8 Tricks For Instant Energy When you’re most vulnerable to fatigue and stress, you need a foolproof plan to help you fight it. These eight tricks for instant energy will ensure that you will wake up refreshed and recharged, remain alert throughout the day, and wind down just in time for a good night’s sleep. 1. Wake Up Don’t: Sleep in Do: Get up at the same time and bath yourself in light This enables your circadian rhythms, which are governed by your body’s “master clock” in the hypothalamus gland, to stay in synch with the 24-hour day. In the absence of light, your body’s sleep-wake cycle wants to delay by an average of 12 minutes every day and work on a 24.2-hour rhythm. “That means your body wants to keep pushing your bedtime to later,” says Mariana Figueiro, PhD, program director of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lighting Research Center. “But if you let that happen and still have to get up at the same time every day, you’re going to be tired.” To keep your circadian rhythms in time, aim for 30 minutes of light as early as possible every morning, even on a Saturday, by enjoying a half-hour stroll outdoors or having your breakfast by a sunny window. If your schedule forces you to wake up while it’s still dark outside, crank up the indoor lights – every little bit may help. 2. Eat Don’t: Load up on carbs Do: Eat more protein Although carbs can give you a burst of rapid fuel, they can also be an energy drain if you consume too many. Nutrition experts at the University of Illinois reported in a recent study that people who reduced the amount of carbohydrates in their diets and raised the amount of protein reported feeling more energetic. Keep your daily intake of healthy carbs below 150 g: five servings of vegetables; two servings of fruit; and three or four servings of starchy (preferably whole grain) carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, and cereal. For instance: 3. Drink Coffee Don’t: Downing several cups first thing in the morning Do: Save a cup for later in the day You don’t just need it in the morning. Caffeine keeps you operating at a high level by blocking the effects of adenosine, a sleep-inducing brain chemical that accumulates as the day wears on. By the time adenosine builds up to the point where you start feeling sleepy—generally, late in the afternoon—the effects of your morning caffeine will have worn off, says James K. Wyatt, PhD, director of the Sleep Disorders Service and Research Center at Rush University Medical Center. “Having 1/2 to 1 cup of coffee or its caffeine equivalent during the late afternoon, when the pressure to sleep is high, will keep you energized,” he says. 4. Time Your Meals Don’t: Graze all day long Do: Eat your meals at the same time every day Your body’s caloric needs are closely tied to its other daily rhythms, including when you get up and go to bed and when you expend the most energy (during your late-day fitness walk, for example). “What will make you tired is if your body expects a 7 a.m. breakfast and a 12 p.m. lunch and you skip one of those,” says Layman. “Chaotic eating leads to greater hunger and overeating.” Prepare breakfast the night before so you’re sure to start the day with a boost even if you’re running late. Pack a lunch to take to work in case you can’t get away from your desk midday. On the weekend, make and freeze several meals that you can quickly heat up so you and your family eat dinner at the same time every night. 5. Relieve Your Stress Don’t: Meditate once for 20 minutes Do: Meditate for shorter, more frequent sessions “Even in the span of 3 minutes, meditation can decrease the stress hormones that tense your muscles and constrict your blood vessels,” says Judith Orloff, MD, a psychiatrist at UCLA and author of Positive Energy. “It increases endorphins too.” Quick time-outs throughout your workday are also easier to fit into a busy schedule than a longer one at day’s end. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. (“In a busy office, that may even mean going into the bathroom,” says Orloff.) Sit down and close your eyes. Listen to your breath as you slowly inhale and exhale, and when thoughts intrude, imagine that they’re like clouds floating by in the sky. Then visualize something or someone who makes you happy. It could be someplace you’ve been on vacation, someone you love, or something you love doing (like lounging in a fragrant bath). 6. Revitalize your day Don’t: Take a power nap Do: Walk outdoors Just as it does in the early morning, enjoying some daylight later in the day may blunt an afternoon energy dip, which often comes on like clockwork. “Because of the way the homeostatic and circadian systems interact, most people feel a lull 17 to 18 hours after they went to bed the previous night,” says Figueiro. Step outside into revitalizing sunlight for a short walk. Vary your routine by taking a different path every day, doing a short errand, or catching up with a friend on your cell phone. If you can’t get outside, plant yourself next to a window, open the shades wide, and look out. 7. Give yourself a pre-workout Don’t: Eat a snack (unless you’re hungry, of course) Do: Listen To Music Exercise is a prime energy booster, but what if you’re too tired? Put in your earphones while you lace up your walking shoes: Music will help you forget you’re whipped. Volunteers who worked out for 30 minutes while listening to tunes felt they weren’t exerting themselves as much as when they exercised without music. So listen to some of your favorite up-tempo tunes on your way to the gym.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 00:01:24 +0000
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