Fatigue & low energy: where to start.
Tired on waking, the 2pm crash, running on caffeine. Energy is a systems problem — blood sugar, sleep, thyroid, iron, mitochondria — and the order you check them matters.
Three steps, in order.
When the crash hits tells you where to look: after lunch (blood sugar), all afternoon (sleep, thyroid, iron), all day (labs first).
Ferritin, B12, vitamin D, Free T3, fasting insulin explain most fatigue.
Interpret a result →Read these first.
From The Dr. Axe Show.
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Open the toolStraight answers.
Why am I exhausted by 2pm every day?
Blood-sugar swings after lunch, poor sleep quality and mitochondrial stress are the usual three. Protein at breakfast, a walk after lunch and magnesium at night change most afternoons within a week.
Why is my ferritin low if my iron is normal?
Serum iron swings with meals; ferritin is the store. Low ferritin with normal iron is early depletion — find the cause (intake, absorption, loss) and replete gently.
Is adrenal fatigue real?
The adrenal glands rarely fail, but the cortisol rhythm absolutely can — flat mornings, wired nights. Test the rhythm, not one morning cortisol.