Top 5 Ways to Boost Your Energy
Everyone is familiar with all-out energy drain — that exhausted day (or night) when no matter how enticing that new movie, fabulous shoe sale, or friendly barbecue, we just can’t psych ourselves up to go.What can be harder to recognize is a low-grade energy drain. In this case, you may not necessarily feel the classic signs of exhaustion – like achy muscles or that all-over tired feeling. What you do experience is an increasing lack of get-up-and-go for many of the activities you used to love.
1. Increase Your Magnesium Intake
Eating a balanced diet can help ensure your vitamin and mineral needs are met. But if you still find yourself too pooped to pop, you could have a slight magnesium deficiency.The recommended daily intake of magnesium is around 300 milligrams for women and 350 milligrams for men. To make sure you’re getting enough:
Add a handful of almonds, hazelnuts or cashews to your daily diet. Increase your intake of whole grains, particularly bran cereal. Eat more fish, especially halibut.
2. Walk Around the Block
While it may seem as if moving about when you feel exhausted is the quickest route to feeling more exhausted, the opposite is true. Experts say that increasing physical activity – particularly walking – increases energy.In experiments conducted at California State University, a brisk 10-minute walk not only increased energy, but the effects lasted up to two hours. And when the daily 10-minute walks continued for three weeks, overall energy levels and mood were lifted.
3. Take a Power Nap
Research has shown that both information overload and pushing our brains too hard can zap energy. But studies by the National Institutes of Mental Health found that a 60-minute “power nap” can not only reverse the mind-numbing effects of information overload, it may also help us to better retain what we have learned.
4. Don’t Skip Breakfast – or Any Other Meal
Studies show that people who eat breakfast report being in a better mood, and have more energy throughout the day. Moreover, studies published in the journal Nutritional Health found that missing any meal during the day led to an overall greater feeling of fatigue by day’s end.
5. Eat More Whole Grains and Less Sugar
The key here is keeping blood sugar balanced so energy is constant.When you’re eating a sweet food, you get a spike in blood sugar, which gives you an initial burst of energy. But that’s followed by a rapid drop in blood sugar, which in turn can leave you feeling very wiped out. Do that enough times a day, and by evening you’re feeling exhausted.But, if you eat a lot of whole grains, which provide a slow and steady release of fuel, your energy will be consistent and balanced, so by day’s end you’ll feel less tired.
Now that you know what could be zapping your energy and how to reverse that exhausted feeling, you are on your way to feeling more refreshed, well rested, and energized! To find out how to not only feel refreshed, but also look it, contact Shapiro Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
