Unveiling the Secrets to Sustainable Energy: Tips for a Vitalized Life

If there is one thing we need more of, generally speaking, in our own lives it’s energy. It has a multitude of positive impacts; it can give us a far better approach to how we tackle challenges and will give us an infinitely better life. But we all feel like we could do with more of it. It seems that these days we’re all obsessed with improving our energy levels in one way or another due to various external circumstances. For example, it could very well be due to stresses in life or things that are just part and parcel of a normal existence. Whether we have a lack of sleep or we are not consuming the right foods, it seems that everybody has to slug down a few cups of caffeine before they feel evened out enough to start their working day. So let’s have a look at what it takes to improve your energy levels properly.

Be Careful With Your Caffeine Intake

This is the best starting point because we all reach for a cup of tea or coffee in the morning to give us that extra boost so we can work quicker. But we have to look at why caffeine is so useful. So if you are someone that believes your coffee machine is the most prized possession in your home, you are not alone. But caffeine is not necessarily something that gives us energy per se but is an inhibitor of a hormone called adenosine. 

It’s this hormone that makes us feel sleepy and at the very end of the day, adenosine is at its highest. But so many people make the mistake of thinking that caffeine is the cure to all their problems, energy-wise. Some people have extreme withdrawal symptoms when they try to cut back on caffeine because of numerous headaches and feel that it’s not worth the hassle. But it’s about making sure you have that sweet spot in your overall caffeine intake. 

Some things can work potentially better for the individual beyond coffee or tea. Coffee is something that, for purists, is something they look forward to when they go to sleep. It’s the ritualistic aspect of a cup of coffee that gives people the opportunity to come around. But if you have the famous “caffeine jitters,” there are natural caffeine tablets that you can take if you feel that you need an extra dose of energy. Ultimately, it’s about making sure that you completely understand how much caffeine aids you, rather than hinders you.

Having an Understanding of Your Stress Levels

Stress is something that we believe is just part and parcel of the modern world. What we have to remember is that stress is something that will have an impact on our energy levels too. Lots of people struggle to go to sleep and then they wake up in the middle of the night completely alert but they then reach for that cup of coffee mid-morning because they are in desperate need of some energy fix. 

What we have to look at is how our stress levels are impacting our energy. If you have a lot of stress in your life and you feel there’s a lot to think about, you need to consider how to tackle those stress levels. If we are feeling exhausted because of something like our job or a component that we believe we can do nothing about, we have to do something about it. You could also address how you handle stress. Stress management is something we can all benefit from in our daily lives. We can all feel wired for stress because of the structure of our day, but we need to break down stress into three different areas:

  • Short-term stress, which will give you more motivation.  
  • Medium-term stress can be overcome by slowly exposing yourself to the stress response, for example by having a cold shower that you can eventually relax into over time.
  • Long-term stress is about those overarching components of your life that you need to look at closely. For example, if you don’t have much of a social life or a sense of meaning.

Overall, managing stress is one of the keys to having control over our energy levels. You might see someone in your life that has boundless enthusiasm and energy, and as much as you wish you could be like that (or find it eternally annoying), happier people aren’t going to have their energy levels zapped in the same way.

Eating the Right Things

We can’t discuss energy without talking about the foods we consume. So many people have a relationship with food that is, for the most part, unhealthy. This can be partly attributed to the abundance of unhealthy things around us. One of the most important tricks is to ensure that you are eating minimally processed foods. Lots of people rely on carbohydrates as a way to gain energy, but as we all know to an extent, if you consume refined carbohydrates you will experience that energy slump later on. 

Foods with low glycemic indexes, such as protein and fat sources, will stimulate that slow-burn energy. Your body is a furnace that burns calories, and if you overload the system with too much unhealthy stuff, it will take longer to process and therefore will give you a far more sluggish engine. However, depending on your BMI, you may need more carbohydrates, especially if you feel stressed because this will deplete your energy. You should look at the best ways to eat for energy for you. We are all different and therefore if we can eat for energy in the right ways that suit us this will give us a far better and more thriving internal combustion engine.

The Importance of Hydration

This is another very simple thing but if there is one component of our existence that we should focus on, it’s our levels of hydration. Being hydrated properly means that you can carry nutrients around your body and it will result in much better quality energy. The right level of hydration will completely depend on your exertion. 

There are tools that we can use here to help us be more hydrated, for example, the Galpin equation, which is a method for calculating how much fluid we should be consuming to stay hydrated. It’s not about gulping litre after litre of water but ensuring that we sip little and often throughout the day. You can also get some of your hydration from foods such as vegetables and even meat.

Address Your Working Habits  

Finally, if you want to have more energy the solution could easily stem from your working life. We all feel like there are great burdens upon us, whether it’s through duties as a parent, the jobs we have, or a combination of so many things that we feel tired and strung out all of the time. When we feel low in energy, we’ve got to address the fact that it’s not just about how our fuel tank is working but it’s about fatigue. 

Fatigue comes in many forms and it’s not the same thing as feeling drowsy. There is a relatively new term called hyper fatigue, which is the feeling of being pulled in different directions and is easily worsened by our social media use, in addition to our obligations in life. Lots of people refuse to look at the news because they know it brings them down and in a post-pandemic world where there are still numerous pressures, it’s worth addressing if you are experiencing hyper fatigue.

Balancing Fuel and Functionality for Optimal Energy Levels

Improving your energy levels properly is about taking a comprehensive approach to ensure you have the right fuel in your tank, but also making sure that your tank is working as it should.