Finding it hard to get through the day without a caffeine fix? Or are you simply struggling to motivate yourself to get outside and be active?
There are a number of reasons why your body may be struggling to cope in life’s fast lane. Whether it’s lifestyle or diet related, there are a lot of natural ways to give your energy levels a big boost.
Here are five of the best:
Eat the right foods
Munching on certain foods can enable your body to gradually release the energy source throughout the day, instead of a short-term sudden fix.
Dark leafy greens are not only packed with vitamin A, C and mineral folate, but they consist of a lot of fibre too. This helps you to maintain a healthy gut and has been linked to keeping the body’s energy levels in balance.1
Fruits like bananas, apples, peaches, apricots, mangos, papaya and oranges also contain a lot of vitamins, minerals and natural sugars which may stop you from nodding off at your desk!
Alternatively, studies have found that chia seeds form a gel-like substance in the body’s stomach to help slow the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar.2 As a result, you’ll get a nice slow release as the day goes on.
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Get more sleep
It may sound like a telling off from your parents, but sleep is one of the biggest reasons behind alack of energy.
You should aim to get around seven hours of sleep every night and look to make improvements to your sleep hygiene. This can involve eating at least three hours before bed to ensure your food is fully digested or not looking at your phone 30 minutes before bed to enable your brain to shut down. In fact, the use of screens before bed has been linked to poor sleep quality, plus a lack of energy throughout the following day.3
Be social
Not getting enough time with friends, loved ones and family, otherwise known as social isolation, is a common cause of bad moods and tiredness.4
Try surrounding yourself with the people you love as this can help you relax and keep spirits up. If you’re far away from them, try joining a local club and making new friends.
In fact, those who have a better social network are believed to have better physical and mental health as they get older.5
Drink less alcohol
Following on just because it’s important to be social, doesn’t mean you have to drink more alcohol. Having alcohol before bed can have a negative impact on your sleep quality while making you drowsy the following day.6,7
Try replacing an alcoholic drink with water. While this might not sound very ‘rock n roll’, dehydration has been found to affect your energy levels and mood.8
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Advice is for information only and should not replace medical care. Please consult a doctor or healthcare professional before trying any remedies.
Sources
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25200299
2. http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2014/07/benefits-of-chia.aspx#axzz5APEdlcgT.
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27802500
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694557/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11067571
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11584549
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21560041
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21736786
