Do you ever find it difficult to get up and get going in the morning? Do you dream about your bed during a mid afternoon slump? Do you suffer from fatigue, brain fog or just generally feel like crap? You’re not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common complaints that I’ve come across from friends, family, colleagues and client’s.
We all get low energy from time to time. But, if you find it’s a persistent problem then you may be looking for ways to make a change. The cause could be many things, ask yourself if any of the following apply to you:
- High levels of negativity or stress in your life
- Busy schedule
- Not enough sleep
- Poor diet or nutritional deficiencies
- Inflammation or infection
- Gut or hormonal imbalances
- Not moving enough
- Environmental toxins
Any of these reasons can play a part in depriving you of your feelings of wellbeing and vitality.
Timeline It
To start the journey to bring your energy levels up again, ask yourself when your symptoms began. Is there a specific change in your that could have triggered it? If you track back to when it started and what the possible cause could be, this will help you on your way to fixing the root cause. Did you move home or start a new job? Did you change your diet? Did any particular trauma occur or did your life change dramatically in some way? Did you have a child?
The diet and lifestyle that you had earlier in life may no longer be suitable as time progresses. Sometimes a trigger in life can cause a weak link in your health to break, bringing on new symptoms.
Mitochondrial Friends
In order to further expand on this topic, let me introduce you to our little energy producing friends, the mitochondria.
Within our cells live tiny organelles called mitochondria which are responsible for taking the food we eat and converting it into energy.
Unfortunately these little guys can become naturally damaged over time as converting food into energy causes small amounts of free radical damage (a natural bi product when oxygen is present either in our cells, or in the air – this is why rusting occurs or browning of an apple). With an unhealthy diet, stress or poor lifestyle this damage accelerates. So what happens when our little energy makers become damaged? They don’t produce enough energy for us, leading to fatigue and a head-in-hands situation!
How To Begin To Get Over It
- Eat whole nutritious foods that fuel your mitochondria. These include fruits and vegetables, lentils, beans, legumes, animal proteins and healthy fats from avocados, nuts and seeds.
- Avoid stimulants. They feel like they’re helping but they may be draining your natural energy levels instead. If cutting them out is unrealistic, try reducing instead, every little helps!
- Move more. Mitochondria multiply in size and number when you exercise either through light aerobic exercise or high intensity cardio and weight training. Try to exercise at least 3 times per week, 30 minutes each. Also aim to move more during your daily routine such as taking a walk during your lunch break, jumping jacks whilst waiting for the kettle to boil or doing press-ups during the television adverts!
- Get enough sleep. Studies completed on participants who slept 5 hours or less per night showed a decrease in cognitive ability and increased likelihood to choose unhealthy foods. Aim for approximately 7 hours or more to ensure full recovery. If this isn’t possible try to schedule in nap time during the day.
- Avoid processed and sugary foods. These can damage your mitochondria and therefore reduce your energy output. Sugary and refined carbohydrates, like flour based foods, also cause your blood sugar levels to sky rocket and then crash leading to an energy lull.
- Consult a health professional who can look at your timeline of symptoms, connect the dots and help you find a solution. Nutritional Therapists or a similar professional can help with these types of cases.
