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
Nearly everyone has days when they feel sleepy. But for some people, excessive sleepiness actually gets in the way of daily work, childcare, and even leisure activities. This is known as hypersomnia, recurrent sleepiness that makes people want to nap repeatedly, even at work.
Not surprisingly, the problem of daytime sleepiness usually starts at night. Even missing just a few nights’ sleep, or not getting enough uninterrupted sleep, can slow you down and sour your mood.
Poor sleep habits are often the cause of daytime sleepiness. Before you go through any more groggy and crabby days, try these 12 ways to improve nighttime sleep and avoid daytime sleepiness.
That may sound obvious, but many of us succumb to shaving an hour or two off our sleep time in the morning or at night to do other things.
Most adults need seven to nine hours a night, and teenagers usually need a full nine hours. Block out eight or nine hours for sleep every night.
“Reserve your bed for sleep and sex,” says Avelino Verceles, MD, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the school’s sleep medicine fellowship. “You shouldn’t read, watch TV, play video games, or use laptop computers in bed.” Don’t do your bills or have heated discussions in bed either. They may leave you sleepless.
People who have problem sleepiness are often advised to go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including on weekends. But randomly setting an ideal bedtime can lead to more frustration if you suffer from insomnia and already have trouble falling asleep, says Barry Krakow, MD, medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts and Sciences Ltd. in Albuquerque, N.M., and author of Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: 7 Keys to Sleeping Through the Night.
Instead, Krakow suggests starting out by setting a wake-up time only. “Stick by that for the first few weeks or even months to establish a rhythm,” he says. “That process of always getting up at the same time helps to anchor the circadian rhythm. And if you do that and have a bad night, you’ll also to be sleepier the next bedtime.”
Another approach to getting into a consistent schedule is to try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights. Then stick with the last bedtime. Gradually adjusting your schedule like this usually works better than suddenly trying to go to sleep an hour earlier.
Regular mealtimes, not just regular sleep times, help regulate our circadian rhythms. Eating a healthy breakfast and lunch on time -- rather than grabbing a doughnut and coffee in the morning or a late sandwich on the run -- also prevents energy deficits during the day that will aggravate your sleepiness.
Plan to finish eating meals two to three hours before bedtime.
Regular exercise (30 minutes a day on most days) offers multiple benefits for sleep. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, generally makes it easier to fall asleep and sleep more soundly.
Exercise also gives you more daytime energy and keeps your thinking sharp. And if you exercise outside in daylight, you get still more benefits. Sleep experts recommend 30 minutes of exposure to sunlight a day because daylight helps regulate our sleep patterns.
“If you don’t think you can allow seven or eight hours for sleep, then you need to look at your schedule and make some adjustments,” says Verceles. “Move some activities from nighttime to early evening or from early to late morning.” Try to eliminate tasks that aren’t really important. Getting enough sleep at night will help you function better during your remaining activities.
If you go to bed when you’re just tired, you probably won’t be able to fall asleep, Krakow says. “Distinguish between the feeling of sleepiness and being tired. Get into bed when you’re sleepy -- eyes droopy, you’re drowsy, you feel like you’re nodding off. It’s a very different kind of feeling.”
Late afternoon napping can make daytime sleepiness worse if because it can interfere with nighttime sleep.
A relaxation routine before bedtime can help you separate from the day -- especially from activities that are over-stimulating or stressful, making it difficult to sleep. Try meditation, soaking in a hot bath, listening to soothing music, or reading a book. A cup of herbal tea or warm milk can also be soothing, but skip those if they cause you to wake at night to go to the bathroom.
People often think that alcohol helps sleep, but it actually robs you of deep sleep, which is essential for feeling well rested.
When the effects of alcohol wear off during the night, you’ll probably be wide awake again.
