What to do when you have no strength and energy

Do you know the feeling when you want to rest even after sleeping? You have no strength and energy and want to sprawl out like a starfish on the bed and not get up for the next day. If you manage to get up, you don't have the strength to stir sugar in your tea, and the stories about coffee being invigorating seem like urban legends.

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I feel dizzy. No appetite. There is no energy or desire to cook lunch, clean the garlands of cobwebs in the corners, or even throw the laundry into the washing machine.

It only gets worse: you don't have enough energy to live.

I feel tired in any circumstances, at home or at work. Walks, shopping, entertainment, hobbies no longer make me happy. Once upon a time, life was a breeze, but now it's just a drizzle. Is it all about you? Let's figure out why you have no energy for anything and what to do about it.

Why you don't have the strength: 10 reasons

Energy consumption is normal. Just like it's normal to spend money every day. Energy is needed to maintain processes in the body, body temperature, physical activity, and thinking. The problem begins when you have less energy than you need. There are a number of reasons why this happens.

1. Sleep disorders. The absence of a regimen throws the body into a slight bewilderment and it begins to malfunction. The body loves stability. Spontaneous decisions like "what a great show, I'll watch it until the morning" are bad for your health. Intermittent sleep is also harmful.
2. Iron deficiency. If you are constantly sleepy and tired, and fatigue has long been the norm, it is possible that your body lacks iron. This is inherited from parents, and can be the result of a hidden disease or unbalanced diet. Due to the peculiarities of the body structure, women have a lower iron content than men.
3. "I'll have a double hamburger, a coke, a muffin and a chocolate bar." Fast carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels. Sudden spikes make us feel tired. Fast food is full of fast carbohydrates. Also, those who do not eat breakfast have less energy.
4. Excessive worries. A person is waiting for a bus, and it is delayed. A person paints a picture in his head of being fired without severance pay, walking along the embankment, facing the wind, wiping away his tears. Here he is sleeping under a bridge, covered with old jackets that smell of smoke and kerosene. Such anxious artists, who paint horrible pictures of the future in their heads, exhaust themselves.
5. Unfinished tasks. Everyone has unfinished tasks that they carry around in their heads. At the same time, they do not fulfill them. It's like Skype on a computer: it's on in the background and waiting for its time. No one uses it, but the RAM is busy. The longer the task is, the more energy is consumed.
6. "I should have told him back in 2007 what I really thought." Constantly analyzing past actions takes energy, as does scrolling through possible future scenarios.
7. You find it difficult to say no to people. Relatives, colleagues, friends - everyone knows that you are a kind person who can always be approached for help. Or come to you at any convenient time and pour out your heart. If people around you often take advantage of you, you have no energy left for yourself.
8. Not enough fresh air. When the cells do not receive the right amount of oxygen, they start to feel sad. Another problem is polluted air.
9. Not enough water. Like oxygen, water is a necessary element in cell nutrition. If you drink even 2% less than the daily allowance, dehydration begins. The blood becomes thicker, and it is harder for the heart to pump it. As a result, nutrients get to the organs more slowly.
10. Stress. Emotional experiences lead to powerlessness and apathy. A person worries about the future and spends too much energy on worrying.

Read each point carefully and check what most likely causes you to feel powerless. In order to prevent physiological causes, we recommend that you undergo a doctor's examination and get tested at least once a year. In developed countries, this is a mandatory practice.

No energy: 10 ways to restore energy

What to do if you have no energy? Understanding the cause will help you figure out what to do when you have no energy for anything. Below are ways to help restore energy.

1. Plan your day. Download an app to your smartphone that helps you manage your time. Set reminders to let you know when it's time to go to bed. Get at least seven hours of sleep a night. Doctors recommend sleeping at night; if you want to take a nap during the day, close the windows or wear a sleep mask. The substance melatonin, which is responsible for restoring energy, is produced by the brain only in complete darkness. It is advisable not to read the news before going to bed and to turn off notifications on your phone in advance.
2. Adjust your diet. An ideal option would be to consult a nutritionist. He or she will create a special menu taking into account the characteristics of your body and its needs. If this is not possible, try using special programs for your smartphone or computer. You can also read specialized literature. For example, David Perlmutter, in his book Food and the Brain, explains what carbohydrates do to health, thinking, and memory. The book contains recommendations on how to eliminate carbohydrates and stop being moody.
3. Take a course of vitamins. Consult an immunologist or family doctor beforehand. If the problem of powerlessness is associated with iron deficiency, you need vitamin B12. Foods that contain it include eggs, dairy products, beef liver, and seafood. If you are a vegan, a doctor's consultation is mandatory.
4. Drink water. There is a formula that calculates the amount of daily water for a person. Convert your weight into pounds and divide by two. This will give you the number of liters of water in ounces. Convert the ounces to liters to find out how many liters of water you need to drink per day. Remember that this is pure water, not including soups, tea, or other beverages.
5. Think positively. Accept the fact that the future is neutral. It can be anything, but it is healthier to assume that everything will be fine. Thank your brain for being such a great strategist and foreseeing several scenarios at once, but ask it not to get carried away.
6. Deal with unfinished tasks. If you've been nurturing a goal for months that you haven't gotten around to, you have two options: take action or forget it. When a task is important, but the perfect moment for a solution is still not approaching, you need to answer the question of why you are running away from it. For example, you've been wanting to record a song for three years now, but something is stopping you. In your free time, you beat yourself up a bit for not recording it yet. Decide to take action. If the goal is not so important or not really yours, should it take up space on the mezzanine of your mind?
7. Stop hanging out in the past. Walking through past events is just as costly as soaring into the future. They are useful in two cases: in a psychologist's office and at a massive oak desk when you are retired and writing your memoirs. If you constantly feel anxious about past events, it is better to discuss this with a specialist.
8. Learn to say no. Not to everyone and not always, but if a request makes you feel uncomfortable, "no" is the best self-defense technique. It's not a bad thing to say no, as long as you do so in a polite manner. A person with a healthy attitude toward himself or herself and other people will accept your polite refusal and go look for help from others. People with their own, not always correct, beliefs are offended. Manipulators also play the victim.
9. Set aside time for yourself in your daily routine. It can be an hour after you have taken the children to kindergarten or a couple of hours after work. Steadily, every day, do something that brings you pleasure. Even if you want to stare at a wall for an hour and drink tea slowly.
10. Get some fresh air. Go for a walk in the park, forest, or by the water more often. It is useful to walk in the morning, after sunrise and at night, before going to bed. Ventilate the place where you live and work. To saturate the body with oxygen, doctors recommend drinking linden tea.

If you feel that you have no vital energy because of an experience, try to perceive the unpleasant situation objectively.

Imagine that it happened not to you, but to a friend of yours. What would you advise him? How can he stay strong? If the event has shaken you too much and you can't abstract yourself, it's best to see a psychologist.