Fatigue is one of the most common and challenging symptoms faced by people living with chronic illness, including cancer and neuroinflammatory diseases like multiple sclerosis. While fatigue may seem like just a feeling of tiredness, it’s far more complex, involving a combination of physical, psychological, and neurological factors. If you’re living with fatigue due to an illness such as glioblastoma (a form of brain cancer), you’re probably all too familiar with how overwhelming and persistent it can feel. In this post, I’ll explore how endurance training—a form of regular aerobic exercise—can alleviate fatigue, reduce neuroinflammation, and help you feel more in control of your health.
What Can Endurance Training Teach Us About Fatigue?
Think of your body like a car engine. The engine needs fuel, maintenance, and care to run smoothly. In the same way, your body requires energy, attention, and proper care to function at its best. Endurance training can be thought of as a tune-up for your body—it helps your body use energy more efficiently, reducing the intensity of fatigue over time.
How Does the Brain Control Fatigue—and Can We Recalibrate It?
Every car has a thermostat to prevent the engine from overheating. Similarly, your brain acts as a central governor—a built-in mechanism that regulates how much effort you use during physical activities. According to Tim Noakes’ Central Governor Theory, fatigue is not just a signal of physical exhaustion; it’s a psychological signal the brain uses to protect the body from harm.
While it might seem like fatigue simply means the body has run out of energy, Noakes’ theory suggests that the brain plays a significant role in how we experience it. By training your body through regular endurance activities, you can help recalibrate your brain’s perception of fatigue, making you more capable of handling effort without feeling as drained. This doesn’t mean fatigue disappears, but it may become more manageable, reducing its impact on your daily life.
Can Endurance Training Help Clear the “Toxins” of Neuroinflammation?
In cars, the exhaust system clears out harmful byproducts created by the engine’s work. Similarly, your body produces inflammatory molecules called cytokines during stress, which can contribute to neuroinflammation—an activation of immune cells in the brain. This inflammation can lead to fatigue, as well as cognitive decline and other symptoms.
Endurance training helps by reducing this neuroinflammation. Research shows that aerobic exercise can lower the activation of microglia (the brain’s immune cells) and reduce inflammation. This process is like the body’s “exhaust system” working to clear out the harmful byproducts of stress. Regular exercise can help reduce this neuroinflammation, potentially easing fatigue and improving mental clarity over time.
What’s the Link Between Physical and Psychological Fatigue?
Every car has a battery, which powers everything from the lights to the radio. In the body, your mental energy—the ability to stay motivated, focused, and resilient—acts like this battery. Stress, pain, and illness can drain this energy, leading to psychological fatigue.
Endurance training helps to recharge this mental battery by improving mood, reducing stress, and boosting resilience. Exercise increases the release of endorphins and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), both of which help improve brain function and reduce feelings of exhaustion. It’s not just about building physical strength—it’s about replenishing your mental reserves, helping you feel more energized both physically and emotionally.
What Does Recent Research Reveal About Exercise, Neuroinflammation, and Fatigue?
Now let’s look at some of the latest research that sheds light on how endurance training affects neuroinflammation and fatigue, especially for patients with conditions like glioblastoma and other neuroinflammatory diseases.
Endurance Exercise and Neuroinflammation:
Recent studies have shown that endurance training can help reduce neuroinflammation—a process that plays a key role in fatigue. One study found that regular aerobic exercise reduced inflammation markers in the brain by decreasing the activation of microglia, the brain’s immune cells. Since glioblastoma and other neuroinflammatory diseases can cause chronic inflammation in the brain, endurance exercise may help counteract this process, potentially alleviating some of the fatigue that comes with these conditions.
💡 For more insight, click here:
The Psychological Aspect of Fatigue:
While fatigue is often seen as a physical condition, psychological factors are crucial in how we experience it. According to Tim Noakes’ Central Governor Theory, the brain controls how much effort we exert and can cause feelings of fatigue even when the body still has energy left. Endurance training helps “recalibrate” this brain-body connection, making it easier to push through physical challenges without experiencing the same level of exhaustion. This doesn’t mean the fatigue will be entirely gone, but it can reduce the intensity of those feelings over time.
💡 For a comprehensive understanding of the Tim Noakes´Central Governor Theory, click here:
Fatigue and Glioblastoma:
Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, is associated with higher rates of fatigue compared to other cancers. One reason for this is that glioblastoma overexpresses a protein called ITGB3 integrin, which leads to increased neuroinflammation. This causes a cascade of immune responses that heighten stress and disrupt sleep, making fatigue even worse. However, endurance training can help regulate neuroinflammation and reduce its effects. While it won’t erase the fatigue caused by glioblastoma, it may help reduce its intensity and improve sleep quality, providing patients with a bit more energy to navigate their day.
💡For more insight, check out my last blog post on cancer invasion
Psychosocial Factors and Fatigue:
A 2024 study, “Underlying Associated Fatigue and Neurocognitive Functioning in Glioma”, found that psychosocial factors, such as stress and learned perceptions of fatigue, often play a larger role in fatigue than previously believed. This supports the idea that fatigue is learned over time. By making small, consistent changes—like incorporating endurance training into your routine—patients can unlearn fatigue and regain control. It won’t necessarily eliminate all the fatigue, but it can alleviate its severity and help patients feel more empowered in managing their symptoms.
💡For more insight, click here
Finding Strength in Motion: Can Endurance Training Ease Fatigue and Restore Energy?
Endurance training doesn’t promise to completely eliminate fatigue. It’s not a cure-all, but it can help alleviate the intensity of fatigue over time. Even for patients dealing with serious conditions like glioblastoma, small daily changes—such as a short walk or gentle cycling session—can add up and lead to improvements in energy levels and overall well-being.
For patients living with illness, it can be difficult to feel like you have any control over your body. But endurance training offers a way to regain a sense of control—even in small ways. By managing your neuroinflammation, improving your psychological resilience, and gradually increasing your physical stamina, endurance training can help you feel a little bit more like yourself, even when living with illness.
If you’re interested in understanding the science behind endurance, fatigue, and the brain, I highly recommend reading Alex Hutchinson’s book, Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. Hutchinson explores the fascinating world of human endurance, including the brain’s role in fatigue, and offers insight that can be helpful to anyone dealing with chronic illness, not just athletes. You don’t need to be a marathon runner to benefit from his insights—the principles he discusses can help anyone seeking to improve their energy, resilience, and overall health.
Can Small Steps in Endurance Training Help You Take Back Control Over Fatigue?
Fatigue is a deeply challenging symptom, especially for those with serious health conditions like glioblastoma. While endurance training won’t completely eliminate fatigue, it can help reduce its intensity and give patients a greater sense of control over their symptoms. By making small changes every day and embracing physical activity, you can gradually improve your energy levels, reduce neuroinflammation, and feel a little more resilient. Start slow, stay consistent, and remember that every small step counts in the journey toward feeling better.
