Tired In Thailand

[dgoz]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

[kayo]

when in rome....

why not? the sooner you mentally allow your physical adaption, the sooner you'll be Happier/productive/worry-free.

[Acquiesce]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

Reading internet forums at 4am could have something to do with it.

[londonthai]

we are not getting any younger - maybe that's why.

in the west we tend to speed all our lives, no time for rest, sleep - thailand is for a quality time

[bmanly]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

I wouldn't worry about too much about the afternoon sleeping, I do it both in Australia and Thailand. If I don't I just can't last the night out. There was a study done on it once, can't give you a link or anything but they said you shouldn't take long naps in the afternoon. A short 10 minute cat nap was ok but not a 2 or 3 hour sleep, I didn't take much notice of it though.

[chutai]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

Same reasons that they have siestas' in Spain, Portugal, Mexico etc in the Summer. Gets bloody hot dunnit. Also that's why they start early in the morning and work later in the evenings. Mai chawp ron mahk.

[kayo]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

forum at 4am could have something to do with it.

That was both accurate and funny.

(although the original post may have been earlier )

[tropo]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

Could be hundreds of reasons. How old are you? How long have you been in SE Asia? Where did you come from? Do you have any major ailments?

Here are some major causes of chronic fatigue in a hot climate:

1. A bad diet, or one that doesn't suit you. Too much hot chili can make you tired due to its adrenaline stimulating effect. It's like controlled pain and everyone knows how tired you become with pain.

2. The unrelenting heat may not suit your body if you're from a cold climate. I find when I hit the cooler weather at home it feels like I have unlimited energy. If you were born in a cool climate, you're never going to fully adapt to a hot climate. Continuous sweating also lowers your energy and reduces the efficiency of your bodily functions.

Cooler air is more dense and carries more oxygen. Insufficient negative ions in the air due to using air conditioners all the time may be affecting your health. Remember that air conditioning does not bring in fresh air, it only cools it down and gives the illusion that the air is fresh. You may be inadvertently starving your body of oxygen while you sleep if you don't allow fresh air into your room. It will cost a lot more electricity if you allow some hot air to enter your room, but it's essential to keep the air oxygen rich.

If you are a big person, then your cooling efficiency will be low as the core of your body will be large. If you are large, you need to be in a cool climate for optimum health. You may have noticed that people indigenous to hot climates are small and skinny compared to cold climate dwellers. There's almost a 2 to 1 size difference in some comparisons.

3. Due to your chronic fatigue you may be putting on a lot of body fat as a result of inactivity It's a catch 22 here. Of course the heat will make you feel lazy anyway. The average temperature in Thailand is approximately 30°C all year around in the shade. Your body temperature is 37°C. It doesn't take much activity for a big white guy to overheat with ambient temperatures like that. You may eat less, but the inactivity more than compensates for your lower calorie intake and you put on fat while losing muscle....a very bad state of affairs.

4. You may have succumbed to a bad lifestyle here. Drinking too much while sleeping at odd hours. A lot of people smoke a lot more when they drink. Are you a cigarette smoker?

5. If you're in your 40's or 50's, you may be developing adult onset diabetes...you may be in the pre-diabetic stage. Very few people find out until it's too late. I found out last year at age 46, and it's no picnic. It will usually result in an accumulation of excess body fat and low energy....you really need to stay on top of it. It just adds to the joys of living in the tropics.

I can't think of many plusses (health wise) for living in a tropical climate except for arthritic conditions which definitely do a lot better in the heat....but then the diet factor could interfere with the benefits.

Edited January 13, 2007 by tropo

[Khleerm]

I had the same problem, the first six months I was in Bangkok I felt lethargic by mid-morning every day. Didn't seem to matter how well I ate or how much sleep I got the night before, either.

Turns out I had made a poor decision several months before when I stopped taking moms advice and skipped taking my multi-vitamins. A chance conversation with a colleague led me back to them with an Iron [FE] supplement. Viola! No more lethargy....

Seems my slacking of good dietary habits in mid-life just happened to coincide with the move to Thailand. The switch of lifestyle, heat and spicy food were thus not mitigating factors after all.

[tropo]

I had the same problem, the first six months I was in Bangkok I felt lethargic by mid-morning every day. Didn't seem to matter how well I ate or how much sleep I got the night before, either.

Turns out I had made a poor decision several months before when I stopped taking moms advice and skipped taking my multi-vitamins. A chance conversation with a colleague led me back to them with an Iron [FE] supplement. Viola! No more lethargy....

Seems my slacking of good dietary habits in mid-life just happened to coincide with the move to Thailand. The switch of lifestyle, heat and spicy food were thus not mitigating factors after all.

It's very unusual that a vitamin pill will bring a person back to normal unless there is a huge deficiency. Most people would eat enough beef here to provide more than enough iron, however I've seen studies that have shown that chili can interfere with iron absorption.

I forgot to mention in my last post another major cause of lethargy in SE Asia: Boredom.

A lot of guys just get bored here....especially with their Thai partners who don't usually offer scintillating conversation...and the cultural barrier is wide.

