Symptoms, types and prevention of fatigue in adults and children

Expert: Tatyana Sergeevna Stepicheva

“Life is hectic, there are so many things to do, one is more important than the other, there is no time to sleep and eat” - this is how one can describe the life of an average resident of a metropolis. Constant employment and lack of rest, disruption of biological rhythms, stress - all these are companions of modern life. The downside of this rhythm of life is overwork.

And this is not just a state of “no strength”, overwork is a medical diagnosis, which in the International Classification of Diseases is called an overworked state (Z73.0). It must be distinguished from simple fatigue or fatigue. When tired, a person feels a decrease in performance and a deterioration in well-being. But these symptoms disappear after proper sleep or rest. In the case of overwork, everything is much more serious.

Overfatigue is a stage of long-term, chronic fatigue

If the state of exhaustion and fatigue is ignored for a long time, then it can go into the stage of overwork. The body does not rest even at night, all resources are so depleted that it can no longer resist external influences, all systems begin to fail - cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, etc. First of all, overwork can provoke diseases of the nervous system.

Causes of overwork

The main reason for overwork is obvious - there is a lot of work, and there is little quality, proper rest.

Fatigue can be caused by:

1. poor working conditions;
2. unfavorable living conditions;
3. malnutrition;
4. heavy physical activity.

So, if you work 10-12 hours a day, eat on the go whenever you have to and whatever you have, and after work you go to the gym without training, then you are at risk.

The situation will be aggravated by frequent stress that accompanies both at home and at work, poor quality and insufficient duration of sleep, lack of minimal physical activity during regular mental work; long monotonous and monotonous work.

What is overwork?

Overwork occurs when overtime hours worked, week after week or year after year, begin to have a detrimental effect on a person's health, family, community and economy. What happens is that fatigue and stress accumulate, leading to a greater risk of errors, accidents, injuries, health problems, reduced product quality, and decreased productivity.

Working hard is to some extent a competitive advantage for both employees and management. However, the resulting fatigue also leads to poor health in the long term.

Overwork is a self-destructive condition. A situation where there is too much work, not enough time to complete the required tasks and not enough resources will certainly not lead to anything good.

The body's response to overwork varies from person to person, but ensuring industrial safety in such conditions is difficult. Ideas about overwork of an individual are of great importance, since each working person reacts differently to overwork.

Endurance and the ability to cope with stress are individual for each working employee and depend on his needs, grievances, ambitions, lifestyle and expectations.

Signs of overwork

Symptoms

, which are worth paying attention to in order to recognize overwork in time and take action.

1. You feel extremely tired, even if you have rested for 5 to 7 hours before.
2. You often suffer from colds and respiratory diseases.
3. You suffer from headaches and/or stomach pain.
4. You suffer from insomnia.
5. We noticed that memory became worse, it was more difficult to concentrate and switch.
6. They began to lash out at loved ones and were constantly irritated.
7. Lost appetite or, on the contrary, constantly want to chew something.
8. You have become worse at work, solving production problems is becoming increasingly difficult, and in general you notice that you are slow.
9. Redness of the eyes.
10. 10. Apathy and indifference.

These signs are characteristic of both physical and mental fatigue.

The first arises as a result of hard work associated with constant tension of certain muscle groups. The difference with physical fatigue is that it is easier to cope with. It is enough for a person to get enough sleep, relax his muscles, for example, with a massage or a bath with warm water.

Mental fatigue is much more common. With mental fatigue, brain cells are depleted from constant excessive workload. The danger of mental fatigue is that it can go unnoticed for a long time, it increases gradually, physical manifestations begin when the process has already gone far. Therefore, mental fatigue is more difficult to treat.

There are 3 stages of mental fatigue

1. First - beginning

   . The person feels quite energetic and efficient. All that worries him is poor sleep (he falls asleep worse, wakes up often), because of which he feels unrested in the morning, and decreased appetite.

2. Second - easy

   . Drowsiness worsens, it is joined by lethargy and apathy, painful sensations appear (head, heart, stomach). Work duties are becoming increasingly difficult to perform: it is difficult to concentrate, work is slower than usual.

3. The third is expressed.

   In addition to the constant feeling of fatigue and low performance, more and more physical symptoms appear from various organs. Body temperature may rise and weight may decrease. Women report menstrual irregularities. The person takes on a sickly appearance: sunken eyes, pale skin, bruises under the eyes, etc.

