Ditch The Caffeine – Healthier Ways To Boost Your Energy Levels

Whether it’s the 3 pm slump that gets you, or you are struggling to praise yourself from bed each morning, a lack of energy can seriously impact our lives. Of course, many people treat an energy drop as an excuse to consume a highly caffeinated, sugar-filled drink, but too many of these dessert-like beverages can cause their own problems. The good news is that there are some healthier ways to deal with dwindling energy levels. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Sleep less

The last thing that many people think of when they have a lack of energy is to sleep less. However, too much sleep or waking up and going back to sleep can make us feel groggy during the day.
With that in mind, skipping any midafternoon naps is a smart idea here. You can also do things to help promote better sleep hygiene and make sure that the time you spend in bed is better dedicated to sleep.

In particular, having a regular bedtime each night can help a great deal. Also, doing something relaxing like taking a bath is much better than watching TV, or using your phone. This is because it will relax your body and mind and allow you to drift off much more quickly, thus providing you with genuinely refreshing sleep that will boost not drain your energy the next day.

Reduce your alcohol consumption

As many of us can testify, a hangover is not something that often provides an extra energy boost in the day. However, even taking alcohol in small amounts can prove problematic when it comes to energy levels. The reason for this is that alcohol is essentially a sedative, so anytime you consume it, you are likely to be more relaxed. Of course, this is fine on a weekend evening, but on the day or a night before work, it can seriously start to interfere with how energetic you feel.

That is why it’s best to limit your alcohol consumption, not only to what the government recommends for health, but also to prevent any unnecessary drain on your energy supplies.

Quit smoking

In addition to drinking, smoking is another habit that can seriously impact how energetic you feel. There are several reasons for this, not least that by smoking, you take CO into the body, which replaces the oxygen you need to operate at your best. It’s literally like suffocating yourself from the insight out, which is obviously not going to make you feel very energetic.

The funny thing about smoking is that the nicotine in tobacco also acts as a stimulant. That means, even if you do feel exhausted, it can be tougher to get to sleep. Some folks even experience wakefulness during the night due to cravings for nicotine, which means they are much less likely to feel well-rested and energetic during the day. That is why if you want to stay full of energy in a healthy way, it’s much better to quit smoking altogether.

Eat the right foods

For many people, reaching for a snack to boost their energy levels is second nature. Unfortunately, when we are hungry, we are much more likely to crave and choose foods with high sugar or fat content. Both of which can be pretty bad for us over the long term.

Unfortunately, foods with a high level of sugar can release an instant energy boost. However, they also tend to cause a corresponding crash, something that can make us feel more tired than when we started, and that can trap us into a dangerous cycle of sugar highs, and crashes that only encourages us to eat more of this type of food.

Happily, there are plenty of other types of food that can help us boost our energy levels naturally and do not contain such harmful levels of fats and sugars. In particular, foods that are digested and released more slowly like oats, and fibrous veggies are a good choice.

Also, it is beneficial to know that there are many energy support herbs like Ginkgo Bilboua that can be added to meals that will further help increase alertness, vigour and vitality. All we need to do is add them to our regular healthy drinks or dishes, or take them in supplement form.

Stay hydrated

It’s not just what you eat that can impact your energy level through the day, but how much water you drink as well. Eight glasses is the recommended amount, but you may wish to increase this if you have been working out strenuously, or are living in a hot or humid environment.

Work out

Finally, if you want to feel at your very best, it’s a smart idea to work some exercise into your routine. After all, the benefits include a burst of endorphins which naturally wake you up and make you feel good. Also, by exercising, you can make sure you get a better night’s sleep, something that will help you wake up and be raring to go in the mornings.