"I'm always tired."
I hear this sentence almost every day in my clinic. It comes from young professionals in their twenties, from mothers juggling work and home, from students preparing for exams, from people who seem to be doing everything right, yet they wake up exhausted and drag themselves through the day.
If this sounds like you, my friend, you're not alone. And more importantly, you're not imagining it. Constant fatigue isn't something you just have to live with. It's your body trying to tell you something important.
It's not just about sleep hours
The first thing most people do when they feel tired is blame their sleep. "I only slept six hours last night," or "I went to bed late."
And yes, sleep matters, but it's not the whole story. I've had clients who sleep eight hours and still feel like they've been run over by a truck. I've also had clients who sleep six hours but wake up feeling refreshed. The difference?
Along with rest, your body needs hydration, nutrition and exercise. Let’s try to understand using the example of a car. You can park your car for ten hours, but if there's no petrol in the tank, it still won't run. The way your body functions is pretty similar to that.
You're probably not eating enough (or eating right)
Think of your body like a car. You can't expect it to run if the fuel tank is empty. Yet that's exactly what many of us do.
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We see this all the time- skip breakfast because you're rushing. Have tea or coffee on an empty stomach. By 11 am, you're starving, so you grab biscuits or a samosa. Lunch is scheduled for 3 pm because the meetings ran over. By evening, you're exhausted and craving something fried or sweet. Dinner is either very late or very heavy.
When you eat like this, your blood sugar is on a roller coaster all day, shooting up, crashing down, shooting up again. Those mid-afternoon slumps where you can barely keep your eyes open? The brain fog where you read the same email three times and still don't know what it says? That's your blood sugar hitting rock bottom. Your body can't maintain steady energy when you feed it irregularly or primarily refined carbs and sugar.
The iron story
This is especially important for women, but men aren't immune either. Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies I see, and its primary symptom is crushing fatigue.
As we all know, iron is essential for carrying oxygen in your blood. Without enough iron, your cells literally don't get enough oxygen to produce energy. You feel tired, not because you're lazy, but because your body physically cannot generate the energy it needs.
The tricky part? You can be iron-deficient without being anaemic. Your haemoglobin might be normal, but your iron stores (ferritin) might be low. This is why I always recommend getting a complete iron panel, including ferritin, done if you're constantly tired and not just hemoglobin.
For women, heavy periods can deplete iron stores faster than the diet can replenish them. For vegetarians, iron from plant sources isn't absorbed as easily as iron from meat, so you need to be more conscious.
Good iron sources include organ meat, chicken, fish, dark leafy greens, pulses, nuts and oilseeds. Pair iron-rich foods with vitamin C, like having nimbu paani with your meal or squeezing lemon over food to boost absorption.
If you're diagnosed with a deficiency, work with your clinical nutritionist or doctor on supplementation. Don't just buy random iron tablets from the chemist; the right dose and type matter.
You're dehydrated (and don't know it)
Most people walk around mildly dehydrated most of the time. And one of the first signs of dehydration? Fatigue.
When you're dehydrated, your blood volume decreases, which means your heart has to work harder to pump blood and oxygen to your organs. This makes you feel tired and sluggish. You might also notice headaches and difficulty concentrating.
A simple way to check: look at your urine. If it's dark yellow, you need more water. It should be pale yellow or almost clear. And no, tea and coffee don't count. They're in fact diuretics, which means they actually make you lose water. If you drink three cups of chai a day, you need to drink additional water to compensate.
The vitamin deficiencies
We live in a sunny country, yet vitamin D deficiency is everywhere. Most of us are indoors all day, and when we go out, we're covered up. Vitamin D deficiency causes fatigue, muscle weakness, and low mood.
B12 is another common culprit, especially for vegetarians. It's crucial for energy production; without it, you feel constantly tired and mentally foggy. B12 is found mainly in animal products, so if you're a vegetarian, you're likely not getting enough.
Both deficiencies are easy to diagnose and treat. Get tested first, don't just start popping supplements. Your clinical nutritionist or doctor can guide you on the right dosage based on your actual levels.
Your stress is eating your energy
"I'm fine, just stressed" is something I hear often. When you're constantly worried about work deadlines, family responsibilities, and finances, your body is producing stress hormones like cortisol non-stop. Over time, this disrupts your sleep, messes with your blood sugar, increases inflammation, and drains your energy reserves.
I can't fix your life circumstances, but I can tell you this- skipping meals, surviving on chai and biscuits, and not sleeping enough, all of these make stress worse and magnify the fatigue. Taking care of your basic nutrition isn't self-indulgent. It's essential, especially when you're stressed.
What to do right now
If you're constantly tired, start here:
- Get basic blood work done - complete blood count, iron panel with ferritin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and thyroid function. These tests can reveal a lot.
- Eat regular meals with protein. Even small changes like adding an egg to breakfast, having dal with lunch, and keeping roasted chana handy for snacks make a big difference.
- Drink more water. Actually track it for a few days. You'll likely realise you're drinking far less than you thought.
- Get some sunlight. Even ten minutes helps.
- Most importantly, don't dismiss your fatigue as normal or inevitable. Your body is designed to have energy. If it doesn't, something needs attention and often, it's simpler to fix than you think.
You deserve to feel alive and energetic, not just drag yourself through each day.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