There is also a fourth stage of overwork. The Japanese came up with a special term for it - “karoshi” or “karoshi”. This term can be translated as “death at work from overwork.” Excessive workloads are increasingly leading to death. In Japan, this phenomenon is taking on depressing proportions. In 2015, more than two thousand such cases were recorded (according to the Japanese Ministry of Labor). The Japanese, seriously concerned about this problem, conducted a study and found that 80 additional hours per month (in addition to eight hours of daily working time) spent at the workplace can lead to karoshi.

Russia does not yet maintain similar statistics. No one can say how many people get sick and die from overwork. But the general trend is that more and more people are seeking medical help due to diseases acquired due to overwork.

Essence and types of overwork

Overfatigue is a pathological condition that is expressed in exhaustion of the nervous system and disruption of excitation-inhibition functions. In practice, this means that the human nervous system, under the influence of constant stress, is under tension, but practically does not relax.

It is literally “overwhelmed” with signals from the brain, muscles, and sensory organs and does not have time to process them. As a result, nerve impulses reach muscles and organs late or in a distorted form. Outwardly, it looks like impaired concentration, memory impairment, drowsiness, muscle pain and other signs.

Doctors distinguish four types of overwork:

• physical;
• emotional;
• mental;
• nervous.

Despite the fact that these types are formally separated, in reality they are closely related to each other. As a rule, a person develops two or several types of fatigue - simultaneously or one after the other.

The nervous system permeates all other systems and organs of a person, so it is quite natural that nervous exhaustion causes a decrease in muscle tone (accordingly, physical fatigue) or malfunctions in the functioning of the endocrine system, which is responsible, among other things, for mood (from which it is not far from emotional fatigue). It is also obvious that nervous exhaustion has a negative effect on brain function.

Therefore, if you discover signs of one type of overwork, you should not hope that you are protected from another. Rather, on the contrary - this indicates that you are in a high-risk group.

Who is susceptible to overwork

Most often, employees in responsible positions suffer from chronic overwork; those who do not have the opportunity to take a full vacation, often work on weekends and go on business trips. Work associated with constant communication with people and conflict situations is fraught with overwork.

If thoughts about work do not leave you outside the office, you scroll through work issues in your head in the evening, on weekends, on vacation - this is the first signal that in order to maintain mental and physical health, something needs to be changed in life.

Treatment

If you ignore the manifestations of overwork, this will lead to various complications, deterioration of your condition, and loss of performance. People often tend to either ignore the symptoms of the disorder in question or downplay their significance, which often leads to the occurrence of psychopathological abnormalities and neurological disorders: neurosis-like conditions, neurocirculatory dystonias, hysteria. In addition, this leads to an increased risk of various somatic pathologies, such as gastric and duodenal ulcers, hypertension, etc.

Frequently repeated overwork causes immune disorders and, as a consequence, the appearance of infectious diseases and chronic inflammation. For these and other reasons, therapeutic measures for the condition being analyzed must be timely and adequate.

The main difficulty in treating overfatigue lies in its diagnosis, since it is often necessary to make a diagnosis only on the basis of the individual’s complaints and medical history. Additional methods for recognizing the disease are laboratory tests and hardware diagnostics.

It should also be taken into account that the clinical picture described above may be characteristic of such disorders as anemia, infectious diseases, withdrawal syndrome, side effects of pharmacopoeial drugs, poisoning with toxic substances, endocrine disruptions, metabolic disorders, hypokalemia, strict diets, oncological pathologies, mental illnesses, systemic pathology.

First of all, the treatment strategy is aimed at eliminating any possible overload that may cause fatigue.

At the initial stage, the main measures are following the daily routine, eliminating psycho-emotional stress, stopping physical activity and mental activity. The decision to resume the usual rhythm of life is made by the doctor, based on the speed of recovery of the body.

At the next stage of the disorder, complete rest, protecting the patient from everyday troubles and work problems, massage, daily walks, and autogenic training are recommended.

Treatment of the last stage of fatigue is recommended to be carried out inpatiently. For the first three weeks, the patient is protected from everything; his time is devoted exclusively to passive rest and relaxation. Then dosed physical exercises and walks are allowed.

Pharmacopoeial drugs are prescribed strictly in accordance with the indications; the use of general restoratives and specific drugs is mainly indicated, namely:

– vitamins (for example, supradin, aimed at improving the condition of capillaries, tissues, cells, promoting activity, stimulating intellectual processes, awakening metabolism);

– sedatives (herbal drugs and tranquilizers may be prescribed);

– medications aimed at stimulating cerebral circulation (for example, platiphylline, which has a vasodilator, antispasmodic, mild sedative effect, reduces sweating);

– nootropics (for example, aminalon, which helps lower blood pressure, normalize cerebral circulation, optimize brain metabolism, neutralize and eliminate toxic substances, optimize cognitive processes). One of the effective drugs for overwork is the Italian drug Gliatilin. Due to the original phosphate formula, it quickly penetrates into brain cells and is well absorbed. Gliatilin has a positive effect on the transmission of nerve impulses and activates brain function. A course of treatment helps eliminate fatigue, general weakness, headaches and dizziness. The use of Gliatilin increases performance, improves memory and stabilizes the emotional background. It is well tolerated by patients; it is contraindicated for use in people with hypersensitivity to choline alfoscerate.

