Tired all the time? There may be a simple reason for that

<p>Levels of fatigue among women in Britain are soaring, and this isn’t the kind that can be cured by a nap. What lies behind the exhaustion epidemic?</p><p>Look around you and it isn’t hard to find an exhausted woman. There she is, standing behind you in the queue at the post office or delivering your Amazon package. Here she is at the school gates, puffing after running from the car, coffee in hand, apologising for forgetting to pack a PE kit. Or trying to stop a yawn escaping during a long work meeting. Or eyes closed on a noisy commuter train, about to miss her stop.</p><p>Maybe this seems normal to you because, honestly, in today’s fast-paced culture, who <em>isn’t</em> exhausted? But take a closer look and you’ll see that this level of fatigue is often much more than something a simple nap could remedy. You’ll find these bone-tired women asking friends in WhatsApp groups why their hair is falling out, or complaining to their beautician that their nails are always breaking, or manically Googling symptoms, trying to work out why their brains are so foggy or why, despite having youth on their side, they sometimes forget how to form a sentence. Friends ask each other online whether everyone else is so overwhelmed with anxiety that they can’t sleep. Perhaps they’re taking antidepressants and wondering why their racing thoughts are not relenting. They may have asked their GP why day-to-day life leaves them feeling so drained and been told it’s “inevitable” with small children, or asked if they are getting enough exercise.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/02/why-do-i-feel-tired-iron-deficiency-symptoms-anaemia-fatique-exhaustion">Continue reading...</a>