I'm a bit worried about my friend. Any suggestions as to what could be the cause of this?

Question:

My friend started a new job almost a month ago (He is 18) and it's a high-stress job for him. He's ALWAYS tired. Like, he'll sleep for 8 hours and he'll wake up feeling like he never went to sleep at all. Or sometimes he can't sleep that long so he sleeps about 5 hours and he's still tired. This can't be good. This morning I briefly mentioned that I think he should see a doctor but he had to go because he had to go to work so we didn't have time to really talk about it. I'm just worried that something's going on. Should he see a doctor? Have you experienced this or has a friend of yours experienced this and what was the problem (If any)? Thanks for your answers. I appreciate it.

Answers:
First of all, 18 year old males in general are chronically tired - they are not really done growing yet. Even if they have reached their full height, they still "fill out" to mature male size until about 24 years. They don't realize that they require about 9 hours sleep per night.

Also, he may not be usd to working this much - it may be that very little in his past has prepared him for this - even college is often less than 8 hours a day.

A high-stress job takes a while to get used to - not just mentally but physically too. I wouldn't be overally concerned just yet.

It never hurts to have a physical to make sure you are okay - but a healthy diet, exercise not right before bed though), and good sleep habits will help sort it out. Everyone has occassional sleepless nights too.

Other Answers:
Do you know what his job is? If it's physically demanding it might be normal. otherwise I'm not sure.

talk to him and tell him is he o.k with it because then what can you do about it. Your friend could have sleep apnea. It is where they stop breathing while sleeping, for short periods of time. (usually only a few seconds at a time) But it stops them from getting enough REM sleep and that results in the tiredness. I know, I have it. I have to wear a CPAP mask at night. It helps though.

I had the same thing happen a few years ago. After a few visits to a few doctors, we found that I have a disease of the thyroid called Hashimoto's disease. I've been on a thyroid medication since.

I can relate to your friend, i just think the job is wearing him down and the only thing he can do to help himself is to change the job- or get a new one! I used to work two jobs- the minimum hours a week was 70. I was always tired, and drained.. and no matter how many hours of sleep i had gotten, it never seemed to be enough. Well, i quite my second job-- it took some time for my body to get back to its self-- and normal sleep patterns.. i would advice your friend to try to change his job around so he get more time to relax, or he finds a new job.. The doctor is just going to ask him why he's working so hard- and he needs to change-- lol try this-- if working with the job doesn't work- then he might need to go to the doctor- he might have a health issue that's bringing him down. good luck!

I worked at a place where I usually went to bed at 8:00 and slept through the night, I was so tired. The stress was overwhelming, even though it didn't seem like it when I was actually working--there were at least 600 other people working there, and to the head honchos, we were just posteriors in the seats. As long as we met our quota, they didn't care anything about us, and we only survived because we had mutual support.

There could be one physical reason, though. Does he snore a lot? He might have sleep apnea. It's where you stop breathing many times every night, and it causes you to feel extremely tired. Stress can be a trigger for that. If he can, have him go to a local hospital and get a sleep test. They can check his sleep patterns to see if this could be it. They gave me a CPAP machine, which keeps a continuous flow of oxygen going, and that first night, I had the best sleep I'd had in years.

Before he goed to bed, like about 30 minutes before, he may want to eat a small snack. I suggest 1-2 oz of turkey (triptophan - spelling approximate), a cracker or a cookie, or if he is concerned about his weight - a low glycemic carbohydrate and some nuts - almonds or peanuts are best. This is a recipe for some slow burning energy that will help level his blood sugar out for the night.

If his tiredness during the day and restlessness at night is due to his brain seeking blood sugar, because it is getting low in the middle of the night, this recipe will help that.

If this works, and you should know it in about 3 days if it will, you and he may want to check out www.hufa.org for more info on low blood sugar, its causes and things you can do about it.

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I'm a bit worried about my friend. Any suggestions as to what could be the cause of this?

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