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Hey everyone, it's Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday. And today I wanna discuss fatigue. Now, this has come up a bit over the last couple of months, just with regards to long COVID, post infection, things like that, like actually like really a strong undercurrent of chronic fatigue that needs to be addressed. However, not everyone experiences that. And so I wanted to

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share with you or remind you of some of the basic day to day stuff that can leave you feeling more exhausted than you need to be feeling. Now the first thing, I guess the first caveat would be two, if you have experienced fatigue for a period of time and have not had blood markers tested to determine what your iron levels look like, where ferritin is sitting,

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B12, zinc, vitamin D, these are all markers that I see are associated with fatigue and if you're low in any of these which is different from being below the normal reference range like if you're not at an optimal level for these then that can absolutely contribute to fatigue and really the only thing that will really bring you up are supplements to help sort of support that sufficient level.

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thyroid would work in there as well. However, this isn't a podcast about biomarkers. This is a podcast for people who are just like, my blood markers all are more than fine, they're sort of optimal, but I still feel tired on a day to day basis. Of course, you're going to ask about sleep and stress and the impact that these things have. But here are five things I see that you could easily correct that would then result in better

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if they are an issue for you. That's why I'm addressing them. The first one is electrolytes. Even lower sodium levels than what you require can lead to fatigue among other symptoms. When sodium levels are low, water can move into cells causing them to swell. This can affect the normal functioning of those cells, including in the brain and muscles. The brain is particularly sensitive to changes in sodium and water balance.

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And when sodium levels are low, fatigue can be an early symptom of the imbalance. Sodium is also essential for muscle contraction. Low sodium levels can interfere with muscle function, leading to weakness and fatigue. A decrease in sodium might also lead to reduced blood volume, which can decrease blood flow to organs and tissues, which can also induce fatigue. And I will talk more about that later.

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And it isn't just sodium but when sodium is out of balance, other electrolytes like potassium and chloride can also be imbalanced. Where one goes the others follow. These electrolytes play roles in nerve function, muscle contractions and other cellular processes which obviously is going to have impact on energy. In addition to the above sodium is intricately connected with ATP

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adenosine triphosphate, which is a unit of energy produced and utilized in cells, and especially in the context of the sodium potassium pump. So the sodium potassium pump is a crucial membrane protein found in cells of most animals. It pumps three sodium ions out of the cell and two potassium ions into the cell against their respective concentration gradients.

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A concentration gradient describes the amount of electrolyte in a cell and out of a cell. And this process consumes ATP, which is hydrolyzed to provide the necessary energy. The activity of that sodium potassium pump helps establish and maintain the resting membrane potential of cells, which is especially important in nerve cells, when changes in the membrane potential lead to nerve impulses.

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So while sodium itself is not directly involved in the production of ATP, that's more related to processes like glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and the mitochondria. The maintenance of the iron gradients, like the sodium gradient, is essential for the cellular function and indirectly for ATP utilization. So in the context of fatigue or energy levels in the body,

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If there's an issue with sodium levels or the function of the sodium potassium pump, this could disrupt cellular functions, including those that are involved in energy production or utilization. And we don't often think about sodium as being involved in that energy process, but I can tell you that if you are someone who has gone low carbohydrate, or who has reduced their

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you are likely going to be low in sodium. Not just sodium, probably potassium and magnesium a little bit too to some extent. But as I said, when you have sodium, that'll pull other electrolytes along. And this is why when someone goes on a keto diet, for example, they experience what they call the keto flu, but in fact, it's just that low electrolyte state. And similarly, when someone jumps on board,

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my flow plan or Mondays matter which have very low calorie days but overall is a lower carbohydrate approach and has minimal processed food then their body's ability to hold the sodium is compromised because we need carbohydrate stores to hold water and electrolytes and when we drop the carbohydrate stores

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which occurs when we go lower carbohydrate, we drop the ability to hold water and with it we drop electrolytes. In addition to that, baseline insulin levels fall and the kidneys dump sodium and water because of that low carbohydrate state. All that said, as long as you don't have blood pressure problems, try lifting your electrolytes and particularly sodium. And if you aimed for like,

