Everyone has experienced it at one time or another in their life. Some people experience it on a regular basis. However often you feel tired or fatigued, massage can help to get you some rest and relaxation that you and your body desperately need.
What is Fatigue?
Fatigue is the feeling of being overworked or overtired, according
to Mayo Clinic. Fatigue can be so bad for some people that rest or sleep does not relieve the feelings of fatigue. Fatigue over long periods of time can reduce your energy, your motivation, and your concentration making daily life extremely difficult. It can also impact your overall psychological and emotional well-being, as well, which could make you irritable, irrational, and have uncontrollable mood swings. Fatigue can also be extremely cyclic. For example, a person can become fatigued, which makes it harder for them to concentrate. Because they are having difficulty concentrating, they have to work harder to do their job and are stressed out about their job performance. Now they are working harder and are stressed out, so they begin to have difficulty sleeping. This ultimately makes them more fatigued, and the cycle begins again. Because of it's cyclic nature, someone dealing with fatigue has to find a way to stop the cycle.
to Mayo Clinic. Fatigue can be so bad for some people that rest or sleep does not relieve the feelings of fatigue. Fatigue over long periods of time can reduce your energy, your motivation, and your concentration making daily life extremely difficult. It can also impact your overall psychological and emotional well-being, as well, which could make you irritable, irrational, and have uncontrollable mood swings. Fatigue can also be extremely cyclic. For example, a person can become fatigued, which makes it harder for them to concentrate. Because they are having difficulty concentrating, they have to work harder to do their job and are stressed out about their job performance. Now they are working harder and are stressed out, so they begin to have difficulty sleeping. This ultimately makes them more fatigued, and the cycle begins again. Because of it's cyclic nature, someone dealing with fatigue has to find a way to stop the cycle.
What Causes Fatigue?
The causes for fatigue are endless. Like was discussed above, stress caused by life can cause fatigue. Fatigue can be caused by many different diseases, conditions, or illnesses. According to Medicine Net, some common causes of fatigue are anemia, asthma, depression, insomnia, arthritis, obesity, flu, and even the common cold. With the cold and flu season approaching, it is important to remember that fatigue is very common when fighting illnesses, so if you suddenly feel fatigued, it may be time to try and boost your immune system. Fatigue is also commonly associated with Seasonal Affective Disorder, which often happens during fall and winter. No matter what the cause of fatigue is, the natural remedy that will be discussing today works for all causes.
What Can Help With Fatigue?
There are multiple natural remedies to try and help with fatigue, but today we are going to be talking about massage. Massage is a proven natural, alternative remedy to help treat fatigue. Pacific College of Oriental Medicine explains how massage therapy is one of the most highly recommended alternative treatments for fatigue. Massage helps to turn off your "fight or flight" response and turn on your "rest or digest" response to allow your body to finally relax and begin to heal itself. When the body is fatigued, it is in a constant state of stress, which takes away from the bodies natural healing system. Allowing your body that time to decompress and relax, helps your overall well-being and health. According to New Yew Healing, massage can also increase mental clarity and sleep, which both helps to reduce the feeling of fatigue.
Personal Note
Like I said earlier, fatigue is something that almost everyone has experienced at some point in their life. I just recently felt the effects of fatigue and life.
I broke my foot in early July and finally, got out of my cast and boot at the beginning of September. Although it was wonderful to finally be able to walk completely on my own again, I had to begin the draining process of physical therapy and working out after months of inactivity.
Between waking up at 3:30 to go to the gym with my husband, going to physical therapy twice a week before work, working, going to school full time, and still maintaining my home life, I was absolutely fatigued and overall, just drained. I found myself lying awake at night constantly thinking about the things that I had to do the next day or feeling the discomfort and pain from physical therapy, which added to my fatigue.
Finally, after 2-3 weeks of feeling fatigued, I found myself on Sydney's (one of our awesome therapists here at Massage La Mesa) table. Between the pain relief and the relaxation, I went home that day and went to bed at 7 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am the next day. Even though I skipped a workout, it was wonderful to finally feel rested and no longer fatigued. I went to work the next day feeling like a new person. Since my massage last week. I have been sleeping better and have been able to better cope with my sometimes hectic life.
The reason I am telling you all about this is because I am a huge advocate for massage, and I still sometimes find myself not using massage like I should. I know life can be crazy and overwhelming, and that is usually the hardest time to make time for massage. However, when life gets crazy like that, it is so important to find that time for yourself and for your body because it might just be the pick-me-up that you needed!
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