8 Ways to Improve Your Energy
Are you the type of person that cannot function without having your daily cup of coffee or reach for the sugary snack when you start to feel tired around 2:00pm? Despite what our culture would have you believe, we should be able to go throughout our day without reaching for caffeine or sugar for a pick me up. Unfortunately, this leads to a constant sugar roller coaster which only takes a short time to negatively impact your hormones and metabolism, in addition to accelerating aging due to sugars detrimental effects on collagen production.
Check out these 8 strategies for improving your energy naturally
Hydration. The majority of people walk around unaware that they are chronically dehydrated, reducing your cells ability to flush waste and assist with moving nutrients throughout the body. A good general rule is to consume half of your body weight in ounces, so for a 150lbs person would aim to consume at least 75oz of filtered water. Many times when we feel fatigued and want to reach for that coffee, our body is actually needing water. Try adding some fresh squeezed lemon and pinch of sea salt to assist with getting electrolytes.
Eat a satiating breakfast. Choosing a breakfast that has a good serving of protein and healthy fats will ensure that your blood sugar is stable and will help to prevent a mid-morning energy crash. When you consume a bagel or a donut, your body is filled with too many simple carbohydrates that cause a surge in glucose giving you temporary energy boost and leaving you feeling fatigued and irritable an hour or two later. Instead, try having eggs with veggies or a green smoothie with healthy fats and collagen in order to maximize those micronutrients.
Get to bed earlier. Sleep is the number one foundation to any good healing protocol. Getting to bed by 10:00pm is ideal to prevent the late night surge in cortisol which can result in you feeling wired and tired. Sleeping by this time allows your liver to get the most amount of energy possible in order to perform its detoxification processes. Going to bed at this time also gives you the best chance to get into REM sleep which is known as the deep, restorative sleep.
Decrease the caffeine. When used intermittently, good quality, organic coffee can be very beneficial as it is high in antioxidants and polyphenols which has demonstrated in studies to reduce your risk of stroke and even some types of cancers. When consumed daily, it creates dependence and will down regulate mitochondria function which are known as our energy producers of the cell.
Try Adaptogens. Adaptogens are a wide variety of herbs that assist your body in handling stress, help to regulate hormones, provide different compounds
Go for a walk. Exercise is one of the best ways to balance blood sugar levels which is the key to having stable energy all day long. Going for a 30 minute walk in the morning before breakfast will not only help with insulin sensitivity but also trigger fat burning. Having the ability to burn fat instead of burning sugar is important to be able to have so in times when you are not able to eat, you won’t be going hungry.
Get Sunlight. Sunshine is an essential nutrient for everyone and unfortunately most people fall below the optimal level of 50nl-80nl. Just like how plants get their energy from the sun, so do people. This is a great way to help charge your mitochondria, as well as help balance insulin levels within the body.
Skip Dessert. You might not associate what your eating the night before, to impact your energy levels the next day, but you should! Having a sugary dessert after dinner will cause your blood sugar to surge, which inevitably means it will drop typically while your sleeping. This will cause you to wake up since it puts your body in an alarm stage due to your blood sugar dropping too low. Skipping the sugary treat before bed will ensure your blood sugar stays balanced while your sleeping helping you to remain in deep sleep. If you must have some dessert, choose something with some fat and/or protein so it will not impact your blood sugar and always aim for at least 3 hours before bed to ensure it is digested!