Excessive tiredness is caused by a variety of conditions and ailments. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the most common causes of excessive tiredness include chronic fatigue syndrome, anemia and lack of sleep. If you experience unexplained fatigue or excessive tiredness that is disturbing your lifestyle or interfering with your health, contact your physician immediately.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition that causes severe fatigue and excessive tiredness. This type of fatigue is not the kind of tiredness that will go away after you get some rest. Instead, this fatigue lasts longer and can limit your ability to do ordinary daily activities. Chronic fatigue syndrome may interfere with activities such as driving; in certain circumstances, this interference has the potential to be fatal. Typically, chronic fatigue syndrome is diagnosed when you've experienced roughly six months of fatigue. Other common symptoms that accompany chronic fatigue syndrome include pain in your muscles, short-term memory problems, headaches, pain in one or more joints, sleeping problems, a sore throat and tender or sore lymph nodes.
Lack of Sleep
The average adult requires a little more than eight hours of sleep per day, but only 35 percent of adults in America consistently obtain this amount of rest, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Excessive tiredness can be a result of sleep deprivation. If you are behind on shuteye, it's possible that your body needs to catch up on sleep. Typically, activities such as long work hours or a physically demanding job can create a situation in which your body is becoming overworked and exhausted. If you have a job that requires you to constantly change work hours or to work a graveyard shift--which runs through the night until early morning--it may interrupt normal sleeping patterns and leave you tired.
Anemia
Anemia is another condition that can cause excessive tiredness. Anemia is an illness that results when you don't have adequate healthy red blood cells in your bloodstream to deliver enough oxygen to your bodily tissues. An article on anemia by the Mayo Clinic points out that if you have anemia, you will probably feel tired often. Other symptoms that may accompany anemia include pale skin and a fast or irregular heartbeat. You may also experience shortness of breath and pain in your chest. Some risk factors associated with anemia include a diet consistently deficient in iron and folate, family history and intestinal disorders.
