10 Easy Ways to Boost Your Energy Level
Do you find yourself yawning right about 4 p.m., exhausted and ready to go home? I do (excepting that I work from home, which complicates matters). Turns out, my energy is exceptionally low because I've been doing all of the wrong things to boost it.
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Drinking a pot of coffee or eating a candy bar may help in the short-term, but both caffeine and sugar highs are met with the inevitable crash. So that's not working - what DOES work to bolster your energy level? Turns out it's shockingly easy.
Here are some easy tips to kick-start your energy!
1) Get a full night's sleep. That's seven hours of uninterrupted sleep, which, for those of us with small kids, can be challenging.
2) Ditch the extra poundage by eating less and exercising more. That's not to say you should go on one of those fad diets - they don't work in the long run.
3) Load up your plate with summertime greens and fruits, rather than carb-filled side dishes. Look for lean cuts of protein to add to your meals: both chicken and turkey are excellent forms of protein.
4) Ditch the smokes. I know, I know, smoking is a hard habit to ditch, but it's important. Women who stop smoking by age 35 live longer.
5) Pump up the jams. When you're in a tired funk, turn on a loud song and ROCK OUT TO IT. If you're at work? Go into the bathroom or somewhere else so you can listen to it.
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6) Make sure your nose is clear. Sounds like a weird one, but apparently, stuffy noses can lead people to become more tired and cranky.
7) Change your socks. Even weirder trick, I KNOW, but changing your socks is a really easy way to make you feel better when you're lagging behind. Try it!
8) Get up and out of your cube and go talk to someone. Connecting with other people is a surefire way to feel revitalized and refreshed (if you LIKE the person you're speaking to, I should add).
9) Power snacks are your BFF. Rather than a bag of chips or a candy bar, go for something with protein and fiber in it. I personally carry a baggie of almonds wherever I go.
10) Wake up at the same time each day - even weekends. This helps to set and maintain your body's clock and keep you on schedule.
Do you have any other energy-boosting tips?
Image via guruscotty/Flickr
Written by Aunt Becky on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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