Guys come here all excited to have a second chance at love. Once the excitement wears off, the relationships just gets plain boring.

I often often observe farang/Thai couples dining in total silence. They just don't communicate at all. It's almost painful to see this and it's so common.

It's really a case of the grass is always greener. The reality of life in SE Asia is not usually as good as the dream.

Edited January 13, 2007 by tropo

[jasperblubber2005]

some very good comments here, i would lean toward tropo on this topic, when i made my move to thailand last sept i had planned on staying active with volunteer work, etc, none of the projects panned out so other than my daily workout every morning i have really nothing to do, after being very active in the states this life style doe's not work for me and as a result i have decided that going back home is a better choice than sitting around the house doing nothing

interesting comment about the lack of conversation between farang and thai couples, this was the main reason i never considered a steady, most of the conversations i have had with members of the opposite sex are usually no longer than seven words per subject, this is not a knock on thai's but the gap between the cultures is terrible, i don't need to have a filabuster every time i have a conversation but it would be nice if you could talk about one topic for more than 30 seconds.

for those of you who enjoy the short conversations, you have hit the mother lode, i wish all of you who live here and plan on staying here the best but it is very clear to me that some people should not live here and i am one of them

jasper

[Rinnam]

Well, I think tropo answered very well and the topic poster could find what would have been your reasons behind your exhausting.

For your phrase , 'Thais do this too. Why?" I think Thais don't have a nap in the afternoon. if persons are old or very young (children), that is possible. Not many teenagers and working people take a nap i think except they sleep not enough. I bet if they do, they sleep fewer than 8 hours.

I was in another country for my study at mid 20s and i think the first month was tough because of time difference. i didn't take a nap but went to bed very early like 9 pm. And that time, i had healhy lifestyle from the start but still couldn't avoid it. I think you may just need some more time to get used to the time, weather, food, people and everything here.

hope it all go well soon.

[Pakboong]

My first 6 months in country on this last stay resulted in a serious iron deficiency. Red blood count dropped to 10 and was hospitalized in the US for tests. Turns out, the iron supplements did the trick. Apparently, there is something here as mentioned by a previous poster, that inhibits iron absorption. I am 60 and it had never happened before. Now it is pretty much under control.

[bina]

i've noticed that anybody coming to a new country automatically gets more tired faster;

my daughter and i come from a fairly hot (in most of the year) country but in thailand we were tired; trying to deal with foreign language even though i speak thai its my third language it is still difficult to catch the nuances, trying to figure what is going on all the time, different food patterns, nothing is automatic u are constantly on 'think' mode so its tiring. its like being in a chronic minor stress mode .also the heat is humid and heavy, so afternoon siesta makes sense.

also, most thai (country folks) i know go to sleep by 21:00 , even here at home, my husband is ready for bed early. he thinks staying awake late is bad unless you are at a party. most of us finish work and then after dinner, cleanup etc want a few hours 'quality time' awake w/o kids etc. the minute my kids are back at home or in bed (teenagers so they have indurance)from their various activities, he is pulling me towards the bed. and no, its not for the hanky panky, its usually just to sleep . also, i dont know for city folks but us agrucultural types are up early and to bed early. just staying awake to be on the internet (with u guys) or watch tv is a waste of time for him.

drink more water. tea is not water. milk is not water beer is not water.. water is water. juice is water. lack of water causes tiredness (chronic mild dehydration).

[Khleerm]

It's very unusual that a vitamin pill will bring a person back to normal unless there is a huge deficiency.

I often often observe farang/Thai couples dining in total silence. They just don't communicate at all.

Honest injun! That was the only factor that I changed in my routine. I was haunted by that fatigued feeling for nearly 6 months. I think it was twelve months or so earlier than the 6 that I'd gotten callous and given up the multivitamins.

When my colleague first suggested the solution, I double dosed on the Iron supplement for about a month to get me oomph back. Back to normal vibrancy is what it was...

It would seem Pakboong's post validates my experience. I only wish I'd had a blood test to know for sure.

I'll bet I could show you a farang/farang couple locked in a stony silence in the West for every farang/Thai found in Thailand

[HenryB]

Since moving to SE Asia I've been generally more tired and lethargic, usually need a nap in the afternoon. Thais do this too. Why?

Since moving here16 years ago I feel great. Here is what to do

run 10 kilometers everyday talk to wife or GF and most important pray 5 times aday.

Here is what not do drink smoke or eat to much.

[Frank La Rue]

Very interesting discussion,

I do not live in LOS but have a thai wife. I have changed country of residence 3 thimes (none LOS), twice having to learn a new language for study or work and I found that

1. Having to learn a new language, faces, cusdtoms etc in the first 6 - 9 months made me dead tired

2. Heat - Yes, as pointed out people in othe subtropical /tropical countries have naps

3. Iron deficiency - never thought of that one,m shall certainly keep in mind when my relocation to LOS comes

4. Water - yes, yes, drink a lot and reduce overall intake of alcohol

5. Have stayed in Singapore for weeks at a time on many occations. On one we stayed in an appt close to Great World City shopping centre, I bought a membership in the fitness club there and worked out almost every day, the only time I have had the opportunity to work out regularly in FE. If you are used to working out in your home country and never do in FE it may cotnribute to sense of fatigue

Edited January 14, 2007 by Frank La Rue

[Rinnam]

I'm a new face here. To Frank La Rue, what are FE and LOS from? thanks in advance.

