ENERGY: 10 Ways To Reduce Fatigue

Are you always feeling tired? Even despite a stint of decent sleep. Do you experience moments in the day when you’re battling to keep your eyes open. Or perhaps the thought of even standing up to move feels exhausting.

Fatigue can be caused by many factors and not all of them obvious. Your not on your own, many of us at some point experience energy slumps.

This article looks at ways to improve your energy levels to help you kick start and regain momentum for a healthier and active lifestyle. Life’s too short to feel tired all the time, use these tips to help you feel energised and ready to attack life.

fatigue types

“Fatigue” is a term used to explain feelings of mental or physical tiredness.

Mental fatigue involves feeling tired, sleepy, anxious and moody. Plus an inability to process thoughts, concentrate and perform tasks. Mental fatigue can arise from extended periods of concentration, a lack off sleep and prolonged periods of mental activity such as having a demanding job that lessens your sleep quantity and quality.

Physical fatigue presents as the inability to contract muscles to move your body that would otherwise be considered normal to you. This can result from continued poor sleep or considerable physical activity (exercising, manual tasks etc).

There a 3 main types of fatigue:

Transient – An acute level of fatigue that results from sever sleep deprivation that lasts in excess of 2 days.
Cumulative – A moderate level of fatigue bought on following several days of disrupted or low levels of sleep.
Circadian – Refers to performing poorly during night time hours. Typically for most this is between around 2:00am and 6:00am.

Heres what you can do to combat fatigue and boost energy levels….

1. Take action

Thats right, do something about it. Wrongly people can sit around waiting to feel “motivated.” How many times have you been sat there waiting to feel “inspired?” Only to get deeper and deeper into a pit of self loathing and despair, sensing the impending doom that forever your destined to be tired and incapable of feeling and looking energised. WRONG!

Don’t wait for motivation, for it almost always comes after ACTION. And don’t fall into the trap of overthinking.

If you find your self sat down, stand up, take small positive actions that get you closer to a task that will help you feel more energised. Perhaps start by packing a bag for the gym, prep a protein shake for after but do something physically to shake your tiring thoughts.

Actions don’t need to require masses of effort. Just start by doing something g small for 5 minutes at least, then reassess and do something else.

If you start taking action you’ll be amazed how quickly motivation trails from behind and then takes the lead. Before you know it you’re smashing a PB and loving life again.

2. Hydrate

Often feeling tired can lead us to seek food, which can cause overeating and result in fat gain.

Before you do that top up your water levels. Aim for at least 2-3 litres per day and more on hotter, more active days.

Staying hydrated is vital for many bodily functions and to ensure optimised health.

Your body is made up of around 90% water. Just a 2% drop in water levels can result in a considerable loss in performance.

If you feel thirsty you’re already in the early stages of dehydration. Other indicating factors for insufficient fluids include: only urinating 4 times or less per day, yellowish urine, headache, dizziness, fatigue, muscle cramps, heart arrhythmia, feeling nauseated and irritable.

HWK WEIGHT RESISTANCE & NUTRITIONAL PROGRAMMES

3. Cold Showers

Energy or more precisely the perception of it, isn’t always physical. Often feeling lethargic can be a state of mind and not a lack of calories or good nutrition.

Studies looking into the effectiveness of cold showers found that regularly using cold showers can help relive the symptoms of depression or depressive like states.

Affective CWT uses water temperatures below 15°C. The colder the better ideally.

If you’re new to CWT it’s sensible not to use freezing cold water to start. Introduce tepid showers / baths to begin with and slowly decrease the temperature day by day.

To contradict my above advice some people find it easier to use colder temperatures from the beginning and can tolerate this well; I’m not one of those🙈.

Studies have also shown that submerging you body in temperatures below 4°C for 20 seconds everyday, for at least 30 days in concession can increase norepinephrine levels by 200% to 300%. Norepinephrine binds to receptors in the brain to increase attention levels and improve mood.

4. Micros & Phytos

Or Micronutrients and phytonutrients. These are vital and play a huge role in the production of energy. Ideally you would get the majority of these from fruits and vegetables. Which are packed to the brim of these important nutrients. Sadly many of us don’t eat enough plant based produces. Therefore products like these becoming increasing important if your energy levels are to be optimised.

We get energy from calories. Simply calories are just a unit of measurement we use in the nutritional world to quantify energy from food. Even when we don’t eat enough energy, our bodies can break down stores from body fat, muscle and even bone to release required energy.

Carbohydrates and fats are the primary sources for energy of us as humans. However often over looked is the impact of micronutrients and phytonutrients tax we gain from plant sources predominantly. Micros and phytos are big plays in energy production amongst many other bodily functions

Having a varied diet high in vegetables and fruits can help, but even people with great diets can miss essential nutrients. Supplementation therefor can ensure you get in your daily nutrient requirements.

5. CAffeine

Caffeine have both inotropic and chronotropic affects on your body. Also influencing the effectiveness of your nervous system, cognition and memory.

Because of this caffeine is one of the most researched and widely used performance enhancing substances on the planet.

To gain the positive effects of caffeine consume between 200-400mg of caffeine, around 30 minutes later you should start to feel more alert.

That said, people tolerate caffeine at drastically different levels. Some may need to drink much more, whilst others less. Start with around 200mg and be guided by you response to it.

Be aware though that caffeine can stay in your system for up to 5 hours so avoid drinking too much caffeine before you intend to sleep.

