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Your lifestyle choices affect how hard the afternoon slump hits you.
Whether or not you can make it through the day without three cups of coffee is determined by your habits.
Ready to change that? To finally feel more energized and make it through each day?
It’s time to create habits that make you generally more energized and able to handle whatever comes your way — even a little drowsiness whenever the clock strikes 3 pm.
Table of Contents:
How to Feel More Energized:
Experiment with these 7 strategies and see which have the biggest impact on you. There are no one-size-fits-all tricks when it comes to Wellness and Nutrition. You have to become curious about your well-being and put different ideas to test.
Remember: the time you invest in creating a more vibrant lifestyle is also the time you’re investing in your career, goals, and productivity. Increasing your energy levels will also help you achieve your health goals.
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How to Feel More Energized
#1. Become More Active
A more active lifestyle is one of the best ways to ensure you stay energized during the week. Exercise has the ability to boost your metabolism, which in turn is what boosts your energy levels and helps you avoid the feeling of sluggishness (not just in the afternoon!).
This doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours at the gym every day. A lot of the benefits of exercising can be experienced by just creating a more active routine for yourself. Try to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting, be it at work or driving or watching TV.
Change your habits so that you can walk more, stand up more, and stretch yourself more.
And, of course, do exercise too if you have the time and motivation right now! Consistent practice is great, but don’t let that stand on the way of boosting your energy levels right away.
#2. Fuel Properly on Breakfast
You’ve probably heard it several times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And it is!
A good and balanced breakfast will keep your energy up throughout your morning and set the tone for your day. Skipping breakfast or getting poor nutrition for it is a sure way to have your mood crash in the afternoon (or most likely much earlier!).
What does a balanced breakfast look like? If you’re not attached to the idea of breakfast foods, dinner leftovers can be a great start to your day. Most of the time, that will ensure you get some protein and fat in to keep your blood sugar stable in the morning.
👉🏽 RELATED POST: How to Start Eating Healthy with a Busy Lifestyle Now
If your morning is usually a bit rushed, make yourself a good smoothie that can you drink as you walk around or commute. Add greens, nut butter or protein powder to it to make your drink a bit more robust.
In general, a combination of carbohydrates and protein is what you’re looking after. This can be as simple as topping your bagel with an egg or some peanut butter or having some yogurt on the side.
#3. Stay Hydrated
I mentioned this already, but proper hydration has a huge impact on your energy levels. Keep a bottle of water by your side at all times and create a habit of sipping on it throughout the day.
If you have a habit of drinking coffee or soda, water might feel a bit boring. You can make it more exciting by adding fresh suits to it or by having carbonated water instead. You can also bump your hydration by snacking on water-rich fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber, celery, watermelon, and pineapples.
#4. Snack During the Day
Aim to have something to eat every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar (and therefore your energy!) stable. This will also help you avoid overeating during your larger meals – overeating contributes to the feelings of drowsiness as your digestive system is playing catch-up.
Again, you want to make sure you’re keeping your snacks well-balanced: some carbs, some healthy fats, some protein. A lot of times, aiming for variety will get you to balance without a lot of effort.
👉🏽 RELATED POST: How to Boost Your Energy and Beat The Afternoon Slump
Here are some ideas of things you can try for a snack:
- Nuts (always nuts!) or trail mix
- Baby carrots or celery stalks dipped in hummus or guacamole
- Hard-boiled egg on a toast
- Sliced apples with nut butter
- Greek yogurt with berries.
#5. Catch Some Sunlight
To a large extent, the brain relies on light to determine alertness and sleepiness cycles. That’s one of the major forces determining behind how our circadian rhythm is regulated.
People who spend more time in the sun tend to feel more energized throughout the day. A well-regulated circadian rhythm will increase the quality of your sleep, and exposure to sunlight will raise your levels of Vitamin D — improving your mood and recovery.
#6. Stop Relying on Sugar and Caffeine for Energy
Did you ever feel like matter how much coffee you drink, you constantly need more? Both sugar and caffeine tend to give you a temporary boost followed by a crash. If this sounds familiar to you, you know that this dip in energy is quite unforgiving and can ruin your focus and productivity.
It’s important to cultivate stable energy levels through consistent healthy habits and nourishment instead of relying on quick fixes. Not only that but the more you use caffeine and sugar to remediate energy crashes, the harder it becomes to identify what are the components of your routine and diet that contribute to your constant feeling of tiredness.
👉🏽 RELATED POST: 6 Healthy Lifestyle Excuses You Need To Stop Making
It can be difficult in the beginning, especially if your current habits make it really hard for you to cope with the afternoon slump, but sitting with your energy levels and noticing how it changes as you tweak your meals and habits can be very powerful. This sense of awareness if the first step in creating a vibrant lifestyle that truly supports you.
