Many cases of tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Try these self-help tips to restore your energy levels.
If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, which is an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep, you may have an underlying medical condition. Consult a GP for advice.
A good way to keep up your energy through the day is to eat regular meals and healthy snacks every 3 to 4 hours, rather than a large meal less often.
Read more about healthy eating.
You might feel that exercise is the last thing on your mind. But, in fact, regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, so you'll have more energy.
Even a single 15-minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.
Start with a small amount of exercise. Build it up gradually over weeks and months until you reach the recommended goal of 2 hours 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.
Read more about starting exercise.
Find out the physical activity guidelines for adults.
If your body is carrying excess weight, it can be exhausting. It also puts extra strain on your heart, which can make you tired. Lose weight and you'll feel much more energetic.
Apart from eating healthily, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to be more active and do more exercise.
Read more about how to lose weight.
Many people don't get the sleep they need to stay alert through the day.
The website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists has information on sleeping well.
Tips for sleeping well include:
Stress uses up a lot of energy. Try to introduce relaxing activities into your day. This could be:
Whatever relaxes you will improve your energy.
Read more about how to relieve stress.
There's some evidence that talking therapies such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) might help to fight fatigue, or tiredness caused by stress, anxiety or low mood.
See a GP for a referral for talking treatment on the NHS, or for advice on seeing a private therapist.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that anyone feeling tired should cut out caffeine. It says the best way to do this is to gradually stop having all caffeine drinks over a 3-week period.
Caffeine is found in:
Try to stay off caffeine completely for a month to see if you feel less tired without it.
You may find that not consuming caffeine gives you headaches. If this happens, cut down more slowly on the amount of caffeine that you drink.
Although a couple of glasses of wine in the evening can help you fall asleep, you sleep less deeply after drinking alcohol. The next day you'll be tired, even if you sleep a full 8 hours.
Cut down on alcohol before bedtime. You'll get a better night's rest and have more energy.
The NHS recommends that men and women should not regularly drink more than 14 units a week, which is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine.
Try to have several alcohol-free days each week.
Read more about how to cut down on alcohol.
Sometimes you feel tired simply because you're mildly dehydrated.
A glass of water will do the trick, especially after exercise.
Read about healthy drinks.
Written by Camille Peri
With more and more of us getting less and less sleep, it’s tempting to reach for an energy drink or an espresso when we feel sleepy at work. But consuming caffeine to combat sleepiness can lead to a vicious cycle.
The java jolt that helps you stay awake can take up to eight hours to wear off. Caffeine can also reduce your sleep time, alter the normal stages of sleep, and decrease the quality of your sleep.
How can you stay awake naturally? The most obvious thing is to get enough sleep and practice good sleep habits, sometimes called "sleep hygiene." For instance, you probably know that it's best to go to sleep ad get up at the same time every day, power down your screens ahead of bedtime, keep your bedroom dark and cool. You need to do that for good health, as well as feeling rested.
But on the occasional day when that doesn't happen, try some of these 12 jitter-free tips to take the edge off sleepiness.
In one well-known study, Robert Thayer, PhD, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, studied whether people were more energized by eating a candy bar or taking a brisk 10-minute walk. Though the candy bar provided a quick energy boost, participants were actually more tired and had less energy an hour later. The 10-minute walk increased energy for two hours. That’s because walking pumps oxygen through your veins, brain, and muscles.
If you work at a desk, get up frequently for short walks. At meal breaks, walk to a restaurant or, if you bring your lunch, head for a nice spot to eat it. Whether you take a walk outside or just in the building where you work, it will make you feel more alert and refreshed.
There are two things to remember about naps: Don’t take more than one and don’t take it too close to your bedtime.
“Nap between five and 25 minutes,” says Barry Krakow, MD, author of Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: Seven Keys to Sleeping Through the Night. It’s best to nap about six or seven hours before you would normally go to bed. If you must take a late nap close to bedtime, make it a short one.
Napping on the job can be touchy. If you need to nap at work, do it during your break and use a vibrating alarm clock, if necessary, to make sure it doesn’t spill over into your work time. Sleeping at your desk is usually not a good idea, but many companies now provide nap rooms for employees.
“If you can’t nap, even resting quietly with your eyes closed for 10 minutes or so will help,” says Allison T. Siebern, PhD, a fellow at the Stanford University Sleep Medicine Center in Redwood City, Calif.
Continuous fixation on a computer screen can cause eyestrain and worsen sleepiness and fatigue. Look away from the screen for a few minutes periodically to relax your eyes.
Sugary snacks give you a quick energy boost followed by the sugar “lows,” when low blood sugar produces mental fogginess and lethargy. Snacks such as these will provide better overall energy in the long run:
If you’re fading fast, engaging in conversation can get your mind moving again. “Talk to a colleague about a business idea, politics, or religion,” says Krakow, medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts and Sciences, Ltd. in Albuquerque, N.M. “It’s a very strong behavioral stimulator -- especially when it’s a conversation about politics.”
Environments with dim lighting aggravate fatigue. Studies have shown that exposure to bright light can reduce sleepiness and increase alertness.
