Hello, friends! It is very common this time of year to be feeling quite tired and sluggish isn't it? Is it the lack of sunlight? Vitamin D? The consistent cold weather? The exhaustion from Holiday and family stress? Maybe the poor food choices that have been made lately? Or the increase in caffeine just to get through the day? The annoyance with the ongoing state of fear and worry in the world right now? Geez, there are so many things that can cause you to be feeling tired and sluggish! (And that list was just a tiny view of the root causes) But just because it’s winter, doesn’t mean you have to walk around just surviving. Let’s raise our standards and have our goals set on thriving! Life is way to short to have mediocrity in our health and body! Here are a few tips you can take on to get more energy back in the body! 1. Detox! No, I’m not referring to the detox pills or a juice fast. Our bodies do actually like eating food… What I’m talking about is crowding out the foods and drinks that don’t serve you! Even for 14 days. You can do anything for 14 days, right? This can look like eating an abundance of real foods like fruits and vegetables (not doused in a bunch of oil if you prefer them cooked), whole grains (gluten-free), replacing inflammatory foods like dairy (or eliminating them altogether - I’ve been dairy-free since 2008! If I can go it for that long, you can go 14 days), replacing all drinks with water (yes, this includes coffee… I know!! Don’t shoot the messenger! I love coffee too but sometimes our adrenals need a break from all the caffeine), and drink lots and lots of water! *Note if you are constipated, drink some prune juice or add insoluble fiber before attempting a detox. You want to make sure your bowels are moving! 2. Did I mention above… remove caffeine? Eeek I know! I’m sorry. But every time you drink caffeine your adrenals get slammed and your body then starts producing cortisol and adrenaline. For hours and hours… this can cause oxidative stress to build up in the body and actually causes you to be more fatigued. I’m also a coffee drinker so I relate to my fellow coffee peeps. But I do take breaks throughout the year to listen to my body and give it rest. 3. Drink water! During the winter months, we tend to not drink as much water as we need. But our bodies are made up of approximately 70% water. Our cells, chemical reactions, digestion, organs, skin, brain health, everything depend on us being hydrated!!! When we are dehydrated, it can obviously bog us down. If your skin is feeling dry, drink some water. If you're having stomach upset or bowel issues, drink water. If you are thirsty, drink extra! (We are already dehydrated at the signs of thirst) 4. Get some much-needed vitamin D Depending on where you live, you may not get a lot of sunlight. And when you do, it’s so cold your bundled up under layers of warm clothes. All it takes is 15 minutes of sunlight a day to get what our bodies need. When I get a sunny day, I like to put on a short-sleeve shirt and take my dogs for a walk in the sun no matter how cold it is. Yeah, you may not be as crazy as me :) But when the sun hits our skin, it tells our skin to produce the vitamin D we need. If this is just totally not an option for you, try a really good supplement during the colder, cloudier months. 5. Breathing The way we breathe can either give us energy or take it away. Think about how you breathe when you are stressed. Do you breathe deeply and fully or is it shallow and short? Think about how you breathe when you are excited and enjoying life. Those types of breathing are totally different from one another. The way we breathe actually sends chemicals to the brain to tell it what is going on in our environment. Just by changing your breath, you can actually generate more energy in the body. 6. Quality sleep Yeah, we have all heard it. Quality sleep is important. Because it really is. It's the time of the day when our brain organizes the day and when the body heals and rejuvenates. Without those processes happening every day our brains can feel overwhelmed and our body can slowly build up dis-ease. The key is to make getting quality sleep important. Especially this time of year when it gets dark earlier, we tend to rely on technology and lights more than ever when in fact this is the time of year when our bodies need the extra darkness and hibernation to restore and renew. How can you give yourself grace by shutting off the lights, the phones, the TVs, the work early for at least one day a week? 7. Mindset How are you feeding your mind? How we think about things throughout the day can make or break our day. When you begin to feel tired at the 2 pm slump, do you focus on the fact that you are tired, or do you take a moment to move your body, focus on the energy you can generate, and have gratitude for the body you live in? By making simple changes in your mindset it can literally change the chemicals that run through your body and can begin to change your life. Be careful of the thoughts you allow to occupy your mind. 8. Movement When we are habitually moving our body throughout the day we actually generate more energy. Our bodies are meant to move! If you are feeling sluggish, think about how often you are moving. Are you moving just to walk from your desk to the bathroom or are you actually active most of the day? Even if you are working from home there are tons of ways to get more movement. Try 30 seconds of jumping jacks every hour, taking a walk around your neighborhood at lunch, or going to a park after or before work to get the blood moving through the body. These simple things can add up to a higher standard of energy in your body! Are you thinking you may try one of these? Which one is your favorite? Comment below and let me know!
____________________________________________________________ May you live your life with purpose, passion, and joy. Have Courage, my Friends!
In Health & Wellness,
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