TO sometimes there is a hint of envy for children full of all exuberance. Let’s face it: over the years we tire more. We blame the change of seasons, global warming, excess workfamily commitments and, of course, these elements play a role, but the first factor is age.
Fatigue has a cellular basis. As time passes, our fuel factories, the mitochondria, become less efficient. These organelles convert the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat into energy, like tiny power plants.
And energy in biochemistry is not a physical sensation or a psychological perception, but a compound, adenosine triphosphate, in acronym ATP.
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Tiredness, when vitality jams
Molecular gasoline starts the body’s engine, from the transmission of nerve impulses to muscle contraction. Therefore, if we have less ATP because our mitochondria work worse or because we lose them, we feel weakened.
There is no formula to stop the parable of existence, however we can counteract the physiological process that jams vitality. Matisse, the artist, said it: «You cannot prevent aging, but you can prevent becoming old».
Some habits interfere with the work of the mitochondria or in any case they blow the body both when you are in your twenties and when you become elderly: lazing on a sofa, being in constant agitation and never relaxing, eating and drinking in a way that is not healthy, sleeping little.
Deficiency of magnesium and vitamins B
Someone will shrug and go looking for quick solutions. And it is true that supplements can be used carnitine, an amino acid, or ginseng, eleutherococcus, guarana, royal jelly, wheat germ oil and soy lecithin. A deficiency in magnesium or B vitamins is also known to lead to fatigue.
But it is better for the doctor to direct you to this or that remedy and perhaps to suggest a blood test, considering that one can feel weak from anemia, (which can be solved with an iron cure) not so rare in adolescents with heavy periods and in pre-menopausal women.
“Post Covid” by Sergio Harari with Vera Martinella (Solferino).
The aftermath of Long Covid
Fatigue can be a wake-up call for conditions such as depression, diabetes, or obstructive sleep apneawhich concern over four million Italians and which manifest themselves with the arrest for a few seconds of breathing causing continuous micro-awakenings.
The pandemic has also got in the way. “Patients with Long Covid syndrome may experience fatigue similar to that found in another disease in its own right called chronic fatigue syndrome»Write the pulmonologist Sergio Harari and the journalist Vera Martinella in the book just published by Solferino Post Covid.
The three cornerstones of energy
But if the weakness is linked to the decline in ATP production, then it will be useful to make some changes to the lifestyles. Also because “the aging of the organism goes hand in hand with the aging of the mitochondria” as stated on the website of the Higher Institute of Health.
In other words, trying to keep energy levels high potentially prolongs the youthfulness of the body and mind. To do this, the strategies revolve around three cornerstones: physical activity, rest and a healthy diet.
Don’t sit down but move
Moving is better than having a coffee to regain strength. With age we tend to lose lean mass: it is a biological process, called sarcopenia, which begins between the ages of 30 and 40.
For a woman, with the fall in estrogen of the menopause, the reduction of muscle accelerates and, in parallel, fat mass increases, even in people who may remain of the same weight.
Physical activity makes your muscles more efficientwho need less energy for their contractions, e increases the secretion of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin which instill well-being. This is why it feels so responsive after a workout.
Fatigue, sleep and relaxation
Of course, you should also sleep seven to nine hours (on average). As it turned out already in 2010 in a research that appeared on the Journal of Neuroscience, during a good sleep the ATP gasoline goes to fill some neural regions that are crucial for the functioning of the brain during the waking hours.
A side effect of short nights, on the other hand, is the increased circulation of cortisol, a hormone that leads to insomnia, in a vicious circle that makes it difficult to recover from the accumulated lack of rest.
Difficulty sleeping shouldn’t be taken as a fatality: in most cases there is a remedy, from supplements to drugs.
Permanent tension is also the enemy of energy. “Worry is a form of fear, and all forms of fear produce fatigue,” noted Bertrand Russell.
Cortisol levels that skyrocket with chronic stress drop with yoga, mindful meditation, tai chi, and breathing exercises.
A curiosity: they lower themselves singing for an houras an English research published in the journal concluded ECancer.
Fatigue and the pitfalls of weight loss regimes
And we are feeding. If it is inadequate, it does not give the substances necessary to produce enough ATP. It is true for a girl who follows a too rigid slimming regime, for example by eliminating pasta and bread, and it is true for an elderly person whose appetite is no longer what it once was.
To have energy, you need to take in the five basic nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. The ideal combinations are dictated by the Mediterranean diet, in which fruit and vegetables abound and wholemeal or semi-wholemeal cereals and proteins from various rotating sources (legumes, eggs, fish, dairy products, meat) are provided.
The substances with antioxidant properties that eliminate the chemical waste inside the cells come from the table. With metabolic reactions we produce waste, free radicals, aggressive molecules that damage biological structures, including mitochondria, when they accumulate causing oxidative stress.
Cells have their own defense systems and deploy antioxidant barriers to neutralize oxygen radicals, but they need to be able to get the right ingredients from their diet: you need vitamin E, vitamin C, minerals such as zinc, magnesium or selenium, and polyphenolswhich the plant world owns exclusively.
Moderation with processed foodfrom cured meats to certain ready meals, from french fries to snacks: they can increase chronic inflammation, which in turn alters the production of ATP.
Drink more water and fewer soft drinks
The ideal is to focus on more natural ingredients. It is not good to overdo it with sweets or sugary drinks: both cause blood sugar spikeswith a jump in insulin in the circulation followed by a sudden drop in blood sugar.
Excess alcohol can also make you feel tiredwhich interrupts sleep in the middle of the night, or coffeeif it does not make you fall asleep.
Last tip: drink water, remember it. When the body is short of fluids, one of the first signs is a feeling of running out of strength.
The standard recommended amount is at least six to eight glasses a day, but it grows after sports and when temperatures rise. Not quenching your thirst, especially on hot days, means finding yourself like rags in the sun.
Eliana Liotta (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
Eliana Liotta is a journalist, writer and science writer. On iodonna.it and on the main platforms (Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast) you will find his podcast series The good that I want.
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The scientific review of the article is by Bruno Bernardini, head of the neurological rehabilitation unit at the Humanitas university hospital in Milan.
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