Try increasing the intensity of your light source at work.
Deep breathing raises blood oxygen levels in the body. This slows your heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation, ultimately aiding mental performance and energy.
The idea of deep-breathing exercises is to inhale to the abdomen, not the chest. You can do them at your desk. Sitting up straight, try this exercise up to 10 times:
Another technique, called stimulating breath, is used in yoga for a quick energy boost and increased alertness: Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Make your in-and-out breaths short -- do about three of each cycle in a second.
Then breathe normally. You can do this for up to 15 seconds the first time and then add on five seconds each time after until you reach a minute.
“Driving while sleepy is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol,” says Siebern. Common tricks such as opening the windows and turning on loud music won’t keep you awake for very long behind the wheel. “Have someone else drive or pull off the road and take a nap until you’re no longer sleepy,” Siebern says.
If you’re on an extended trip, change drivers often. Stop at least every two hours to take a walk and get some fresh air.
In 2004 Finnish researchers who studied people working 12-hour night shifts found that monotonous work is as harmful as sleep loss for alertness. At work or home, try to reserve more stimulating tasks for your sleepy times. Or switch to more engaging work responsibilities when you feel yourself nodding off.
Dehydration can cause fatigue. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and eat foods high in water such as fruits and vegetables.
Our circadian rhythms, which regulate our sleep-wake cycle, are influenced by daylight. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day outside in natural sunlight. (Sleep experts recommend an hour of morning sunlight a day if you have insomnia.) Even a step outside for a breath of fresh air will revive your senses.
In an analysis of 70 studies involving more than 6,800 people, University of Georgia researchers found that exercise was more effective in increasing energy and reducing daytime fatigue than some medications used to treat sleep problems. Regular exercise also improves quality of sleep.
Try to exercise 30 minutes a day. If you decide to exercise hard some days, your energy level may drop for a bit and then surge for a few hours.
Eating a meal that contains both protein and carbohydrates within two hours after a heavy workout will lessen the initial energy loss. Be sure to finish your workout a few hours before bedtime so you are not energized when you try to sleep.
If you find that you can’t stop nodding off when you need to be alert, consult a doctor or sleep specialist. You may have an underlying sleep disorder such as excessive sleepiness or narcolepsy, which can be treated. Your doctor may prescribe medications to help you with a sleep disorder. If you have trouble falling asleep because of stress or other reasons, cognitive behavioral therapy can help you develop good sleep habits and relieve sleep anxieties.
Good afternoon, dear readers. How many times have you faced the problem that you stayed at work all day and did nothing in the end, and you were also tired? If you have had this, then this post is for you.
The concept of productivity has been confidently with us for 10 years for sure. But has anyone wondered what it means to be productive? Is there a difference between "being busy" and "being productive"? I can confidently answer that I DO! Productivity is to use one hundred percent of your time. Employment is to fill your time one hundred percent (and not always necessary and useful things related to work). If in other words, then employment is to squeeze one whole orange has 20 milliliters of juice, and productivity is squeezing a liter of juice out of one orange. The personal productivity of each of us largely depends on the environment, habits, lifestyle, and even our hobbies. If you go in for sports in your free time, then you will be more productive, because sport fills a person with energy, despite the fact that it is very physically exhausting, but these are different types of human wear and tear. During brain activity, a person gets tired mentally, he immediately wants to take a walk or just change his place (who am I kidding? I want to lie down, just lie down), and during training, a person gets tired physically, but mentally fills up with working capacity and energy and is ready to “turn mountains”.
In order to increase productivity, you may need to slightly change your lifestyle and lifestyle. But this is only the smallest thing that can be done. And so, the main points that will have a good effect on productivity:
And now, I would like to identify the main points that destroy productivity:
A very trendy word these days. This means postponing your affairs or a new life for Mondays or "I'll start from the new year." No, all the headlines, all the quotes in all publics shout to the right and to the left “there will be no tomorrow, there is only today and now” These are the main productivity killers in each of us, if you try to pacify them, you can reach a good level. But I will also give a couple of tips on how to still increase your productivity and squeeze a liter of juice out of one orange. To increase productivity, there are basic points that you should follow all the time, you can learn them like a mantra and read them in the morning. This is of course my jokes, but suddenly someone has real problems here. Let's go directly to them. nine0003
Write down your main tasks. For me, the best option is to create a list of tasks using the GTD system (Get Things Done or task management system) and I usually plan my next day at the end of my working day, so it’s easier in the morning at work to figure out what needs to be done today, and do not rack your sleepy head over these problems. The most important thing is that the tasks for the day be realistically doable in one day. For example, it is impossible to make an annual report in a day, therefore, based on the deadline, you need to plan out its chapters by day or week, depending on other deadlines and cases. nine0006 
I really hope that my advice will help you stay productive not only at work, but also in life. If you also have tips for keeping yourself productive, then write them down in the comments. In the next post I will try to tell you in more detail about the GTD system, which I wrote about above. The main thing is not to overwork, rest is also useful and you also need to be able to rest. All the best and good mood! Your Masha. nine0003
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Anna Sokolova
full of energy
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Even if you work sitting at the computer, this does not mean that by the end of the day you will not die of fatigue.
