“Why am I so tired all the time?” The Hidden Link between Stress & Energy

Ever gone through a stressful period – moving house, interviewing for a promotion, dealing with family conflict – and felt absolutely exhausted afterwards? This is no coincidence.

Our energy and stress levels are very closely linked.

When we experience chronic stress, we’re often left feeling fatigued and depleted – beyond what can be remedied by a good night’s sleep.

So, what is the link between stress and energy and – importantly – what can we do about it?

Our nervous system has two states – our sympathetic nervous system (also referred to as our ‘fight or flight’ or ‘stress response’) and our parasympathetic nervous system (also referred to as our ‘rest and digest’ state).

Ideally, we want to live from our ‘rest & digest’ state – this is where our bodies can function optimally, long-term. From here, we can intermittently turn on our ‘fight or flight’ response (to help us respond to a stressor), and then turn it off again (once the stressor has disappeared).

However, in the case of chronic stress, this system becomes dysregulated, and we become stuck in state of ‘fight or flight’.  (Blog: Signs You Might be Stuck in 'Fight or Flight')

What’s this got to do with energy?

Well, using our ‘fight or flight’ response is a very energy-hungry process. Our adrenal glands are dialled up to produce a steady flow of stress hormones (such as cortisol & adrenaline), burning through nutrients and energy to do so. (Blog: What is Cortisol?)

As you might imagine, dialling up our adrenals now and again to help us deliver a client presentation effectively, or handle a difficult conversation with a friend, isn't an issue. But when our adrenals are consistently dialled up – day in, day out – our energy levels suffer and we’re left feeling fatigued and foggy.

So, nervous system dysregulation is a key piece to the puzzle – but it only really scratches the surface.

Being in a state of ‘flight or flight’ also changes the way in which various other bodily systems function – and this can disrupt our energy levels even further. Let’s take a look at a few examples below.

Sleep

To our bodies, stress is any ‘perceived threat’. So, it makes sense that our stress hormones are designed to keep us alert – so we have the best chance of defending ourselves from such threat.

The issue with this, however, is that: elevated stress hormones = impaired sleep. And when our sleep suffers, so does our energy.  

Digestion

Another consequence of chronic stress is impaired digestion. Whilst our bodies think we’re under threat, they focus our resources on escaping that threat (sending energy to our muscles, for example) and draw resources away from ‘less-essential’ functions (including our digestive system).

In the short-term, this isn’t a big deal. But in the long-term, it can lead to poor nutrient absorption – which can have a huge impact on our energy levels & wider health.

(Blog: Stress, Bloating & Poor Digestion - What's the Link?)

Blood Sugar

Something else to consider is that living from a state of ‘fight or flight’ impacts our ability to effectively manage blood sugar. When we're stressed, our bodies want to ensure that glucose (sugar) readily available in our blood, in case we need to be able to dip into our energy reserves quickly.

What this means, however, is that we experience higher blood-sugar levels and more glucose ‘spikes’ throughout the day. Over time, this can increase the likelihood of developing ‘insulin resistance’, whereby our bodies struggle to respond to insulin effectively and use the sugar in our blood for energy production.

The result? Feeling fatigued & experiencing frequent energy crashes.

The good is, there is a LOT we can do to improve our energy levels, recover from periods of fatigue and build resilience to/recover from chronic stress!

My article – Chronic Stress: What It Is, Why It Matters & How to Heal – sets out some tips and shows you where I’d start with clients.

So, if you're ready to level-up your health; feel empowered to build resilience to stress; and optimise your energy levels - I’d love to hear from you. Book a free discovery call (linked at the top of the page) for an opportunity to discuss your goals & how to get there.