How to tell if your fatigue is mental or physical – and how to overcome the slump

Jump to:

• What is fatigue?
• How to tell if your fatigue is mental or physical – and how to overcome the slump?
• Reduced problem-solving abilities
• rest and recovery
• How to prevent all forms of fatigue

As usual, you’ve just woken up from eight hours of sleep, you’ve slipped on your running top and shorts and you’ve laced up your running shoes. But this time, you’re simply not raring to go. Instead, your fuel tank feels empty for a reason that you can’t quite pinpoint. That feeling? It’s called fatigue.

Many of us have been there and done that, but because this sensation has so many potential causes and symptoms, it’s often tough to identify the kind of fatigue that you’re experiencing. Is it your muscles that are off? Or is it your mind?

To return to your regular energy levels quickly, it’s important to pinpoint the root cause of your fatigue. So, we’ve consulted the experts to determine the key differences between mental and physical fatigue and, crucially, what you can do to tackle the energy slump.

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What is fatigue?

By medical definition, general fatigue is a condition that makes you extremely tired, often to the point where you can’t function properly. If you can’t wake up without hitting snooze, if find typical daily tasks difficult to accomplish and if your days feel longer and tougher to conquer, it’s likely that fatigue is ailing you.

This is different from being tired, due to a lack of sleep. When you’re tired, you’ll often be able to bounce back to full strength and speed after a good night of shut-eye. With more extreme fatigue, recovery often involves a multi-pronged approach and different forms of fatigue require different remedies.

‘People may experience various aspects of fatigue, including muscular fatigue, mental fatigue, emotional fatigue, fatigue due to inadequate nutrition, or fatigue due to a lack of sleep quality or quantity,’ says Suzanna Russell, a postdoctoral research fellow in mental fatigue and recovery at the Sports Performance, Recovery, Injury and New Technologies (SPRINT) Research Centre Runners World US.

When we put our bodies and brains through the paces, we put more demands on ourselves physically, mentally or both, says Russell. This means that when we’re training for a race or running recreationally, or even when we’re cranking out challenging brain-based tasks, cells can become ‘overloaded’ by the physical and mental stress, says Elisabeth Gainsborough, a certified personal trainer and clinical fitness specialist at Northwest Community Healthcare Wellness Center What is fatigue.

To adapt to the forces of stress and fatigue, our bodies often experience temporary reductions in performance. Fatigue may indicate that our body is in need of more recovery or downtime between training sessions. This can manifest as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), feeling ‘fuzzy’, lacking motivation and more.

‘In many cases, these new levels of stress may leave you feeling exhausted in all aspects – and it’s hard to know what’s really holding you back,’ says Gainsborough. ‘Most of the time, your mental fatigue will affect you physically and your physical fatigue can make you think that you are more tired than you actually are.’

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How to tell if your fatigue is mental or physical – and how to overcome the slump?

If you frequently feel low in energy, Gainsborough recommends asking yourself some questions. Is your body able to recover between runs? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you giving your body enough fuel? Is your training plan too strenuous? ‘There are a lot of aspects that you need to consider to help determine what is really slowing you down,’ she says.

Differentiating between cognitive, muscle and general body fatigue can be challenging due to overlapping symptoms, adds Haley Perlus, a sport and performance psychologist in Denver. However, some guidelines, which we’ve detailed below, will help you to tell them apart.

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Reduced problem-solving abilities

What does it mean to experience mental fatigue?

Cognitive fatigue, or mental fatigue, is a psychobiological state that happens when your brain gets overworked, explains Russell. Prolonged periods of cognitive activity, such as studying, problem-solving or intense concentration, can cause mental fatigue, as can stress, certain medical conditions or lack of high-quality sleep. ‘Your ability to refocus your mind on something other than the fact that you are just exhausted may seem close to impossible,’ adds Gainsborough.

