Feeling Constantly Tired? Learn About Adrenal Fatigue and Solutions

Do you always feel tired for no reason? There can be many causes—sometimes it’s due to an underlying medical condition, other times the cause isn’t clear. One factor that often contributes to persistent fatigue is chronic stress, which can impact adrenal function, sometimes referred to as adrenal fatigue

The term “adrenal fatigue” was first introduced by Dr. James Wilson. It describes a pattern of symptoms that can appear when your body’s stress response is overworked. People with adrenal fatigue often feel tired all the time, have trouble sleeping, struggle to get going in the morning, experience afternoon crashes, rely on caffeine or sugary/salty foods to keep going, have a low sex drive, and feel stressed or overwhelmed.

The idea is that either a major stressful event or ongoing daily stress can overwork the adrenal glands. Over time, this may lead to lower hormone output. Blood tests often appear normal, so adrenal fatigue is usually diagnosed based on symptoms and sometimes saliva tests for cortisol levels over time, which can help track how your body is responding to stress.

Today, many healthcare providers refer to this condition as hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysfunction, which better explains what’s happening in the body. While some might say it’s just a difference in wording, it’s usually best to describe conditions based on how they actually affect the body. True adrenal insufficiency is rare, and if it’s suspected, a specialist called an endocrinologist should be consulted.

so how do you treat adrenal fatigue? is there something you can do at home? The treatment is usually supportive (sleep, diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, adaptogens), reserving steroids for severe cases.

sleep- The use of bright-light therapy has been shown to affect cortisol circadian rhythm and to be a stimulus for cortisol. When subjects were exposed to early morning (5-8 am) bright light, cortisol increased.However, melatonin has not shown benefits

In my integrative practice, we not only incorporate lifestyle techniques, we often add adptgents to reset your body response to stress.