While I regularly partner with and write for a wide variety of publications – magazines, websites, newspapers, etc – only some of the articles remain relevant to SST.  This is one of those posts.

I had heard of Adrenal Fatigue in the past, but I had no idea how relevant it could be to so many in our world today.  OVER 80% of the population is impacted by Adrenal Fatigue, leading to many of us feeling lethargic, having trouble thinking clearly, and just generally feeling like crap!

In doing my research for this post, it sounded incredibly familiar to what seems to smack me in the face when the sun starts to set a bit earlier and fall starts creeping into our days.  Because of that, I’ll definitely be focusing on some of the tips I touched on in this post.  Enjoy!

When you think back on the recent past, how many days have you woken up fully awake, alert, and ready to go?  The days when you’re 100% on the right side of the bed and you’re as energized as possible, ready to tackle the day.

If you’re like many of us, there are actually several days when you simply feel the opposite.  Stressed beyond belief, tired, more lethargic than you should be, and like you’re really craving an afternoon nap to tackle the “slump” in the day.  You eat right, workout, and try to stay as healthy as possible, so something has to give, right?!

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

In our internal systems, the adrenal glands are the main element that helps us to rebound from stress.  When we get stressed, the adrenal glands release cortisol, which helps our bodies to prepare for what is or may become a stressful situation.  Our blood starts pumping faster, our breathing increases, and our blood sugar increases to power our muscles.

Then, once that stressor is gone, our adrenal glands bring our system back to neutral.  Or, at least, that’s what’s meant to happen.

But with adrenal fatigue, your adrenal glands never switch back to normal.  They just stay “turned on” all the time.  Everything makes your entire system feel stressed (emails, running to a meeting, working out, etc), and your adrenal glands start to fatigue because they never get a period of rest.  This leads to a long list of symptoms and side effects – none of which are good.

What are the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue?

There is a wide list of symptoms related to adrenal fatigue, but there are a few that are most prevalent.

• Chronic tiredness, even after sleeping through the night
• Trouble thinking clearly or finishing tasks (living in kind of a “brain fog”)
• Getting irritable quickly (and often)
• Lowered immunity and more severe case of the allergies
• For women, more severe PMS and difficult perimenopause

Healing from Adrenal Fatigue

If those symptoms sound a bit too familiar to you, then we suggest starting with some natural strategies to help you get back to net neutral, such as…

Find a relaxation technique that works.  Meditation works for some people, gardening works for others.  Whatever it is, our systems feel completely relaxed when we feel a sense of total involvement and energized focus.  Find what works for you and make it a priority.

Balance your blood sugar.  The sugar rush, and following sugar crash, is hugely taxing on your adrenal glands.  To heal your adrenals, stick to whole, natural foods that are high in protein and healthy fat, like low-glycemic fruit and phytonutrient-rich vegetables.

For the complete post, including more ways to heal from Adrenal Fatigue, click here.  This post was originally on The REBEL Workout.

The Lessons

I’m not sure if it’s just this time in my life, but I’m honestly seeing life lessons EVERYWHERE.  And the content in this post is no exception.

The primary lesson that I’ve learned here is that, if you’re feeling tired and lethargic, there are some lifestyle changes that we can make to help ourselves feel better (…and that doesn’t always have to include nap time.)

Especially moving into the colder weather months here in the United States, pay attention to your symptoms and focus on living a healthy lifestyle that is relevant to the needs of you and your family, as that will look very different from what works for another person.

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