What is Fatigue? Sleep is to Diesel as Fatigue is to Oil

Fatigue is not simply sleepiness and its effects are more subtle than falling asleep. The dictionary definition of fatigue – ‘a normal tiredness resulting from exercise, work or using your brain’. Nearly all of us think that we can recover from fatigue by sleeping. Unfortunately, it is not that simple.

Fatigue is the feeling of extreme tiredness or weakness and makes it hard to perform ordinary tasks and everyday jobs. It occurs when the ability to concentrate, evaluate, react and make decisions is compromised momentarily or for longer periods.

For example, while watching television, the mind and or brain drifts away from the on-screen activity and into a void. During this momentary or extended period of void the individual loses the capacity for normal interaction with their environment. Events are taking place around them in which they have little or no ability to properly respond.

In a lounge room environment, the fatigued individual misses anything from a few lines or scenes of a television program, to falling into a deep sleep and missing the entire show. Embarrassing maybe, but generally there are no serious consequences.

At work however the risks of momentarily slipping into a void of concentration are far higher and the consequences range from mild embarrassment through to serious accident resulting in injury and death.

An analogy - diesel and oil

The analogy for understanding the difference between sleep and fatigue is to think of it a diesel in the tank and oil in the motor. Sleep is like having diesel in your tank. A good’s night’s sleep is like pulling in to a fuel stop and filling your tank up with gas. Once the tank is full you are set to go for hundreds of kilometers.

Fatigue however, is more like the oil in your motor. It doesn’t show on the fuel gauge but if you run out, your motor will seize up and you come to a sudden stop. It doesn’t matter how much diesel you have in the tank, if the oil light comes on you are in trouble.

For fatigue management you need to look beyond the level of the fuel tank into what is going on inside the motor.

Recognizing fatigue
When the mind slips into its fatigue mode, the conscious brain may, or may not be aware, of what is happening. In other words fatigue happens but the oil light may not come on. This means, at the actual onset of fatigue it may be too late to avert an accident. Managing fatigue means learning how to recognize the signs of fatigue and then managing the underlying factors causing fatigue by taking the steps necessary to avoid being in risk critical situations when fatigue does occur.

Fatigue affects everyone differently. Your co-worker may exhibit different symptoms and still be fatigued. You may have more obvious symptoms where you feel extremely tired and all you want to do is sleep. Fatigue management is about working what is happening to you and managing the factors that affect you.

One very common cause of fatigue for instance, is skipping breakfast, or just grabbing a coffee and a donut. Breakfast is the meal that sets up the energy levels for the day and a good, healthy nutritious breakfast goes a long way to avoiding fatigue.