Fatigue appears not only from physical work. And not only because of the large number of cases.
It may also indicate that you have not replenished the resources of the body, have distributed the load incorrectly, or do not see much point in what you are doing. Life in constant stress and work in emergency mode is harmful to health and leads to burnout. Let's talk about how to save energy. nine0003
Psychologists have a hypothesis about why mental work is so exhausting. If a task doesn’t particularly excite us, the brain has to put in a lot of effort to focus on it. And there is a lot of interesting things around - from news and Internet discussions to new collections of your favorite brands. This constant struggle with temptations exhausts a person. But without it it is impossible - otherwise the work will not be done.
This version is partly confirmed by a study conducted several years ago in Canada. Scientists monitored the condition of 156 students for a week: they constantly asked what they were doing, how they felt, what they really wanted at the moment, how much effort they had to make in order not to follow these desires and continue to study.
It turned out that the more temptations the students had to resist, the more tired they felt. nine0003
/no-willpower/
How can the weak-willed and lazy survive? Molecular biologist Irina Yakutenko answers
According to one of the authors of the study, psychologist Michael Inzlicht, this phenomenon has an evolutionary explanation. In order to survive, a person as a species all the time needs to do something: sleep, look for partners for procreation, get food, clothes - and so on ad infinitum. And if at some point he forgets about one of these tasks, then he simply will not survive. Therefore, the body has developed a biological mechanism that makes us switch from one to another. The psychological fatigue that we feel by the end of the working day is a signal that it is time to switch to another activity. nine0003
Tip 1
Increase your motivation In 2019, British scientists published the results of a study in which they observed the behavior, physical and psychological state of 100 nurses during their 12-hour shift.
And as a result, an important correlation was found: those nurses who were more involved in their work, knew that something depended on them, and received inner satisfaction in the process, were more energetic and less exhausted than the rest.
The explanation is simple: if we consider our work to be really important, then we are more motivated to do it and it is more difficult for us to get distracted. This means that the brain does not lose interest in it and gets less tired.
/hate-work/
Why people don't quit jobs they hate
To increase your motivation, try this exercise: at the end of each working day, for a couple of minutes, reflect on how your work is useful for others. If helping others is not part of your duties, remember that work allows you to pay for housing, feed and clothe loved ones, and financially support older relatives. nine0003
This simple action will have a beneficial effect on more than just your motivation.
According to research by psychologists Adam Grant and Sabine Sonnentag, people who are clearly aware of the impact their work has on others tend to be less distracted while doing it. And in general, they feel happier and more satisfied with life.
Tip 2
Don't get distracted too oftenThe human brain is not a computer. It's not designed for multitasking. Therefore, when the brain has to do several things at the same time, it spends too many resources. And as a result, he gets more tired and starts making more mistakes. nine0003
How can I fix this?
As a result, overall productivity increased. And most importantly, the psychological state improved: by coping with work faster, employees received more positive emotions, and this charged them with additional energy. nine0006 /how-to-focus/
5 tips to quickly focus on work
Tip 3
Take breaks Research shows that several regular but short breaks throughout the day can be better for rejuvenation, cognitive performance and stress reduction than one long one.
In 2014, specialists from DeskTime, a developer of time tracking software, analyzed the data of many users and found out that the most efficient ones worked in cycles. They immersed themselves in tasks for 52 minutes, and then disconnected from tasks for 17 minutes. nine0003
These data correlate with the modern ideas of scientists about the basic cycle of rest - activity: at night, on average, the body goes through all five phases of sleep in 90 minutes, and during the day it experiences a peak of activity at the same time, followed by 15-20 minutes of decline. And it is better to spend them on rest.
/chill-out/
How to rest: 5 tips
Things to do during a 15-minute break:
nine0006 What not to do during mini-breaks? Check social networks and messengers. This can deprive the rest of the strength. According to researchers from the American Psychological Association, excessive use of gadgets increases stress levels and greatly spoils mood. nine0003
Tip 4
Start working lessIt often happens that fatigue at work is not due to psychological problems. But simply because you are overwhelmed. In this case, all the previous tips are unlikely to help you. There is only one way out: discuss with the manager.
It is especially important to do this if you communicate with your boss orally, and not in a chat. When another request appears, specify in what order to fulfill it and, if the matter is urgent, what can be postponed until later. This will help him to assess the volume of your load and you to properly distribute it. nine0006 
Studies show that emotional distance from professional activities helps to recover faster and relax better. So don't check your work email on weekends. /time-to-rest/
“I close my laptop and start living”: 7 ways to quickly switch from work to leisure
Tip 5
Take care of yourselfWhen the resources of the body are at zero, it is difficult to cope even with work that does not require serious mental effort, and fatigue sets in faster. Therefore, it is so important to regularly recover physically. nine0003
The rules are simple:
These basic rules will help make your sleep better, which means that in the morning you will wake up alert, full of energy and in a good mood. nine0006 
