What is Adrenal Fatigue? Things You Need to Know

Adrenal fatigue is a medical condition which is not recognized by medical professionals so often. It is a type of fatigue that is caused by the poor functioning of your adrenal gland. This fatigue can lead to physical, emotional or mental stress.

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal glands are responsible for secreting hormones. One of these hormones includes cortisol, which is responsible for controlling stress levels in the body. When things become too stressful, the levels of cortisol may be affected and reduce considerably.

• Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

There are a lot of symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue. However, the most important symptoms include:
– You have trouble finishing up your tasks
– You have trouble concentrating or thinking clearly
– You are always tired, even in the morning after a long night sleep
– You have trouble getting out of bed
– You will crave salty food due to reduction in aldosterone levels

• Causes of Adrenal Fatigue

There are a number of reasons why a person can get fatigue related to adrenal gland malfunction. Primary factor for fatigue is stress. Any kind of emotional, physical and mental stress can increase levels of unhappiness in your body, and cause adrenal gland to stop working properly.
Another important cause of fatigue is diet. Sugary diets and obesity both cause malfunctioning of adrenal hormone release. Also, insufficient sleep affects the levels of cortisol production in the body. If you don’t sleep properly, your natural circadian cycle is disturbed. Since cortisol is naturally produced in the morning, irregular sleep can disturb the hormone levels altogether.

• Controversy of Diagnosis

Many health professionals believe that your fatigue might be caused by an underlying condition such as diabetes and thyroid, rather than adrenal gland malfunction. According to health professionals who support adrenal fatigue, it is necessary to get a lab test of adrenal hormones.
Moreover, your health professional should carefully check you for any of the other underlying conditions that might cause fatigue as well. If you are all clear, and your adrenal hormones are still low, there is a high chance you are suffering from adrenal fatigue and you should get checked as soon as possible.

• Putting it All Together

The purpose of this article was to give you a brief overview about adrenal fatigue, its symptoms, causes and how doctors recognize it. After reading the above information, stop asking yourself “what is adrenal fatigue?” and start asking yourself “do I have it?” If you do, then it’s time to visit a doctor who can help you.