How To Feel Less Tired

Tiredness can have multiple medical reasons; if you are concerned, or tiredness lasts more than three months, or you have other symptoms, see your GP, but most of us will benefit from these simple changes.

1 Eat more real food

Most of us think about food in terms of macronutrients: that is, whether we’re eating too much fat, carbohydrate or not enough protein. But our body can’t extract the energy from any macronutrients without a huge range of micronutrients – the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other compounds found in real foods. Processed and junk foods don’t contain enough. ‘You can’t create outstanding energy in your body without whole and real food,’

What to do: If you eat three meals and two snacks a day, you’re eating 35 times a week. Say you’re currently eating seven out of 35 as real foods, simply add one more real food meal or snack per week. ‘In two months you’ll be up to 15 out of 35 and will double the amount of nutrients going into your body.’ Two nutrients to think about, as they’re key for energy, are B vitamins (found in offal meats and grains, nuts and seeds) and co-enzyme Q10 (found in offal meats, beef, spinach, brassicas).

 

2 Pick things up

A lot of us have our shopping delivered and pull around a wheelie suitcase. But in fact, there’s a good reason to pick things up. Building muscle has a lasting effect on how energetic you feel. ‘The greater your muscle mass, the higher your metabolic rate and the higher your energy.’

 

The body is made up of 50 trillion cells. You can picture them as 50 trillion tiny circles, and inside each one is a mouse on a treadmill. These are the mitochondria – the energy-producing mechanisms in each cell. But build muscle, and you can have 10 or 20 mice in each cell.’ What to do: Carry things at a weight you can manage. Yoga and Pilates strengthen muscles, as they involve holding up your own body weight. Gardening, which involves lots of carrying, is brilliant, as is walking.

 

3 Take 20 deep breaths

How can breathing affect energy? ‘The way we breathe has a big impact on our biochemistry, in particular on our ability to use body fat as fuel,’ The root of this energy issue is the fact that most of the time many of us are in fight or flight mode. ‘Not so long ago, we only got a burst of adrenaline – one of the main stress hormones – when our body communicated that our life was in danger. But now we get it constantly, from drinking caffeine and living under pressure,’ she says. ‘However, the body can’t discern between adrenaline from a threat and the adrenaline of three cups of coffee!’

 

When you are in fight or flight mode, the body switches to its fastest source of fuel, glucose. The cycle is: wake up tired, drink coffee, get an afternoon slump, crave sugar, eat sugar, need alcohol to relax, don’t sleep properly, wake up tired. What you want, is to switch to burning the body’s slower, more steady fuel, which is fat. To do this, switch on your relaxation response with long, slow breathing.

 

4 Get better quality sleep

‘Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night,’ There are two types of people: firstly, those who always go to bed too late. If that’s you, you need to prioritise sleep. And secondly, those who go to bed at a good time but wake up exhausted. That’s usually down to stress hormones because when your body believes it’s in danger, the last thing it will do is sleep.

 

What to do: A breathing-focused practice – as above – for 30 minutes before bedtime. As light destroys melatonin – one of our sleep hormones – avoid back-lit devices, like mobile phones and tablets, for two hours before you go to bed.

 

6 Define your stress

‘If you feel stress is at the heart of your low energy, consider this: the real word for stress is fear,’  Peel back the layers on what you perceive are your stresses – running late, for example – and see what’s really there. Is it being a failure, of being seen as lazy, of people not liking you? ‘For most, their fear is that they are not loved. Everything comes back to avoiding rejection and obtaining or maintaining love.’

 

What to do: When you feel stressed, ask yourself, ‘What am I afraid of?’ When you get to the root of what is stressing you, you can relax.