Do you ever feel like this time of year puts a damper on your energy levels? It’s getting colder and it’s getting darker, and sometimes, motivation feels hard to grasp onto. Maybe you opt for a second cup of coffee in the morning, or you depend on a strong cup of tea to get you through the mid-afternoon slump. Is the extra caffeine really doing the trick?
While an extra boost of caffeine might give you a boost for the time being, it can also leave you feeling jittery, anxious, and without a long-term solution. Luckily, there are other strategies that you can use to improve your energy levels for good. You can leave the jitters and that mid-afternoon slump behind!
In this blog, we will share three easy tips that you can use to boost and maintain your energy, all day, every day!
Tip 1: Get Moving
Staying physically active is incredibly important for many reasons. It reduces our risk of chronic disease, it keeps our bones and joints healthy, it can be good for our mental health, and of course, it has a large role in keeping us energized throughout the day. [1-7] While it may sound counterintuitive, there are a few ways in which exercise can help improve energy levels. Let’s break it down:
- – Exercise can stimulate your body to produce more mitochondria, the cellular organ that produces energy. More mitochondria will allow the body to produce more energy, which can give you an extra boost on a daily basis! [7]
- – Exercise helps improve your cardiovascular circulation. The goal of our cardiovascular system is to circulate oxygen to our cells, and better circulation means that we are able to circulate oxygen more efficiently, which we may experience as feeling more energetic! [7]
- – Exercise can help encourage better sleep. A good night’s sleep will help you feel more rested and more energetic! [7]
The impact of exercise on energy levels can make a big difference day-to-day. If you’re just getting into a good exercise routine, you might find that you’re tired at first. But it won’t be long until you feel like your daily energy levels make a strong comeback.
Tip 2: Focus on Quality Nutrition
Do you feel that afternoon slump around 2-4 PM? Researchers think that this sleepy feeling might actually be part of our body’s internal clock, the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm helps us regulate our sleep cycle, but can also contribute to a dip in energy levels around mid-afternoon.
Interestingly enough, along with exercise, our diet can significantly impact our circadian rhythm. There has been research to show that poor nutrition, high calorie diets, and deficiencies in certain nutrients, like vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium, can disrupt your circadian rhythm. This may result in poor sleep quality, and generally feeling unrested throughout the day. [8]
So, while caffeinated beverages might claim to boost your energy, you should know that the best source of energy comes from high-quality, nutritionally dense meals. For long-lasting energy levels, you need to metabolize the carbohydrates, protein, and fat that you get from your diet. And the quality of the nutrients we eat makes a big difference.
Here are some nutrition tips to follow that will keep your energy levels boosted all day:
- – Eat a high quality breakfast. Coffee does not count as breakfast!
- – Don’t skip lunch! It’s a good rule of thumb to include at least two of the three macronutrients in every meal/snack (carbohydrate, protein, and fat). So for example, eat a protein + carb, a protein + fat, or a carb + fat. Even better if you are able to fit in all three.
- – Avoid meals that are high in fat, such as fast food and fried foods. While these meals may be energy dense (i.e. lots of calories), high fat meals can leave you feeling heavy and sluggish.
- – Add a healthy afternoon snack!
- – Don’t forget to drink water. Dehydration may cause you to feel sluggish and fatigued throughout the day, so stay hydrated!
Providing your body the proper nutrients is the best way to fuel yourself up for a long day. Let’s get a little more specific now, and dive deeper into the specific nutrients you need to boost your energy levels consistently.
Tip 3: Don’t Forget the B Complex
Our body needs calories so that it has something to convert into energy, but it also needs vitamins and minerals to aid the process. There is one particular group of vitamins that are essential for our body’s ability to convert calories to energy – the B vitamins.
The B vitamins, which can also be referred to as the B complex, is made up of eight essential vitamins: thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folic acid (B9), and cobalamin (B12). While each of them have their own individual functions, they are all known to play an essential role in our ability to convert food into energy. Without the B vitamins, our health would suffer.
Many of these vitamins are pretty easily found in the diet, and deficiency is relatively uncommon. However, it’s incredibly
important that you maintain your stores of every one of these vitamins consistently over time to maintain health and, of course, energy levels! Even though there are plenty of ways to get the B complex from your diet, it can be challenging to make sure all your bases are covered.
To help simplify things, we offer a single product that covers the entire B complex for you – try out Purality Health’s Micelle Liposomal Active B Complex. Maintain your energy levels, all day, every day, by providing your body with the nutrients it needs!
Citations
- Myers, Jonathan. “Exercise and Cardiovascular Health.” Circulation, vol. 107, no. 1, 2003, https://doi.org/10.1161/01.cir.0000048890.59383.8d.
- “Exercising to Relax – Harvard Health Publishing.” Harvard Health, 7 July 2020, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax.
- “More Evidence That Exercise Can Boost Mood.” Harvard Health, 1 May 2019, https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/more-evidence-that-exercise-can-boost-mood.
- Guszkowska, Monika. “Wpływ ćwiczeń fizycznych na poziom leku i depresji oraz stany nastroju” [Effects of exercise on anxiety, depression and mood]. Psychiatria polska vol. 38,4 (2004): 611-20.
- Toni Golen, MD, and MD Hope Ricciotti. “Does Exercise Really Boost Energy Levels?” Harvard Health, 1 July 2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/does-exercise-really-boost-energy-levels.
- “Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-info/bone/osteoporosis/bone-mass.
- Toni Golen, MD, and MD Hope Ricciotti. “Does Exercise Really Boost Energy Levels?” Harvard Health, 1 July 2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/does-exercise-really-boost-energy-levels.
- “How Sleep Satisfaction Can Affect Energy Levels.” Sleep Foundation, 8 Jan. 2021, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-hygiene/sleep-satisfaction-and-energy-levels.
