Fatigue, and How Adaptogenic Plants Can Help
It’s been a long day. Your feet hurt. Back is sore, and worst of all you’re exhausted. You get some sleep and what the hell? You’re still feeling the same way. Fatigue. The never ending level of exhaustion which shuts us down both mentally and physically. We’ve all been there. It sucks! Especially when you can’t find a way to make it end. You can’t get to sleep. The booze ain’t working, and caffeine barely makes you functional. Nothing is helping you recharge. Life just keeps getting heavier, and heavier. Fatigue is the cruel villain with its dirty little fingers in all of our lives.
According to the Conference Board of Canada 27% of workers in Canada report going to work throughout the week feeling fatigued, while the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety, reports workers with less than 5 hours of sleep or who have been awake for longer than 16 hours significantly increase their chances of making mistakes at work, which could lead to injuries. Unfortunately fatigue is a hard thing to measure, and yet it is something we all go through at various levels making it at times a hard problem to fix.
Lets first begin with, What causes Fatigue? What brings us down? What wrecks our energy?
There are three main culprits when it comes to Fatigue.
- Medical Problems
- Lifestyle Choices, and
- Stress
When it comes to knowing if a medical problem is causing your fatigue, your best bet is to try to fix your exhaustion on your own, and if nothing is working then it’s time to talk to your Doctor. Or if your fatigue is beyond manageable then just go in and see them.
Quite often when it comes to fatigue one’s lifestyle is going to be the main issue, with sleep being the biggest problem. Luckily many of the reasons why someone isn’t getting enough sleep can be managed through your own effort. We’re talking about too much Caffeine, too much Alcohol, a Lack of Exercise, or Watching Too Much Television, especially around bedtime. Not only can Caffeine make it hard to get to sleep, it has the tendency of wearing down our adrenal glands by causing an overproduction of adrenaline, which then makes it harder for your body to naturally produce energy. Add in daily large triple triples and the problem is only going to get worse. Soon the caffeine just stops working, but you need it to feel ok. The same can be said about alcohol. The stuff just wears you down until you’re only either hungover or drunk. There is no feeling good. Just worn down, which of course makes it harder to get to the gym and get in those workouts. Not too much longer all you can do is sit in front of the TV, because you’re too tired to do anything else.
All that wear and tear of the body becomes awfully stressful. Soon your physical pain turns into mental anguish. Stress takes hold, and makes it all worse. Now you’re both physically exhausted and mentally drained. Fatigue has run its course, shutting you down.
So what do you do? Well the hardest part is getting yourself off the couch. This requires energy and when you’re suffering from fatigue that tends to be the one thing you don’t have. This is where we can come in and help. Supplementation is great to get you off the couch and getting started towards a healthier life. It won’t fix everything, but it can be the thing that gets you moving again. From there, it’s going to be all about making changes to your lifestyle which will produce healthier levels of energy allowing you to feel more well rested.
Let’s start with the morning after. The dreaded hangover. Well, ginseng happens to cause your body to burn through alcohol faster. It does this by boosting our blood flow, which means the alcohol will be processed through our liver at a faster rate. This makes Ginseng a wonderful candidate for anyone’s hangover cure. Aeternal offers Ginseng in our Flow All-Natural Supplement, alongside Rhodiola, Beetroot, and CBD.
Now, if you’re looking to reduce or replace Caffeine from your diet, a natural plant-based energy booster is going to be your best option. Certain adaptogens work quite well at replacing caffeine. With the two best being, Rhodiola Rosea, and Ginseng. The biggest difference when talking about energy between these two is how long the energy is going to last. Ginseng typically will last for 8-12 hours, while Rhodiola lasts for approximately 4 hours. We offer two types of energy boosters, Synergy, which combines rhodiola with ashwagandha root, red maca, and CBD, and Flow, which combines Rhodiola with Ginseng, beetroot and CBD. Synergy is good for replacing a single cup of coffee, while Flow is like preworkout for the entire day.
Is your body feeling sore? Are you sleeping well? Does it feel you could use some better rest? Or are you stressed out all the time? Adaptogenic plants may be the right answer to help you towards feeling better, especially Ashwagandha root and Rhodiola Rosea. Some people report feeling sleepy after taking an adaptogen such as Ashwagadha. That is your body telling you it’s time to get some rest. Often what happens from the day to day business and turmoil, our bodies adapt to always being on the move or working and it can be hard to come down to a level where relaxation is possible. Adaptogens such as Ashwagadha bring down cortisol levels reducing our state of stress which will then allow our bodies to get some proper sleep. Quite often people report feeling sleepy before feeling the heightened levels of energy adaptogens can provide. All that means is you need some rest. When it comes to rest and recovery, our best option for you is Synergy, an all Natural Energy Booster. The combination of Ashwagandha and Rhodiola will help you get the much needed rest, and then increase your daily levels of energy allowing you to recover from strenuous physical activity or exhausting days of work.
If your exhaustion is more mental, Nootropics are going to be the way to go. What Nootropic you will want to take will depend on what you’re comfortable with. Currently we offer two selections with our Neuro line of products. The first contains Lion’s Mane, which is easy to take and has no reported side effects beyond allergic reactions. Lion’s Mane works by containing a pair of proteins, which our bodies can use to increase Neurogenesis, or the process in which our brains produce more neurons. Lion’s Mane can be quite effective, although the effects tend to wear off after a month once you stop taking it. This is where microdosing Psilocybin can come into play. While it is much more controversial, and there are some risks tied to Microdosing, the positive effects have been found to last from 6 months to several years. Not only is it longer lasting, the positive effects of enhanced cognitive functioning such as improved learning, memory, concentration, and mood are far more powerful. If you’re interested in Micro-dosing, we have an article on the subject, which goes through all the benefits and all the risks, alongside an easy to understand how-to guide here at this link.
Let’s say, you’re feeling like all of the above sounds like what you’re going through. What we can suggest, is the SyMergy Microdose kit, which pairs Synergy with its Microdosing option. This will cover both brain and body, reducing stress and anxiety while boosting recovery for both your muscles and mind. If you’re not comfortable taking a microdose, then Flow is your next best bet. Ginseng also acts as a Nootropic, boosting concentration, and alertness. Just try to take it early in the day, and you may have to cycle off of it, as the energy boosting properties have a compounding effect, meaning the longer you take it, the longer it tends to last.
Remember, supplementation is a good way to get you started and moving again. It won’t always fix the underlying issues causing your fatigue, but it is the best place to start. Supplements are a great way to increase energy levels, reduce your stress, and keep you engaged with higher levels of cognitive functioning. From there it’s up to you to make the changes in your lifestyle. It is worth it, because if you start to live a healthier life, then fatigue will be an issue of the past. All aspects of life improve when things such as exhaustion and stress are dealt with. Supplementation may be the key to the path of you feeling your best. It will take work, but we’re there to help.
If you have any questions please feel free to send us a message at any time, or look through our website. We have articles on Adaptogens, Nootropics, Microdosing, and CBD, alongside a new series of blogs. Thank you for taking your time to read through this, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Kenneth J. Good.
Aeternal Supplements.
Link 1:
(https://src.healthpei.ca/almost-30-cent-canadians-go-work-feeling-tired)
Link 2:
https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/fatigue.html
Link 3:
https://mytlcbd.ca/microdosing-psilocybin-aka-magic-mushrooms/
