When your mental and physical motivation to get up and move has withered away, you may not feel like being involved with anything but a bed and comfy blankets. You are not the only one.

Many factors can contribute to low energy, and just like that, many things can help. Being a sleepyhead is sometimes accompanied by mental heaviness, but it is never too late to give yourself the push you deserve to increase your energy levels.

Causes

Your chronic fatigue may be caused by some straightforward factors, like coming down with a cold or the flu, or a lack of a decent sleep foundation. Sometimes it isn’t that simple.

Most of the time, lack of energy can be remedied by lifestyle or dietary modifications and supplements which we will get into later. Nevertheless, to improve fatigue, you need to get to the bottom of what is causing your *yawn* sleepiness.

Deficiencies

You may have developed a vitamin B12 deficiency if your body doesn’t create enough, or if you don’t consume enough.

The most commonly affected humans include:

• Older adults: Older individuals will have more difficulty intaking B12 as the body becomes less apt to perform the processes necessary to absorb the proteins.
• Vegans: Since many non-fortified B12 vitamins are found in animals and animal products like fish, eggs, and beef, vegans and vegetarians have to be extra careful to find other sources for B12.
• Pregnant Women: 10-28% of uncomplicated pregnancies are prone to a vitamin B-12 deficit as the body stays consistently busy building an entirely new immune system for another human being.

Decreased Estrogen or Testosterone

Your hormones have a big part to play in the amount of energy you have. Your hormones are chemicals that control your body’s processes like temperature, heart rate, mood, metabolism, and sleep.

Hypothermia happens when the body temperature gets too low. When your temperature gets too low, your body will start taking energy from wherever in the body it can to keep the basic bodily functions going.

Metabolism is controlled by some of these basic bodily functions. This process converts your food into energy.

If your metabolism slows down due to decreased hormones and hypothermia, then your energy production is going to slow down as well.

And probably most obviously, if your mood is affected by a decrease in hormone production, you can forget about being even remotely motivated to produce, intake, or expel any kind of energy.

If these powerful chemicals are out of balance, even by a small amount, they can cause a wide range of symptoms. Any shift in hormone levels will cause issues with your sleep and energy.

Supplements

At the end of the day, you will always hear how the consumption of a well-balanced diet, the action of exercising regularly, and the blessed ability to get enough sleep are the simple best three ways to control your natural energy levels.

While mostly true, sometimes these things are not possible every single day, especially when life demands so much from you. Too much activity combined with too little energy intake will cause your energy to drain substantially. If you consume as many calories as you burn on a daily basis, you may think you’re doing proper dieting or weight loss techniques, but in actuality, you’re draining the leftover fuel your body has to operate with.

By happy chance, there are supplements and vitamins on the market that will help provide you with an extra boost of energy.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 helps enhance your metabolism by transforming your food into usable cellular energy. It also keeps your body’s nerves and blood cells in top-notch condition which helps create DNA and prevent anemia.

Vitamin B12 supplements are readily available, and vitamin B12 can also be found naturally in animal proteins such as animal liver, clams, beef, and fish. Several foods are fortified with B12, like Malt-O-Meal and other cereals.

Iron

Low iron is a typical culprit for energy deficiency. The body uses iron to make a protein in red blood cells called hemoglobin which moves oxygen from your lungs to various other parts of your body including tissues, muscles, and organs.

If you don’t have the right hemoglobin levels, your red blood cells will have a difficult time effectively transporting oxygen to the rest of your body which will have your feeling tired.

Iron supplements can be the additional umph needed to combat the issues associated with iron deficiency caused by blood loss, pregnancy, or the all-around inability to absorb iron properly.

Being deprived of energy will impact your physical and mental performance. Inadequate intake of the proper vitamins and hormones can reduce strength, mood, and concentration. Over time, this can cause more than just low energy. Long periods without proper levels of iron and vitamins can cause low bone density which can cause bone fractures.

Thousands of people both have low energy and understand the importance of achieving higher energy levels, so you are definitely not alone.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b12-foods#b-12-basics

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355034

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamin-b12-or-folate-deficiency-anaemia/complications/#:~:text=If%20you're%20pregnant%2C%20not,the%20brain%20and%20spinal%20cord.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425147/#:~:text=It%20is%20important%20to%20remember,the%20concomitant%20public%20health%20impact.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12771566/