You’ve probably heard people blame being tired all the time on their genes. But more and more research shows that living in a perpetual state of exhaustion is a choice, not something you’re born with. Research published Molecular Psychiatry reports that how tired you feel is overwhelmingly a result of your lifestyle (aka your environment).
Genetics explained only 8.4 percent of the differences in how tired and low-energy subjects said they felt during the study, which analyzed data from more than 111,000 people. That means lifestyle factors like how many hours of sleep you get per night and how stressed you are at work were the main cause.
This adds more weight to something we’ve known for a long time. So if you feel like you’re constantly running on empty, take a look at your lifestyle and make positive and proactive changes. We’d recommend starting with 7–9 hours of sleep.
Read more about the findings on Science Daily.
Originally published at journal.thriveglobal.com