Posted on: January 21st, 2016
We all know the feeling – the work week is dragging, we are on our third cup of coffee, and the 3 o’clock slump is in full swing! We may never be completely rid of that midday slump, but there are easy ways we can all boost our energy and feel better getting through our days. Here are 5 simple steps to having more energy every day.
- Rise and Shine – These winter months make it difficult to get enough sun exposure, but that’s all the more reason we need it now. So, the first chance you get for some time in the sun, do it! Sunlight enhances energy and mood by releasing endorphins, as well as a plethora of other health benefits (details coming in a future blog post!).
- Good energy drink – Yes, there is such a thing as a good energy drink. Avoid traditional energy drinks at all costs! But there are plenty of health and wellness companies making natural, healthy energy drinks. Good energy drinks go the natural route. Look for ones loaded with B vitamins and other minerals, with herb and root blends to promote adrenal health and properly sustain energy. Here is a link to the best one I have found. If you would like to try it or want to know how to order please contact us.
- Sleeping…But more importantly waking – This one is easier said than done: Set your alarm and get up when it goes off. If you happen to wake up 15-20 minutes before it goes off, then you go ahead and get up. Don’t squeeze in the extra 5-10 minutes, it will only make you more tired and getting out of bed will be that much harder. And don’t use that tempting snooze button! Get your day started when you have planned to start it. When your body doesn’t have a set routine for sleeping and waking, it doesn’t know when to ‘turn on’ it’s sleep settings. When you hit snooze, your body and brain get caught in sleep inertia and getting up only gets harder. Don’t plan to hit snooze, plan to wake up on time, plan to get up immediately and plan to get your day started with enthusiasm!
- Finish with a cold shower – You read that right! Cold showers in the middle of winter. Go with me on this. Later, I’ll discuss all the benefits of cold showers, but for now I’ll just highlight one: It energizes you. If you take a shower in the morning, try not to spend all day in there sitting under the hot water as you slowly wake up. Take a hot shower, but get through your bathing process without wasting time. When you are done with that turn the shower to cold for 2 minutes (or as long as you can stand) and get all of your body wet. Trust me, you won’t feel tired after this. One tip I do is to leave shampooing for the end, and set the water to cold as I race through the lather and rinse.
- Eat a small breakfast – Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the largest meal of the day. What happens after we eat? We digest. Our bodies breakdown the food to gather and store the energy from it. The most efficient digestion comes when our bodies are resting. So, one of two things might happen. You aren’t resting after breakfast and your body struggles to efficiently gather and store energy to use. Or, more commonly, you fall into a restful state after breakfast in order to properly handle all the digestion that needs to occur from the large meal you just consumed. So, keep it light and pack a healthy mid-morning snack.