Crankiness every once in a while is normal; we all have bad days. Crankiness all the time is not, however. If you feel irritable 24/7 and are lashing out in ways that you never have before, there could be something more going on than just a bad mood. Revive Medical Center can help. Let’s start with reasons why your lifestyle or age can cause perpetual irritability.
1. Poor Sleep Patterns
Work and family, caffeine (more on that below), and handheld devices all add up to a short night’s sleep, but that’s okay, right? Wrong. Sleep deprivation can put you into a vicious cycle where your lack of sleep is making you cranky and depressed, and that depression is preventing your sleep. You need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you aren’t getting it, you’ll get cranky and depressed.
2. Poor Eating Habits
There’s a new unofficial term for one type of crankiness: “hangry.” If you’re hungry, you might find yourself angry. You might not eat enough throughout the day and/or eat the wrong foods because you’re too busy, but every time you skip a meal, your blood glucose tanks, as does your brain. The lack of glucose causes the brain to release stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol), and you get hangry.
3. Caffeine Addiction
Although perfectly legal, caffeine is a drug. It’s a drug that millions of Americans are addicted to. You might not realize it, you may even deny it, but caffeine increases irritability. Even one cup of coffee can affect someone sensitive to the stimulant. If you throw down caffeinated beverages all day, you can most certainly attribute your crankiness (and insomnia) to this bad yet delicious habit.
4. Menstrual Cycle
If you’re a woman who finds herself cranky, the cause might be something somewhat out of your control. If you find yourself highly agitated right before your period, you’re suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome, more commonly known as PMS. This is not in your head; neither is PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), a more severe PMS form. Fluctuating hormones cause both conditions.
5. Peri-Menopause/Menopause
Many women also experience severe mood swings as they enter into peri-menopause, before menopause, and then menopause. This, too, is caused by the fluctuations and reduction of hormones, especially estrogen and progesterone. Middle-aged men might find they are cranky more often, as well, because their testosterone levels are lower than they were when they were in their younger years.
You don’t have to feel cranky all the time, nor do you have to deal with menopausal rage or other anger issues. Revive Medical Center in Lawrenceville, GA, can help with all of the above, including lifestyle and wellness programs and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.
