Around 1 in 4 people experience general fatigue at some point in their lives, especially when dealing with long-term health conditions or serious illness. Unlike pain, which can often be quickly treated with medication, fatigue is harder to pin down and has no single remedy.
Now, researchers at the University of Brighton have uncovered new insights into why we feel fatigued – and how we might manage it better.
Led by Dr Jeanne Dekerle, a sports physiologist at Brighton’s School of Education, Sport and Health Sciences, the study suggests that fatigue isn’t just about being physically tired. Instead, it’s the brain’s way of protecting the body from doing too much.
“Your brain is constantly checking whether your body can keep going without getting into trouble,” explains Dr Dekerle. “Fatigue is its way of saying ‘slow down’ – not because you’re weak, but because it’s trying to keep you safe.”