What type of tired are you?
Surprisingly there are 10 different types of tiredness. Because of this fact, it’s important to understand which type or types of tiredness you might be feeling in order to make the best decisions about what to do next.
By being more aware of your body, mind and emotional cues, you have more info to work from and can take the best action.
For example, if you’re feeling tired after a hard week at work, you might think what you need is to go out with your friends to relax. But you might actually be experiencing social fatigue, which would make this type of tiredness worse.
Let me explain the different types of tiredness so you can see the difference and see which ones resonate with you.
Physical Fatigue results from muscle exertion and is common after physical activity. It's the body's way of signalling that it needs rest to repair and strengthen itself.
Mental Fatigue happens after long periods of deep or focused work. It can make concentrating, making decisions, and thinking clearly more difficult.
Emotional Fatigue (or tiredness) can occur after intense emotional experiences or prolonged stress. It might feel like being emotionally drained or burned out.
Psychological Fatigue comes from prolonged stress, anxiety, or depression. It encompasses both mental and emotional aspects, leading to a lack of motivation and interest in activities.
Sleepiness is often confused with tiredness, but sleepiness is simply the need to sleep. While tiredness can sometimes lead to sleepiness, they are not the same. Sleepiness usually results from a lack of quality sleep.
Social Fatigue, also known as social burnout, occurs from extensive socialising or the pressure or anxiety of social interactions. It can lead to a desire to isolate oneself and recuperate alone.
Creative Fatigue affects people in creative roles, like writers or musicians. It occurs when creativity seems to dry up, and producing new ideas or solutions becomes challenging.
Decision Fatigue happens after making too many decisions in a short period. It can lead to poor choices or an inability to make decisions later on.
Compassion Fatigue is often experienced by healthcare providers, caregivers, and those in helping professions, it results from taking on the emotional burdens of others and giving emotional support, but this leads to a diminished capacity to empathise or feel compassion.
Chronic Fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long-term illness with a wide range of symptoms, the most common of which is extreme tiredness that doesn't improve with rest.
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Which one or ones jumped out for you?
Did any surprise you?
When I first discovered how many different ways I can feel tired, it actually made me feel tired! It sounds overwhelming, but there are many ways we can keep our tiredness to a minimum.
One is by increasing your self awareness, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about what you need and when you need it.
Incorporating a mindful living approach to this will also help with stress management and emotional regulation, two of the biggest disruptors in our lives. Having specific mindfulness practices for when you feel tired, gives you more agency and helps to rebalance your mind and body so you can get on with your life in the way you want.
It all starts with listening to yourself. Your body. What your intuition is telling you.
Give yourself some space to hear it.
Bring some loving kindness to yourself if you find yourself judging or criticising yourself.
Breathe.
Allow the next step to come to you.
Deep down you’ll know what you need to do.
If you’d like to explore how to use mindfulness to combat tiredness book a complimentary call with Kate to sample 1:1 mindfulness coaching and how it will support you.
Kate Greenslade, certified mindfulness coach