[leftcross]

FE - Far East

LOS - Land of Smiles (Thailand)

as for the drinking of water.....today's Bangkok Post says drinking purified water isnt good for you either!!!

[AlexLah]

I am tired of this Mai pen rai thing.

People trying to cheat you and try to steal your money.

Thai people telling you this is Thai style.

Is this the way Thai people want to tell you Foreigner are not welcome?

Thai people claim to follow Budha teachings but in fact they just lie to themselves.

But if you ask about that, you get the famous Thai smile.

I really feel sad.

Alex

[solo siam]

Salt!

Most people come here from colder countries where you don't sweat nearly as much as in a tropical climate, When you sweat you lose salt fairly rapidly - I know everyone says that salt is bad for you but you really need to make sure that your salt intake is adequate. Thais tend to mix in Fish sauce with most of their meals (which is very high in salt), some people can't stand the smell/taste when they first arrive here and thus don't add salt to the Thai unsalted rice and dishes.

[tropo]

Honest injun! That was the only factor that I changed in my routine. I was haunted by that fatigued feeling for nearly 6 months. I think it was twelve months or so earlier than the 6 that I'd gotten callous and given up the multivitamins.

When my colleague first suggested the solution, I double dosed on the Iron supplement for about a month to get me oomph back. Back to normal vibrancy is what it was...

It would seem Pakboong's post validates my experience. I only wish I'd had a blood test to know for sure.

The iron in tablet form is not easily absorbed, so it does take some time to get the levels back to normal using tablets.

It seems that most people eat fish, seafood, pork and chicken here with large amounts of chili. These meats are low in iron and there's some concern over chili inhibiting iron absorption. I would suggest that people who have low iron levels try "beefing" it for while. Green leafy vegetables are also high in iron.

[dgoz]

I think my problem could well be Iron (fe) deficiency.

I went to one of those steak houses last night and had a 400g juicy piece of Cow.

Today I feel about 80% better.

I do stay up late and maybe drink a little too much but that's never really bothered me before. I'm 40, healthy-ish and not overweight.

My diet usually consists of toast in the mornings followed by Chicken/pork fried rice for lunch and maybe chicken again for dinner. I have also, just lately, ramped up my chilli consumption. I didn't eat red meat for months, hence the Iron deficiency ( I'd say).

I'll give the steaks a solid workout and see how that goes, but I already feel an improvemnt after last night.

[tijnebijn]

Some very good comments from Tropo there I must say.

The thing you talked about ith farangs getting bored seems right ,I do not have this in any way,my wife and I are one and the same ,talking intelligent conversations all the time,for an change maybe.

And I am staying here for almost 8 years and am only 30 yaers old,that´s why maybe,it´s real love and not looking for love in anyway.

I do agree with you ,it happens in front out eyes all the time,you just can´t stop what you see is it.....

With Bila,I am sorry,water is water,also in tea.......no water no tea,etc etc,Just think before you talk is what I can say to you only,oke clean water is a good thing,but water in whatever way you absorb it is still water no matter what,your body absorbs the eventual ogur away themselves,it´s nature......

[Briggsy]

Heat. Energy sapping heat can be countered with obvious measures, air-con, showering, drinking A LOT of water.

Booze. Alcohol is cheap and always available here. Be aware of your intake. It may be more than you think. It causes fatigue.

Sleep. Are you sleeping enough and the same times every day. Changing your sleep pattern will tire you out? Is someone keeping you awake?

[jasperblubber2005]

just to go back to the water issue or lack of causing some of this tiredness, in talking to a friend here in pattaya he brought up the idea that just drinking water here in thailand is different from the water you drink at home, he stated that drinking water here is not the same as water from home and that the water you drink here should have lectrolyte powder added to it.

i'm not so sure about this but after dragging my fanny for months i started to drink some gatorade in the afternoons and found my energy level pick up some what, of coarse this lasted only a couple of weeks and the tiredness has returned, so i am back to square one.

does anyone have any thoughts about the lectrolyte powder

jasper

[Briggsy]

Electrolyte powder will only give you a temporary feeling of increased energy. The body will work hard to lower your glucose level by producing insulin and other hormones. The effect will wear off. Save the electrolyte powder for when you have diarrhoea, are doing prolonged exercise or are sweating profusely.

[Neeranam]

i'm not so sure about this but after dragging my fanny for months i started to drink some gatorade in the afternoons and found my energy level pick up some what

What???

[In the Rai!]

i'm not so sure about this but after dragging my fanny for months i started to drink some gatorade in the afternoons and found my energy level pick up some what

What???

Mmm good point Neeranam...

It must be a very big fanny if it has to be dragged everywhere..hehehe