Fatigue

Spring fatigue is often due more to stress than to seasonal fatigue, according to experts.

Workers feel especially sleepy and tired during spring. It is a natural condition that comes from the body’s adjustments to changes in one’s external environment from winter to spring. But as the working environment is roughly similar for all seasons, it can be a stretch to attribute this to body maladjustments alone.

Seasonal fatigue may be caused by heightened daily activities leading to a nutrition imbalance due to an increased need for nutrients, such as proteins, vitamins, and minerals, which is not being satisfied properly. But these days, nutrient shortages are far less common than the over-ingestion of nutrients.

Professor Shin Ho-chul, a family practitioner at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, said, “During spring, many people are engaged in activities at work and at home with marriages, moving, starting work, and school. Spring fatigue problems can be caused by the stress from these changes that accumulate in the body.”

Sleepiness after meals is not caused by seasonal fatigue. It is a natural condition caused when the blood moves to the stomach in order to digest the ingested food, so that less blood flows to the brain.

Another reason may be the biological clock, which is set to conditions approximating midnight through body temperature and hormonal changes around lunchtime.

Reassessing daily patterns-

If you are especially tired during the day, and this fatigue continues for a number of days, the reason may lie with faulty daily patterns rather than season-induced fatigue.

By drinking coffee frequently due to sleepiness, or smoking or drinking in order to relieve stress, one may feel more fatigue or sleepiness. Smoking especially enhances the sensitivity of the nerves, leading to greater usage of oxygen and fatigue.

In order to provide the brain with the needed nutrients in the morning and to avoid overeating during lunch, it is essential not to skip breakfast.

Professor Park Kyung-hee, a family practicionist at the Sungshim Hospital of Hallym Medical College, warned, “By skipping breakfast, the body gets into a low-glucose state, leading to sleepiness and a lack of concentration all morning.”

Engaging in sudden strenuous exercise with the coming of spring may also induce fatigue. The best way is to engage in light exercise such as free gymnastics, stretching, and walks in order to relax tense muscles. Light exercise before sleep may also aid in deeper sleep.

When busy, one can make a habit of processing work by its priority. Rest periods can be taken in 10 to 15 minute intervals rather than a single long break.

Professor Shin said, “Work-related stress should be resolved that day,” and that “learning the methods of deep breathing, meditation, and muscle relaxation will aid the body in relaxing itself.”

Menus consisting of sweet or oily dishes should also be avoided. By enhancing the amount of insulin in the body, these foods drop the glucose rate and lead to more fatigue.

Jin-Han Lee likeday@donga.com