Feeling exhausted and your flat white isn’t touching the sides? Fatigue is a feeling of tiredness or lack of energy that doesn’t go away, even when you rest. You can feel physically fatigued, psychologically fatigued or both. Most of the time low energy is caused by one or more of your habits (like doomscrolling before bed) or life circumstances (like a particularly stressful time at work). But in some cases, fatigue can be a symptom of an underlying medical problem that needs treatment. Here are some of the common causes of low energy in men and when you should see your GP about it.
Common causes of low energy in men
Poor sleep
An obvious — and common — cause of fatigue in men is sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation is when you don’t have enough sleep or the quality of your sleep is bad. It means you’re consistently sleeping less than seven to nine hours each night or your sleep is fragmented, disrupted or light. About one-third of Australians are thought to be sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation not only makes you feel fatigued, but it can affect your concentration and mood and cause short-term and long-term health issues. There are many things that contribute to sleep deprivation including lifestyle behaviours, sleeping environment, shift work, sleep disorders and other medical conditions. Learn more about improving your sleep here, and if you’re still struggling, see your doctor.
Sleep apnoea
One of the most common medical conditions that causes sleep deprivation and low energy is obstructive sleep apnoea. That’s when your throat repeatedly collapses and blocks the upper airway during your sleep. The blockage can be partial or complete, lasting anywhere between a few seconds and a minute. This causes you to stop breathing until your brain notices and wakes you up to get the throat muscles working again. You might not notice waking up throughout the night, but the broken sleep can leave you feeling exhausted the next day. Sleep apnoea increases your risk of accidents, heart attack and stroke, and contributes to long-term health issues like high blood pressure, cognitive decline and dementia, diabetes, depression and erectile dysfunction. If you’re waking up unrefreshed, maybe with a dry mouth or headache, or know that you snore, see your doctor.
Sedentary routine
Seems like a bit of a contradiction — less activity can make you feel more tired. But being sedentary can essentially cause your body to adapt to lower energy needs and to become less efficient. Your muscles become weaker, your circulation poorer, so when you do move, everyday tasks feel more tiring. Try to break up long periods of sitting with small movements, reduce the amount of time you spend sitting down, increase your incidental movement by taking the stairs or parking further away from your office, and aim to get the recommended amount of physical activity each day.
Poor diet
Your diet provides the energy your body requires to do all the things it needs to do — like breathing, pumping blood, thinking, healing, fighting infections and moving around. The energy in your diet comes from macronutrients — proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibre and organic acids — and the right balance of these is needed to keep you healthy. If your diet provides more than your body needs to function well, things it doesn’t need at all, or not enough of things it can’t do without, that can result in health problems and low energy. Aim to meet the Australian Dietary Guidelines, which means eating a wide variety of foods from the five food groups (fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, dairy foods, and lean meats), drink plenty of water, and limit foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol.
Stress
When you experience stress, your sympathetic nervous system switches on, releasing adrenaline and cortisol to give a short‑term energy boost. They can help you cope with the difficult situation that’s causing it. But if you’re not able to change the situation and stress goes on for a long time or is repeated too often, or if your stress response is activated unnecessarily (without a difficult situation), then it can cause problems with your physical and mental health. Stress can disrupt sleep, increase inflammation and impair glucose metabolism
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Depression
Fatigue is one of the most common feelings associated with depression. Depression can directly affect our energy levels and motivation, and it can also impact our sleep, diet, stress and exercise habits, which can indirectly influence fatigue. Some medications used to treat depression can also cause fatigue. Symptoms of depression also include a loss of interest in almost all daily activities, or not enjoying things that usually give you pleasure, or feeling sad or hopeless. Men experiencing depression are more likely than women to exhibit symptoms of irritability, anger, substance misuse, risk-taking, impulsivity and over-involvement in work. If you have symptoms of depression, even if you don’t feel sad, you should speak to your doctor.
Thyroid disorders
Your thyroid gland produces hormones that play critical roles in almost every function of the body including mood, metabolism and energy. Thyroid disorders are when your thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism) or too little (hypothyroidism). Symptoms of hyperthyroidism include unexplained weight loss, difficulty sleeping and diarrhoea. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, unexplained weight gain, low mood and brain fog. You can find out more about thyroid problems and their symptoms here and learn more about how thyroid problems impact your sex life here.
Low testosterone
Low testosterone or androgen deficiency is when the body does not make enough testosterone, which has wide-ranging effects on your wellbeing. Because testosterone supports so many systems in the body, low levels can leave men feeling persistently tired, even after a full night’s sleep. However, fatigue on its own isn’t enough to point the finger at your testosterone levels. It’s a non-specific symptom that overlaps with far more common issues such as poor sleep, chronic stress, chronic disease and depression. If low testosterone is contributing, fatigue is often accompanied by other signs like reduced libido, fewer erections, loss of muscle mass or increased body fat. Proper medical assessment and blood testing by a doctor (not just a “low t” clinic) are essential for diagnosis.
Chronic disease
Chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, chronic infections or inflammation, kidney or liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer can cause fatigue. These conditions drive fatigue by creating an ongoing “background load” on the body, stealing energy for repair, disrupting oxygen and fuel delivery, and interfering with sleep, mood, and movement. If you know you have a chronic condition, work with your doctor to manage the condition as best you can and figure out fatigue-specific treatments. If your fatigue is unexplained, it could be a sign of an underlying condition, so see a doctor to get to the bottom of it.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) is a severe multisystem disease that involves extreme fatigue lasting at least six months, which is not relieved by rest and limits your ability to do daily activities. Clearly, fatigue is the main symptom but others include brain fog, sleep disturbances and pain. The exact cause of CFS isn’t known, but it’s probably triggered by infection, physical trauma, genetic factors or environmental exposures. If your fatigue is getting in the way of your day-to-day life and it’s lasted over six months, speak to your doctor.
