Are you feeling stressed and tired? Have you noticed that many, many people around you are feeling stressed and tired? Why do you think that is?
So what is really causing our decrease in energy? Our lifestyles, of course. We simply aren't doing the things our bodies require in order to function efficiently. We are eating poorly, not exercising enough and living lives and schedules that have a high degree of stress and strain.
So here are my top 10 tips for increasing your energy.
- 1. Get some rest
This one is a no-brainer really. Of course getting adequate rest is going to provide you with more energy and a healthier body. The trick is to have a good routine and listen to your body. Also if you do the other nine things well, you will find resting and sleeping tends to be easier in a less stressed body.
- 2. No stimulants
We have a society that focuses on short-term fixes. When it comes to energy these short-term energy gains are often associated with long-term energy losses. Things like coffee, alcohol, guarana, energy drinks and bars will often give you an increase in energy in the short-term but over time will lead to a net energy decrease. In fact one recent study showed that regular coffee drinkers needed to have their daily coffee just to get themselves back to the normal energy levels of non-coffee drinkers.
- 3. Positive thinking
This one is all about the stress response in your body. Your body is only designed to be in stress response for a short period of time (like fighting off a tiger), not all day every day. When it is continually fired it becomes fatigued and you cannot maintain it (adrenal fatigue). One of the best ways to switch off the stress response is to consciously think positive thoughts. So things like affirmations and gratitude can be a great way to switch off your adrenals.
- 4. Quantity of movement
Another great way to switch off the stress response is through movement. ‘But exercise uses up energy!' I hear you say. Well yes that is true, but it also affects your body's biochemistry. It helps you switch off the stress response and it trains you to be better prepared to efficiently deal with your environment.
- 5. Quality of movement
And it's not just about how much you move - how well you move is equally important. When it comes to quality movement there are two factors to consider: global movement and segmental movement. Globally it comes down to simple efficiency. The stronger, more stable and more efficient you are the less energy it will take up and the more energy you will have for living. Segmentally it is all about your nervous system. When your individual joints in your body, in particular your spine, are not aligned or moving properly it can interfere with your nervous system which can have a dramatic effect on your energy levels. Think of it like trying to have a phone conversation on a terrible line. When the messages aren't getting through properly it just takes that much more effort to get the job done right. And given that your nervous system controls every cell, tissue and organ in your body this becomes really important and as a Chiropractor this is obviously one that I help people with every day.
- 6. Eat more quality proteins
For most of us, our modern diets contain far too many sugars and processed carbohydrates and too few proteins. Believe it or not our fat intake is about right (just not the quality of fats). This sugar influx much like the stimulants I spoke about earlier leads to an energy spike followed by a crash. This rollercoaster ride is very inefficient for your body and long-term leads to depleted energy stores. Healthy proteins like meats, eggs, fish, nuts and beans helps give more long lasting energy to your body, reducing the peaks and troughs and allowing for longer lasting energy.
- 7. Reduce toxins
Toxins, be they absorbed from your food, your cleaning cupboard or your air, take energy to remove. The more that are present in your lifestyle, the harder your body has to work to remove them. Every joule of energy your body uses to do this is one less that you have to do the things that you love doing.
- 8. Breathe properly
Oxygen plays such a vital part of your energy system. Your body has two energy pathways, the aerobic and the anaerobic pathways. The aerobic pathway uses oxygen and is much more efficient; the anaerobic pathway does not use oxygen and is much less so. Put simply the better you breathe, the more oxygen is available to your body and the more efficient an energy user you will be.
- 9. Water intake
Water is involved in almost every chemical reaction in your body which is why it makes up around 75% of your total body weight. The more water you have available, the more efficiently you can carry out these necessary biochemical reactions and the more efficiently your body will run.
- 10. Have a purpose
Have you ever noticed how much energy you have doing something you LOVE vs. doing your tax (unless you LOVE tax)? Having a purpose in your life and as much as possible aligning everything you do with that purpose will create more energy in your life than you can imagine. People are always asking me where I find the energy to run my practice, be president of the Chiropractors Association (CAASA), write a book, maintain a website, do seminars and media, exercise, read books, study and still spend time with my gorgeous wife and kids. The answer is that all of these things align with my purpose. I believe that everyone in the world has the right to be healthy and that regardless of age, current health status or life goals I want everyone to perform at their best (including my own family).
So in the end having more energy might require that you do more not less. Do these ten steps well and you will see a change in your energy levels.
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