9 Strategies to Increase Your Energy

Consider these suggestions to spark your energy level:

1. Eat right. Your body requires certain nutrients to stoke your intellectual and physical fires and to keep every part of you operating smoothly.

• Most of us know what we ought to be eating each day: at least a couple of fruits, four or five servings of vegetables, one or two small servings of meat, poultry, or fish, plenty of fiber from healthy cereals, breads, and brown rice, and a couple of servings of dairy in the forms of low or no-fat milk, cheeses, and yogurt.

• The reality is most of us don’t eat all these foods daily, or we eat other, unhealthy things.

• Do what you can to eat in ways that support your energy. Avoid foods with high sugar content as they will initially provide a glucose rush, after which you’ll bottom out and feel a huge drop in energy.

• Whether you choose to eat 3 larger meals a day or 5 or 6 smaller meals, refrain from going too long without eating. The food you eat is your body’s fuel.

2. Consider meditation and/or yoga. Techniques rooted in Eastern philosophies have long been known for enhancing health and relaxation as well as boosting your energy levels.

3. Take a multi-vitamin. A daily vitamin is your safety net against less-than-perfect eating habits. You’ll experience steadier levels of energy if you consistently take your multi-vitamins.

4. Have a positive attitude. How you approach life and see the world can either propel you forward or leave you sitting on the sidelines. Having a positive attitude about what you will do each day goes a long way toward keeping your energy flowing. Think positive!

5. Exercise. Although exercise sounds like it should be a drain on your energy, getting physically active helps you build strength and stamina, which will actually increase your get-up-and-go.
• According to the latest research, even if you start with just 15 minutes of walking a day, 5 days a week, you’ll probably notice your energy lifting the very day you start.

6. Get enough sleep. With all the gadgets around us plus the television on in the background, you have plenty of excuses to stay up late. Make the effort necessary to obtain the amount of sleep you need to feel invigorated the next morning.

7. Consider a 1-hour nap. Some people find they can take a nap and feel instantly refreshed. Plus, there’s medical research that says a nap can be quite helpful for those who manipulate and process an overload of information in their work. You can boost your energy with a snooze. If an hour’s too long for you, try power napping for 30 minutes or so.

8. Allow time to rest each day. Whether you build in a 15 minute break at work or 30 minutes of propping up your feet at home to have an iced tea and read the news, take a little break to relax each day.

9. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle. Sitting for hours depletes your energy. A healthy goal is to stay moving at a reasonable pace throughout the day.

10. Limit stressful situations. Stress and anxiety are huge drains on your emotional energy, which works in tandem with your physical energy. To increase your enthusiasm for life, avoid people and situations that trigger feelings of stress and anxiety.

If you experience an occasional bout of fatigue and no medical cause has been determined, it may be a result of your lifestyle. Practice several of the above strategies to help you pump up the volume on what keeps you going all day: your energy.