– hormonal drugs, but only at the third stage (glucocorticoids).

It is also practiced to use general tonics aimed at improving the functioning of the nervous system (for example, tincture of lemongrass, ginseng root).

In addition to the listed measures, the appointment of physiotherapeutic procedures, as well as medicinal baths, is indicated.

Among physical procedures, preference is given to:

– hydromassage and regular massage, since such an effect on the body can activate performance, strengthen the immune system, improve mood,

lose weight, eliminate headaches, insomnia, normalize blood circulation, relax;

– pulsed electrical influence, which consists of alternating current supply, which eliminates irritability, normalizes sleep, relieves stress, increases stress resistance;

– magnetic therapy, which has a beneficial effect on overall well-being, improves sleep, and relieves emotional stress;

– physical therapy, which has a good effect on the psychophysiological state and activates the functioning of systems;

– acupuncture, which helps eliminate pain and normalize sleep.

Therapeutic baths or balneotherapy also have a beneficial effect on the nervous system, help overcome stress, eliminate insomnia, and help reduce excess weight. For example, a bath with aromatic oils activates cellular metabolic processes.

Typically, salt, pine baths and baths with the addition of horse chestnut (stomach) are indicated. A salt bath normalizes myocardial function, eliminates pain, improves the condition of the dermis, has a beneficial effect on the bone and nervous system, and speeds up metabolism. Coniferous – helps eliminate overstrain, eliminate fatigue, has a tonic and calming effect. Stomach baths normalize blood circulation and improve tone.

Prevention of overwork

In order not to “burn out at work,” you must follow a number of rules.

• A reasonable approach to organizing working time. It must provide for a change of activity. Even light, but monotonous work causes overwork faster than with varied work. To create a regime that includes a change in activity, it is better to write out the entire to-do list for the day in advance and distribute them throughout the day.
• Get at least 8 hours of quality sleep. How the night went depends on how rested the brain is and what performance will be the next day.
• Regular and nutritious meals. Fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, fish, foods rich in vitamins and minerals. The body needs a lot of energy to cope with everyday tasks. Do not deprive him of nourishing food, which serves as a source of this energy.
• Rest during the day. You need to take a break from work not only in the evening, after a working day. Rest should be regular. Let it be 5-10 minutes, but several times throughout the day. Doctors say that this is exactly how much time our nervous system needs, approximately every hour. Working continuously for more than two hours is not only harmful to health, but also ineffective, because... The productivity of a tired brain is greatly reduced.

Keep in mind that viewing posts on social networks will not be considered vacation. During the pause, you need to switch gears and leave your workplace. The best thing to do is go for a walk. During your lunch break you can rest longer - about an hour.

• Weekends and vacations. There is little rest during the working day. At least one day a week you need to completely free yourself from work. Vacations are a must during the year. For health, it is important that it lasts at least 3-4 weeks a year - in a row or in two sessions.
• Adequate physical activity. We are not talking about lifting iron in the gym after a working day, when the body is already exhausted. Hiking, light sports, and yoga are better for health and for preventing fatigue.
• Pleasant leisure time. There must be something in life other than work. If you don’t have an exciting hobby, then just read a book, play board games with friends, or go on a picnic.

How to deal with the situation?

If there are symptoms of fatigue, both physical and mental, you need to act. In the first case, as the doctor said earlier, you need to give yourself a good rest. The only thing you should understand is that, for example, you won’t be able to get enough sleep - you must definitely adjust your regime and always rest normally.

If we are talking about mental overstrain, we need to act more comprehensively. “First, you need to try to organize your day so that you have time for quality sleep of at least 8 hours. Naturally, you should take care of your diet and make it more balanced. You should also not forget about physical activity - various walks and physical exercises,” notes Evgenia Parshina.

In addition, the immunologist advises, in order to normalize the condition and overcome chronic fatigue syndrome, to devote time to those activities that you have wanted to get interested in for a long time, but did not have enough time and energy. For example, this could be embroidery, knitting, watching movies, as well as other hobbies. “The most important thing in this matter is to have fun and positive emotions,” the specialist concludes.

