Unusual Tiredness That Sleep Does Not Fix
Most teenagers sleep late and wake up groggy. That is not the tiredness to watch for. The fatigue that signals anaemia is different: a teenager who gets eight hours and still cannot get off the couch by noon, who falls asleep during tuition, who says they feel heavy rather than sleepy. Iron is required to produce haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen to every cell. When haemoglobin levels fall, muscles and organs run on less oxygen than they need, and the body's response is a deep, unrefreshing exhaustion that no amount of rest resolves.