Daytime sleepiness can be caused by sleep disorders. If you are excessively sleepy consistently during the day even when you sleep well or if you fall asleep without warning during daily activities, you may have a sleep disorder such as narcolepsy or sleep apnea, a breathing problem that occurs during sleep. According to Krakow, undiagnosed and untreated sleep disorders are probably the greatest cause of daytime fatigue and sleepiness.
Problem sleepiness can also be caused by certain illnesses and medications. And mental conditions such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety are very commonly linked to sleep problems.
A sleep specialist can design a treatment program for you that treats the underlying sleep disorder and helps you develop better sleep habits and attitudes though cognitive behavioral therapy. Sometimes it takes a combination of medication and behavioral therapy to eliminate daytime sleepiness, but it can be done.
Author Olga Stepanova Reading 7 min Views 83 Published
It's normal when the day sometimes goes by sluggishly, but if you are wandering through life, wanting to take a nap or looking for a bottomless coffee pot, it's time to evaluate your habits and change those of Which makes you more tired during the day.
If your fatigue is recent, accompanied by other symptoms, or is so severe that you cannot function normally, start with a visit to your doctor. No need to accept fatigue as the norm, especially if you are in good health. You can make changes that will boost your energy levels and help you stop feeling constantly tired.
1. Prioritize sleep
Sleep is just as important to your health as proper nutrition and exercise. Do not put it off until later to make room for other activities.
Sleeping too little or less than seven hours a night is the most common cause of fatigue. Lack of sleep not only makes you feel tired, it also increases your risk of serious accidents and leads to the following health problems:
Another often overlooked energy loss factor is the snooze button. It's tempting to snatch an extra nine minutes of sleep, but that's not enough time to achieve restorative sleep. It is better to get up as soon as the alarm rings.
On the other hand, some studies have shown that regular sleep of more than nine hours each night is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, headaches and obesity. Pick the sweet spot: Most adults do best with seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
2.
Load up on protein
If your typical breakfast is a muffin, a donut, a bowl of sugary cereal, or worse, nothing at all, you'll likely feel the effects within hours of starting the day. Saturating the body with a large dose of carbohydrates leads to a spike in blood sugar, followed by a drop, which may make you want to take a nap.
If you have time, make scrambled eggs for breakfast. If not, spread peanut butter on a piece of whole wheat toast, have a bowl of yogurt with fruit, or grab a protein-fortified bar or smoothie. Instead of an after-dinner candy, eat an apple slice with a small piece of cheese.
Add protein to every meal and snacks that balance carbs with protein. Protein prevents blood sugar fluctuations, making you more alert.
3. Limit caffeine and alcohol
Caffeine, found in coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and even chocolate, can affect your sleep, making you stay awake longer, shortening recovery stages of sleep, and making you less alert the next day.
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Try to monitor your caffeine intake; The FDA recommends no more than 400 milligrams (about four to five cups of coffee) per day. Also, since the half-life of caffeine can range from two hours to 12 hours, try to avoid caffeine within six hours of sleeping.
Alcohol can also interfere with good sleep by interfering with how long you sleep and your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Researchers have found that even drinking alcohol six hours before bed can increase wakefulness in the second half of sleep. Too much alcohol can also lead to hangovers and a poor, sleepy start to the day.
4. Make an effort to move more
It seems counterintuitive, but everyday fatigue can be your body's way of demanding more activity. Exercise boosts your metabolism, boosts your mood, and helps you sleep better at night.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you exercise at least 150 minutes a week, which is about 30 minutes a day, five times a week.
You don't have to spend hours in the gym or even the recommended 30 minutes at a time. Take a brisk 20-minute walk around the block in the morning, and do a quick 10-minute stair workout in the afternoon. A study in sleep-deprived adults found that walking up the stairs for 10 minutes increased energy levels more than taking 50 milligrams of caffeine, which is about the same as 4 ounces of coffee.
5. Drink more water
Dehydration can lead to increased sleepiness, fatigue and irritability,10 and many people do not drink enough water throughout the day.
