Often it’s harder to to prepare for and adapt to the coming day if your energy levels are low. Fortunately, there are natural methods to ensure you have an abundance of it when the morning hits. Here are four natural ways to increase energy:
- Go for a Morning Jog: Before going about your usual morning routine, consider outdoor jogging first thing. Doing so not only has a variety of mental and physical benefits, but also teaches you to stabilize your discipline; the honest truth is that no one wants to move their body when they first wake up, which means you’re able to separate yourself from the rest by doing what is difficult. More to the point, you’re essentially killing two birds with one stone during this process. One, you’re exposing yourself to natural sunlight which has a profound effect on your energy levels for the remainder of the day. Two, the increased blood flow to the brain and heart shocks your body into immediately waking up, which serves you well when organizing your morning routine and getting work done. You’ll find that you’re able to feel so energized and focused that caffeine won’t be as needed, which will assist you in becoming less reliant on substance as one of the ways to increase energy.
- Get Quality Sleep: As mentioned in previous posts, quality sleep is foundational for just about everything. Including your energy levels. See here for tips on how to get better sleep. It should be obvious at this point that when you lack sufficient sleep quality, you’re subject to noticeable deficiencies throughout your day. The two main types of sleep, REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) each offer their own unique benefits to counteract such deficiencies. Non-rem is what is critical for physical recovery, in areas like illnesses, stress and the immune system. REM – which is responsible for most of your dreaming – affects your cognitive and emotional functioning, ranging from mood to memory. However, according to a Harvard article, both types play a role as one of the fundamental ways to increase energy. See here for more information on this. Therefore, ensuring you have a proper approach to getting a good sleep (irrespective of which type) will allow you to feel recovered and energized for the day ahead.
- Expose Yourself to Cold Water: Exposure to cold water is another one of the natural ways to increase energy. Keep in mind that if you choose to start your shower with warm or hot water (rather than jumping right into the cold), turn the nozzle cold at least for the last minute before you get out. In either case, after getting out you’ll feel a nice sweet spot between calmness and alertness or energy. Unlike with caffeinated substances like coffee that many people feel, there is no anxiety-inducing sensation. Another alternative to coffee that you might not have considered.
- Eat Whole, Natural Foods: When you’re choosing what to make for breakfast, always go for the healthy, whole-foods option. It will go a long way toward your energy levels in the morning and afterwards. Note that whenever you eat processed foods, you feel more lethargic and experience more brain fog. See here for more of an in-depth breakdown of this. Conversely, whole-foods like eggs, fruits, nuts, whole-grain breads and meats offer more support for your cognitive functioning and also fuels your body for physical movement. And this is important regardless of what it is you do during your day. For the guy that works from a computer and is stationary for most of the day, energy allocated to his brain (for cognitive functioning) will help him focus on tasks and offer quicker, better solutions. For the guy working in the trades, increased energy in his body will allow him to conquer all the physical demands his job requires, and not burn out as quickly.