How Do You Know You Are Mentally Tired?

“A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.” ~ John Lubbock

All of us have been there.

We wake up and feel groggy, out of it, and not wanting to take on the day.

When we constantly worry, eventually, fatigue catches up with us.

Feeling mentally tired can be obvious, but its implications and reasons can sometimes be more difficult to discern.

If we have been mentally tired for quite some time, eventually, we will adjust our mindset and begin to think it is normal. This is what happens to many high achievers.

They forsake their health to accomplish goals. By the time they achieve what they set out to accomplish, they forget what it used to feel like when they were mentally energized.

We will review a few ways to know that you are mentally tired and need a break. They are the following:

Lack of motivation
Difficulty concentrating
Unable to remain engaged in conversations
Rereading multiple times
Zoning out at work
Always desiring to sleep throughout the day
Continually feeling anxious or apathetic

Seven Reasons You Are Mentally Tired

1. Lack of motivation

Remember that spark you once had for life? The joy of beginning your new job or dating your future spouse?

We all remember the times when we were highly motivated. Motivation, however, tampers off as time progresses.

High achievers often continue motivation through discipline. Even when motivation is lacking, one can still achieve what they had first started by remembering their “why” and remaining disciplined.

If you lack motivation for an extended period, this could be due to mental tiredness.

Although we all will have times when we lack motivation, if we begin to lack happiness for a long time with something that once made us happy, we could be suffering from mental tiredness.

2. Difficulty concentrating

Mental tiredness hinders our ability to concentrate and focus on our work. If we do not prioritize breaks throughout our day, we will reach a mental burnout.

Too much data is now out there revealing that we can’t just work multiple hours without some sort of break. If we do, our work will decline, and our productivity will diminish. We begin to confuse good, productive work with busy hours.

You could be mentally tired if you have trouble focusing on your work, projects, relationships, or hobbies.

3. Unable to remain engaged in conversations

When we are mentally tired, we can quickly deplete our social skills. It will be tougher to engage in healthy discussions when we are mentally exhausted.

Our body may be alert, but our mind desires to fall asleep.

When we are mentally tired, words from others take a few seconds longer to process and reply. If you find yourself doing this repeatedly, you could be mentally exhausted.

4. Rereading multiple times

Unless it’s a deep Theological, Philosophical, or Scientific book (or any book that requires deep thinking), we should be able to read and comprehend at a functional level.

If we read short emails multiple times, we may be mentally tired.

An effort that should only take a few moments can lead to taking three-to-five times as long when we are tired.

5. Zoning out at work

Are you working on a project and suddenly zone out? Maybe your mind began to wander, and you didn’t come back for a few minutes.

If this happens on a chronic basis, you could very well be mentally tired.

6. Always desiring to sleep throughout the day

If you are constantly tired throughout the day and want to sleep, you are most definitely mentally tired.

When we just want to sleep our days away, our brain (and body) could be deprived of necessary sleep.

If you are looking for ways to sleep better, see our article, How Can I Fix My Sleeping Problem?

7. Continually feeling anxious or apathetic

You could be mentally tired if you are constantly anxious or apathetic towards your work.

When we are mentally tired, we tend not to operate well emotionally.

As Dr. Matthew Walker states on page 215 of his book, Why We Sleep:

“Deprive an individual of their REM-sleep dreaming state, and the emotional tuning curve of the brain loses its razor-sharp precision. Like viewing an image through frosted glass, or looking at an out-of-focus picture, a dream-starved brain cannot accurately decode facial expressions, which become distorted. You begin to mistake friends for foes.”

Monitor yourself to see if you are feeling a substantial increase in anxiousness and apathy for a prolonged period.

What To Do If You Are Mentally Tired?

Now that you know some ways to detect if you are mentally tired, it’s time to take the next steps on what you can do about it!

We would encourage you to view the following articles on our learning center:

You have what it takes inside you to make a definite choice that will change the future trajectory of your health.

Our team at Tiger Medical has the experience, clinical skills, and coaching acumen to help you get your health and energy back.

To talk to one of our professionals, click here to schedule your call!