One of the things people want to improve is their energy levels. But the first thing you want to do after a long day in the office after dinner of course. Is to get on the couch and relax in front of the television.
But the activity that we think would help us feel better. May only help you feel better in that moment or duration you are comfortable. What people often do is reach for a coffee or tea because they contain caffeine which is a stimulant. That can increase your energy for a short period. However, you shouldn’t rely on it and moderate your intake.
So what are some ways to improve your energy?
1. Sleep – look at both improving the quality and the duration of your sleep. To get this in order we need to prioritise it more than most of us do. Which is by controlling what we do before we go to bed. It’s not uncommon to put Netflix on and let the autoplay, put on the next episode of a series you’re watching. We need to have a routine for when we should be in bed, you may need to go a bit earlier to improve the length of sleep.
2. Diet – we need to make sure we are eating enough calories. Often people will try to intentionally eat very little with the belief that it will help them to lose weight. But it can have the opposite effect of making things harder. Then look at the quality of your nutrition and the variety. Is 80% of your diet minimally processed whole foods that are packed with nutrition? Are you getting enough variety in your diet?
3. Daily movement – this does not have to be actual workouts. But a simple way that most of us can achieve this is getting up and walking more. The way I would recommend this is by getting outside and getting some fresh air in. What I would suggest is looking at your current daily movement. If you’re getting none. then could you manage a 10-minute walk daily?
4. Hydration – make sure you are drinking enough fluids throughout the day. You can check your hydration by the colour of your urine. We are looking for a light straw colour. If it’s dark we are likely dehydrated and if it is clear we may be over hydrated.
These are some different ideas to help you improve your energy and how you feel. What ones you should look at depends on you and what the different areas of your diet and lifestyle currently look like.
