Dealing with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is tough when you feel tired all the time. For someone who has PCOS, that tired feeling may make it difficult to even get through the day. Don’t worry, because solutions do exist! In this article, we will explain why polycystic ovary syndrome can result in feelings of tiredness and how you can combat it with simple and practical tips to boost energy.
What Is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Fatigue?
Fatigue or tiredness is one of the most prevalent, frustrating symptoms in women with PCOS. It’s more than just feeling drowsy-it’s like being run on fumes all day. Despite having had a good night’s sleep, many women with PCOS complain of persistent exhaustion. It is more than just feeling drowsy-it’s like being run on fumes all day.
Why Is PCOS Associated With Fatigue?
There are so many reasons why women with PCOS experience fatigue. Let’s unravel them, shall we?
- Hormonal Imbalance: PCOS disrupts the levels of hormones in the body, including insulin, estrogen, and testosterone. All these imbalances have an impact on energy, leaving them feeling exhausted.
- Insulin Resistance: Most women with PCOS are infected with insulin resistance, meaning that their bodies are unable to utilize the insulin well. It leaves them with a high level of blood sugar that causes energy crashes and constant tiredness.
- Inflammation: Low-grade inflammation in PCOS has chronic risks that tend to exhaust energy and add to sentiments of fatigue.
- Poor Sleep Quality: Most PCOS-suffering women have related sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea that usually will not allow complete restorative sleep. Night restlessness knocks you drowsy every hour of the day.
- Mental Health: Anxiety and depression are easy victims to attack women in their lifetime. It can cause physiologic fatigue too.
Now that we know why polycystic ovary syndrome tiredness happens, let’s take the plunge into some really useful treatments to help you toss it off.
Effective Treatments to Win Over Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Tiredness
1. Pay attention to the Right Diet
What you eat significantly impacts how you feel. A healthy, balanced diet will help with the issue of insulin resistance, which can reduce inflammation for both factors contributing to fatigue. Try these dietary suggestions for fighting energy loss with PCOS:
- Eat whole foods: Focus on foods that come in more whole, less processed forms like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. These provide energy that lasts without bringing about sharp spikes in your blood sugar.
- Healthy fats: Include nuts, olive oil, and avocados that make your hormones level, keeping you moving throughout the day
- Reduce sugars and refined carbohydrates: Sugar-ridden food products and processed carbohydrates cause an increase in blood sugar, so stick to food with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes.
- Hydrate: Dehydration really cranks up the exhaustion. Keep drinking lots of water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated and energized.
2. Exercise Often
The last thing you might be thinking of doing when you are tired is exercise, but regular exercise can increase your energy levels. Exercise balances your insulin levels, reduces inflammation, and boosts mood traits that fight against PCOS fatigue.
- Start slow: You want to start doing something. If you do not have the energy to exercise, begin doing something as simple as walking for 10–15 minutes a day. As your energy rises, you can increase the time and intensity.
- Try strength training: Strength training exercises, like weight lifting, help make your body more sensitive to insulin, increasing your muscle mass, and thus boosting your metabolic rate and energy.
- Yoga or Pilates: Low-impact activities such as yoga or Pilates can help lower stress levels, improve the quality of sleep, and boost energy levels over time.
3. Have Enough Sleep
Poor sleep is generally one of the symptoms of PCOS among women; therefore, having better-quality sleep will make all the difference for someone trying to reduce tiredness. How to improve your sleep is as follows:
- Stick to a sleep schedule: Go to bed and wake at the same time every day even on weekends. It keeps your body in a rhythm, setting its internal clock.
- Have a relaxing pre-sleep routine: Avoid using screens for at least an hour before sleeping – avoid your cell phone and TV because of the interference from the blue light that can disturb you in your sleep. There are so many other nice things you can do before going to bed, such as reading, taking a warm bath, or meditating.
- Improve your sleep environment: Create a restful space by making your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. You can use blackout curtains, white noise machines, or earplugs when necessary.
4. Manage Stress Levels
Stress can exacerbate PCOS symptoms and leave you feeling drained. That’s why it’s very important to find ways to manage stress in daily living.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness techniques, like deep breathing, meditation, or journaling, can help you overwhelm stress and be more laid back.
- Take breaks: If your day is overwhelming, take little breaks to recharge. Even a 5-minute break can make you reset and feel less tired.
- Stay connected: Talking to friends or family can drive away the feeling of stress and boost one’s mood, which may turn their energy levels around.
5. Supplements
Certain supplements may be useful for boosting energy in patients with PCOS. Consult your doctor about any new supplement before you start using it, but here are some of them that might be helpful:
- Inositol: Myo-inositol and D-chiro inositol enhance insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS. As a result, this may decrease tiredness.
- Magnesium: Magnesium is required for energy and it happens that many women with PCOS suffer from a deficiency in their magnesium levels. Consuming a supplement might help you get rid of the feeling of fatigue.
- Vitamin D: Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in women with PCOS; this deficiency may be one of the causes of fatigue. If you suffer from a vitamin D deficiency, taking a supplement will increase your energy level.
6. Keep Track of Your Mental Health
Take proper care of your mental health because anxiety and depression can easily exaggerate feelings of tiredness. When experiencing overwhelmedness, anxiety, or depression, do not hesitate to approach a mental health professional who can assist you with managing your emotions and devise ways of coping that reduce tiredness.
Conclusion
Polycystic ovary syndrome tiredness may be debilitating, but you don’t have to suffer with it. Begin feeling more energetic by making small adjustments in diet, exercise, and sleep as well as stress-reduction habits. Of course, everyone is different and may have to try a little bit of this and a little bit of that to figure out just the right combination of changes that they feel works best for them.
Manage things one at a time. Do not be too hard on yourself. There is only so much that can be controlled, and with patience and persistence, you will be able to decrease fatigue and increase energy will make it easier to handle PCOS symptoms and live more meaningfully.
These powerful solutions, taken in stride, will do a lot to help you achieve a more energized and controlling life over PCOS.