Running on Empty – How to Boost Your Energy

I don’t know about you, but I have days when I’m missing that usual bounce in my step. I feel a little lethargic, or my concentration is fuzzy. I start imagining how nice it would be to live in one of those countries where it’s perfectly acceptable to head home for a quick siesta in the afternoon. Sometimes I know why I am tired  - a cold, a bad night’s sleep or travel – all take their energy toll. But I got to wondering if there are specific behaviors that I could tweak to get a little more oomph out of my day.

Here are a few techniques that I discovered, and tried, that actually made a difference:

4 Tips to Boost Your Energy

• Keeping a regular sleep schedule – It’s pretty obvious that if you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll feel lethargic during the day. But what’s less obvious is that maintaining a regular sleep schedule, including on weekends, makes a difference too. If you get 7 hours sleep on weeknights and then indulge in 12 hours nights on the weekends, getting up early again on Monday morning is going to be a rude awakening for your body.

• Exercising every day- okay, I admit that this is a tough one, especially when you are feeling tired to begin with. But even 15 minutes of exercise will boost your energy. My compromise is to stretch for 15 minutes on those days that I just can’t get myself to the gym. Stretching boosts your circulation and is an activity that you can do on your lunch break, or even at your desk.

• Stimulating your mind - crosswords, reading, Sudoku (my personal favorite) — anything to get those grey cells buzzing. It’s hard to stay sharp when you have been staring at the same screen for over an hour. So take a 5 minute break to engage in a different brain-stimulating activity. I find that it keeps me from getting distracted and keeps me focused and energized.

• Eating (the right foods)- Skipping a meal is a one-way ticket to exhaustion. I used to think my early morning cup of tea counted as breakfast until I tried this tip of eating a real breakfast. I started having instant oatmeal with my tea and noticed a real difference in my morning energy levels. So, don’t skip meals, especially breakfast, and eat the right foods. Energy rich foods come from complex carbohydrates, which are in fresh fruits and vegetables, especially crunchy ones. (Nuts and carrots are perfect energy-boosting snacks).

I don’t always get everything done that I want to in a day, but lately, my energy has been more consistent and I feel better.  I’m always looking for new ways to stay energized so I’d love to hear any tips you have to share.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 7th, 2008 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.