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a teaspoon of salt and a small amount of water at the start of the day and see how that impacts on your Fatigue and then potentially again at midday depending on what your diet looks like now This would be a strategy to use if you fall into that low carb camp and that low calorie camp things like that Probably not necessarily your issue if you have an adequate amount of carbohydrate in your diet Although hey everyone is individual, but this is just good to bear in mind

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The second one is caffeine. Now, Huberman was very big, and I'm not sure how he feels about this now, but I remember last year it was all the rage to stop drinking coffee in the first 90 minutes upon waking, because it will crash you later in the day. So there is a mechanism with this. Caffeine does bind to adenosine receptors in the brain. And adenosine makes us feel sleepy.

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So when caffeine blocks a denizen, we feel more alert, which is awesome. However, there is a half life of caffeine that may be around six hours. This varies individual to individual, which means that when caffeine has been metabolized, there can be a rebound effect of a denizen that exacerbates that sleepy feeling that can occur in the mid afternoon. So if you have coffee in the morning, you may really experience this crash two o'clock in the afternoon.

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as a result of the caffeine and the adenosine rebound. We have a natural circadian rhythm that we naturally dip an energy around this time anyway, but this potentially can exacerbate it. His trick of waiting 90 minutes after getting out of bed is to avoid that 2pm crash and basically turn it into a 3.30pm crash. Thing is, how we metabolize and respond to caffeine is really different.

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you are fast, are you a slow metabolizer, this is going to influence the effect that caffeine has. By all means, if you experience the mid-afternoon slump and have taken care of other things related to energy like calories, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, fresh air, exercise, etc. Try all the coffee suggestion if you have caffeine first thing.

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I suspect that this will be more pronounced in people who are particularly caffeine sensitive, which might not be you, so bear that in mind when you try it. And just know that there's not necessarily a massive, robust body of literature to suggest that this is in fact going on. Worth trying, however. Now another pretty obvious one which is often overlooked is dehydration, particularly in the colder months. And hydration is hugely important for energy levels.

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It is so easy to go for extended periods of time without drinking enough because we have forgotten our drink bottle or it feels too cold to drink or we're just in a situation where we just haven't managed to jump up and get a drink. When we are dehydrated, in addition to the sodium that I was chatting about before, we don't have the same fluid movement of electrolytes and our blood is thicker as our plasma volume drops.

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This makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body and less nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the body and therefore this fatigues us a lot quicker. And it's especially noticeable if it comes to working out, so if you're working out late afternoon, you can feel particularly tired and that effort is much greater than what you would expect it to be. Similarly, if you are dehydrated overnight and you don't hydrate properly going into a morning session, then that can also have implications.

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Dehydration can also impair the body's ability to regulate temperature. And when the body heats up, especially during exercise, we may increase the rate of glycogenolysis, which is the breakdown of glycogen. An elevated body temperature can increase metabolic rate and energy demands. So this can lead to a faster glycogen utilization, meaning that we tap out earlier than we otherwise would. Exercise and dehydration together

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can lead to increased levels of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones can stimulate the breakdown of glycogen. Therefore, if you're dehydrated during exercise, the hormonal response might lead to a more rapid depletion of glycogen stores as well. And dehydration, as I mentioned, the intensity ramps up, can lead to a decreased cardiac output, which might reduce the amount of oxygen being delivered to working muscles.

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When there's less oxygen available, muscles might rely more on anaerobic metabolism, which doesn't require oxygen. So increased reliance on the anaerobic pathways can also lead to faster glycogen neutralization. Now this is clearly not an issue if you're doing a short session, but if you're intending to go out for a long training session, either in the morning after being dehydrated the day before, or later on that day when you haven't drunk enough, this could be a real issue.

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Dehydration can, as I've also said, cause those imbalances in potassium and sodium, which shifts that fluid and may impact on that cellular energy production process. In terms of the amount of fluid you need, Brad Dixon and I talked about this in its potentially 0.33 mL per kg body weight. Use that as a guide and see how you go.

