How to boost your energy levels – no caffeine required!

Are you fed up with feeling tired all the time? The stresses and pressures of modern life have left many of us feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and with little time or energy to take care of ourselves, and now our bodies are beginning to pay the price. Sure, that chocolate bar or cappuccino might make you feel great for about five minutes, but after that quick high wears off, you’ll crash and burn and feel even more drained.  

Tiredness and a lack of energy are complaints I frequently hear from the women I work with in clinic, because in midlife we’re super busy juggling lots of different priorities and not taking enough time to look after ourselves. So, what’s the secret to long lasting energy and keeping sluggishness at bay? I hope these 10 fatigue-fighting tips will help to put a spring back into your step!

1.     Eat a nutrient rich diet

The first step to boosting your energy is a healthy, nutrient rich diet. Your body needs nutritious food as fuel to work efficiently, so that means filling up on lots of protein and whole grains, which take longer for your body to break down, ensuring you have a consistent dose of energy throughout the day.

Eating protein with each meal (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, tofu, lentils, chickpeas, beans, nuts and seeds) is also a great way to stabilise blood sugar levels. Pair this with leafy greens and cut back on starchy carbs (white potatoes, white pasta, white rice and white bread) for a new, improved energised you.

2.     Don’t fruit bomb your snack time

When we’re trying to be healthy, it’s easy to think that knocking back tons of fruit will do us a world of good. But while you need some naturally occurring sugar in your diet (as opposed to the dreaded ‘added sugar’, which is in EVERYTHING), fruit bombing yourself at snack time could actually make you more tired. This is because the older we get, the harder it is for our bodies to break down the fructose in fruit, which, unmetabolised, stays in your system and slows it down, making you feel lethargic.  To avoid this, pick one piece or serving of high-water content fruit, like watermelon or blueberries.  

Whilst we’re talking about sugar, filling up on sugary treats when you’re tired isn’t doing you any favours. It’s just going to make your blood sugar shoot sky high followed by an inevitable crash, which will leave you feeling worse than ever. Avoid it as much as possible and your body (and sanity) will thank you!

3.     Invest in superfoods

Your body uses the sugar, known as glucose, in the foods you eat for energy. Think of it as fuel that keeps your body moving throughout the day. So making healthy choices and investing in superfoods won’t just help you lose weight and keep it off, it’s vital for regulating blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar is going up and down like a yo-yo, you’ll know about it, as you’ll be feeling lousy, exhausted and emotional.

Foods containing plant chemicals called flavonoids, in particular quercetin, have been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels, and consequently energy levels. Flavonoids are found in apricots, apples, blueberries, pears, raspberries, strawberries, cabbage, onions and tomatoes. Quercetin is in onions and green apples. They can also enhance the effect of vitamin C, one of the most important vitamins in managing stress.

Lignans are antioxidants that help neutralise the free radicals produced when you’re under stress. Flax and sesame seeds contain the highest levels, but lignans are also found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbage, asparagus, apricots and strawberries.

4.     Go vitamin crazy

Some vitamins and minerals are particularly useful when you want to boost your energy levels, because they help you get a handle on stress. And as anyone feeling stressed out will know, emotional exhaustion can be just as crippling as physical tiredness. As well as making you feel low, anxiety and depression drains your energy and affects your sleep patterns, making you feel more tired when you’re awake. Counteract the fatigue by stocking up on the following:

B VITAMINS

whole grains, cereals, brewer’s yeast, almonds, miso, liver, milk, fish, sprouts, green leafy veg.

MAGNESIUM

brown rice, beans, nuts, seeds, avocado, celery, apple, pineapple.

VITAMIN E

nuts (especially almonds and peanuts), seeds, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, wholegrains (like brown rice and wholemeal bread).

VITAMIN C

cherries, red peppers, kale, parsley, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, watercress, cauliflower, cabbage, strawberries, spinach, oranges, lemons, mangoes, asparagus.

5.     Ditch the caffeine and energy drinks

Want to feel more energised? Brace yourself - it’s time to ditch the coffee, Diet Coke and energy drinks. Caffeine taxes the adrenals (the glands which produce hormones that help the body control blood sugar, burn protein and fat, react to stressors like major illness or injury and regulate blood pressure). Try swapping them for some delicious herbal or fruit teas.