7. Carbohydrates

Eat some. These macros have been given a bad wrap. Wrongly linked to becoming overweight, which simply isn’t true.

Carbohydrates are your bodies preferred energy source. We break these down into their simplest form (glucose) to be used for energy.

In particular, if you’re active carbohydrates can improve performance and recovery. In genera around 50% of your daily calories should come from quality carb sources like oats, bananas, berries, apples, wholegrain and many other naturally sourced foods. Avoid though too many refined sugars, spike are absolutely fine. Too many however and energy levels can fall as quick as they rise. Just be mindful in your approach to carb selection. Plus many natural carb source are packed with fibre. Vital for good gut health, blood pressure and more.

Check out our baked banana pancake recipe! Only 360 calories. Plus a whopping 19g protein, 73g carbs & 4g fat🤤

8. Creatine

Is one of the most effective and researched supplements we have for body composition and performance.

Studies have found creatine to significantly support energy production. So to be clear energy production is different to having energy. Meaning creatine won’t “give you energy” rather, it can help convert and make use of energy that is already there.

To very broadly expand on this, your body is in a constant state of repair. This uses energy. Creatine assists repair by sparing methylation processes by up to 40%.

Methylation is a biochemical process that can positively impact systems. Including our cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive and detoxification process’s. In short, Methylation is responsible for turning these systems enabling them to do their job.

By increasing support for methylation through an increase in creatine the body can build lean body mass more efficiently and help other biological process vital for optimised health and wellness.

Creatine not only acts to support the body it also positively affects the brain. One study found that during periods of poor oxygen supply to the brain, supplementation of creatine can help reduce mental fogginess and improve alertness.

These findings go beyond just energy related benefits, with scientists now exploring creatine as a supplement to be used with people who are at risk of strokes and even in contact sports such as rugby, where train injury risk is higher.

9. Avoid alcohol

Alcohol negatives affects the body in a whole host of ways. If you looking to feel or perform better its highly advisable to skip the beers.

Firstly alcohol has sedative like properties. It’s essentially a depressant that can impact healhty hormone levels.

Dopamine and serotonin are two “happy hormones” that are affected when alcohol is consumed. Initially these may surge, Leaving you to feel joyous.

However an equally and opposite reaction soon follows. Which is why a night out on the sauce can feel great at the time. Followed up by a day (or week in my case) of feeling crap.

10. Socialise

Social interaction is an extremely important part of health. We are a social species and thereof need positive interactions and connections with people.

Surround yourself with people who leave you feeling good and avoid those that negatively impact your mood, behaviours and sense of self.

Having genuinely supportive people in your life, even if just a few can dramatically increase your ability to be the best version of yourself.

True friends and supportive family build you up and recognise you in all your glory and potential. Optimist and upbeat people help the world become a better place.

Keep these people close to you. Value their friendship and together you can both thrive.

Many studies demonstrate that emotions are highly contagious. Spending time with optimistic, genuine and positive friends can invigorate your sense of self. Which in turn impacts how energised and capable you feel.

11. vitamin d

The evidence is clear. If you lack vitamin D you significantly increase your chances of feeling fatigued.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that our bodies produce and that we consume. either through our diet or skin.A study in 2016 “showed that 100,000 IE single dose vitamin D treatment lead to a significant improvement in fatigue in the vitamin D group compared with the placebo group.” – NIH.

Most people receive the benefits from daily vitamin D doses of between 600-800 Its per day, helping to improve energy levels.

Good sources of Vit D include:

Sunshine
Whole eggs
Mushrooms
UV Lamps
Fatty fish
Supplementation
Fortified foods – cereals etc.

People older and / or with darker skin are at a reduced risk of vitamin d deficiency. As you age vit d production in your skin becomes less efficient. And people with darker skin tend to have more melanin.

A complex polymer that absorbs harmful UV rays and protects your cells from sun damage. It also inhibits the effects of vit d absorption from sunlight. Supplements and high vet d diets are increasingly important in this group of people.

The Run Down

We can all feel fatigued at times. It’s important though we understand why we are feeling that way.

Periods of prolonged fatigue for no known reasons could be a sign of more serious health concerns such as cancers and cardiovascular disease to name but a few. Especially if combined with chest pain, irregular heart beat, breathing difficulties and any other abnormal feelings. Always check with a doctor if you have any concerns.

Reducing fatigue though isn’t always about seeking fuel from food or sleeping plenty. Many people needless eat and put on weight in the search of “energy.” Assess where you might be burning yourself out ad start by improving that area of your health.

Being in a calorie deficit doesn’t mean you will lack energy for your day, especially if you have medium to high levels of body fat. You will in fact breakdown these fat stores and use them in place of dietary sources.Again fatigue isn’t always because of physical demands. Psychological pressures also induce fatigue like feelings.

The key is being mindful about your actions towards becoming fatigued. For instance perhaps your diet is predominantly processed foods and take aways, with little veg. Sure enough, eventually this will leave you feeling sluggish. Getting you diet right is a great starting point though.

Focus on regular exercise. Which assists energy production and a healthier metabolism. Plus leaves you feeling great.

Make sure you are sleeping around 8 hours per day and that sleep is quality. To help: reduce screen time 90 minutes before setting off to your slumber zone.

Plus use the list above for a wider scope of support when aiming to feel rejuvenated.