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coffee, water, tea, anything you drink. But also, if you are a good veggie and fruit eater, then that is going to also increase the fluid that you're taking in on a daily basis. But if you already know that you're dehydrated, you've now got a starting point, 0.33 mils per kg body weight, and just get into that habit. Have two cups of water when you get up in the morning. Start the day on a high, I reckon. And you can put your salt in there too, if you need to.

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Something else which I see quite frequently is too low calories. And this isn't just for those that are intentionally reducing their calories for fat loss. A lot of people have an eating pattern that favours calories at the end of the day when they've got time to relax and not at the start of the day or sort of in that morning time where they're super busy with either household admin, work, training, then going to work or doing whatever it is they need to do.

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It's very easy to skip meals or skimp on calories. And this absolutely leads to low energy, which might not even be noticed in your hunger levels, particularly if you're not used to eating in the morning because this is a habit you've formed. Doesn't mean that you don't need food just because you're not hungry. And low energy is such a good sign of this. And I certainly notice that if I've done a hard run, have a shower, I'm on my way home, and I just feel...

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like I'm yawning and yawning. And I know that it's not that I'm super tired, it's actually just that I need calories. So be mindful of that. And obviously if you are in a calorie deficit and trying to improve body composition, yet you are experiencing any energy issues, then have a think about how you're distributing your calories and try and bump them up so you've got more calories at the start of the day, maybe go lighter at the end of the day. And I know this,

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sort of flies in the face of a lot of what people do with food and trying to convince people to have breakfasts can be very difficult if they've gone for extended periods of time without eating breakfast. But if your energy is not working for you and you want to change it, then you do have to change something. And I would absolutely start with breakfast. Now I didn't or haven't talked about protein and its role in energy today necessarily because I talk about that all of the time.

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What I will say though is ensure that your breakfast isn't just a high carb, low fat, or high carb, high fat type breakfast. You do need your protein in there as well to help regulate blood sugar and prevent that blood sugar crash. However, low calories is even more than just that. It really is that your whole metabolic rate sort of shifts down a gear because you're not providing the fuel it needs across that morning period.

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You may well notice changes in your hunger and appetite from having breakfast. It might ramp up your hunger, which isn't a bad thing because it just means that your metabolism could be kicking into gear. Or it might change your pattern so you're not eating as much at night, which again might not be a bad thing either. But don't rely on your sort of hunger level to determine this. And maybe if you think you are in this situation,

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just track for a few days just to see what you are getting in. Because sometimes we think we're doing one thing, but in fact, we're doing something quite different. And the under eating thing is definitely a problem that I see with some people. And it isn't necessarily your basal metabolic rate that sort of shifts down again. It's that non-exercise activity thermogenesis. It's your desire to just move outside of the usual blinking, breathing, and that sort of obligate, you know,

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survival mode. And the last thing that I will touch on is of course exercise. Now even if you do a training session at either ends of the day it's still really important to get that fresh air in if possible during the day. So you want to be if you can outside even for two to three minutes once every couple of hours to help get that blast of oxygen in your body, get the natural light into

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help increase the energy that you have. And this makes all of the difference. And it doesn't mean that you have to do an exercise session during the day, but actually just moving really changes your energy. And if you're not in the habit of moving, it can be difficult to understand how this is even possible. How am I even, how is doing something gonna make me feel better rather than worse because I'm already feeling terrible anyway. But trust me, it works. And if you're someone who is completely sedentary,

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I will say is 1. I hope you're not but 2. actually getting fitter will give you more energy on a day to day basis outside of all of this stuff so actually if you know that you're quite unfit then working on your fitness over time will make you feel better of course it'll make you feel exhausted at first but when you become fitter your energy will be like a currency and it will

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Hopefully that gives you some tips and some sort of things to think about that are pretty obvious but are often overlooked. So obviously blood biomarkers, the amount of time that you sleep, they're really important. And of course any of that post-infection fatigue that people might be experiencing. But hydration, electrolytes, caffeine, calories, and being active throughout the day. These are five areas which

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you might be able to work on and improve your energy with very little effort and little cost. All right team you have a great week you can catch me over on Instagram, Twitter and threads @mikkiwilliden, Facebook @mikkiwillidennutrition, head to my website mikkiwilliden.com book a one-on-one call with me. Have a great week see you later.