Try one of these ideas to increase your daily water intake:
6. Make time for fun
Fun and laughter are great energizers, so try to shake up your daily routine and indulge in your favorite activity every day, even for a short time. Even small things like a new haircut or a change of route to work can help you feel more energized.
Some interesting ideas to add to your day include:
Sex can also be a great way to recharge your batteries as it increases adrenaline and endorphins. Please your partner by aiming for more than sleeping between sheets.
7. Manage negative emotions
Stress, negativity and depression take a lot of energy. If you are having gloomy thoughts, you may want to see a mental health professional to identify the source of your negative emotions and develop coping strategies.
Use one of the following methods to deal with everyday stress and depression.
By discarding negative thoughts, you can focus on more interesting topics. If you feel like there isn't enough caffeine in the world to get you through the day, it's time to put down your coffee and start making healthy changes to gain strength and conquer your busy life.
Being constantly tired can also be a sign of a health or mental health problem, so if sleepiness becomes excessive and difficult to manage, talk to your healthcare provider to find out what makes you feel tired during the day.
September 22, 2015Productivity
It is difficult to stay energetic and focused for eight hours at work - in the afternoon there is often a decline in productivity. We'll show you where to get your much-needed energy for work, how to make the most of your moments of maximum focus, and how to get through your day's productivity dips.
Iya Zorina
Lifehacker Author, Athlete, CCM
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0“It's just unrealistic to expect you to be at work all day,” says Carson Tate, author of a book on productivity. “Just as you wouldn’t expect to be able to walk at a fast pace for eight hours straight, don’t expect yourself to be completely focused and strategically thinking for such a long time.”
Even worse, some of us still don't get enough sleep: we come to work with less than six hours of sleep a night.
This is clearly not enough for high productivity during the day, and the consequences of lack of sleep can greatly harm the work.
Here are some tips to help you feel more energetic during your work day.
“There are several optimal times for creative tasks and work that requires concentration,” says Christopher Barnes, assistant professor of management at the University of Washington Business School. “Most people think better in the middle of the morning and late in the evening.”
You must adjust your circadian rhythms and work schedule, make a list of tasks depending on the ups and downs of activity during the day.
Tate advises doing "any job that requires attention to detail," such as writing, making big decisions, or programming, during peak hours. And during a decline in energy, you can take on tasks that do not require special concentration: checking mail, filling out expense reports, making phone calls. In other words, perform tasks that can be done automatically.
Any physical activity temporarily increases alertness and energy levels.
Move for just 10 minutes and your energy and ability to concentrate will increase significantly.
Carson Tate
You can walk around the office building, go up and down the stairs a few times, jump or push up a few times, stretch right at your desk. The main thing here is the movement, which helps to fill the body with oxygen and relieve fatigue, both physical and mental.
If you have a meeting scheduled, you can do it on the go, taking your employees or partners for a walk. And think about how you can build physical activity into your weekly schedule. "If you move regularly," says Burns, "your normal energy level goes up."
Steve Jobs did this for many years. Ray Dalio, head of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, said it makes him feel like a ninja in combat. What is their secret weapon? Meditation.
Concentration exercises are a great way to recharge your energy throughout the day. Research shows that even a few minutes of meditation a day can reduce stress levels and increase a tired brain's ability to concentrate. This is a period of rest during which people stop worrying, which in turn saves a lot of energy.
It is also important to watch your breathing during meditation. Five to seven deep belly breaths will provide enough oxygen to keep you alert and energized.
Drinking coffee often seems to help with afternoon sleepiness. "Coffee doesn't really give you energy," Burns says. “Caffeine just masks lethargy and low concentration by blocking the chemical reactions in the body that make you feel tired.”
Although it works for a while, caffeine, like other drugs, soon wears off. You get less and less effect, and you need more and more coffee just to work normally.
So don't get hooked on coffee, use it rarely, only when you really need extra energy, for example at an important meeting once a month, if you hardly slept the night before.
Coffee at three in the afternoon should not become a habit.
