Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Fatigue is often described as a lack of energy and motivation—both physical and emotional. It is different than sleepiness or drowsiness, which describes the need for sleep. Fatigue is also a response to physical and mental activities.
Normally, fatigue can be resolved with rest or reducing activity. Fatigue is a common complaint related to health issues. Notably, it is a symptom and not a specific disease or health condition. Many illnesses cause fatigue, and the symptoms can be physical, psychological, or a combination of both.
This article discusses the symptoms of fatigue, as well as potential causes and treatments.
Verywell / Lara Antal
According to a 2019 report in the journalBiological Research for Nursing,fatigue can be defined as an “overwhelming, debilitating, and sustained” exhaustion that makes it harder to carry out activities and function.Family practice physicians report that at least 20% of their patients report fatigue and up to 35% of adolescents report fatigue that occurs at least four days a week.
Men and women will describe fatigue differently. For example, men may say they are feeling tired, whereaswomen may report their fatigueas a feeling of anxiety or depression.People may also describe fatigue using a variety of terms, including feeling exhausted, weary, listless, or rundown.
People with fatigue experience one or more of three primary complaints. These vary from person to person and include:
Often, fatigue is a symptom with a gradual onset, meaning it comes on slowly and gets worse with time. Most people who experience fatigue may not be aware early on how much energy they are losing. They can only determine this when they try to compare their ability to perform tasks from one time frame to another.
Further, they may think fatigue is a common symptom—due to aging, being busy or overworked, not getting enough sleep, or a combination of all of these—and ignore the symptom.
Don’t ignore fatigue or delay seeking out medical care to determine the source of your fatigue. Your healthcare provider can help you pinpoint the cause and improve your quality of life.
Common Symptoms
Even though fatigue is a symptom of some underlying condition, it can still cause a combination of mental and physical symptoms, including:
Additional Symptoms
Fatigue is generally not a lone symptom. With it usually come other symptoms that can help your healthcare provider to determine the cause or causes of your fatigue.
Additional symptoms that may accompany fatigue include:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fatigue is considered chronic when the feelings of exhaustion or lack of energy have lasted six or more months. Regardless of the cause, chronic fatigue will impact a person’s day-to-day functioning and quality of life.
A diagnosis ofchronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)is made if a person has experienced chronic and ongoing fatigue for six months or more with no known cause, that is not improved with sleep or rest and that gets worse with physical or mental activity.
Symptoms of CFS can affect different parts of the body and may include unrefreshing sleep, weakness of muscles or joints, problems with memory and concentration, and headaches. Symptoms can be mild, moderate, or severe, and may come and go or last for weeks or months at a time. They can come on gradually or suddenly.
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There are numerous potential causes of fatigue. For the majority of medical illness, fatigue is a possible symptom.
Normal fatigue—that is, fatigue that occurs from mental or physical exertion—is not unusual. However, normal fatigue can become abnormal if it becomes chronic (long-lasting) or severe.
Causes of chronic and severe fatigue can be anything from medical to lifestyle-related to stress (both work stress and emotional concerns).
Medical
Medical causes of fatigue may cause unrelenting exhaustion with additional symptoms. There are a number of diseases that trigger fatigue. If you find yourself experiencing long periods of fatigue, talk to your healthcare provider to determine the root cause.
The medical causes of fatigue can be classified under broad disease categories. Some of these disease categories include:
Lifestyle
Lifestyle causes include:
Mental Health
A loss of energy may be related to mental health problems such as:
These conditions exhaust the body physically and emotionally and cause severe fatigue to set in.
Workplace-Related Fatigue
People who work night shifts may experience daytime fatigue. This is because the human body is designed to sleep at night, and a person who works the night shift confuses the body’s circadian clock.
Poor workplace practices that can also contribute to fatigue include:
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Medical history: Your healthcare provider will ask about recent stressful (good and bad) events in your life, such as the birth of a child, surgery, work stress and family problems, or other symptoms you have experienced in addition to fatigue.
Physical exam: A physical exam will help your practitioner check for signs of disease. Your medical professional may also ask about your current diet and lifestyle.
Testing: Tests can include blood work, urine screens, X-rays, and other imaging. Your healthcare provider will want to rule out physical causes.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
You should see your healthcare provider if your fatigue:
Signs of a Medical EmergencyGo to your local hospital emergency department if you experience the following symptoms, with or without fatigue:FaintingChest painShortness of breathBleeding (e.g., vomiting blood or rectal bleeding)Severe abdominal, pelvic, or back painSevere headacheIrregular or fast heart rate
Signs of a Medical Emergency
Go to your local hospital emergency department if you experience the following symptoms, with or without fatigue:FaintingChest painShortness of breathBleeding (e.g., vomiting blood or rectal bleeding)Severe abdominal, pelvic, or back painSevere headacheIrregular or fast heart rate
Go to your local hospital emergency department if you experience the following symptoms, with or without fatigue:
Treatment for fatigue depends on the causes. Some treatments for conditions that cause fatigue include medications, vitamins, diet, exercise, and avoiding unhealthy habits such as smoking, using drugs, or drinking alcohol in excess.
