Farmer Fatigue
Fatigue can be a big issue for farmers, both physically and mentally. Most farmers are working 7 days a week doing physical farm work then coming home in the evenings to go over budgets, pay bills, order feed the list goes on and on. Especially throughout busy times of the year such as harvest, shearing, sowing, or weaning many farmers run on little sleep and being extremely stressed which lead to fatigue at the end.
From a naturopathic point of few we need to look at the health of our adrenals. Our adrenals are very small glands that sit on our kidneys that produce hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone. You probably know a little about cortisol but it is the hormone which helps to regulate metabolism and helps your body respond to stress. Aldosterone helps to control blood pressure (that’s why highly stressed people can suffer from high blood pressure). Our adrenals are also responsible for the functioning of every tissue, organ and gland to maintain homeostasis during stress to keep your alive. The main purpose of the adrenals is to ensure your body is able to deal with stress, ranging from illness and disease to work and relationship problems.
Signs of adrenal fatigue
o Feeling irritable and moody
o Struggling to sleep
o Isolation
o Depression
o Highly stressed
o Working long hours
o Dizziness
o Dark circles under the eyes
o Anxiety
If you are experiencing these symptoms for a long period of time coupled with stress it can affect your body in many ways. If your cortisol levels are elevated for a long period of time your body will be in a fight or flight response which can cause inflammation in your body as it doesn’t allow your body to have any rest periods. It can also affect your sleeping pattern, blood sugar levels, cause weight gain, and some more serious inflammatory auto immune disorders such as Rheumatoid arthritis or ulcerative colitis.
My easy tips to help with Farmer fatigue
1. Keep social, talk to your friend and other farmers. It’s best not to go into isolation as that can make the mental fatigue worse.
2. Stay hydrated. Ensure you are drinking enough water per day. 2L per day is a good aim or 1L for every 30kgs
3. If your feeling very stressed and overwhelmed writing a list of your jobs may help. It allows you to priorities jobs and delegate jobs where required and ensures that you aren’t trying to remember everything that you have to do.
4. Eat healthy of course being a nutritionist I cannot stress enough that your diet plays a massive role in your energy, stress response, and your mental health.
5. Keep active. There is an amazing organisation called Active Farmers that has fitness classes for those in rural areas. They have a lot in NSW but expanding to other states.
Adrenal fatigue is a real thing and it’s important to help manage your stress, following my tips and even look into supporting your adrenals through herbs supplements. Keep a look out for a blog in the coming weeks with my top supplements for adrenal fatigue. If you would like more information or a 1 on 1 appointment, please contact me for more information.