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With increasingly busy lives, including taking care of the family, attending to work, exercise, pets, and just regular life can make you feel tired and worn out. Thankfully, there’s many things you do to boost your energy levels and make sure you are able to function at optimal levels and kick ass and take names every single day!!
1. Manage Your Stress
If you live a busy life, it is not uncommon to feel anxious, stressed or overwhelmed. However, you need to get your stress in control as you don’t want to lead to burnout! Feelings of stress and overwhelm are unfortunately becoming normal and they unfortunately can make you struggle to concentrate on important tasks and getting work done. Stress can affect your physical and mental health, and it has been closely linked to feeling tired all the time. [1] [2]
Generally, it may be almost impossible to eliminate stress completely from your life, but it can be managed! Reducing stress can have a positive impact on your energy level.[3]
Some strategies to stress less and increase energy are taking some time for yourself to relax, going for a walk, listening to music, reading or trying out some mindfulness or mediation techniques even for a few minutes.[4] [5]
2. Exercise and Move
Exercise plays a major role in reducing health risks, and also in making you feel great! If you live a lifestyle where you’re often sitting in a chair in an office – moving around will definitely boost your energy![6] [7]
You don't necessarily have to perform strenuous exercises to boost your energy level. Even with a simple 10 minute walk, you can get a dose of energy. [8]
Moving around also gives your cells more energy to burn and circulates oxygen, while your brain releases more dopamine (one of your happiness brain chemicals) which helps elevate mood!
If you’re struggling to get outside and move a little bit – try having a cup of coffee (or treat yourself to something really special like a Savvy Coffee)!
3. Get More Sleep
Usually when you’re very busy – the first thing to go on the back burner is sleep!! Depriving yourself of quality sleep can make you feel cranky, tired, and irritable. The recommended sleeping hours at night are about 7-8 hours. Quality sleep can help you get rid of those feelings of tiredness as you wake up with vigour, vitality, and energy.
4. Eat a Nutritious Diet with Supplements
You are what you eat. Well not exactly, but if you’re always feeling tired and low in energy, it is worth having a bit of a look at what you’re eating every day and seeing whether you can improve a few things!
Keep in mind that what we eat directly impacts how our brain and body functions so our eating habits can determine whether our energy levels increase or decrease. Your body and mind need fuel to keep you running all day long!
A nutritious diet will provide the right nutrients for your body, but even then, having additional supplements will help to take you from good to great! A lot of people are eating well, but may not get enough nutrients, so having foods that have been fortified with additional healthy vitamins, herbal extracts, minerals, and nutrients is a huge bonus!
5. Walk in the Sunshine
Research reveals that walking outside on a bright day can make you feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally.Going outside in the sun might just be the best thing for you when you’re having a hard day! Research suggests that even a quick walk in the sun will allow for some vitamin D, while exercising which will enhance mental, physical and even emotional health! [9]
6. Limit Alcohol and Don't Smoke
Sorry for those that smoke – but it’s one of the worst things you can do for your health. It increases the risk of numerous health conditions. The tar and toxic chemicals in cigarettes reduce the efficiency of your lungs, which means a lessened amount of oxygen transported around your body, making you feel tired. [10] [11]
Drinking alcohol is fine, but it’s good to limit because it can make you feel drowsy. Also, drinking alcohol in the evening can interfere with your sleep quality which makes you feel more tired the next day. It is also a diuretic, meaning that it makes you need to pee, which means you’re constantly waking up and disturbing your sleep. [12]
7. Be Social
Social relationships are one of the factors that contribute to good health. Being isolated can cause moodiness and tiredness. Interestingly enough, people with stronger social networks have better physical and mental health as they age.[13]
Emotion is contagious. Try hanging around positive people and see how your energy levels increase.
8. Belt Out Your Favourite Song and Sing along!
Singing generally reduces stress hormone levels while simultaneously increasing mood – which gives you such a boost. With higher spirits, you’ll notice yourself feeling way more energised. This is because of the stimulation of your vagus nerve – which we will cover in another Savvy article. If you're at work and don't want to treat your colleagues to a performance, you might want to save your amazing renditions of your favourite songs for the car.
9. Use Caffeine to Your Advantage
Coffee, tea, energy drinks, Coca Cola, chocolate (especially dark chocolate), and even some throat lollies and medication all contain caffeine! Caffeine can make you feel more alert. Grab a cup of coffee or tea to sharpen your mind, but be mindful that lots of caffeine can cause jitters – so tea can be great, unless it’s an upgraded coffee or superfood mix which has both caffeine and L-theanine in it.
10. Avoid Added Sugar
It can be tempting to opt for a quick sweet snack when you are tired. Sugar foods may give you a quick energy boost, but it is usually a short-term boost followed by a crash. This is because high-sugar foods cause your blood sugar to rise quickly (known as a blood sugar spike, or a sugar rush) and then your body releases insulin to bring your blood sugar back down!
Additionally, a large amount of added sugar can pose health risks to you. In order to keep your energy levels more stable and reduce fatigue, try to avoid eating foods high in added sugar.[14]
11. Stay Hydrated
Your body is made up of between 55 to 75% water. Your body loses water throughout the day through sweat and urine, so you need to be drinking water to make sure you don’t end up dehydrated. [15]
Unfortunately, dehydration can affect your energy levels, brain function, as well as mood. Drinking water can help to regain the water lost through sweat and urine. Staying hydrated by drinking enough water regularly can boost your energy level. [16]
For those of us who get fully immersed in our work running around getting things done, or sitting at a desk for hours, it’s easy to forget to drink water – but try and remember to have at least a glass of water every 1-2 hours. Sometimes, you don’t even feel thirsty when you need to drink, this is especially common in older people! So, try and sip on something throughout the day. [17]
Final Thoughts
There you have it! Above are some essential tips to boost your energy levels. Lack of energy can make function less efficient in your daily activities. Check your lifestyle to know what drains your energy and change it.
If you find yourself feeling tired often, maybe it’s a good idea to see which of the above you aren’t doing particularly well and try and improve your lifestyle to get more done and feel better!
With the right nutrition, you can go a long way!
References:
[1] Determinants of fatigue and stress
[2] Perceived stress and fatigue among students
[3] Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety
[4] Mindfulness meditation as a self-help treatment for anxiety and depression
[5] Physical Activity Reduces Stress
[6] Effects of chronic exercise on feelings of energy and fatigue
[7] The effect of acute resistance exercise on feelings of energy and fatigue
[8] Effect of aerobic exercise training on feelings of energy and fatigue
[9] It's official -- spending time outside is good for you
[10] Effects of smoking on chest expansion, lung function, and respiratory muscle strength of youths
[11] How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease
[12] Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and mental disorders
[13] Health promoting effects of friends and family on health outcomes in older adults
[14] 9 Natural Ways to Boost Your Energy Levels
[15] Water, Hydration and Health
[16] Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men