6.     Hydrate

Dehydration is one of the biggest causes of tiredness. When you think about it, your body is about 60% water, so you need to keep your levels topped up to make sure it’s working efficiently.

Aim for 2 litres a day of filtered water (that way you’re not filling your body with chlorine and fluoride from tap water, which can play havoc with your body, especially if you have a thyroid problem). Hate the taste of water? Other fluids count, like fruit and vegetable juices and foods with a high-water content are also good: oranges, cucumber, celery, lettuce, spinach, tomato, melon, broccoli, cauliflower and berries are good choices.

7. Get moving

   
   

Yes I know, having a workout is often the last thing on the to-do list when you’re run down and low on energy, but sticking to a regular exercise routine is one of the easiest ways to beat fatigue and feel full of beans. When your body becomes more active, internal mechanisms like metabolism and blood flow speed up. It’s as if you’re waking your body up from the inside! Getting your heart rate up also helps produce those lovely endorphins, the happy hormones that trigger a positive feeling in the body.

8.     Follow the sun

The body makes vitamin D from sunlight, and a lack of it can make you feel lethargic, sleepy and less motivated to exercise or make healthy food choices. The so-called ‘sunshine vitamin’ is vital for keeping energy levels high, and one of its many roles is to help your body manage sugar, maintaining insulin balance and reducing inflammation and pain, which is bound to make you feel a bit better in yourself. You can read more about the importance of vitamin D in my blog post here.

We need a minimum of 45 minutes outside every day (yes, really!) to get the ‘white light’ on our skins to boost serotonin levels and release a supply of the ‘happy hormone’. That can be from walking, gardening, playing with the kids in the park, whatever it takes to get some sunlight on your body. The downside of getting older is that your body is less efficient at making vitamin D than in your younger years, so you might want to ask your GP about getting your levels tested to see whether you need to supplement.

9.     Have a digital detox

When we’re feeling tired and drained, it’s harder to take proper care of ourselves. We tend to isolate ourselves from the things and people that make us feel good, we stay in more and become more insular, spending hours glued to the TV, our phones and tablets. But digitally disconnecting from the real world can actually make us feel worse and even more tired! So while you might not feel like leaving the comfort of your sofa and going out, it’s one of the easiest ways to boost your mood and feel energised.

Ask yourself: Am I looking after my emotional health? Am I eating more junk food, drinking alcohol and not exercising? Am I spending excessive time online instead of seeing people? It is easy to reverse these lethargic sorts of behaviours and feel better. You just need to switch off the telly and put down the wine glass, phone and/or tablet. Only surround yourself with positive people. When you feel in control of who you invite into your world, you feel less out of control with your body, mind and emotional health.

10.  Prioritise sleep

It’s obvious, right? If you haven’t slept well, you’re going to be tired. When your sleeping patterns are out of whack, it puts stress on the adrenals, which can lead to brain fog and more serious health problems. Sleep is when the body restores itself and produces melatonin, which sets the circadian rhythm (your internal body clock), so aim for seven to eight hours a night if you can.

If you’re struggling to fall or stay asleep, filling up on foods with melatonin can help. Add bananas, pineapples, rice and oats to your diet. Introduce a bedtime routine to calm the mind ready for sleep – switch off all electronic devices ideally an hour before bed, practice some meditation, write down any worries so they won’t keep you awake or read a few pages of a good book. You’ll soon find your eyelids getting heavy and you’ll drift off into the Land of Nod.

Reflexology can also be really supportive for a good night’s sleep and my clients often tell me they sleep really deeply the night after a treatment. You can find out more about that here.

If you feel you’re doing everything right and yet you’re still exhausted, I’d love to help to get your life and your health back on an even keel. There can be many reasons why you’re struggling to get through the day. I work with clients just like you to get to the root of the problem and help them put in place the diet and lifestyle changes they need to experience a real breakthrough in their health. I warmly invite you to book a FREE midlife health review with me to discover the first steps you can take to get back on track.