Your problem is not a lack of energy, but a lack of oxygen
When you think of a lack of oxygen, you think of someone gasping for breath. To lung diseases. At low saturation. To an emergency situation. However, the most common form of oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) looks very different.
That person is just sitting across from you. He works, sometimes plays sports, sleeps reasonably well and still functions quite well. Only he is tired. Not just a little tired, but tired in a way that won't go away. His recovery takes longer. His concentration decreases. His body feels heavier. Inflammations seem to occur more easily. And no matter what he tries, the energy doesn't really come back.
We then look for a vitamin deficiency, a hormone problem or a diagnosis that explains everything, but sometimes there is something more fundamental underlying it: A lack of available oxygen at the cellular level. Not because there is no oxygen in the inhaled air, but because the cells cannot make sufficient use of it.
Energy is an oxygen story
Billions of cells produce energy every second. This is preferably done with oxygen. Oxygen ensures that a cell can produce energy efficiently. Lots of energy. Beautiful. Without much waste.
When oxygen becomes insufficiently available, the body switches to an emergency program. That program works great when you need to flee from danger, but it was never intended to remain active for years. Yet that is exactly what we see more and more these days.
Modern humans live in a mild form of oxygen deficiency
That sounds strange, because we have plenty of oxygen around us, but oxygen has to do more than just be present. It must be inhaled, it must be transported through the blood, it must arrive at the right place and ultimately the cell must be able to do something with it. Disruption can occur at any of those levels.
Stress is a major oxygen robber
When you experience stress, everything changes. The body shifts into a survival mode. That's useful when you need to trade. But if that condition persists for weeks, months or even years, a problem arises.
The body continues to use energy as if there is danger. The demand for energy is constantly increasing. The oxygen supply cannot always keep up with that pace. Stress is therefore a cause of hypoxia, not because you breathe in less oxygen, but because the balance between supply and demand is lost.
Sugar also plays a bigger role than many people think
Everyone thinks of sugar as diabetes and obesity, but sugar also affects oxygen transport.
Hemoglobin in red blood cells transports oxygen to all tissues. When blood sugar is elevated for a long time, glucose sticks to hemoglobin. The more hemoglobin becomes "occupied" by sugar, the less well it can perform its job as an oxygen transporter.
You could say that the truck that delivers oxygen is becoming increasingly full of sugar. The journey continues, but delivery becomes less efficient.
Exercise is much more than burning calories
A walk seems too simple to be important. Yet exercise is one of the most powerful ways to deliver oxygen to the tissues.
Muscles pump blood, blood flow improves, oxygen delivery increases, the body receives a signal that it can maintain and renew energy plants.
When we sit for long periods of time, much of that stimulation is lost. Without exercise, less oxygen gets to your cells.
The body tries to adapt
And here it gets interesting, because the body does not simply accept an oxygen deficiency. It's going to adapt. It activates a system that helps survive during oxygen scarcity. In the short term that's brilliant. In the long term a price is created.
Increased ignition activity.
More connective tissue formation.
More recovery issues.
More fatigue.
The body is, as it were, remodeled in order to deal with the new situation. And the longer that takes, the more difficult it becomes to return to the original situation.
Why you seem to have less and less energy
Your body runs on energy. And oxygen is needed to make energy. When your cells do not receive enough oxygen, they produce less energy. That is not an opinion or theory, but pure physiology.
Initially the body tries to absorb this. You will perform less well, recover more slowly or need more rest. But if that situation persists, fatigue arises.
Not because you're lazy.
Not because you're getting older.
Not because your body is resisting.
But because your cells simply do not receive enough oxygen to optimally produce energy.
Do you recognize yourself in this story? Dan . it is valuable to look at the factors that influence your oxygen supply and energy production. Because when energy production improves, you get more energy, better recovery and fewer complaints.