Overcome tiredness and regain your energy with these simple yet powerful tips

Time is a finite resource. Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, in humans energy comes from 4 main sources: the body, mind, spirit and our emotions.

IN an article on HBR (Harvard Business Review), Schwartz and McCarty highlight that “In each of these, energy can be systematically expanded and regularly renewed by establishing specific rituals—behaviours that are intentionally practiced and precisely scheduled, with the goal of making them unconscious and automatic as quickly as possible”.

Building healthy rituals or habits is a large part of living a healthy life so the question we are answer for you today is how can increase our energy levels and overcome tiredness and fatigue.

First things first…

Sleep

Sleep cycles are guided by our natural circadian rhythm, an internal process that regulates the sleep wake cycle roughly every 24 hours. Just like any normal clock, our internal clock can be reset or altered by a number of various factors, daylight being at the top of the list.

Tiredness (sleep reduces adenosine)

‘Adenosine’ or the organic compound sleep expert Matthew Walker refers to as ‘sleep pressure’ starts being produced in the brain from the moment we
wake up, gradually increasing throughout the day until the ‘pressure’ becomes high enough inhibiting arousal and encouraging us to sleep. This process can be seen in the diagram above.

 

Tiredness and the Circadian rhythm

Over periods with fragmented sleep, sleep pressure (adenosine) increases past usual levels leading to drowsiness and a natural desire to sleep. If we allow these levels to increase, over time residual adenosine remains in the body and leads to fatigue and prolonged tiredness which bring me on to my next point.

Let’s talk about caffeine. Caffeine found in Tea, coffee and other beverages is essentially an adenosine blocker. It attaching itself to the same receptors adenosine would usually attached itself too and thus prevents the drowsiness we feel as our ‘sleep pressure’ increases throughout the day.

“By drinking beverages with high levels of caffeine, the body builds up an excessive amount of adenosine. Often this excess is not fully flushed from the body during sleep. This surplus of adenosine, therefore, contributes to the grogginess many suffer each morning. This feeling encourages people to load up on more caffeine” quotes an editor from Sleep Score labs.

It a vicious cycle leading to terrible sleep and unsustainable energy levels throughout the day.

Additional factors to be considered are:

  • Excessive blue light encourages the secretion of serotonin, the body wakeful hormone. Limiting our blue light exposure before bed allow melatonin production, the body sleep hormone to be produced.
  • Allowing our digestive system to rest by avoiding eating excessively into the evening.

Now I am not saying, don’t watch TV, don’t have a square of collocate after dinner or don’t drink coffee. What I am saying is Be mindful over the quantities you consume during the day offers great preparation for improving your sleep and over time feeling the necessity to consume caffeine.

Being mindful over our sleep patterns throughout life is the most important aspect of overcoming tiredness and lethargy. Increasing our energy starts with getting not only rest but the right rest.

Now we’ve learned about improving our sleep cycle, how can we improve our energy throughout the day?

Exercise promotes great energy

Have you considered swapping your cup of coffee in the morning for some cardio?

“Absolutely not “I hear you saying… Hear me out.

Aerobic exercise, a type of cardiovascular conditioning including activities like swimming, running, cycling and even brisk walking increasing oxygen in the blood and boosts endorphins.

Endorphins are a powerful way to lift your energy and boost your mood which both encourage heightened emotions leading to better decision making and a happier more productive day.

Caffeine no doubt provides a boost in energy and attention in the short term yet comes at costs as previously mentioned. Using exercise increases our energy for the day by relieving stress, improving our cognitive function and allow us to sleep soundly. Replacing caffeine for cardio has highly pronounced long-term benefits.

“Two birds with one stone”

If your lucky enough to see the sun in the morning you’ll receiving all the great benefits mentioned above and at the same time receiving some of that D.

Vitamin D, a hormone produced by sunlight not only promotes strong bones, but has been linked increased muscle efficiency through improving the performance of mitochondria — the power station within each cell

The beauty in the message here is this. As we increase our sleep quality, start exercising more often, seeing more sunlight and stop drinking as much caffeine, our stress levels will naturally fall allowing us to sleep better and wake up each morning feeling replenished.

A few extra tips for you…

Eating Nutritious food  

Let’s face it, an apple a day does not keep the doctor away. Replacing the pizza, chips and carb focused food for a balanced diet of fruit and vegetables will not only keep the doctor away but offer you sustained energy throughout the day.

Staying hydrated

The body is made up over 70% water, keep yourself hydrated promotes cardiovascular health, keep your body cool helps muscles and join work better all leading to increased energy and clarity of mind.

Looking for more?

Routine suffer during times of difficulty. By using the techniques and information mentioned above, you will be able to fight through and turn this difficult situation into an opportunity for growth and positivity.

To fully maximise your chances, its needless to say we are here to help.

We offer a huge range of packages from online personal training to annual packages of mobile personal training in Kensington, Chelsea and surrounding boroughs of London. To discuss bespoke structures.

Please see here for more information on how you can take charge of the current situation and come out of lockdown feeling on top of the world.