Worn out and weary, women across the country named fatigue among their top five health concerns of 2010 in WebMD’s annual Year in Health survey (the other four were period problems, “superfoods” best for nutrition, thyroid conditions, and sax and relationship issues). Here are seven of the biggest reasons you may be dragging, and ways to put the spring back into your step.
Thyroid Problems: The thyroid — a little butterfly-shaped gland in your neck — produces the hormones that regulate how your body burns fuel for energy. It can be overactive or underactive, but either way, you’ll feel sleepy.
Why? “With an underactive thyroid you can’t get your engine going. With an overactive thyroid your engine’s on overdrive and you start to burn out,” says Sandra Fryhofer, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.
Thyroid problems are more common in women, although doctors aren’t sure why. “That’s the big mystery. It may be related to genetics or hormones — we don’t know,” says Hossein Gharib, MD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn.
