We
all feel fatigued from time to time — due to lack of sleep, overexertion,
stress, long or irregular work hours, or other causes. It only takes a few
nights of poor sleep to impair your performance at work or in school, or to
make you feel unusually tired during the day. Feelings of tiredness, low
energy, sleepiness, or exhaustion that come on quickly and are resolved after a
refreshing period of rest, relaxation, and quality sleep usually are associated
with a health condition known as acute
fatigue.

Insomnia,
the inability to stay asleep throughout the night, is a common cause of acute
fatigue for many people. In a telephone survey of 700,000 U.S. adults conducted
by Gallup-Healthways, 29 percent of respondents said they did not feel well
rested the day prior to their participation in the survey.The
survey also found that the demographic groups most likely to feel fatigued were
females, people with low incomes, adults under age 50, and people living with children under
age 18. Another telephone survey of 583 Americans — 62 percent of whom were
women — by researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that more women
than men are more likely to suffer from “sleep disruption” related to family
responsibilities, parenting concerns, relationship problems, and other issues
affecting work-home balance.

Sleep
apnea is another sleep disorder that can lead to acute fatigue in both adults
and children. A person with sleep apnea, which is diagnosed through an
overnight test known as a sleep study (polysomnogram), will stop breathing for
short periods while asleep. Warning signs of sleep apnea include loud snoring;
frequent and sudden awakening, choking, or gasping for air throughout the night;
frequent daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, and the inability to focus and
concentrate during routine daily activities.

Some
people experience extremely debilitating physical and/or mental fatigue on an
ongoing, long-term basis. This type of fatigue may be associated with a medical
condition known as chronic fatigue
syndrome. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe CFS
as a “devastating and complex disorder characterized by overwhelming fatigue
that is not improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental
activity.”

Medical
researchers have been unable to pinpoint a direct cause of CFS, although some
evidence suggests that CFS can occur in certain people with immune-system
disorders, certain viral infections, or hormonal imbalances. Women seem to be
more prone to developing CFS than men, and the condition most frequently
affects people between the ages of 40 and 50. In addition to overwhelming
exhaustion that is not alleviated after a good night’s sleep, patients with CFS
may have chronic sore throats, memory loss, difficulties with concentration,
unusual joint or muscle pain, sudden headaches. Usually, a person needs to
experience these symptoms for six months or longer for a diagnosis of CFS to be
considered. Doctors have no specific laboratory test or imaging study to
diagnose CFS. The process of diagnosis involves eliminating other medical or
emotional causes of the patient’s fatigue, and your doctor may perform blood or
urine tests or order imaging studies to rule out these other causes.

Although
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved a specific medication to
treat CFS, some doctors will prescribe antidepressants, sleep aids,
anti-anxiety agents, or pain relievers to help manage a patient’s most
bothersome symptoms. Exercise therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and
psychotherapy may be used in combination with prescription medicine to improve
the quality of life for people with CFS.

If
you or someone you love is struggling with acute or chronic fatigue, talk to
your family medicine physician about your concerns. You also can learn more
about CFS in this

free factsheet from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health.

*Joshua Feinberg, D.O., is a family medicine
physician in practice at the Crozer Health Pavilion, 145
Brinton Lake Road, Suite 201, Glen Mills, PA 19342, 610-459-1619.

About Crozer Keystone Staff

Crozer-Keystone Health System’s physicians, specialists and advanced practitioners are committed to improving the health of our community through patient-centered, quality care across a full continuum of health services. Crozer Brinton Lake is Crozer-Keystone’s comprehensive outpatient care facility in western Delaware County, offering primary care, specialty services, outpatient surgery and advanced cancer treatment. Contact us: 300 Evergreen Drive, Glen Mills, PA 19342 http://www.crozerkeystone.org/Brinton-Lake 1-855-254-7425

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