How to Create More Energy in Your Life With a Healthy Lifestyle
Just as there are energy-zapping behaviors and activities, so are there energy-boosting ones.
From incorporating mental tricks to adding key nutrients to reducing stress, there are ways you can kick up your energy level a notch or more.
Here are some tips to boost your energy levels through living a healthy lifestyle
1. Sleep Better to Create More Energy
Whether you're trying to beat insomnia or simply meet your busy schedule's demands, attempting to get by on less sleep is often something many try to do to get through these things.
However, sleep loss, even minimal, could have a large effect on things like:
- Mental clarity
- Mood
- Ability to handle daily stress
- Energy
- Chronic sleep loss over time could also affect your overall health.
A few things you could do to enhance your sleep hygiene and ensure you're obtaining enough quality sleep are:
- Listen to soothing music before you retire to bed
- Create a to-do-list of the things you'll need to accomplish the next day, so they're not running through your head all night
- Put off non-essential tasks so you can make it to bed on time
- Reach out for help if you can't obtain the amount of sleep your body needs.
2. Schedule Downtime to Give You a Boost
You may have a strong urge to get as much done during the day as you possibly can, but when you're older, you need to take small breaks instead of trying to constantly jump from one thing to another.
So, you'll want to schedule in a little downtime in between obligations to unwind and destress to keep from feeling run down and overwhelmed.
3. Increase your Potassium Intake to Add Some Vitality
The nutrient potassium is essential for your overall health and for your energy levels, particularly if you're older. A main benefit of potassium is lower blood pressure and enhanced heart health.
When you're deficient in this important nutrient, it can seriously drain your energy and motivation to go anywhere and do anything.
You can increase your potassium intake by adding in certain foods to your diet such as:
- Dried apricots
- Avocado
- Sweet potato
- Spinach
This will ensure you're getting the right amount of potassium in your diet.
4. Eat Healthy to Create More Stamina
Certain foods can create body inflammation and damage your gut lining, such as:
- Refined sugars
- Processed carbs
- Synthetic oils
They can also kill your energy levels and your mood.
According to an article published in Precision Nutrition, you have 60 liters of blood being pumped each hour into your brain that provides oxygen, delivers nutrients and removes waste products.
If your blood is deficient of nutrients or if it carries junk, it could interfere with the function of your brain, particularly its ability to create important neurotransmitters. This means, whatever nutrients you are consuming will pass through your brain.
Your "happy-making neurotransmitter", serotonin is primarily made in your gut, not your brain. If you have poor GI health, it could prevent serotonin production causing you to have less of this happy, good chemical in your brain.
And, if you're consuming junk food, it could actually cause you to feel worse. High processed food consumption, according to a study, is linked with a higher chance of depression. And, when you’re depressed, your energy level can tank.
5. Avoid Smoking to Avoid an Energy Crash
Although many individuals think smoking enhances energy levels, it's actually the opposite that's true.
While you do get a short burst of energy with nicotine, the impact is short-lived and those who smoke often experience more dramatic declines in energy levels than those who don't smoke.
Since smokers have a reduced lung capacity, oxygen isn't being supplied as much by their lungs to their muscles and brain as those systems need peak capacity functioning.
This causes declining energy levels and fatigue.
6. Limit Alcohol to Increase Your Pep
Another lifestyle habit that could cause you to feel a lack of energy is drinking alcohol. Alcohol can work as a sedative, causing you to feel drowsy.
This is why a lot of individuals believe alcoholic beverages (or "nightcaps) will help put them to sleep and allow them to sleep more soundly.
But, drinking alcohol regularly before bed could interrupt your sleep quality. And, this could cause you fatigue and zap your energy levels.
Alcohol also works like a diuretic, which means when you consume it prior to going to bed, it's going to make you have to pee in the middle of the night, which disturbs your sleep.
If you do choose to drink alcohol, avoid consuming alcohol close to the time you go to bed and drink it within suggested guidelines.According to the CDC, the guidelines for alcohol are one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two alcoholic beverages a day for men.
The standard drink is a 12-ounce beer or a 5-ounce glass of wine. But, remember, this is a maximum recommendation and it's advised you limit alcohol as much as possible for your overall health.
7. Stay Hydrated to Build Your Stamina
Your body is made up of 55% to 75% water, depending on your age. Throughout the day, you're losing water through your sweat and urine.
Therefore, for you to stay hydrated, you should be drinking enough water to replenish this loss. When you're dehydrated, it could impact your mood, brain function, and energy levels.
In a study, young men experienced increased feelings of fatigue and anxiety and had poorer working memory function when they lost 1.59% of their fluid.
To keep yourself hydrated, ensure you're drinking when you feel thirsty.
And, if you sweat a lot because of being very active or hot weather, make sure you're drinking a little more water than usual.
Also, keep in mind, older individuals might not always feel thirsty, even if they require a drink, therefore they might have to make more of a conscious effort to drink more water.
Basically, if you feel zapped of energy or tired and you're not drinking enough water, try to more regularly drink water throughout your day to ensure you're staying hydrated.
8. Drink Bone Broth to Add Vitality
Bone broth provides various health benefits. It's a delicious liquid made from the bones of fish or meat.
You can consume it alone, but it's often used in preparing other dishes like gravies, soups and sauces.
It could help boost your energy levels and fight fatigue.
There are a lot of minerals in bone broth that are released naturally from the bones as you cook and these, combined with the salt, might help boost your energy levels and fight fatigue.
9. Take B Vitamins to Amp Up Your Get-Up-and-Go
B vitamins are all involved in energy production.
While the food you eat provides your body with calories, which is a form of energy, B vitamins assist your body in converting dietary energy into ATP.
This occurs through chemical reactions performed by your cells' mitochondria (a large number of organelle found in most cells where the biochemical processes of energy production and respiration occur). The B vitamins help these processes occur smoothly by nourishing your cells. You can obtain enough B vitamins by consuming a healthy diet rich in plant foods like:
- Legumes
- Mushrooms
- Leafy greens
- Whole grains
Often cereal bars, cereals and other foods are already fortified with B vitamins.
10. Control Stress to Improve Your Spirit and Mood
Last, but not least, work to reduce your stress level. Feeling stressed can consume a lot of your energy. To diffuse stress, try:
- Talking to family or friends
- Seeing a psychotherapist
- Joining a support group
You can also try relaxation therapies to reduce stress like:
- Tai Chi
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Self-hypnosis
- Massage
Stress can wear you down both physically and mentally. Try putting some of these stress-reducing tips in place to realize an improvement in your energy level.
While you don't have to incorporate every one of these to realize an energy boost, the more your put into practice in your healthy lifestyle, the more you stand to see your energy levels soar.
