The cost of medical care. Economic uncertainties. Fears about “the end of the world” associated with artificial intelligence. It’s enough to exhaust anyone.
About 71.5% of adults in the United States say they have felt fatigue for days over the past three months, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Women and younger adults are more likely to report frequent fatigue—that is, most days or every day—than men.
Sociologist Natalie AE Young, lead author of the report, noted that fatigue is “one of the most frequently reported health concerns in primary care clinics in the United States.
This is the first general fatigue study conducted by the NCHS, which surveyed about 27,000 adults ages 18 and older in 2024 about their health and daily lives.
People with fatigue “are at increased risk for activity limitations and disability, including permanent work incapacity. However, not much attention has been given to the frequency of general fatigue symptoms in the US adult population,” Young said.
Fatigue is not simple drowsiness. It is “physical or mental fatigue or exhaustion that does not improve with more hours of sleep or rest,” researchers explained. General fatigue, which is different from chronic fatigue, can be a symptom of other health problems or a side effect of medications.
Fatigue is often related to other health problems, difficulties concentrating, and a reduction in social activities. People with frequent symptoms were more likely to experience “co-occurring functional difficulties,” including cognitive, depression and anxiety, Young said.
“So it’s not just that fatigue is common,” he said. “The point is that fatigue is common and that those who suffer from it face limitations in their daily lives.”
The study revealed that adults who experienced frequent fatigue were more than three times more likely to report symptoms of depression and approximately twice as likely to report cognitive difficulties or anxiety symptoms, compared to those who did not.
The report revealed that:
- Nearly 3 in 4 adults felt “very tired or exhausted” on at least some days in the past three months.
- About 1 in 6 adults experienced frequent fatigue, defined as feeling very tired or exhausted “most days” or “every day.”
- Frequent fatigue was highest among younger adults, ages 18 to 34 (19.5%), and the lowest rate was seen among adults ages 65 and older (12.9%).
- Women were more likely than men to report frequent fatigue (20% vs. 13%).
- American Indian and Alaska Native adults had the highest rate of frequent fatigue (25.5%), followed by whites (18%), African Americans (17.3%), and Hispanics (12.9%), while Asians had the lowest rate of frequent fatigue (9.1%).
The hardest hit areas of the US
The report found that adults living in the South (17.7%) and Midwest (17.5%) were more likely to experience frequent fatigue than adults living in the West (15.6%) or Northeast (14.5%).
The CDC survey did not look at the underlying causes of frequent fatigue and does not indicate whether the situation is worse than in previous years.
However, Dr. Alana A. Lewis, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute in Chicago, said the findings were “not unexpected.”
“Just living in this country makes everyone, at some point, feel fatigue,” Lewis said.
In the recent survey called ‘Stress in America,’ the American Psychological Association found that most adults reported feeling isolated, excluded, and more stressed about the future than they used to be.
Stress can cause spikes in hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can wear down the body. That increased stress contributes to increased fatigue, explained Jennifer Caspari, a licensed clinical psychologist in Denver and Vancouver, British Columbia.
“People are incredibly busy,” Caspari said. “They’re stressed. They feel overwhelmed. They have too many things to do and only a few hours in the day. They try to do too many things at once.”
Stress can also lead to mental health problems like anxiety and depression, which can disrupt sleep and make us feel more tired throughout the day, Caspari explained.
Women report more fatigue
More than half of the women said they felt fatigue “some days,” and 20% experienced it “most days or every day.”
Caspari noted that chronic health problems, such as autoimmune diseases — which often include fatigue as a symptom — affect a greater number of women. Hormonal fluctuations during menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause can also affect energy levels.
Additionally, many in heterosexual relationships, for example, say they feel like they have more responsibilities at work and at home than their male partners, which can lead them to feel exhausted, Caspari added.
Even when tasks are shared equally, women experience stress differently. They tend to care more about organization and planning, and have more “internal dialogue” about their responsibilities.
Solutions to fatigue
Mental health, lifestyle and physical health are the “three big pillars” that can trigger fatigue, Lewis said. Heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, anemia, and thyroid problems can also be underlying causes of fatigue.
When patients complain of fatigue, Lewis asks them:
- Are you getting enough sleep?
- Are you eating well?
- Do you exercise?
- Do you spend all day in front of the screen?
“Start with the basics,” said Lewis, who encourages patients to follow the cardiovascular health checklist Life’s Essential 8 from the American Heart Association.
Pay attention to your sleep and stress patterns to determine if fatigue is a temporary problem or something that has become more “chronic and persistent,” which could indicate a medical problem.
It’s important to learn to relax, both physically and mentally, Caspari insisted. Take a break from those endless to-do lists. “It’s not a robot. Its energy is limited,” Caspari recalled.
Passive rest, such as sitting and watching TV, is perfectly fine. Caspari also recommends “active rest,” meaning low-intensity activities like breathing exercises and gentle stretching.
“Active rest may be more comforting,” he said, “and may have a more beneficial impact on long-term fatigue, rather than just sitting and staring at a screen.”
