Boost Your Energy Levels with These Simple Tips
Do you feel sluggish, worn out, or just plain tired ? Don’t worry — a lot of us do, given everything that’s going on in the world. Low energy is practically an epidemic in itself. In fact, according to the UK’s National Health Service , it’s so common that there’s an acronym used to describe perpetual exhaustion: TATT. It means “tired all the time.”
But commonality doesn’t make low energy levels any easier. Exhaustion can get in the way of even the easiest daily tasks, so it’s important to make sure your energy levels stay up in order to do what’s needed.
Why Is My Energy So Low?
Before you try to boost your energy, it helps to understand why it might be low in the first place. Your tiredness could be caused by three types of issues : psychological, physical, or lifestyle. Psychological tiredness includes things like stress and anxiety. Physical tiredness can result from a range of health conditions, from anemia to cancer. And lifestyle-related tiredness is induced by poor diet, insufficient exercise, and excessive consumption of alcohol, to name a few contributors.
How Can I Boost My Energy?
Boosting your energy levels requires some important lifestyle changes. If you’re TATT and looking to boost your energy, try these tips.
Eat Right for Your Body
Poor gut health can make you feel fatigued. If you haven’t been ingesting the right type of fuel for your body, you’re going to be exhausted. So make sure you’re getting a balanced diet with plenty of vitamins and minerals. Eat more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Skip processed foods, sugar-laden treats, and high-fat meals. And remember to eat your breakfast. It supports you for the rest of the day.
Hydrate All Day
If you’re feeling tired, try drinking a glass of water and see what happens. Fatigue is often the first sign of dehydration — sometimes even before you feel thirsty. And oftentimes, thirst can masquerade as hunger, so you may not even know you need water. Keep a bottle of water by you throughout the day and make sure you have some every hour (even if you don’t feel thirsty) so you stay hydrated.
Staying adequately hydrated can be a challenge. If you find it difficult to reach your daily intake goals, IV drip therapy is a fantastic alternative to schlepping a water bottle around with you. With regular IV drips, you can not only keep your body optimally hydrated, but also ensure you’re getting sufficient vitamins and minerals. Check out our IV drips to find the best option for you.
Cut Back on Caffeine
Coffee gives you a boost, sure — and some of us can’t start our mornings without a caffeine kick. But drink it sparingly. Don’t have any in the afternoon or evening, because it can keep you up at night (whether you realize it or not). After 2 p.m., try switching to a decaf blend or some herbal tea.
Get The Right Amount of Rest
It seems like a no-brainer, right? If you’re tired, get some sleep. But the trick is getting the right amount of quality sleep . Try sleeping without your alarm for a few days to see what the optimal amount of sleep is for you — meaning you wake up refreshed and ready to start the day. You’ll notice a similarity in the amount of hours, plus in the times you’re falling asleep and waking up. Try to stick to that schedule and that timeframe. And if that means you need to cut back on napping, so be it.
Invest in Self Care
When you feel less stressed, you’re generally more awake throughout the day. In fact, the longer you’re stressed, the more tired you get over time. So do what you can to cut the stress out of your life. That’s where self-care comes in.
The first step to de-stressing is taking care of yourself. Try quick five-minute meditations, breathing exercises, or something silly like having a solo dance party in your kitchen while waiting for dinner to cook. If you need more help, consider seeing a therapist to help you talk out your stressors.
Boost Your Heart Rate
Get active! Physical activity boosts dopamine and endorphins, giving you more energy in the short-term — and it also helps you sleep better , giving you more energy in the long-term. Ideally you’ll want to get your heart pumping for 30 minutes every day. How you choose to do that is up to you! Try dance workouts online, yoga sessions, running, or even just lifting weights for a while.
Kick Those Addictive Substances
Smoking and drinking alcohol are generally bad for your health, but did you know they can mess up your energy levels as well? Alcohol is actually a depressant, so it makes you feel tired — and then interferes with your deep sleep sessions , causing you to get less sleep and have less energy during the day. Nicotine has a similar but opposite effect. It’s a stimulant, so it keeps you awake. That means you’re also sleeping less, but because of nicotine-induced insomnia. So either way, your energy for the next day is stolen the night before. Smoking also is bad for your lungs , and you need that precious oxygen to feel sufficiently energized throughout the day.
Make Some Time for Friends
Don’t isolate yourself. When you get out and hang with pals you know and love, it’s a natural energy booster. In fact, studies show that not only does hanging out with friends as you get older kick the exhaustion you get from being alone, but it also makes you healthier both physically and mentally. So call up your bestie and get out of the house.
Bask in the Sunshine
The zap of Vitamin D you get from being in the sun isn’t just a vitamin boost — it’s also an energy boost. (Go ahead, ask all those Midwesterners who get exhausted during the winter.) Try to go outside when the sun is out for a quick walk. It’ll boost your mood and your energy levels, and you’ll get some exercise during work.
How Do I Maintain My Energy Levels?
Alright, so you’ve got your energy up — and in a natural way, too. Congratulations! Now you need to learn to keep that energy level going. Don’t skimp on all the steps you’ve been taking to boost your energy level. If it’s working, you want it to keep working, and suddenly taking four naps a day and eating cake for breakfast is going to destroy that progress.
That being said, if you’ve done everything you can and your energy level is still in the dumps, or if it rose for a bit and then tanked even though you haven’t changed the healthy habits, it’s time to see your doctor. It could be the result of a health condition, such as a thyroid issue. Once you get that straightened out, you’ll be back on the path to perkiness.
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