The Real Reason You Feel Tired After Work

If you feel exhausted after working all day, you're not alone. Whether you have a desk job or a job that's a little more physically demanding, work can be emotionally and physically taxing (via Insider). This is largely due to the high-intensity emotions that often run rampant in workplace settings. In fact, both positive and negative high-intensity emotions can cause mental exhaustion, which can also lead to physiological exhaustion.

That's because high-intensity negative emotions, like anger and frustration, and high-intensity positive emotions, like excitement and euphoria, can trigger and activate your stress response, which can overstimulate the body, increasing your heart rate and causing you to sweat. If these types of high-intensity emotions are sustained over long periods of time, they can have a negative impact on your health and potentially compromise your immunity, memory, and even your attention span. In the short-term, however, these emotions can drain your energy levels, causing you to feel tired more easily.

Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to help offset these high-intensity emotions and prevent yourself from constantly feeling tired and fatigued after work. For instance, you can try breaking up the monotony of your work day by switching up the order of your tasks or taking some time out of your break to meditate or take a quick walk (via Healthline). Instead of doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again, this can help you be more mindful of what you're doing so you don't feel numb or completely drained at the end of the day.

You can also try making some healthier lifestyle changes. Eating junk food and staying up late at night can help contribute to your daily exhaustion and fatigue. However, making nutritious meals, getting regular exercise, and going to bed earlier can actually help improve your energy levels, boost your mood, and even help prevent burnout.