How To Boost Your Energy Levels

Tired of being tired? We can all relate. With everyone pretty much living increasingly busy and hectic lives, many people are finding themselves tired, drained, and exhausted all the time. Who wants that for themselves? Not us OSU. A lot of people opt for funky teas or fix all supplements, but sometimes the reason your energy level is low is simply due to your lifestyle. Yep, your lifestyle. Here are a few simple, quick and easy lifestyle changes that you can make to help boost your energy:

Exercise Regularly

While it may sound obvious, regular low-intensity exercise can do wonders to help boost your energy. Exercise gives your cells a lot more energy to burn and helps the circulation of oxygen. It also causes your body to release epinephrine and norepinephrine - this is a stress hormone (that in small amounts) can make you feel energized.[1]

You can action this by taking daily walks, runs, or swims. E.g. instead of getting an Uber to your destination, walk as much as you can then ride the rest. Or you can start that lazy Sunday with a light morning jog. Trust us, you will hopefully feel better after it.

Sleep Better

Another big one is to sleep. We all get too little of it but It’s vital that you get enough sleep each night. A consistent lack of sleep can leave you feeling tired all the time. Lack of enough sleep can cause you to drop off during the day, finding it difficult to concentrate.

Not enough sleep can also leave you finding it hard to make decisions and most importantly leaves you feeling tired and de-energized.[2] A good way to get a more effective sleep is to sleep at regular intervals for 8 hours and to create a sleep-friendly bedroom. If you’re looking for extra guidance on this, read our article on how to sleep better here.

Reduce Stress Levels

Stress, stress, and more stress will never do you any good. Leading a busy or high-intensity life can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety. This can have some very negative knock-on effects. Stress has been closely linked to feelings of tiredness.[3] While removing all the sources of stress in your life is a rather big task - you can help minimize it by tackling the smallest issues first. One thing that is known to help is the practice of mindfulness meditation (you can read our article on how to meditate here).

Take a look out at our self-care tips article, for other methods of potentially reducing stress. However, if your stress and anxiety levels are severe you may need to seek medical and/or psychological help.

Change Your Eating Habits

Changing your eating habits could be more effective than you think. The NHS suggests that eating at regular 3-4 hour intervals and maintaining 3 main meals a day and healthy snacks in between a day can be a good way to keep your energy levels up.

A healthy and balanced breakfast can sustain your energy until lunch - a healthy and balanced lunch can sustain your energy until dinner. Alongside this, fruit and vegetables remain a good source for minerals, fibres, and vitamins. This is what your body needs to function at an optimal level. Starch and carbohydrates are beneficial too as they are the main source of many nutrients. Consuming less sugar can also be good - while they give a rush of energy it’s often short-lived and wears away fast.[4]

If you need extra guidance on what to eat, follow our example diet plan that we have given in our Japanese Diet article.

Cut The Caffeine

The NHS recommends that if you’re feeling tired - cut out the caffeine. You’re probably twitching at the thought, but let us explain why. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in your brain. Adenosine slows down brain activity in preparation for sleeping - caffeine, in turn, prevents this from happening. When the caffeine wears off this is when adenosine can do its job and encourage feelings of sleepiness and hence low energy.[5]

You may see that when cutting down your coffee consumption that you get headaches if that occurs to reduce the rate at which you’re easing caffeine out your life.[6] We recommend slowly swapping out your caffeine for caffeine-free options e.g. Our Ginger Tea is caffeine-free and a great substitute.[7]

Reduce Alcohol Consumption

While drinking small amounts can be fun and a way to socialise with your friends, after around 7 hours after drinking alcohol - it raises your body’s level of epinephrine. What is epinephrine you wonder? It is a stress hormone that increases the heart rate and stimulates the body. While this is great when you’re out in the town, but when you’re back in bed trying to sleep, this can cause a disruptive sleep. Alongside this, the sedative quality of alcohol can leave you feeling drowsy and lethargic the next day.[8] A simple way to combat this is to not drink in large quantities and to substitute alcohol for mocktails e.g. our OSU Classic Virgin Mary.

Drink More Water

Consuming more water gives you the energy to do more things e.g. exercise or staying awake at your desk. Studies show that dehydration lowers athletic performance, making you feel rather sluggish.[8] Water is very important, it makes up 60% of our bodies.

If you don’t drink enough you can feel the physical effects - one of them being low energy. That being said, you can start integrating more water into your diet by consuming one tablespoon of OSU Apple Cider Vinegar, which you can find at Amazon, in a full glass of water to start the day. You can also integrate more water drinking by purchasing a ½ litre bottle with timer reminders during the day or use the app Hydro Coach which reminds you via phone notification that you should drink water.

Feel More Energised

What is the key takeaway from this article? There are a few lifestyle tweaks you can make today to potentially preserve some energy and kill those feelings of tiredness. Ways to boost energy can be simple, easy yet effective e.g. drinking more water or eating more regularly. Pick whichever option is easiest for you, or try out a few at once. However small or big your change, it doesn’t matter - the bottom line is that it is still a positive change. It’s important to stick to the facts with this and seek professional help if you're feeling an extreme lack of energy. You can get your own bottle here.

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