Fitness
Living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Is it good to exercise?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome makes you extremely tired and affects your sleep quality. So, can exercising help to manage the symptoms? Let’s find out on World Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day.
Exercise is not just meant to manage a healthy weight, but also to reduce stress, as well as to keep bones and joints in top shape. Some moves may also be recommended to manage health conditions such as osteoporosis, diabetes and hypertension. But what if you feel too tired to do any kind of physical activity? Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a condition that leads to extreme fatigue. Even after resting, you will feel too tired to do anything. It also has an impact on the quality of your sleep and your ability to concentrate. So, is exercising the solution? On the occasion of World Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day on May 12, we tell you how exercising may help people with this long-term condition.
What is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a condition that can lead to extreme tiredness. It can affect anyone, including children. According to the UK’s National Health Service, this long-term condition can make you feel so tired that it can make daily activities like going to work or taking a shower difficult.
It can cause sleep problems, including insomnia. Sometimes, people with this condition sleep too much, and still feel like they have not slept properly. It can also lead to brain fog, and make it hard to think and concentrate properly. Due to disabling fatigue, which is unpredictable, it can disrupt personal, professional and social life of the person with this condition.
Can exercising help people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Physical activity may help to improve the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms along with muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance. But exercises should be done with supervision, according to The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Exercising with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome must be approached very carefully. “Gentle and well-paced physical activity can offer certain benefits if done correctly,” says physiotherapist Neha Gill.
Here are some of the benefits:
- Improves circulation: Gentle movement supports better blood and oxygen flow to tissues, which can help reduce brain fog.
- Prevents muscle deconditioning: Long periods of rest can lead to muscle weakness and joint stiffness. “Light activity helps maintain basic strength and mobility without overexertion,” says the expert.
- Supports better sleep: Calming movements like stretching, or even deep breathing may improve sleep quality, which is often poor in people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
- Eases pain: Gentle stretching and mobility exercises can reduce muscle aches and stiffness.
- Boosts mood: Movement, even if it is light, can increase the production of endorphins and serotonin, the feel-good hormones. “Exercising can help manage anxiety and depression that often accompany chronic illness,” says the expert.
Exercises for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
There are benefits of exercising, but it doesn’t mean you engage in high-intensity workouts or push through fatigue. Also, many people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are prone to dizziness, especially while standing, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So, exercises that involve standing, especially without any support, should be avoided. Instead, try these exercises for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome:
1. Diaphragmatic (Belly) breathing
- To try this technique, sit or lie comfortably.
- Place one hand on your chest, the other on your belly.
- Inhale through your nose so that your belly rises followed by ribcage.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth and feel your belly fall gradually.
- Repeat the steps for 5 to 10 breaths.
2. Seated marching
- Sit upright in a sturdy and comfortable chair with your feet flat.
- Lift your right knee a few inches, then lower.
- Alternate to your left knee.
- Do 10 to 15 repetitions slowly on each leg.
3. Seated shoulder rolls
- Sit tall with your arms relaxed.
- Roll your shoulders forward in small circles 5 times.
- Then roll them backward 5 times.
4. Wall push-ups
- You can try standing with support. Stand facing a wall, your arms stretched out and hands on the wall.
- Bend elbows to slowly bring your chest toward the wall.
- Push back to the starting position of wall push-ups.
- Do 5 to 10 reps, and rest as needed.
5. Ankle pumps
- Sit or lie down with your legs extended.
- Flex your toes toward you then point them away.
- Flex your ankle towards you then move it away.
- Repeat the steps 15 to 20 times slowly.
6. Cat-cow yoga pose
- Get on your hands and knees. You can use a cushion if you feel the need.
- Inhale then arch back and look up.
- Exhale, round your spine and tuck your chin.
- Repeat about 5 to 8 times.
7. Seated side bends
- Sit in a chair with your hands by your sides.
- Raise your right arm over your head and lean to the left.
- Hold for 5 to 10 seconds, return, and switch sides.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times per side.
Tips for exercising with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
You need to be extremely careful while engaging in physical activity if you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Here are a few tips:
- Start with just 1 to 2 exercises per session if needed.
- Rest between these exercises.
- No pain no gain doesn’t work, so never push through your pain or fatigue.
- Practice exercise in good posture, as doing any exercise correctly is far more important than repetitions.
- Use support props like pillows, chairs or walls.
- Understand your limits, and stay within your energy boundaries.
- Drink water before and after doing exercises for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. “Also, eat a small, energy-supportive pre-workout snack like a banana if needed before light movement,” suggests Gill.
You need to be cautious while exercising with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The goal is to gently support your health without worsening the symptoms. High-impact exercises or strenuous workouts can trigger crashes in people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. So, choose gentle moves and breathing instead. Talk to a doctor or physiotherapist before working out.
Related FAQs
How to resolve chronic fatigue syndrome?
There is no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome. But lifestyle changes, medication, and cognitive behavioral therapy and physical therapy may help to manage the symptoms.
Can you live a normal life with chronic fatigue syndrome?
Mildly impaired people with chronic fatigue syndrome may be able to go to work. However, careful planning and management of activities are needed.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
Share your experience
You can post your question to the panel using this form.
If you’re having trouble using the form, click here. Read terms of service here and privacy policy here.
Jan 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it will limit regulation of wearable devices and software designed to support healthy lifestyles, issuing new guidance to clarify its regulatory approach.
The guidance, along with comments from FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, adds to existing policy that classifies low-risk wellness tools, such as fitness apps and activity trackers that encourage exercise, as non-medical devices exempt from stringent regulation, provided they do not make claims related to disease diagnosis or treatment.
Sign up here.
“We have to promote these products and at the same time, just guard against major safety concerns,” Makary said in an interview with Fox Business about artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT, adding that “if people are looking up a symptom on an AI-based tool, let’s have that conversation when they come in to see their doctor or do a virtual visit.”
“We want to let companies know, with very clear guidance, that if their device or software is simply providing information, they can do that without FDA regulation,” Makary told Fox Business.
“The only stipulation is if they make claims of something being medical grade … like blood pressure measurement. We don’t want people changing their medicines based on something that’s just a screening tool or an estimate of a physiologic parameter.”
The agency also sent out a broader warning to consumers about the risks posed by unauthorized devices.
Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Woman suspected to have been killed in Colorado’s first fatal mountain lion attack in over two decades
Noem puts Newsom on notice, vows California probe after Minnesota fraud bust
Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears
Dem governor-elect taps Crockett’s former ‘chief brand strategist’ for top DEI role
Man with machete shot and killed by police, who then find 3 more dead inside home: officials
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: Minnesota Governor Condemns ICE Shooting
Trump greenlights Russian sanctions bill, paving way for 500% tariff on countries supporting Moscow: Graham
Saudi-led coalition says STC’s al-Zubaidi fled to UAE via Somaliland
U.S. to exit 66 international organizations in further retreat from global cooperation
San Diego sues to stop border barrier construction
-
Detroit, MI5 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Dallas, TX3 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Technology2 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Health4 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Nebraska1 day agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Politics4 days agoDan Bongino officially leaves FBI deputy director role after less than a year, returns to ‘civilian life’
-
Nebraska2 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
-
Louisiana3 days agoInternet company started with an antenna in a tree. Now it’s leading Louisiana’s broadband push.