Today we are investigating lifestyle-related causes of low energy and natural ways we can boost our energy levels.
There are of course many health-related causes of low energy which may need professional guidance, such as:
Thyroid problems, ME, diabetes, depression, and anxiety, viral or bacterial infections and allergies, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea, anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
Also, some food allergies and gluten intolerance can impact your energy levels.
If you persistently feel tired or have low energy levels, if the strategies I’ve set out below or the energizing Pilates routine and breath practice don’t seem to help, perhaps think about scheduling yourself an appointment for a well-woman or well-man check-up.
Lots of different factors contribute to tiredness in the day including significant stress at work, stress at home and family issues, poor diet, lack of sleep and either exercising too little OR too much.
Strategies for naturally boosting our energy levels are similar to those we explored in my Boosting Your Immune System blog and podcast. Essentially, it comes down to taking care of ourselves with some simple lifestyle factors to ensure optimum health in all areas.
Factors we should try and incorporate into our daily lives to help boost our energy levels, include
GETTING MORE SLEEP
REDUCING STRESS LEVELS
INCREASING ACTIVITY LEVELS
AVOIDING SMOKING
LIMITING ALCOHOL AND CAFFEINE
STAYING HYDRATED
EATING A NUTRITIOUS DIET
AVOIDING ADDED SUGARS
GETTING MORE SLEEP
Lack of sleep can not only make us tired and lethargic throughout the day but can greatly affect our mood, making us feel grumpy or low in spirits.
So trying to get a good night’s sleep is vital for our energy levels. I have previously given tips for improving sleep in my Boosting your Immune System blog so today I’m not going to talk about reducing screen time or other stimulants before bedtime and so on, but about sleep cycles.
Each sleep cycle lasts approx 90 mins and each sleep cycle has 5 stages, which change throughout the night.
Scientists categorised the stages of sleep based on the characteristics of the brain and body during sleep. Stages 1,2,3, and 4, are categorised as ‘non-REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep’, and the fifth stage, as REM sleep.
We need an average of 4-5 90 minute sleep cycles to ensure a good night’s rest. So that is ideally between 6 and 7 and a half hours sleep for most people.
REDUCING STRESS LEVELS
There are lots of factors in our lives that can cause stress, such as being under pressure, facing change and times of uncertainty, worrying about something, not having control of a situation, overwhelming responsibilities, not enough time, work, money, leading an unhealthy lifestyle and conflict at home or in the workplace. Of course there are many more causes of stress, and anxiety can be induced by any of these stress factors
It is important to have time to yourself and to give yourself permission to relax. Practices such as Pilates, calming breath work, Yoga. tai chi and meditation are all known to help significantly alleviate symptoms of stress.
Try my Pilates for Stress and Anxiety Routine and Breath Practice whenever you feel you need to reduce your stress levels.
INCREASING ACTIVITY LEVELS
It may seem counter-intuitive to exercise when you are feeling tired or low in energy, but the more you move, the more the hormones cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine that boost your energy levels are released. This is something that I talked about in my Benefits of Walking blog and podcast and again I love the fact that every aspect of Self Care has so many comparable elements that make it easy to take care of every area of our health and well-being!!
Exercise increases your oxygen flow and also boosts the release of our happy hormones such as Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphins. These help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression and help to increase our self esteem, promoting positivity, pleasure and happiness.
The Pilates routine for Boosting Energy Levels has a lovely breath practice called Bird Spread Wings and another breath practice that is great for boosting energy levels is the Conscious Connected Breath practice, both can be found in the video library.
AVOIDING SMOKING
The toxins from smoking and the impact of smoking on our lung efficiency promotes tiredness. When nicotine reaches the brain the chemical reaction makes you feel more energised, but as it wears off it leaves you feeling tired and craving more nicotine. Smoking decreases your lung capacity, which can cause a smaller volume of oxygen to reach the bloodstream, resulting in less oxygen getting to the blood and causing fatigue.
After only 3 days of giving up smoking the nicotine levels in your body are depleted, you will breathe more easily and have increased energy as your blood flow returns to normal.
LIMITING ALCOHOL
Alcohol acts as a sedative which may mean you drop off to sleep quickly, but it affects the the amount of quality sleep and REM sleep you get, making you feel drowsy and low in energy the next day.
It’s also a diuretic, which may mean sleep is further disrupted by keep getting up to go to the loo!!
We may suffer from hangover effects such as tiredness, dehydration and headaches and because alcohol is a depressant, it can affect your happy hormones making you feel low, anxious and depressed. We may also feel low in energy due to low blood sugar levels because of alcohols effect on our liver.
Some tips to boost your energy after a night of drinking are to stay hydrated and eat a healthy breakfast the next morning.
Recommendations for alcohol consumption are 14 units a week spread ideally over 3 days.
CAFFEINE
Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, raises our heart rate and blood pressure when it enters the body AND increases our energy levels. But regularly relying on caffeine for energy can have an adverse effect on our energy levels over time as it can block the adenosine receptors in the brain which is a chemical involved in the sleep-wake cycle.
As caffeine is a stimulant it is wise not to drink coffee (or tea) before bedtime for several reasons, one that it will keep you awake and that will promote tiredness the following day. Caffeine is also a diuretic which means you should drink plenty of water to maintain hydration levels.
Recommended guidelines for daily caffeine intake is 400mg a day or 2-3 cups of coffee and 4-5 cups of tea.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
People who become dehydrated due to lack of fluids and electrolytes or other factors mentioned previously, may feel symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, and tiredness due to low blood pressure caused by dehydration. Even being mildly dehydrated can make us feel exhausted because of poor circulation and blood flow to the brain.
Being properly hydrated helps to raise energy levels.
Take a look at my tips to staying hydrated in my How to Boost Your Immune System blog or perhaps try my Fruit Infused Water Recipe ideas.
EAT A NUTRITIOUS DIET AND AVOID ADDED SUGAR
To boost our energy and maintain blood sugar (glucose) levels we should eat regular small meals and ensure we have a diet that is fibre rich and includes starchy carbs for slow release energy. We should avoid processed and sugary foods that cause our blood sugar levels to spike and fall sharply which short term can not only affect our energy levels but long term could cause problems such as diabetes.
Foods that help to combat fatigue are:
Unprocessed foods
Fruits and vegetables
Non-caffeinated beverages
Lean proteins
Whole grains and complex carbs
Nuts and Water.
We should be able to get all the necessary Vitamins and Minerals from a balanced diet to keep us healthy and energised.
DAILY MACRONUTRIENT GUIDELINES
50-55% CARBS
30-35% FATS
10-15% PROTEIN
So the bottom line for our optimum health and well being, for a healthy immune system, reduced stress and anxiety and optimum energy levels comes down to implementing these lifestyle tips into your daily routine.
I hope you have enjoyed the read
Love Angi xx
