Are you yawning as you read this? Do you often feel deeply tired, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet? Well, you aren’t alone—not by a long shot. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concludes that people across the United States are exhausted. In examining nationally representative data, 71.5% of Americans felt frequent fatigue in the past three months, and over 15% felt fatigued most or all of the time.
Fatigue goes beyond feeling tired—we all experience that from time to time. The condition indicates a state of extreme exhaustion that can’t be fixed in a day or two. “Fatigue is one of the most frequently reported health concerns in primary care,” the report explains, “generally defined as physical or mental tiredness or exhaustion that does not improve with additional sleep or rest.”
As with many health issues, frequent fatigue doesn’t affect the population evenly. Women were more likely than men to report it—20% and 13%, respectively. More than half of women said they felt fatigue “some days” and 20% “most days or every day.” By age, younger adults (18–34) reported fatigue more often (about 20%), while those 65 and older reported it less often (13%).
The significant fatigue findings go beyond general tiredness and can lead to other health problems. Anxiety, cognitive difficulty, and symptoms of depression were the top three co-occurring functional challenges most likely reported. “Moreover,” the report states, “about one-half of adults with frequent fatigue reported functioning difficulties in three or more domains (50.9%) compared with 16.9% of adults without frequent fatigue.”
If you are experiencing fatigue, there are ways to lower it. Fixing your sleep schedule can help. It’s often easier said than done, but aim for seven or more hours of sleep a night, block out ambient light with a sleep mask (it can wake you up), and avoid screens for at least an hour before bed.
Other remedies include regular exercise, meditation, and cognitive therapy. An exercise routine, for instance, builds muscle strength and increases endurance. Exercise also releases endorphins, brain chemicals that relieve stress. Meditation helps soothe the nervous system and promotes emotional regulation, something that can help fight anxiety.
To learn more about the report, including its methodology, read it on the CDC.
Source: 71% of Americans Say They’re Completely Exhausted; Fighting fatigue
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