7 Ways To Give Yourself an Energy Boost

As you step into adulthood, it can often feel as though the energy that once seemed abundant is now a scarce resource. You might find yourself marveling at the seemingly boundless energy of younger folks while grappling with your own mid-afternoon slump. 

This drop in energy levels can present a formidable challenge, especially as adulthood brings with it a growing roster of responsibilities and commitments.

In the quest for the elusive boost of energy, many of us turn to caffeinated energy drinks as our tiredness sets in. However, these quick fixes are often just band-aids, failing to address the underlying issues. Ironically, the caffeine that promises a lift might actually be exacerbating our fatigue.

Let’s take a closer look at some common causes of fatigue and natural ways you can help to sustain your energy levels throughout the day. 

Common Causes of a Lack of Energy

The amount of energy you have in a given day depends on several factors that coalesce to your ability to feel energized. Hormone levels, metabolic rate, mental health, and overall health all contribute to how energized you may feel. 

Here are some of the most common causes of a lack of energy. Being aware of these common causes of fatigue can help you to try and avoid them to feel more energized. 

Poor Sleep

Sleep makes up one of the three pillars of a healthy lifestyle, nutrition and physical activity. Collectively, we spend a large portion of our lives sleeping. Although the responsibilities and challenges of work might tempt you to sideline sleep, the truth is that quality rest is not a luxury but a necessity for our health.

Compromising on sleep quality or quantity can set the stage for daytime fatigue, impair cognitive functioning, and pose a serious risk to your overall wellbeing. It’s important to instill practices that enable us to improve our sleep quality and restfulness in order to stay balanced, healthy and productive. 

Blood Sugar Variation

Carbohydrates are a key macronutrient readily broken down and utilized by the body. When you consume a carb-heavy meal, your digestive tract readily breaks it down into its component sugars. 

From there, it’s pushed through the intestines, where it gets absorbed into the bloodstream. The pancreas secretes insulin, allowing cells to take in the glucose and use it as energy, helping to lower blood sugar back to a normal range.

Simple carbohydrates or foods with a high glycemic index are quickly broken down during digestion, quickly spiking blood sugar levels. The sudden spike enables a large release of insulin, causing blood sugar levels to drop. 

This phenomenon is closely related to a sugar rush and a sugar crash. A diet that makes sugar levels wildly fluctuate can further contribute to feelings of fatigue. 

Nutritional Deficiency

From a physiological standpoint, the body's energy production requires many different biochemical steps that all require specific enzymes and molecules. Nutrients like vitamins and nutrients directly affect how your body produces energy, and nutritional deficiencies can lead to a decline in energy production and fatigue. 

Vitamins and minerals like the B vitamins (vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B8, vitamin B9 and vitamin B12), vitamin C, iron, magnesium, zinc, and certain amino acids play a significant role in the production of energy. Having less-than-ideal amounts of these nutrients in the body may cause you to feel more fatigued. 

Hormonal Imbalance

Hormones act as chemical messengers within the body and they help to coordinate several bodily functions. When these chemical messengers become imbalanced, it could contribute to a number of symptoms, including tiredness. 

Thyroid imbalance and hormonal changes experienced during the menstrual cycle are some examples of hormone-level changes that can contribute to a lack of energy. 

Sedentary Lifestyle

An object at rest will stay at rest according to the laws of physics, but this can also be true of how your body deals with a sedentary lifestyle. Living a sedentary lifestyle places you at an increased risk of developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure. 

In addition to increasing your risk factors for these chronic conditions living a sedentary lifestyle may also sap you of your energy levels. A study of 73 women found that those with a more sedentary life were likely to report higher levels of fatigue. 

Ways To Support More Sustained Energy Levels

Understanding the common ways that energy levels decline is a good start, but avoiding these common pitfalls can only get you so far in improving your energy levels. Below is a closer look at some actionable steps you can take to help boost your body's natural energy. 

Support Healthy Stress Levels

Stress is a natural body response that helps to prepare the body to make a quick getaway or fight back against an immediate threat. This system is well adapted to deal with physical threats but not so much with everyday life stressors, which activate this same response. Chronically feeling stressed and in this heightened state leads to fatigue. 

Supporting healthier stress levels by learning coping strategies and avoiding common stressors can be extremely helpful in supporting energy levels. Things like meditation, yoga, and focusing on your mental wellness can help to free up your mind and help you to feel less stressed and more energized. 

Prioritize Sleep

Logging enough sleep is an important part of your health, and consciously prioritizing it can be the real energy booster you need to carry you throughout the day. According to the CDC, adults should try to get upwards of seven to nine hours of quality rest nightly to wake up feeling refreshed and support their overall health. Taking the time and effort to get the best night's sleep can be well worth it. 

Get Some Fresh Air

There are many natural ways to help improve your energy levels. Spending some time outside can help us to feel more energetic and boost our vitality. A meta-analysis showed that getting some time outdoors can provide a short-term boost in mood, cognitive ability, creative problem-solving abilities, mental health, and overall wellbeing. 

Get Regular Physical Activity

The more you move, the more energetic you tend to feel. Here’s the incredible thing about our bodies: physical activity often acts as a natural energy booster. As we move intentionally, this helps more oxygen-rich blood circulate to your heart, muscles, and brain. 

Getting active can help improve blood flow and increase the aerobic capacity and efficiency of the body. This means that your body has an easier time making energy which can correlate to more energy throughout the day. 

Change Up Your Work Method

Work can be one of the most energy-draining things you do in a day, and a great natural way to get some of that energy back is to change how you work. Even when your plate seems full of tasks and responsibilities, changing your work approach can make all the difference in keeping you energized and engaged. 

A great example is the Pomodoro work cycle, in which you work hard for 25-minute intervals and allow yourself five-minute breaks afterwards. This method can break up a long working day into bite-sized, manageable pieces that can be less draining. 

Leave Caffeine for the Morning

A cup of coffee as a morning pick-me-up is how many prefer to start the day. Caffeine can help increase your alertness and wakefulness, and is found in beverages like green tea, black tea, soda, and energy drinks. 

Caffeine directly impacts the brain, leading to feelings of alertness, but it can also cause significant issues with sleep when consumed at night. Caffeine takes many hours for the body to completely break it down. Generally, you should leave your dose of caffeine for the mornings when it is unlikely to impact your sleep. 

If you start craving for an afternoon cup of coffee, consider incorporating cacao into your day-to-day. This sacred seed is a treasure trove of antioxidants, vitamins and magnesium. It works to boost your mood, promotes heart health and improves cognitive function. 

Eat a Balanced Diet

What you eat directly fuels your body, and the quality of food and nutrition you feed your body matters. Eating a well-balanced diet that includes leafy greens, veggies, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, can yield several health benefits, including acting as a natural energy booster. 

Eating a balanced diet is wonderful, but sometimes even the most meticulously planned diets can miss a few nutritional targets. Our Hair + Energy formula is an excellent choice for those that are looking to to boost their intake of Iodine and Zinc to help support their energy levels and hair health. 

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, your body is capable of equipping you with the energy you need when properly supported. The seven tips provided above are a great place to start if you're looking for a natural energy boost and serve as a strong foundation to build upon.

If you experience diminished energy levels to the extent that it interferes with your daily routine, it is always best to seek advice from your healthcare professional. Persistent fatigue could be a signal of an underlying health issue that may need attention. 

Sources:

Active and sedentary behaviors influence feelings of energy and fatigue in women | NCBI

How Much Sleep Do I Need? | CDC

Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence | NCBI 

Cacao seeds are a "Super Fruit": A comparative analysis of various fruit powders and products