At the first sign of fatigue

If you do notice that you've been feeling more tired lately, sleeping poorly and eating without appetite, it's time to take action.

1. Increase the amount of rest during the day and throughout the work week.
2. Give up bad habits. Cigarettes and alcohol are an additional blow to the cardiovascular system, which already suffers from overwork.
3. Spend at least 20 minutes a day in fresh air. Walk, sit on a park bench, ride a bike.
4. Adjust your sleep schedule. Go to bed as early as possible and at the same time (no later than 23:00).
5. Drink more water.
6. Do massage. You can stretch your muscles yourself or go to a massage therapist.
7. Consume more foods rich in calcium and phosphorus.

For more severe, advanced cases of fatigue, it is better to consult a doctor.

Overwork in children

It is difficult for many to imagine that not only adults, but also children can suffer from various types of overwork. However, overwork in adolescents and schoolchildren, unfortunately, is a very common disorder.

It must be remembered that the nervous system of an adult is already mature and “trained”; it is easier for it to cope with many loads. The child's nervous system is much more sensitive and more susceptible to disturbances. Therefore, various disorders affect children’s nerves faster, develop more actively and are much more difficult to treat.

And the reasons that cause these disorders (for example, fear of answers at the board or ridicule of peers) seem “frivolous” to adults only because adults have a nervous system that is already formed and quite strong, and almost no one is able to fully feel the sensations of a child.

Fatigue in a child can be caused by the following reasons:

• Troubles at school: conflicts with peers, bad relationships with teachers, etc. Since the child spends a lot of time at school almost every day, his body finds himself in a state of constant, daily stress.
• Lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is much more dangerous for a child than for an adult.
• Poor nutrition. It does not in itself cause fatigue, but interferes with normal recovery after ordinary stress.
• Excessive intellectual workload: too many lessons, homework, extra clubs, and so on.

Children, like adults, are susceptible to all four types of fatigue. Likewise, they are often diagnosed with multiple types at the same time. Treatment and prevention methods for children are the same. Treatment of fatigue in adults and children follows the same principles.

How to relax

After concentrating for several hours and feeling mentally tired, be sure to allow yourself to relax. Coffee or alcohol are not the best helpers here. Instead, you should find a quiet place, close your eyes, and breathe calmly. The best position for relaxation, oddly enough, is not lying on the sofa or sitting in a chair. Doctors believe that it is best to rest while sitting on the floor with your legs tucked under you “Turkish style.” In this position, the body relaxes, tension (both nervous and muscle) goes away.

It will be useful to imagine a pleasant picture for you - a forest, a river or seashore. 10-15 minutes of such rest will restore peace of mind and restore strength.

Use this method or any others to combat fatigue and be gentle with yourself.

What can you do to overcome overfatigue?

Different types of overwork require different approaches. In case of physical fatigue, the main attention should be paid to relaxing tense muscles, restoring normal blood flow and providing oxygen. In case of mental stress – a decrease or change in the nature of the intellectual load.

For nervous conditions – minimizing irritating factors and restoring normal reactions of the nervous system. In case of emotional fatigue, treatment is aimed at leveling and stabilizing the emotional background and normalizing the functioning of the hormonal system.

For physical fatigue, the following remedies are useful:

• taking a bath;
• massage;
• reducing or, if possible, avoiding physical activity;
• changing your diet, consuming large amounts of vitamins.

Even just being in warm water helps your muscles relax. You can take pine baths - they are very soothing and very useful for overwork, and simply for tiredness. A warm bath relaxes muscles, while a hot bath, on the contrary, tones. It is recommended to take baths for 10-15 minutes.

Be extremely careful if you have a heart condition! If you have heart problems, very hot baths are not advisable.

Massage helps normalize blood flow in the muscles, relieve tension and restore tone. It is best to contact a professional massage therapist, but sometimes it is enough to just stretch your muscles.

For mental fatigue, the first thing you need to do is:

• reducing the volume and intensity of intellectual loads;
• change in the nature of loads, change of activity;
• physical exercise;
• Fresh air.

General recommendations

Switching between types of activity allows the brain to change its “operating mode,” which is very useful for mental fatigue. Physical exercise and walks in the air (or even simple ventilation) help normalize blood circulation in the brain and improve its oxygen supply.

For nervous and emotional fatigue, it is recommended:

• Stopping or reducing contact with a source of irritation (sound, smell, etc.) or situations that cause tension.
• Low-intensity physical exercise, walking.
• Consumption of B vitamins and vitamin C.
• Devoting time to an activity that brings positive emotions.
• High-quality, complete, preferably long (at least two weeks) rest.