Contents

What is fatigue?
What causes fatigue after COVID?
What makes fatigue after COVID last a long time?
How can I manage my fatigue?
When should I talk to my doctor?

What is fatigue?

After being in hospital, you may be experiencing symptoms such as fatigue. Fatigue is a feeling of being tired all the time that can stop you from doing daily tasks. Fatigue can affect:

• How you feel physically – for example, having no energy and finding it hard to remember things
• How you deal with day to day tasks – for example, you may feel pressure to complete tasks at work so you may not take any breaks to try to finish all of your work
• Thoughts and feelings relating to you being ill – for example, worrying about getting ill again
• Thoughts and Beliefs about how you are managing your fatigue and your recovery – for example, “I must push myself harder otherwise I am going to lose my job”

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What causes fatigue after COVID?

It is normal to have fatigue after having any virus including COVID because recovering from an illness can use a lot of energy, especially after being in hospital. This normally gets better after four weeks; however some people might have fatigue for longer.

There are many reasons why you could feel tired after COVID such as:

• Your body is still getting better even when you no longer have the virus
• You might have other illnesses or health conditions that means it takes you longer to get better
• If you have been very ill with COVID, your body can take a long time to get better

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What makes fatigue after COVID last a long time?

There are lots of things that can contribute to making fatigue worse and last a long time such as:

• Looking after other people or children
• Feeling stressed, anxious or depressed
• Having a poor diet
• Not having a daily routine
• Not sleeping well
• Not being physically active

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How can I manage my fatigue?

Coming to terms with the fatigue you are experiencing will help you manage your recovery. The recovery journey from fatigue will be different for everyone. Some individuals need time to learn how to manage their fatigue. Please see more information below about how you can manage your fatigue.

It can be easy to overdo things at times when you feel you have the most energy or feel pressure to get things done. This leads to a cycle of ‘boom and bust’ where you become completely exhausted during or after activities, are unable to do any more, and need lots of time to recover. Carrying out your day to day activities in a boom and bust cycle is likely to make your recovery take longer, as you have an exaggerated cycle of very good days and very bad days.

Pacing is the name for a technique some people find useful in managing their fatigue. Find out more about pacing on the managing daily activities page.

Be kind to yourself – fatigue can have a big effect on your life but sometimes other people do not understand how much it can affect you. It is important to be kind to yourself and rest before you start to feel tired or once you become tired.

Listen to your body – remember how you feel when you do too much. Write this down and keep it somewhere safe. Thinking about the symptoms you experience can help you to spot them early and slow down.

Talk to other people– tell people around you that you have fatigue and how it makes you feel to help them understand and support you.

Try to keep a routine:

• Plan your day
• Remember not to do too much in one day because that can make you feel worse the next day
• Prioritise and plan when you are going to do high energy activities during the week, such as going food shopping and make sure you give yourself time in between activities to rest
• Ask other people to help with tasks
• Look for easier ways to do things – such as online shopping for food or cooking a few healthy meals in one day so you don’t have to cook on other days or ask someone to help you

Find out more about:

• Managing daily activities

Develop a relapse plan – Sometimes your symptoms can become worse or return after you start to feel better. You can develop a relapse plan early while you are feeling well to help you with this. This will help you remember what to do and how to think so that you can recover quicker if a relapse occurs. During a relapse, all tasks can be tiring, but by having a plan in place, this means there is one less thing to worry about.

Sleeping well – Take a look at the ‘sleeping well’ section of this website for tips on how to get a good night’s sleep.

Try to do things you enjoy – doing things you enjoy will feel less like a chore. This will make you feel more in control of your recovery and help you get back to normal much quicker.

Try out things that help you relax:

• Gentle yoga or tai chi
• Arts and crafts such as painting or knitting
• Listening to calming music

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Keep a diary or list of your activities

Keeping an activity diary about things that make your fatigue worse, including how you feel immediately afterwards and over the next few days. This can help you understand your limits and how you are recovering. These activities could be mental or physical.

Activities could be:

• Exercise
• Meeting friends
• Going to work
• Drawing
• Reading

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Do some physical activity

After an illness, you may be more fatigued during and after physical activity. You can improve your fitness by doing gentle exercise such as walking.

As you start to feel fitter you might want to try other exercise such as:

• Swimming
• Dancing
• Going to the gym

Take your time and slowly build up the amount of exercise you do when you feel ready. You might like to keep a log of your exercise so you can reflect on how you feel when exercising, immediately afterwards and over the next few days. This will help you to better understand how you are recovering and any activities you find difficult.

Learn more about:

• Getting moving again to help with your exercise routine

Eat healthily

A healthy diet can help your fatigue and energy levels. You can find out more on our eating well page.

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When should I talk to my doctor?

Go to see your GP if:

• Your fatigue is getting worse
• If your fatigue does not get better after 4 weeks
• You have other symptoms or feel unwell in other ways

Find out more about:

• When do I need to seek help?

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