Fortunately, many of the causes of fatigue are treatable. For example, anemia can be treated with iron supplements, sleep apnea can be treated with medicine and CPAP machines, medications can maintain blood sugar and blood pressure, antibiotics can treat infections, and vitamins can regulate vitamin deficiencies.
You should also check with your healthcare provider for mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Lifestyle changes help ease fatigue, but it is also important to follow your healthcare provider’s treatment plan for any diagnosed medical condition. Left untreated, fatigue can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
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Summary
The prognosis for fatigue is generally good, because many of the causes are easy to treat. While you can manage fatigue, you probably cannot prevent its many causes. Therefore, it is important to recognize when fatigue is a problem in order to seek appropriate medical care and a prompt diagnosis.
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7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Fatigue.Matura LA, Malone S, Jamie-Lara R, et al.A systematic review of biological mechanisms of fatigue in chronic illness.Biol Res Nurs.2018 Jul;20(4): 410–421. doi:10.1177/1099800418764326Rothenthal TC, Majeroni BA, Pretorius R, et al.Fatigue: an overview.Am Fam Physician; 78(10):1173-1179.Office of Women’s Health.Chronic fatigue syndrome.Hui Ho D, Zheng R.Approach to fatigue in primary care.Singapore Med J. 2022;63(11):674. doi:10.4103/SINGAPOREMEDJ.SMJ-2021-118Stadje R, Dorniden K, Becker A, et al.The differential diagnosis of tiredness: a systematic review.BMC Fam Pract.2016;17:147. doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0545-5Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL, Thompson LA, Lieberman HR.Fatigue and its management in the workplace.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2019;96:272-289. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.024
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Fatigue.Matura LA, Malone S, Jamie-Lara R, et al.A systematic review of biological mechanisms of fatigue in chronic illness.Biol Res Nurs.2018 Jul;20(4): 410–421. doi:10.1177/1099800418764326Rothenthal TC, Majeroni BA, Pretorius R, et al.Fatigue: an overview.Am Fam Physician; 78(10):1173-1179.Office of Women’s Health.Chronic fatigue syndrome.Hui Ho D, Zheng R.Approach to fatigue in primary care.Singapore Med J. 2022;63(11):674. doi:10.4103/SINGAPOREMEDJ.SMJ-2021-118Stadje R, Dorniden K, Becker A, et al.The differential diagnosis of tiredness: a systematic review.BMC Fam Pract.2016;17:147. doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0545-5Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL, Thompson LA, Lieberman HR.Fatigue and its management in the workplace.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2019;96:272-289. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.024
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Fatigue.Matura LA, Malone S, Jamie-Lara R, et al.A systematic review of biological mechanisms of fatigue in chronic illness.Biol Res Nurs.2018 Jul;20(4): 410–421. doi:10.1177/1099800418764326Rothenthal TC, Majeroni BA, Pretorius R, et al.Fatigue: an overview.Am Fam Physician; 78(10):1173-1179.Office of Women’s Health.Chronic fatigue syndrome.Hui Ho D, Zheng R.Approach to fatigue in primary care.Singapore Med J. 2022;63(11):674. doi:10.4103/SINGAPOREMEDJ.SMJ-2021-118Stadje R, Dorniden K, Becker A, et al.The differential diagnosis of tiredness: a systematic review.BMC Fam Pract.2016;17:147. doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0545-5Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL, Thompson LA, Lieberman HR.Fatigue and its management in the workplace.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2019;96:272-289. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.024
MedlinePlus.Fatigue.
Matura LA, Malone S, Jamie-Lara R, et al.A systematic review of biological mechanisms of fatigue in chronic illness.Biol Res Nurs.2018 Jul;20(4): 410–421. doi:10.1177/1099800418764326
Rothenthal TC, Majeroni BA, Pretorius R, et al.Fatigue: an overview.Am Fam Physician; 78(10):1173-1179.
Office of Women’s Health.Chronic fatigue syndrome.
Hui Ho D, Zheng R.Approach to fatigue in primary care.Singapore Med J. 2022;63(11):674. doi:10.4103/SINGAPOREMEDJ.SMJ-2021-118
Stadje R, Dorniden K, Becker A, et al.The differential diagnosis of tiredness: a systematic review.BMC Fam Pract.2016;17:147. doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0545-5
Caldwell JA, Caldwell JL, Thompson LA, Lieberman HR.Fatigue and its management in the workplace.Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2019;96:272-289. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.10.024
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