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| Photo credit: www.biospherenutrition.co.nz |
How often do you experience a wave of tiredness in the mid-afternoon? Productivity drops, you feel like taking a nap and end up resorting to another cup of coffee. Most of us would love to have constant sustained energy throughout the day but don’t realize a few easy lifestyle changes is all we need for great energy levels.
Go to sleep earlier
Start by making sure your body gets adequate rest. Sleep is extremely important for our body to repair, rejuvenate and revitalize. There is no right or wrong amount of sleep to get every night as everyone has different needs and requirements. Someone who engages in a strenuous labor intensive workday might require more sleep than someone who works at a desk. However, the total number of hours sleep is not the only thing to consider when it comes to getting quality sleep. Studies have shown the hours of sleep before midnight have been shown to be far more beneficial than the later hours of the night.[1] It may take some time to adjust your sleep cycle a few hours but work on it over time, each week trying to get to bed earlier and enjoy feeling better the next day.
Adjust your diet
What we eat has a huge impact on how we feel. Again, everyone’s nutritional requirements differ based on their genetic makeup and lifestyle but following the general rule of unprocessed whole foods is a sure way to improve energy levels. The best way to eat for you requires a lot of trial and error. Personally, I suffer in the afternoons when I eat a carbohydrate dense meal for lunch such as sushi or any rice dishes. By keeping carbohydrates low in the morning and afternoon I am able to maintain great energy levels throughout the day. I am definitely not alone as a carbohydrate sensitive person so if you think you might be, try mixing up your breakfast and lunch to reduce the simple carbohydrates and see how you feel.
Get enough Magnesium
The most common mineral deficiency in the western world is magnesium. It is regarded as one of the most important minerals as it is used by over 300 bodily processes and is present in every cell type. The main source of energy in our cells, ATP, must be bound to a magnesium ion in order to be biologically active. Without magnesium, our cells have no energy to do what they were intended to do which also results in a lack of energy. Look to eat magnesium rich foods or consume a high-quality magnesium supplement.
Avoid Caffeine
Don’t get sucked into afternoon caffeine. While it may pick you up briefly, it’s far better you address the root cause of your tiredness rather than to artificially override it. Just because it’s normal to feel tired in the afternoon doesn’t mean you have to. Caffeine will bring you back down into your tired state soon after consuming it and can impact on your sleep, probably not worth it. With a half-life of approximately five hours, half of the caffeine from that 4 pm coffee is still going to be in your system by 9 pm when you’re looking to wind down and relax. While you may not be feeling the effects of caffeine anymore, it’s still in your system affecting melatonin production, the hormone our bodies produce to help us sleep.[2]
It may take some time to adjust some old habits and try out new breakfast and lunch options but improved energy is worth the effort. Remember there is no one approach fits all but follow these tips and you will experience an improvement in your energy as well as a healthier body.
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