It’s not normal to feel tired all the time; fatigue is a message.
– Dr. Maz Roginski
Fatigue has become so commonplace that many people have stopped questioning it. Waking up tired, losing focus by midday, relying on caffeine to function—these patterns are often dismissed as the inevitable byproducts of modern life. But according to Dr. Maz Roginski, a practitioner of Chinese medicine, persistent exhaustion is less a lifestyle inconvenience and more a physiological signal—one that deserves closer attention.
In a recent interview, Dr. Maz outlined a framework that blends traditional Chinese medicine with emerging insights from modern research. Her perspective reframes fatigue not as a singular symptom, but as the result of disrupted energy systems—biological, behavioral, and environmental.
Fatigue as a Systems Problem
In Western medicine, fatigue is often treated as an isolated complaint: a symptom to manage with sleep, stimulants, or stress reduction. Chinese medicine, by contrast, views energy—often described as qi—as foundational to all physiological processes.
Dr. Maz defines this energy in functional terms: the body’s capacity to perform work, regulate internal systems, and transmit information. “Every process in the body involves energy,” she explains, pointing to the body’s electromagnetic activity—something measurable in modern diagnostics like EEGs and EKGs.
“When that energy is low,” she says, “everything becomes less efficient—digestion, cognition, hormonal balance. That’s when people start to feel foggy, heavy, and depleted.”
She describes qi not only as energy, but also as communication—how effectively signals move through the body. When that communication is impaired, the body’s ability to maintain balance, or homeostasis, begins to falter.
The Digestive Foundation
A central theme in Dr. Maz’s framework is digestion—not just as a mechanical process, but as the foundation for energy production.
In Chinese medicine, the “Spleen” system governs the transformation of food into usable energy and the distribution of that energy throughout the body. When this system is weakened, symptoms can extend well beyond digestion: mental fog, poor memory, heavy limbs, and midday crashes.
“We don’t just digest food—we digest information, experiences, everything we take in,” Dr. Maz says.
Modern parallels are increasingly visible. Research into the gut-brain axis and microbiome has linked digestive health to cognition, mood, and inflammation. While the language differs, the underlying principle—that digestion is central to systemic health—is shared.
One of Dr. Maz’s most consistent observations is the impact of food temperature.
“Cold and raw foods require more energy to process,” she explains. “The body has to warm them to body temperature before it can even begin digestion.”
That additional demand, she argues, can divert energy away from other essential processes. In her clinical experience, shifting toward warm, cooked foods is often associated with improvements in energy, digestion, and mental clarity within weeks.
Everyday Habits That Deplete Energy
Many of the drivers of fatigue are not dramatic, but habitual—embedded in daily routines.
Dr. Maz points to several common patterns:
- Eating while working or distracted
When attention is split, the body is “on double duty,” trying to process both cognitive input and food. This can lead to bloating, poor satiety, and post-meal fatigue. - Relying on stimulants to push through exhaustion
Coffee and sugar provide short-term energy by activating stress responses, but may draw on deeper energy reserves. Dr. Maz describes this as tapping into a finite store of “essence,” which, when depleted, affects resilience, recovery, and long-term vitality. - Ignoring natural rhythms
Late nights, artificial lighting, and limited daylight exposure can disrupt circadian signals that regulate sleep, hormones, and metabolism. - Constant cognitive input without pause
Continuous stimulation—work, media, multitasking—limits the body’s ability to reset, contributing to both mental and physical fatigue.
These patterns, she notes, are often reinforced by cultural norms that prioritize productivity over physiological needs.
Why Sleep and Coffee Don’t Fully Solve It
One of the more counterintuitive points is that fatigue isn’t necessarily resolved by simply getting more sleep—or by consuming more caffeine—since sleep quality and timing matter as much as quantity.
Sleep quality, Dr. Maz argues, is influenced not just by duration but by timing. In her framework, going to bed earlier—before the body begins transitioning toward wakefulness—supports deeper, more restorative rest.
At the same time, stimulants may mask fatigue without addressing its cause.
“They make you feel better in the short term,” she says, “but they’re not creating energy—they’re drawing upon your deep energy reserves that are intended to last a lifetime.”
This distinction—between generating energy and borrowing it—mirrors emerging discussions in metabolic health and stress physiology.
Regulation Through Movement and Environment
Beyond rest, Dr. Maz emphasizes regulation: the body’s ability to move between states of activity and recovery.
Gentle, rhythmic movement—such as walking or practices that coordinate breath and motion—can support this process. These approaches, she notes, are less about intensity and more about restoring flow.
Equally important is the connection to the environment.
Exposure to natural light, time outdoors, and even brief contact with the ground are described as ways to “recharge” the body’s systems. Studies continue to reveal the mechanisms behind why this works, and the effects, like improved mood, clarity, and energy, are widely reported.
“Even a few minutes outside can shift how people feel,” she says.
The Role of Alignment
Less tangible, but no less significant, is the role of psychological and emotional alignment.
Dr. Maz describes energy loss not only in physical terms, but in situations where actions, values, and intentions are misaligned. Saying yes when one means no, or repeatedly engaging in draining interactions, can create what she calls “incoherence”—a kind of internal friction that consumes energy.
Conversely, when thoughts, behaviors, and values are aligned, energy tends to increase.
“Pay attention to what lifts your energy and what drains it,” she advises.
This awareness, she suggests, can be cultivated through simple practices like reflection, journaling, or brief daily check-ins.
Small Inputs, Compounding Effects
Despite the breadth of factors involved, Dr. Maz emphasizes that meaningful change often begins with small, consistent adjustments:
- Eating warm, minimally processed foods
- Creating a wind-down routine before sleep
- Spending time outdoors each day
- Moving the body in a way that feels supportive rather than depleting
- Pausing to breathe and reconnect with internal signals
“These are simple things,” she says, “but they give the body what it needs to function well.”
In her experience, when foundational systems are supported, the body tends to recalibrate—often reducing symptoms without the need for more intensive intervention.
Rethinking What’s “Normal”
Fatigue is frequently normalized—attributed to aging, stress, or life stage. But Dr. Maz challenges that narrative.
“You can feel vibrant at any age,” she says, noting that energy levels are often more reflective of daily habits than chronological time.
The implication is not that fatigue has a single cause or solution, but that it is rarely arbitrary. It is, more often, an accumulation of signals—pointing to where the body is out of sync with how it’s being asked to function.
Bottom line?
Persistent fatigue is less a fixed condition than a dynamic state—one shaped by how we eat, sleep, move, and engage with our environment. Understanding those inputs and adjusting them incrementally may be the first step toward restoring energy that feels not just temporary, but sustainable.
