Hello. This is my first time having posted anything on this site. I have a question in regards to the massive ammounts of fatigue that I have been experiencing lately. I have been getting the recommended ammounts of sleep, yet I still feel like I am going to collapse all the time. True, my eating habits aren't the greatest, but that has never done anything to me before. If it helps any, my girlfriend is also sort of going through the same thing. I don't think that it's mono, because I really am only expoeriencing one of the symptoms, but I couldn't be absolutely sure. Please help me.

Moxman15

Fatigue
35 Hints for a High-Energy Life
Be honest. When you first heard the words, "energy crisis," did you think of Arab oil embargoes or yourself?

If you thought of yourself—struggling to start your inner engine in the morning, desperate to keep it humming after lunch in the afternoon, and only too willing to let it sputter to a stop in the evening—you are not alone.

Everyone, at one time or another, feels fatigued. And who wouldn't like to have more energy than they now have?

Unfortunately, having more energy is a lot like having more money—it's easier to talk about it than to get it. Yet it's also easier to increase your energy than you probably realize. Of course, the broad prescription from doctors is still the same: Get plenty of rest, eat a balanced diet, and exercise. But here physicians and other authorities on fatigue go beyond these generalities and offer more specific, high-octane suggestions.

So, ladies and gentlemen, please start your engines.

Warm up. "Give yourself an extra 15 minutes in the morning before you start your day," says Vicky Young, M.D. an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "That way you don't start off feeling rushed and tired."

Eat a three-piece breakfast. The three components of a good breakfast are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, advises Rick Ricer, M.D. assistant professor of clinical family medicine at Ohio State University College of Medicine. Of course you don't want to addfat to your breakfast table. You will get plenty of fats, a good form of storable energy, in the proteins you eat.

But even cereal (a complex carbohydrate) with milk (a source of protein) can get your day off to a good start. Wheat toast and muffins are also good complex carbohydrate options. For protein, you might want to consider low-fat yogurt and cottage cheese, or a small piece of chicken or fish.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ricer warns not to eat an ultra-high carbohydrate breakfast laden with simple sugars. "You can actually overactivate your insulin and your blood sugar will drop: that can leave you jittery." So avoid the doughnut shop between home and office.

Know where you're going. If you don't, you will probably be too tired to get there. "Take time each morning to set specific goals for the day," says David Sheridan, M.D. an associate professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. "Determine what you want to do: don't let the routine control you."

Arrest the energy robbers. "If it's a problem on the job, or if it's a family feud, you've got to resolve it," says M. F. Graham, M.D. a Dallas, Texas, consultant to the American Running and Fitness Association and author of Inner Energy: How to Overcome Fatigue.

But if you can't resolve your problem, "at least take a vacation from the situation," Dr. Ricer suggests. So if you're trying to hold down a second job, quit it or take a leave of absence. And if relatives have overstayed their welcome, politely suggest they visit again—in about three years.

Turn off to turn on. Television is famous—make that infamous—for lulling human beings into lethargy. "Try reading instead," Dr. Ricer says. "That has to be more energizing."

Work out to rev up. "Exercise actually gives you energy," Dr. Young says. Study after study supports those words, including one by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. More than 200 federal employees were placed on a moderate, regular exercise program. The results: 90 percent said they had never felt better. Almost half said they felt less stress, and almost one-third reported they slept better.

Dr. Young recommends giving yourself a dose of energetic exercise—brisk walking is enough—three to five times a week, for 20 to 30 minutes each time and no later than 2 hours before bedtime.

Remember—honesty is the best policy. For all the good exercise can do, it can be addictive. And you can overdose if you're not honest about what your body is telling you.

"I have to work at telling myself that it will be good for me, that I will gain by taking time off," says Mary Trafton, a hiker, marathoner, and skier who works for the Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tackle one thing at a time. "Make lists," Dr. Sheraton says. "Many times, people feel fatigued because they think, 'I have so much to do I don't know where to start.' " By setting priorities and charting your progress as you make your way through the list, you can remain focused and energetic.

Take one a day. If you are guilty of missing meals, dieting, and not eating properly, Dr. Young says, taking one multivitamin and mineral supplement a day is a good idea. "A lack of good nutrition can cause fatigue, and a supplement can help make up for the missing nutrients. But don't look to a vitamin to give you instant energy," says Dr. Ricer.

"It's a fallacy that when you're tired you just take more vitamins and feel better," Dr. Ricer says. Only eating properly can do that.