Health effects of fatigue

The effects of fatigue increase with age. People over 50 years of age tend to have lighter, fragmented sleep; which can prevent them from receiving the recuperative effects from a full night of sleep, and can make them more likely to become fatigued.

Lack of sleep has been indirectly linked with the following health effects:

When the circadian rhythm is disrupted, the treatment of some medical conditions can be affected. Examples of medical conditions which may be affected include:

Asthma;
Depression; and
Diabetes.

Heart disease and high blood pressure

Circadian disruptions affect eating and sleeping habits and have been linked to the following types of cardiovascular disease:

Coronary heart disease (blocked arteries in the heart);
Ischaemic heart disease (blocked arteries leading to lack of oxygen to the heart muscle);
High blood pressure; and
Myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Stomach disorders

The body rhythm for digestion is designed for food to be eaten during the day irrespective of whether an individual is working or resting. The most common complaints include:

Bowel habit changes;
Digestive complaints; and
Increased risk of peptic (stomach) ulcers.

Mental health

Anxiety and depression can be triggered or made worse by fatigue and irregular sleep patterns.

Lower fertility

Fatigue and irregular sleep patterns have been associated with a number of negative effects for pregnant women and fertility rates, including:

Increased risk of miscarriage;
Low birth weight; and
Higher occurrence of premature births.