Fatigue and Parkinson's
- Stephanie Soto
- Jun 8
- 1 min read
Fatigue is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease. But what do we do about it? Let's find out.
How to fight fatigue
Pace yourself.
This sounds easy and like common sense, but pacing can be really hard. On days where you are more fatigued than others, try to do 50-75% of what you think you could do. If you leave a little gas left in the tank and take a break, you will be able to keep moving throughout the entire day
Exercise.
Exercise for fatigue? Yes! Slowly building your endurance can help give you more energy long term. However, exercising at a low to moderate intensity can give you more energy more immediately!
Use your "on" time.
Schedule your day around when you know you feel best. If you have an "on" time, plan to complete your most physically or mentally demanding tasks at that time.
Prioritize recovery.
Always build in time to rest and recover during your day. Intentionally planning to recover will help make sure it actually happens!
Track patterns.
Tracking when you are fatigued can help determine patterns. Maybe your fatigue is triggered by poor sleep, high stress, change in diet, time of day, etc. Knowing what tends to cause your fatigue can help you control it.
Medications
Talk with your doctor about different medications that can help. Some research shows rasagiline, modafinil, methylphenidate, amantadine and caffeine may be helpful, but it is not strong evidence supporting these medications.
Therapy
Occupational therapists can help you build strategies to save your energy and physical therapists can help you exercise to have more energy.
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