SEX and socialising are becoming a yawn for Australian women, with new research showing they are in the grip of a fatigue phenomenon.More than 80 per cent of women say they are worn out, and exhaustion is taking a toll not only on their love and social lives, but also making them grumpy, clumsy and absent-minded. The Newspoll survey found 57 per cent of women were too tired for sex and 64 per cent were so drained they didn't feel attractive. Tiredness made 79 per cent irritable, 75 per cent impatient and 65 per cent angry. Most worn-out women also admitted losing things such as keys, bumping into things and tripping over. The survey found fatigue did not discriminate between stay-at-home mums and full-time workers. Burwood East midwife Karen Taylor, 35, juggles motherhood and part-time shift work. "I think I have been tired since 1995," she said. "Even when you get a day off work you pack everything else in, like helping out at school with reading or kinder duty."
A typical day for Ms Taylor begins at 6am, or earlier when she's working morning shift, and ends when she falls into bed by 9.30pm. In between, she's often packed off Nathan, 6, to school, Jack, 4, to kinder or her parents' house, done grocery shopping and housework, made dinner and got the boys cleaned and into bed. She said husband Alan was an enormous help, particularly when she worked at Monash Medical Centre managing seven midwives in the busy maternity ward. Most of the 1036 women surveyed put their tiredness down to hectic lifestyles, but doctors said medical factors might also be at play. "There are so many different reasons: anxiety, stress, paying off the mortgage, looking after kids, trying to hold down two jobs at the same time," hematologist Dr James Biggs said.
"As well as that, there are a number of medical conditions like viral infections, hormonal disturbances particularly of the thyroid gland, and iron deficiency."
Dr Biggs said up to 20 per cent of women aged 18 to 50 were thought to be iron deficient.
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