I don’t remember people talking about being tired this much years ago. Now it feels as though almost every conversation includes it somehow. Someone says they are exhausted, someone else says they barely slept, another says they can’t switch off, and everybody laughs as if it’s completely normal to feel permanently drained.
But I don’t think it is normal.
I think we have slowly accepted a way of living that is exhausting us physically and mentally, and because everybody around us feels the same, we no longer question it.
The other day I was standing in a queue behind someone ordering a large coffee, an energy drink, and something sweet “just to get through the afternoon,” and I remember thinking, this is where so many people are now. They are no longer eating or drinking to nourish themselves. They are simply trying to keep themselves going.
And the body can only do that for so long.
People wake up tired, rely on caffeine to function, skip meals, eat quickly, sit most of the day, barely drink water, sleep badly, and live under constant stress. Then they wonder why they feel foggy, irritable, anxious, and exhausted all the time.
The body is constantly trying to keep up.
And what worries me is how young this is becoming. I hear people in their 30s and 40s talking as though feeling unwell is just part of life now.
It isn’t.
Of course life is busy, and I’m not pretending stress doesn’t exist, but we cannot ignore how much our lifestyle contributes to how we feel. Food matters. Hydration matters. Movement matters. Rest matters. The body keeps responding to whatever we repeatedly give it.
If your diet is mostly processed foods, sugar, convenience meals, and caffeine, your energy will reflect that. If you are dehydrated, constantly overstimulated, and never properly resting, your body will eventually start struggling.
And this is why I always come back to simple things, because people think health has to be complicated when often it’s the basics that are missing.
Real food.
More plants.
Proper meals.
Enough water.
Walking.
Fresh air.
Sleeping properly.
Slowing down occasionally instead of constantly pushing through.
I’m not talking about perfection, and I’m certainly not talking about living like a monk. I’m talking about paying attention before the body starts forcing you to.
Because exhaustion is not always something to “push through.” Sometimes it’s a message.
If you are reading this and constantly feeling tired, don’t just normalise it. Stop and ask yourself honestly how you are living and what your body is trying to tell you.
Sometimes the biggest changes begin with the simplest things.
Prevention is better than cure always
Milvia Pili
Functional Nutritional Therapist