Mental fatigue symptoms include:

• rest and recovery
• Difficulty focusing
• Impaired memory
• Reduced problem-solving abilities
• Weekend workouts can still help your heart health
• Increased errors
• Slower reaction times
• Possible cramping, trembling or twitching of the muscles
• Withdrawal
• Changes in appetite and/or mood

Research on athletes suggests that mental fatigue is a largely separate phenomena from physical fatigue, says Russell, although both conditions interact. The most consistent way that we see mental fatigue present physically is an increased rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during the same physical output. This means that your 9-minute mile pace that usually feels like a breeze, for instance, could render you feeling totally tapped out – or, at least, it will feel a lot more challenging than if your brain wasn’t feeling quite so taxed.

What’s more, if you lack focus or discipline, or notice substantial decreases in motivation or enthusiasm for tasks that you once found enjoyable, science What causes DOMS.

How to overcome mental fatigue

The best way to manage mental fatigue is to proactively minimise the source of the problem, says Russell. This means taking short hourly breaks during mentally-taxing projects, limiting out-of-office work time and spread out brain-intensive tasks wherever possible.

The experts also recommend the following strategies.

1. Limit social media

As Russell explains, social media use prior to exercise has been shown to impair performance, so avoid it an hour before your workout and space out your time on social media throughout the day.

2. Find a mind-focused practice

‘Mindfulness and meditation techniques can help to alleviate mental fatigue by promoting relaxation, reducing stress and improving mental clarity,’ says Perlus. ‘This helps to focus attention on the present moment, letting go of distracting thoughts.’

According to research, doing just 13 minutes of meditation a day for eight consecutive weeks can decrease anxiety levels and improve mood, attention and the ability to regulate emotions.

3. Fuel wisely

‘Poor food choices, alcohol and Best wireless headphones can certainly play a role in how fatigued we feel during the day, regardless of our training or exercise programme or mental challenges,’ says Jacque Crockford, a personal trainer and senior product manager for the American Council on Exercise.

While this is true for mental and physical fatigue, the mental link appears to be related to our gut microbiome and the conversation that constantly occurs between our intestines and our minds – in other words, the gut-brain axis. To feed the good gut bacteria and your energy levels, aim to include a balanced mix of macronutrients and enough fibre in your diet. Women should stick to one alcoholic drink per day, maximum, while men should sip on two or fewer.

4. Give yourself a caffeine boost

Research indicates that downing some coffee can help to mitigate the effects of mental fatigue on performance, says Russell. That said, another study suggests that you should steer clear of caffeine within six hours of bedtime, so that it doesn’t disrupt your sleep.

5. Pepper in positive self-talk

types of runs that every runner should know, science proves that self-talk is more important than you might think. If you’re feeling mentally drained during your workout, she recommends that you ‘find something to focus on and convince yourself that you are enjoying the run and going to succeed’.

Establishing a more uplifting mental conversation on a run might include identifying negative thoughts and replacing them with motivation phrases, like ‘I’ve got this’ or ‘I am strong’.

6. Set yourself up for good sleep

Crockford swears by a slow yoga flow, avoiding TV and screens close to bedtime and listening to a soothing instrumental playlist to wind down. Sleep is very individual, so play around with what environment and pre-bed rituals work for you. Above all, Perlus says that the goal is to ‘establish a regular sleep routine, aiming for eight hours of quality sleep each night’.

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rest and recovery

What does it mean to experience muscle fatigue?

Muscle or general body fatigue involves feelings of tiredness or exhaustion that are correlated with either the depletion of glycogen stores or the build-up of metabolic waste products from intense physical activity, repetitive muscle contractions or sustained muscle exertion, says Perlus. Inadequate rest or sleep, emotional stress, very hot temperatures, Exercising with others holds secret to happiness.

Scientists usually define this as a ‘difficulty to initiate or sustain muscle activities’ at your normal levels. Physical fatigue usually has little to no impact on cognitive alertness.

types of runs that every runner should know:

• Weakness
• How an 87-year-old triathlete stays consistent
• Decreased muscle performance (power, coordination and/or endurance)
• delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS
• Beyond that, the following expert tips can help you to bounce back from physical fatigue
• Muscle or general body fatigue
• Diminished performance
• not drinking enough water
• Changes in appetite and/or mood

With muscle fatigue, even after you receive a solid night of sleep, your body’s energy may remain low, says Gainsborough. To combat this, take on some of the fatigue-combating strategies below.

