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Comment and Health

Why we need to change the way we think about exhaustion

One in five adults worldwide is living with fatigue. The general advice is to “do more” - but this isn’t the only solution to our exhaustion epidemic, says Amy Arthur

By Amy Arthur

17 April 2024

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Elaine Knox

There can be no doubt that we are in a time of crisis when it comes to our use of the planet’s limited energy resources. We have to leave our bad habits in the past and focus on more sustainable solutions. But while we are rightly concentrating on Earth’s delicate energy balance, we are ignoring the signs that our own bodies are running on empty.

Writer and computer scientist Cal Newport has called this the era of “The Great Exhaustion“. The pandemic sent stress levels skyrocketing and drained people in unique ways, some through emotional exhaustion and burnout,…

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