Most people have very exhausting days between jobs, exercising, spending time with friends and families, and other things that take up their time and deplete their energy.
Even those who have enough sleep and eat properly are not immune to such lethargy.
Although such energy drain is common, you can do a few things to remain energetic from when you wake up to when you go to bed.
4 Tips For Staying Energized:
1. Include More Proteins and Less Carbohydrates in Your Breakfast.
Most people understand how important breakfast is and why skipping it is a bad idea.
However, most people do not know that their breakfast composition might make them feel tired or hungry earlier.
Carbohydrates in the morning cause your blood glucose and dopamine levels to spike because you are coming out of a catabolic state where your body is highly stressed.
However, these spikes in blood sugar and dopamine levels do not last very long, leading to the crash many people experience in the mid morning.
Including more proteins and fats in your breakfast is recommended because both are excellent energy sources, make you feel fuller for longer, and are metabolized slowly.
Hence, you have a lot of energy throughout the day.
2. Know How Your Body Reacts To Different Foods and Physical Activities.
Glucose is the body’s primary energy source, which means how much glucose you have in your body will determine how energized you feel.
Different types of food can cause your glucose levels to spike so you feel energized but lead to crashes sooner because they are unsustainable energy sources.
The same goes for physical activities that can energize you but use up so much energy that you feel lethargic.
Feeling like this is not limited to strenuous exercises, as simple exercises like walking can deplete your blood glucose, too.
Knowing how your body reacts to various foods and physical activities is an important step in ensuring your blood glucose levels are consistent.
Keep tabs on your glucose levels so you know what to eat or do to ensure the right blood glucose levels throughout the day.
3. Avoid Coffee in The Afternoon.
Caffeine can make you feel more energized, which is why many people drink coffee or drinks with caffeine in the morning and afternoon.
Drinking them in the afternoon will energize you through the afternoon and evening, but this also typically extends into the night.
People who drink over 300 mg of caffeine in the afternoon can have difficulty falling asleep.
Even when they fall asleep, they often cannot get the quality of sleep that would leave them well rested and refreshed for the following day.
When they do not sleep well, they take coffee in the morning to start their day, crash in the afternoon, drink more coffee, and the cycle repeats.
If you love coffee, avoid it in the afternoon, especially after 3 PM.
You will get much better sleep and feel more energized the following day, and you might not even need as much coffee to get your day going.
4. Drink More Water and Less Alcohol.
Dehydration can make you feel tired and lethargic, especially if you exercise in the morning, work in a hot environment, and do not drink enough water.
The solution is drinking enough water, typically eight glasses daily for adults.
Another reason for dehydration is alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it promotes the excretion of water through urination, which can leave you dehydrated.
Also, alcohol interferes with deep sleep.
This means that even if you sleep for eight hours after taking alcohol in the evening, you will not be well rested and, therefore, feel lethargic and sleepy the following day.
What you should remember?
Our days become busier as we take on more responsibility, be it work, nurturing families, or keeping up with friends.
It is common to feel like you do not have any energy left in the evening, but it should not be that way.
You can do a few things to feel energetic for the whole day, but they may require some changes on your part.
