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9 tips to boost your energy - naturally - Harvard Health
Exercise
Exercise gives your cells more energy to burn and circulates oxygen. Exercising causes your body to release stress hormones that in modest amounts can make you feel energized.
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Control stress
Stress-induced emotions consume huge amounts of energy.
Talk with a friend or relative, join a support group, or see a psychotherapist to help diffuse stress.
Lighten your load
Overwork is one of the main reasons for fatigue. It can include professional, family and social obligations.
Try to streamline your list of "must-do" activities. Set your priorities and pare down the less important tasks. Consider asking for extra help.
Exercise
Exercise gives your cells more energy to burn and circulates oxygen. Exercising causes your body to release stress hormones that in modest amounts can make you feel energized.
Avoid smoking
Smoking siphons off your energy by causing insomnia.
The nicotine in tobacco is a stimulant, so it speeds the heart rate, raises blood pressure, and stimulates brain-wave activity associated with wakefulness, making it harder to fall asleep.
Restrict your sleep
- Avoid napping during the day.
- The first night, go to bed later than normal and get just four hours of sleep.
- If you feel that you slept well during that four-hour period, add another 15–30 minutes of sleep the next night.
- As long as you're sleeping soundly the entire time you're in bed, slowly keep adding sleep on successive nights.
Eat for energy
Eating small meals and snacks every few hours can reduce your perception of fatigue because your brain needs a steady supply of nutrients.
Eat foods with a low glycemic index to help you avoid the lag in energy that typically occurs after eating quickly absorbed sugars or refined starches. Foods include whole grains, high-fiber vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils such as olive oil. Proteins and fats have glycemic indexes that are close to zero.
Use caffeine to your advantage
Having a cup of coffee can help sharpen your mind, but you have to use it judiciously.
Coffee can cause insomnia, especially when consumed in large amounts or after 2 p.m.
Limit alcohol
Avoid drinking alcohol at lunch. The sedative effect of alcohol is especially strong at midday. Avoid a five o'clock cocktail if you want to have energy in the evening.
If you're going to drink, do so when you don't mind having your energy wind down.
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Get More Sleep
Lack of sleep can result in you feeling lethargic, grumpy and tired. If you often feel this way, you may want to consider whether you’re getting enough sleep.
Try and aim for around 7 hour...
Reduce Stress
Feelings of stress can mean that you struggle to concentrate, experience racing thoughts, difficulty switching off and tiredness.
Strategies to improve your energy levels include taking some time for yourself to relax, reading or going for a walk.
Move More
One study found that sedentary people with persistent, unexplained fatigue decreased their tiredness by around 65% just by regularly participating in low-intensity cycling.
Get up and move your body like brisk walking or cycling to boost your energy levels.
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Creating a sleep-inducing environment
- Turn the temperature between 60 and 72 degrees.
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Your Relationship With Sleep
Many of us have a broken relationship with sleep. It’s rare for most people to wake up refreshed, rejuvenated, and full of energy.
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Basics Of Sleep
A night of sleep is made of five cycles, making us go through various sleep stages. This can be light sleep, deep sleep and REM stage of sleep when we dream and have eye movement.
During sleep, our body produces Melatonin and Growth Hormones, which are required by your bodies for regulating our internal clock and to restore our muscles, bone and metabolism.
Sleep Myths Busted
- We all don’t need a standard eight hours of sleep, as it varies according to our age, genetics and level of activity.
- Insomnia is actually of various types, from Onset (unable to fall asleep) to Maintenance(struggling to stay asleep) and other types like chronic and acute insomnia.
- We all do not have to wake up at 5 a.m., and the wake up time depends on our chronotype.
- Sleeping pills, like the types of insomnia, are different too. Benadryl helps you fall asleep, while melatonin pills regulate our internal clock.
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