#7. Get Some Sleep
This might sound a bit too obvious, but it’s worth repeating. Getting enough sleep is key to staying energized during the day.
A lot of people overlook the importance of a good night of sleep and don’t make it a priority to go to bed in time to get 7-9 hours of rest. If you’re constantly feeling tired, make note of your sleeping habits. Do you get enough sleep? How do you feel when you wake up?
👉🏽 RELATED POST: Perfect Sleep: How to Create the Best Night Time Routine
Be constantly working on your sleeping habits and routines, so that you get adequate rest and can feel your best to slay your goals. That’s the ultimate secret to boosting your energy.
Printable Habit Tracker Templates
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Which of these ideas can you put into practice today to improve your energy levels?
Remember: when you feel your best, you do your best.
Don’t leave your wellness to chance. Be present with your body’s wants and needs, listen to them, take action, experiment.
More importantly, let go of perfectionism. There’s no right or wrong way to be healthy, it’s a continuum!
How do you feel more energized?
More About Guest Contributor
Last Updated on February 15, 2020
Lauren Floyd says
I’ve done nothing on this list since the start of the New Year, short of a few errand trips. You’re right. The less I do, the more tired I am. But when I eat right, stay hydrated and get out and active, I have more energy.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Lauren,
No time like the present to create a new habit to help you stay energized all day long. It’s so true – slow and lazy days I get slow and lazy. Super busy and high-energy days, my energy levels rise to meet it.
kita says
My daughter swears by that mask she says it helps her fall asleep. I am thinking about getting a fit bit for now and using it to count my steps.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Kita,
I’ve been contemplating getting a Fit Bit as well – but I’ll be honest I’m afraid it’s just going to confirm how inactive I know I am. I hear it’s great for tracking sleep too. Good sleep at night means great energy during the day!
Elle says
This was perfect. Unfortunately, I’ve been extra tired recently because I’m allergic to something in my environment so I’ve needed to take Benadryl just to cope. Thanks for these tips.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Elle,
Oh no, allergies are the worst energy zappers. I know that feeling all too well, I hope it passes and you can get your energy back.
Mimi Green says
I am setting a bedtime for myself, lack a sleep is a big problem. I have already increased my water intake so I will keep that going. Lastly I am adding exercise into my life.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Mimi,
I’ve had the same challenges with going to sleep at the same time, so I can wake up at the same time. Regular sleep seems to be the magic fix for so many things – energy included.
Tiffany Haywood says
It’s amazing the difference water can really make! I can’t even count how many times I feel like I couldn’t function a moment more but drank a bottle or two of water and boom – enery renewed! Great post and tips!
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Tiffany,
Right? It’s crazy how just making sure you’re hydrated wakes you right up. Water = more energy every day.
Kiwi says
I actually said I was going to do more work and read books outside and get some sunlight. Sunlight does active energy and its actually surprisingly warm for the winter!
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Kiwi,
Ohh I love the idea of an outside office space. Soak up the sunshine and fresh breeze. I’m waiting for spring to get back on the patio.
Tiffany Heard says
I like the snack idea, having snacks between meals helped me to stay on track with my eating. I have not worked out for the year but I must admit, I miss going to the gym. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I make sure I fuel up.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Tiffany,
Yay for getting energized on a good breakfast!
I love snacks, especially car snacks. Because of my food allergies, I have to make sure to always have something I can eat on hand… or I basically starve which is so not good.
Eva says
I need to work on doing ALL of these things. I was just telling my daughter how tired I get around 1:30. It is like I have been pulling a train all day – I get THAT tired.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Eva,
You and me both! I’m only really good at the hydration but then I’ll have a day that I fall off my schedule and I’m low on energy again. Cheers to being better in 2019!
Christiana says
Just what I needed. Eating right, getting some excercise and staying hydrated are definitely tips I would endeavour to hold on to.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Christiana,
Aren’t these such simple habits we can start? I’m also working to building them into my daily routine so I can stay energized every day no matter what.
Michelle Thames says
this post was right on time! Drinking more water and staying hydrated is my number one. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Michelle,
I so agree with you – out of all these tips for getting energized, drinking water is definitely the easiest to stick to.
Kim says
It is true! Exercising does help boost your energy. Two months ago, when I was waking up at 5:00 am to exercise and eating clean. I felt a lot better and had more energy.
Nadalie Bardo says
Hey Kim,
That’s incredible! I’ve heard nothing but good things from people who wake up at 5 am and focus on their fitness. I really need to try it!
ShaBree says
I need to do a better job at breakfast and staying hydrated.
Nadalie Bardo says
I hear you on that one – I am the worst at eating breakfast every morning!