Range of afflictions, usually associated with physical or mental weakness
Medical condition
Fatigue Other names Exhaustion, weariness, tiredness, lethargy, listlessness Artistic representation of ME/CFS Specialty Primary care Treatment Avoid known stressors and unhealthy habits (drug use , excessive alcohol consumption , smoking), healthy diet, exercise regularly, medication , hydration , and vitamins
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion [ 1] or loss of energy.[ 2] [ 3]
Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated with medical conditions including autoimmune disease , organ failure , chronic pain conditions, mood disorders , heart disease , infectious diseases , and post-infectious-disease states.[ 4] However fatigue is complex and in up to a third of primary care cases no medical or psychiatric diagnosis is found.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
Fatigue (in the general usage sense of normal tiredness) often follows prolonged physical or mental activity. Physical fatigue results from muscle fatigue brought about by intense physical activity .[ 8] [ 9] [ 10] Mental fatigue results from prolonged periods of cognitive activity which impairs cognitive ability, can manifest as sleepiness , lethargy , or directed attention fatigue ,[ 11] and can also impair physical performance.[ 12]
^ "10 medical reasons for feeling tired" . nhs.uk . 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021 .
^ "Fatigue" . Mayo Clinic . Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-01-06 .
^ "Cancer terms" . Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2023-01-06 .
^ Finsterer J, Mahjoub SZ (August 2014). "Fatigue in healthy and diseased individuals". Am J Hosp Palliat Care . 31 (5): 562–575. doi :10.1177/1049909113494748 . PMID 23892338 . S2CID 12582944 .
^ Cite error: The named reference BMJ-Best-Practice-2023
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ "Medically unexplained symptoms" . 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2023 .
^ Haß U, Herpich C, Norman K (September 2019). "Anti-Inflammatory Diets and Fatigue" . Nutrients . 11 (10): 2315. doi :10.3390/nu11102315 . PMC 6835556 . PMID 31574939 .
^ Gandevia SC (February 1992). "Some central and peripheral factors affecting human motoneuronal output in neuromuscular fatigue". Sports Medicine . 13 (2): 93–98. doi :10.2165/00007256-199213020-00004 . PMID 1561512 . S2CID 20473830 .
^ Hagberg M (July 1981). "Muscular endurance and surface electromyogram in isometric and dynamic exercise". Journal of Applied Physiology . 51 (1): 1–7. doi :10.1152/jappl.1981.51.1.1 . PMID 7263402 .
^ Hawley JA, Reilly T (June 1997). "Fatigue revisited". Journal of Sports Sciences . 15 (3): 245–246. doi :10.1080/026404197367245 . PMID 9232549 .
^ Marcora SM, Staiano W, Manning V (March 2009). "Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans". Journal of Applied Physiology . 106 (3): 857–864. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.557.3566 . doi :10.1152/japplphysiol.91324.2008 . PMID 19131473 . S2CID 12221961 .
^ Martin K, Meeusen R, Thompson KG, Keegan R, Rattray B (September 2018). "Mental Fatigue Impairs Endurance Performance: A Physiological Explanation". Sports Med . 48 (9): 2041–2051. doi :10.1007/s40279-018-0946-9 . PMID 29923147 . S2CID 49317682 .