by sabrina maddeaux
do you feel tired? run down? like your under-eyes have more baggage than the cargo hold of a boeing 747?
welcome to the club. a tiredness epidemic is sweeping the western world.
in 2014, the stanford pulse institute released the results of a survey that found 76 per cent of workers felt tired on multiple days of the week and 15 per cent actually nodded off on the job at least once per week. type “why am i” into google, and two of the top three autocomplete suggestions are “so tired” and “always tired.”
as this self-formed plague continues to infect the inhabitants of the modern world, the desperate search for a cure has — at least, in part — fuelled the massive wellness industry. it turns out, we’ll try just about anything to feel more energized and alert, including mushroom elixirs, essential oils, lemon water first thing in the morning, iv vitamin drips, light therapy, b12 booster shots, cutting out gluten and putrid sips of apple cider vinegar. goop even sells “why am i so effing tired” vitamin packs, for which a monthly subscription costs $75 usd.
there may be some merit to these solutions, but many people seem to overlook the simplest and most inexpensive one: get more sleep. while most understand inadequate sleep leaves us more sluggish, moody and unmotivated, few truly grasp how far-reaching and dire the effects can be.