD. He thinks I definitely have it and recommended light therapy. I'll give it a try and see how it goes. I'm trying to take walks, too, so I can get out into the sun and stretch my legs. But winter is definitely coming and sunny days aren't really that frequent. Yesterday and today were awful, gray and cloudy and cold.

So, when do I get a prescription to move to Hawaii from October to March? Or maybe the Italian Riviera?

[crazycanuck]

Or mozy on down to Aust for some sunshine

[Miranda]

I get the SAD very badly in the winter too. Some girls I know do a wee bit of the tanning bad. I'm super fair, so I don't. I saw a show once on a special type of light bulb panel a lady had by her treadmill that helped. I purposely keep all the window shades pulled way up to let as much light as possible.

As posted, I'll add another about over training. I never thought I would see the value of "taking a day off". But, wow... it was like someone kicked open a door on my fatigue level. If you want to keep the gym as your normal routine, is there something that is a recovery activity, or just relax? Does it have a pool or hot tub? Stretching class? A place to grab a healthy drink and just socialize?

Also, switching up part of the gym time to a new or different winter activity might help. My theory I'm testing is that it makes winter something to look forward to. I bought xc skis last year. And I have snow shoes on order. The children and I also bought rink skates recently as well.

[Aggie_Ama]

You can move to Texas where we have 300 sunny days a year. Although Hawaii sounds better.

No seriously, my friend took a job in Anchorage and has had major issues with SAD. I think he has been using a low end light treatment, not a full on tanning bed though. I think it has been improving his quality of life.

[tulip]

Hey Firenze, have you always been in Montreal?? That's pretty far north. I had some issues with feeling very low energy when I lived in Paris in winter, which is the same latitude as Montreal. For comparison, New York City is the same latitude as Madrid.

Also, and this may not pertain to you, when I lived in Paris I found that living in another language was quite draining, even though I'm fluent in both French and English. Even more draining might be going between two languages all the time, which might be more of the case in Montreal.

[arielmoon]

I sleep more. I've been getting 9 - 10 hours of sleep lately. In the summer it's 8 - 8.5 usually.

Veronica

me too! I figured it I was needing it to recover from the century on Sunday!

[aicabsolut]

I get the SAD very badly in the winter too. Some girls I know do a wee bit of the tanning bad. I'm super fair, so I don't.

Just an FYI, the tanning bed lamps aren't the right grade (spectrum?) to treat SAD. They make special sunlamps for that, so while it doesn't matter for you, tell your friends to save their skin and get outdoors or look into getting a real lamp (they are $$$$) if their SAD is bad enough.