Why Won‘t My Stamina Go Back Up in Skyrim?
As an avid Skyrim player with over 300 hours across multiple characters, I‘ve run into the "no stamina regen" issue a few times. It can be incredibly frustrating when your stamina stays depleted, preventing power attacks, sprinting, and other essential actions.
Based on my experience troubleshooting this in the past, there are a few key culprits:
- Active effects draining stamina or slowing regen
- Survival mode‘s strict stamina limitations
- Glitches or bugs
The good news is each cause has solutions for restoring your precious stamina supply. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll cover common reasons your stamina won‘t refill, as well as tips to recover and prevent this issue in the future!
Draining Active Effects
Many abilities and conditions in Skyrim can temporarily or permanently sap your stamina or stop natural regeneration. Check Active Effects under Magic to see if any of the following influences are active:
| Effect | Source | Duration | Solution |
| Feeble Stamina | Bone Break Fever disease | Permanent until cured | Cure disease potion or pray at shrine |
| Stamina Damage | Ice Spike spell | 60 seconds | Wait out effect |
As that small sample shows, effects draining stamina must be removed for it to normally regenerate again. If an unfamiliar effect is hampering your stamina, check its scroll-over description to find the source and duration. Then cure diseases, wait out temporary spells, or remove item enchantments until your stamina starts filling up again.
Survival Mode‘s Stamina Limitations
Survival mode transforms stamina management with the introduction of fatigue, requiring the player to sleep and eat properly. Unlike the base game, your stamina will not passively regen over time by default in Survival.
Instead, you need to sleep in a bed to eliminate fatigue and regain the Well Rested bonus. 8 hours of sleep is ideal, but even a short 1-hour nap can help if you‘re in desperate need of stamina. Certain foods and potions also temporarily regenerate stamina to keep you going between rests:
| Item | Stamina Restored | Duration |
| Horker Stew | +25 | 3600 seconds (1 hour) |
| Vegetable Soup | +1 pt / second | 720 seconds (12 minutes) |
Be sure to regularly sleep and consume stamina-boosting items in Survival mode for continual regeneration. Letting fatigue get too high will rapidly sap your available stamina and grinding activities to a halt. Learn to manage it well though, and Survival really lets your inner Dragonborn shine!
Glitches Draining Stamina
Like any huge open-world game, Skyrim isn‘t without its fair share of bugs. In some unfortunate cases, random glitches can break stamina regeneration:
- Stamina draining rapidly overtime
- Permanent 0 stamina after loading save
- Stamina bar not visibly refilling despite waiting
For glitch-induced stamina issues, try loading an older save from before the problem surfaced. Waiting, sleeping, restoring ability points, or traveling may also fix it. As a last resort, quit and relaunch Skyrim or validate its files if playing on PC. Hopefully reverting to a working game state clears any lingering script issues draining stamina.
Ways to Restore Stamina Quickly
While troubleshooting your stamina regeneration problems, you may need ways to instantly refill it in the interim:
- Respite Restoration Spell – Heals Health and Stamina at Expert level
- Beef Stew (+80 Stamina over 30 seconds)
- Leveling Up – Fully restores Health, Magicka and Stamina
Hopefully the above tips should help uncover why your stamina refuses to recharge. From diseases to fatigue and glitches, we covered all the major culprits. Now get back out there Dragonborn – Skyrim awaits! And be sure to let me know if you have any other issues…happy adventuring!
