The Aword

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Effects of Fatigue

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Tiredness

Weakness

Lack of energy

Sleepiness

Terms used by the medical profession for different sorts of tiredness:

Fatigue: the tiredness felt by normal individuals after vigorous exercise or prolonged intellectual work with normal sleep/wake rhythm.

When relieved by restful sleep, this is not a pathological symptom.

Pathological fatigue: is therefore experienced by individuals who have some sort of medical condition, and who experience fatigue after minimal physical or mental effort, or fatigue that is not relieved by restful sleep.

Malaise: from the French word for ?not feeling well'. A non-specific term, it involves more than just tiredness.

Asthenia: is another term for pathological fatigue: that is, abnormally pronounced fatigue associated with illness.

In this article I shall be discussing pathological fatigue, (asthenia), which is quite different in intensity from normal fatigue.