
Symptoms vary by patient and by how fatigued the adrenal responses have become. The adrenal glands are located above the kidneys and the release of hormones can become fatigued or sluggish when chronic or extreme illness or stress occurs. Your hormones are produced by several glands, including your adrenal glands. It also helps regulate the heart rate and aids in converting glycogen to glucose.

These hormones enable the body to convert foods into energy.

A systematic review found no evidence for the condition, confirming the consensus among mainstream endocrinologists that it is a myth. Neither the condition nor the symptoms have any stable or recognized definition. There is no scientific evidence supporting the concept of adrenal fatigue, and it is not recognized as a diagnosis by the scientific or medical communities. The term "adrenal fatigue" was invented in 1998 by chiropractor James Wilson and applied to a collection of mostly non-specific symptoms.

There is no scientific basis for the existence of adrenal fatigue, and the term should not be confused with a number of actual forms of adrenal dysfunction such as adrenal insufficiency or Addison's disease. Adrenal fatigue or hypoadrenia is a pseudo-scientific term used by alternative medicine providers to suggest that the adrenal glands are exhausted and unable to produce adequate quantities of hormones, primarily cortisol, due to chronic stress or infections.
