Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome

The term "adrenal fatigue" is widely used, but the endocrinology community does not recognize it as a formal diagnosis because the evidence behind it is weak. Instead, it is a popular way of describing the tiredness that comes from a combination of chronic stress, lack of sleep, and overwork. A common pattern is difficulty getting up in the morning, a sharp afternoon crash, strong cravings for salty food or caffeine, and being easily overwhelmed by stress.

Our Korean Medicine Clinic's Perspective

In Korean medicine, this kind of fatigue is seen as a state where the body's internal organs -- the "engine" that generates and circulates energy -- especially its root-level vitality, has weakened. When this foundational energy (qi and kidney-essence deficiency) weakens, the body struggles to "start the engine" in the morning and is easily shaken by stress, so treatment focuses on replenishing that foundational energy and stabilizing the autonomic nervous system to restore the body's own capacity to recover.