5 simple steps to boost your energy

Always tired?
Struggling to get out of bed in the morning?
Often feel flat and unmotivated?

You’re not alone.

Feeling fatigued and tired all the time is a common problem. When you lack energy, getting through the day and staying motivated can be a real struggle. Tiredness affects how we function – physically, emotionally and mentally. It can prevent us from doing everyday tasks such as walking up the stairs and concentrating at work. Quite often fatigue is due to dietary and lifestyle factors, however, it can also be caused by an underlying illness or medical condition.

Discover what causes fatigue and how to boost your energy naturally. Learn what foods are energy boosting and which vitamins help combat tiredness. Stop feeling exhausted and start the day with a spring in your step.

How to stop feeling tired

Here’s 5 simple steps to boost energy and stop fatigue:

1. Adopt a good sleep routine to allow your body and brain to wind down at night. Eat dinner early, avoid excessive screen time and do something relaxing before bed such as having a bath or reading a book.
2. Avoid coffee and other stimulants. Instead opt for herbal teas and non-caffeinated drinks. Learn more about coffee alternatives.
3. Cut out sugar and eat energy-boosting foods including fruits and vegetables, wholegrains (oats, brown rice, millet), nuts and seeds, quinoa, good sources of fats (oily fish, avocados, flaxseed oil), quality protein (eggs, legumes, beans) and superfoods such as maca, maqui berry and spirulina. These foods are also high in magnesium and B vitamins, essential nutrients for energy production.
4. Move your body through daily exercise as it’s a great way to reduce stress and aid relaxation. Go for a walk, take a virtual fitness class or do some skipping in your garden.
5. Drink water with fresh lemon or apple cider vinegar to keep hydrated and your cells energised. Lemon and apple cider vinegar stimulates your digestive system which improves nutrient absorption.

If you think your tiredness may be due an infection or an underlying pathology (such as low iron), ensure you see your healthcare provider as soon as possible.

What causes fatigue?

There are many causes of fatigue and symptoms vary in severity from person to person.

Some of main causes of tiredness include:

• Sleep deprivation. Not getting enough good quality sleep at night will affect your energy levels, making you feel tired and sluggish. Learn which herbs help with sleep.
• Excess screen time is a major sleep disruptor and energy drain. The blue light emitted from devices overstimulates your brain, making it hard for you to sleep.
• Stress due to work, finances or family issues can cause worry and anxiety. Long-term stress results in our adrenal glands going into overdrive, leaving us feeling burnt out and exhausted.
• Poor diet. Not eating the right foods can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiency.
• Eating too much sugar and refined carbohydrates (such as bread, cakes and cereals) triggers your blood sugar levels to spike rapidly. Even though this gives you a quick energy boost, your blood sugars soon come crashing down, leaving you feeling tired again.
• Too much caffeine as it overstimulates your adrenal glands and puts your body into a stress response. Caffeine also causes insulin resistance which means your body cannot get sugar (fuel) into the cells, resulting in fatigue.
• Not drinking sufficient water. When your cells are dehydrated, they aren’t able to work efficiently. As 70% of our body is made up of water, we need to constantly replace fluids lost throughout the day.
• Alcohol as it disrupts sleep and causes dehydration.
• Lack of exercise and being a couch potato. Moving your body regularly through exercise improves blood flow, enabling more oxygen and nutrients to get into your cells to produce energy.
• Low iron levels and poor thyroid function. Iron is essential for energy production in the body. Our thyroid gland controls metabolism, helping us to turn food into energy.
• Illness or infections as our bodies needs to work harder to fight off viruses.

Boost your energy naturally

Fatigue can affect every part of your life, leaving you feeling flat and depleted. Boost your energy naturally by making some simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. Getting good quality sleep, eating a nutritious diet and regular movement will all help put a spring back in your step. Ditch the coffee and high-sugar foods as these only drain your batteries further.