Music is a great way to both cheer up and calm down. Just as you use music to keep you energized during your workout, you can energize yourself with your favorite track at work.
Which music is best suited for this depends on your tastes. Someone prefers fast rhythms to maintain energy, someone prefers calm compositions that help clear the mind and concentrate.
If lyrics distract you, try listening to instrumentals in different styles. Sooner or later you will find your ideal "working" tracks.
If you sit at your computer, tablet or smartphone at night, you will have less energy the next day. Blue light from the screens of gadgets and computers reduces the production of melatonin, a substance that provides the body with healthy sleep.
"It's very important to avoid using your smartphone or tablet two hours before bed," Burns says.
“The worst thing you can do is use your smartphone while lying in bed.”
If you need to do something important at night - check your mail or read something, use apps like Twilight for smartphones, and f.lux for computers, so that at night the display begins to emit red light instead of blue. Or buy orange Uvex glasses or similar models from other brands that block blue light from the screens.
This is a simple rule that can't be helped. To feel energetic and cheerful during the day, you need to sleep well at night.
“If you want to be good at something, go to bed,” says Tate.
“Sleep is the number one predictor of success,” agrees Burns. “People think that five or six hours of sleep is enough for them and everything will be fine. But even a small lack of sleep will have a noticeable negative effect.”
A study conducted in 2009 found that people who sleep five hours a night for four days, significantly inhibited cognitive function.
When performing the simplest tasks, they showed the level of efficiency characteristic of drunk people with an alcohol level of 0.6 ppm (for men of average weight, this is two bottles of beer).
If you regularly get eight hours of sleep a night, energy drops will be less severe and easier to control.
Let's summarize the main principles.
What to do:
Do's and Don'ts:
And now for some real examples of how the above methods helped to cope with fatigue during the day and get more done.
Dan Scalco often struggled with afternoon fatigue. As the CEO of Digitalux, a digital marketing company based in Hoboken, NJ, Dan worked 12-hour shifts, managing customer situations and managing his team.
He tried taking supplements and multivitamins, going to the gym, even trying occasional short naps in the office to regain his energy. But nothing helped him cope with the afternoon fatigue.
Then he became interested in what strategies helped successful businessmen, and found that many of them use meditation practices.
At first he was skeptical, because he always saw meditation as a frivolous activity that only hippies are interested in. But the more he read about its benefits, the more he wanted to try it.
The effect of meditation followed immediately. Dan felt more energized, his stress levels decreased, and his focus increased while interacting with clients and the team.
Now he tries to meditate for at least 15-20 minutes, usually between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm. He sits on an office chair, puts his hands on his knees, closes his eyes and repeats a mantra to himself.
“It's like taking a 20-minute vacation every day,” he says. “Afterward, I feel like my brain has been recharged. I can honestly say that meditating at least once a day has changed my life. She gave me inexhaustible reserves of energy and greatly increased my productivity.
Ryan Hulland was terribly tired. Vice president and co-owner of Monitoring Management (MonMan), an electrical and HVAC supplier, he spent long weeks at work trying to expand the business. And in the evenings, he helped put his three-year-old child to bed, after which he again returned to the computer to finish the work.
He started drinking more coffee and energy drinks, but found that they did not provide a consistent effect over time.
Ryan tried to go for a walk regularly, usually after lunch. He realized that physical activity helps him to be more alert and encourages creative ideas. But when he returned from a walk refreshed and full of energy, he often had to solve routine tasks from his to-do list, which instantly negated the positive effect of the walk.
Then he started writing his to-do list on the office whiteboard and dividing it into three columns. The first column, "Fun," included activities that required creativity, such as writing articles for the company's blog. The second column, "Stuff," included more routine tasks that didn't require concentration or much mental activity, such as filling out paperwork. And the third column - "Urgent" - included things that needed to be done, no matter how he felt.
I tried to relate the things on my list to how I feel at a particular time. When I have a lot of energy, I like to do interesting creative tasks, and when fatigue sets in, I do boring, routine things.
