We are aware of diabetic fatigue. But how many of us can justify stress leading to tiredness?  Read on to know.

Team@CMHF

Stress is a body’s response to a threat or challenge. Anytime we need to change something, stress kicks in. The stress response, sometimes called the “fight-or-flight” response, enables our bodies to fight or run away from danger. Stress does this by raising our blood sugar levels (to provide fuel to the muscles) and increasing insulin resistance (so the other cells won’t use up the glucose the muscles need). It also raises our heart rate and blood pressure so we can run faster, and increases blood clotting in case we are injured.
By increasing insulin resistance, stress can make us extremely tired. Under stress, only the muscles and nerves being used for fight or flight will open to insulin and the glucose it’s carrying.  But if the stress goes on a long time, our bodies and brains will not have enough fuel, so they want to just keep napping.
The long-term effect of stress can be worse. According to the book Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue, by Kathryn Simpson, MS, stress puts pressure on the adrenal glands. Those glands produce adrenaline, cortisol, DHEA, and other chemicals that make up the stress response. If they have to keep producing at high levels — because stress is at high levels — they start to wear out. Sort of like beta cells are thought to wear out if they have to produce too much insulin.
When the adrenals wear down, cortisol levels will drop. That’s when fatigue really sets in..
We now know that inflammation is a major cause of the blood vessel and pancreas damage we see in diabetes. Diabetes is often called an inflammatory disease, and to the extent this is true, we need to control stress to deal with it.
Inflammation also makes you very, very tired. Any injury or illness sets off the stress response. Another major stressor is hunger.
What Can We Do?
According to Simpson, we need to reduce stress while building up our adrenal glands. Since most stressors these days are emotional or economic, we can sometimes reduce stress by changing the way we think about the difficult things in our lives.
We can also reduce stress by treating infections, by getting enough sleep, and by getting regular moderate exercise (but not overdoing the workouts! That’s stressful too.). It’s also important to eat regularly and not to go hungryEffective stress reduction methods include prayer, meditation, breathing, and gentle exercise like tai chi or qigong. Getting help with stressful life problems, as from a counselor, coach, or friend can also reduce stress. Take it easy on yourself and enjoy life!
A number of supplements might help, We’ll look at other ways of managing and treating fatigue next week. In the meantime, try to relax!

Ref: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/david-spero/stress-and-fatigue/