How to Win the Fight Against Fatigue

In other Health Watch articles, we’ve talked about the many energizing benefits of restful sleep. But even if you are getting plenty of sleep and are not feeling drowsy, you may still be suffering from fatigue. There’s a difference – in general, drowsiness is feeling the need to sleep, whereas fatigue is a lack of energy and motivation, often accompanied by apathy (a feeling of indifference or not caring about what happens). Fatigue is disruptive and interferes with all aspects of daily living. In the United States, fatigue results in about 10 million doctor visits each year.

Fatigue can be a normal and important response to physical exertion, emotional stress, or boredom. However, it can also be a sign of a more serious psychological or physical disorder. Some of the more common of these are:

• An allergy that leads to hay fever or asthma
• Anemia (including iron deficiency anemia)
• Depression or grief
• Sleep disorders such as ongoing insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea, or narcolepsy
• Underactive thyroid or overactive thyroid
• Autoimmune diseases such as lupus
• Chronic liver or kidney disease
• Congestive heart failure
• Diabetes
• Poor nutrition
• Certain medications may also cause drowsiness or fatigue, including antihistamines for allergies, blood pressure medicines, sleeping pills, steroids, and diuretics.

If you have any of these medical problems, please see your doctor. For the rest of you, here are some great lifestyle tips that can really help you to win the fight against fatigue:

• Get adequate, regular, and consistent amounts of sleep each night. It helps to go to bed at the same time each night and to get up at the same time each day, and to sleep in a cool, quiet, and comfortable room.
• Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, and don’t skip breakfast. When you first wake up, your blood sugar is low, and eating a healthy breakfast can serve as an energy booster that will start your day off right.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day. You may be surprised to learn that nothing can tire you out faster than dehydration, so keep a bottle of water by your side whenever possible.
• Exercise regularly. Moderate aerobic exercise, 3 or 4 times a week for 30 to 45 minutes, will help increase your energy level. The key is consistency, if you want to see consistent results.
• Learn how to relax. When you’re under excessive stress, your breathing becomes shallower, limiting the flow of vital oxygen to the cells of your body and brain. Whenever you’re feeling worn down by stress, try taking 5 to 10 deep breaths to help regain control. Breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation are techniques you can practice any time, and they’re great tools for managing stress and fatigue.
• Keep a reasonable and realistic schedule. Prioritize your daily to-do list and pace yourself as you work your way through your day. And make sure to schedule time for yourself. Even a half hour a day spent doing something that you enjoy will pay big dividends in reducing fatigue.
• Change your stressful circumstances, if possible. For example, take a vacation, and deal directly with problems in a relationship or with your boss.
• Take a multivitamin to help your body’s natural defenses against fatigue. FreeLife offers advanced multi-nutrient formulas that can give you an edge in your daily fight against fatigue.
• Drink 4 oz. (120 ml) of GoChi^®every day!

In a recent human clinical trial featured in the peer-reviewed Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (JACM), participants drinking a daily serving of just 4 ounces (120 ml) of GoChi reported experiencing significantly increased energy levels and reduced fatigue in as little as 14 days! Researchers also noted that the GoChi drinkers reported reduced stress and improvements in sleep quality.

The publication of our study by the independent experts of a peer-reviewed publication such as JACM represents a first for a functional juice beverage in the Direct Selling industry, and it demonstrates FreeLife’s ongoing commitment to supporting its claims with solid scientific research.

Here’s to winning the fight against fatigue. Here’s to GoChi!

Your FreeLife Science Team

“Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia: Fatigue.” U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health. Bethesda, MD. Retrieved September 5, 2008. Available at http:/ /www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003088.htm

“How to beat fatigue.” Arthritis Today. June 8, 2007. Arthritis Foundation, Washington, DC. Retrieved September 5, 2008. Available at: http://www.art hritis.org/how-to-beat-fatigue-1.php

Eustice, Carol and Richard. “10 Ways to Fight Fatigue.” About.com: Arthritis. June 23, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008. Available at: http://arthri tis.about.com/od/fatigue/a/fatigue.htm

Puetz T, O’Connor P. “Low-intensity exercise reduces fatigue symptoms by 65 percent.” UGA Office of Public Affairs News Service. University of Georgia. Retrieved September 5, 2008. Available at: http: //www.uga.edu/news/artman/publish/080228_Fatigue.shtml

Amagase H, Nance DM. “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Study of the General Effects of a Standardized Lycium barbarum (Goji) Juice, GoChi™.” J Altern Complement Med. 2008; 14(4), pp. 403-412. Abstract available on PubMed at http://www.pubmed.gov (PMID: 18447631)