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female
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anonymous
writes:I am 13, and quite far on in my teenage development. I get 8 or more hours of sleep a night. However, I feel completely shattered all of the time. I often need to lie down after school for an hour or so, and even then I'm tired. I have to get up every morning at 6am, but I go to sleep at 10 every night.Why am I so tired???My friend, who is the same age as me, older by only a few days, has only 7 hours of sleep per night, but is always wide awake, and can do vigorous excersise after school. It's stopping me from doing things like these, and if my friends or my boyfriend asks me to go out after school, i often make up excuses because I'm just exausted. I live a relitavly normal life, I do well in school [I know my spelling is terrible!!], both my parents are at home, and very rarely fight.Please can someone help with what to do!!! Reply to this Question
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female
reader, Bev Conolly  +, writes (2 July 2006):
 Another consideration is diet. Are you eating enough? Are you eating well?
There's a tendency for girls in their teens to live on a constant diet, worrying that an extra kilo or two of is unacceptable. Be that as it may, be sure that you have three squares a day, including plenty of vegetables and complex carbohydrates. Don't overdo the fizzy drinks, which are loaded with caffeine and sugar and have a "rubber-band effect" of making you feel worse after they give you lift.
Look at your typical day's food intake from waking to sleeping and think about all the things that you require of your body and brain every day. Most kids eat complete crap, like sugary breakfast cereals, chocolate, chips and cola drinks all day. Be sure you're not one of those, because it's hard to build a human body out of white sugar and deep-fried potatoes.
Be brutal when you analyse your own diet and be sure that you're getting enough B vitamins, dairy and protein. Make changes where you see you're lacking.
Lastly, there's nothing wrong with a little lie down in the afternoons. Although there's a perception that "people need 8 hours' sleep", that doesn't mean that some of us don't require MORE than 8 hours. Personally, I can get by on 8 but I'm not really rested unless I get nine hours. Or more. Ten is heaven. It's just differences in body chemistry.
Listen to your body and give it what it requires.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (1 July 2006): It's often just a phase you'll go through... Although it's worth seeing your doctor for a check over. Do you take enough exercise? Lack of exercise can make you feel constantly tired!
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female
reader, DrPsych +, writes (1 July 2006):
 You could be clinically depressed as fatigue is one of the symptoms. Different people need different amounts of sleep - I am personally a zombie if I don't get 8 hours. However, there could be a medical explanation for your tiredness - chronic fatigue is a sign of glandular fever and an underactive thyroid gland and a host of other medical conditions. I have hypothyroidism and prior to the diagnosis I was shattered all the time just like you describe. Of course there may not be a medical explanation for you but it is a good idea to get checked out by a doctor - a simple blood test will be enough to exclude certain conditions!
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