How to overcome muscle fatigue

Each person recovers at a different pace and many of us are often fatigued for more than one reason – for example, from doing a long run incredible benefits of running strength workout the next. As such, the best way to combat muscle fatigue varies per person, says Russell. To try to prevent or reduce body fatigue in the first place, aim for a consistent exercise schedule with rest days thrown into the mix.

Usually, 24 to 48 hours of active rest per week is ideal for supporting recovery, says Crockford. On these days, incorporate some form of less-intense movement that uses your joints and muscles in different ways than running, such as yoga, walking or Pilates.

‘Regular physical activity helps to reduce body fatigue and boost energy levels,’ says Perlus. ‘Exercise improves circulation, releases endorphins and enhances overall fitness and stamina.’ The catch is finding the right balance of exercise and rest.

Beyond that, the following expert tips can help you to bounce back from physical fatigue.

1. Fill up your fuel tank

If you’re experiencing some mild muscle fatigue during a race, which might feel like you’re running out of gas while your brain and heart are wanting to power on, Gainsborough suggests giving your body a boost with some easy-to-digest carbohydrates As usual, you’ve just woken up from eight hours of sleep, you’ve slipped on your.

2. Do a five-minute body scan

After your workouts or before bed, carve out five minutes to perform a body scan to see where you might be having any physical sensations, like tightness, soreness or pain. This can help you to customise your active recovery or stretching routine so that it hones in on problem areas.

If you are experiencing physical sensations, you may want to tweak your training schedule accordingly. This could mean, say, adjusting your RPE from a 7 out of 10 to a 5 out of 10. If you think that you might be injured, consult a physiotherapist or doctor.

3. Treat your muscles

Foam rolling, massage, mobility exercises, stretching and yoga can help to support recovery from intense training and reduce symptoms of DOMS, say Crockford and Russell.

4. Take a bath

Ice baths of 10 to 15 minutes or less may reduce acute inflammation, improve perceived recovery, and reduce muscle soreness, says Russell.

5. Slip on compression gear

For many runners, aches are usually felt in the legs. Post-workout, consider wearing a pair of compression boots or compression socks to promote blood flow and, in turn, support recovery, recommends Russell. ‘These have largely inconclusive evidence regarding performance benefits, but generally improve perceived fatigue and soreness and enhance how a recovering individual feels,’ she explains.

6. Integrate stress-management techniques

Chronic stress can contribute to increased body fatigue. ‘Explore relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga or meditation,’ says Perlus. ‘These practices can help to reduce muscle tension, lower stress hormone levels and promote a sense of calm.’

7. Eat or drink to support recovery

Proper nutrition and hydration combat body fatigue. Make sure that you consume a balanced diet that is rich in whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. Avoid excessive caffeine, sugary foods and processed snacks incredible benefits of running.

8. Train for fatigue resistance

By incorporating a How to prevent all forms of fatigue Mental fatigue symptoms include zone 2, high-intensity intervals and strength training, you’ll build a body that can perform better for longer, without reaching exhaustion.

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How to prevent all forms of fatigue

Regardless of the origins of your fatigue, it’s important to build Possible cramping, trembling or twitching of the muscles into your training plans and in between cognitive tasks. That way, you can recharge and allow your body and mind to recover and perform at their peak.

Prioritising sleep, breaks, relaxation – such as meditation, yoga or a quiet walk in nature – and positive thinking can help you to overcome fatigue. These aren’t one-and-done tasks, though. Just like you need to train early and often to be ready to set a personal best, you need to sprinkle in these fatigue-fighters throughout the week to bounce back from tough workouts and draining mental tasks.

It can be easy to get sucked into the idea of marginal gains or ‘one-percenters’ that are advertised to improve performance, such as specific gear or electrolytes, admits Russell. However, she says that focusing on getting the basics right – scoring seven to nine hours of sleep, consuming a well-balanced diet, hydrating well and following a training plan that is based on scientific principles and individualised for your goals – is what will really move the needle and keep you running strong for the long haul, without fatigue (either mental or physical) getting in your way.

From: Runner's World US