There are some nights where I go to bed early only to wake up just as sleepy! According to this article from Women’s Health the problem is that even though we’re getting the 8 hours of required sleep, we’re not actually getting the deep sleep that is needed!
Here are some tips to sleeping well so that you’re waking up with more energy!
1- Skip the Nightcap
“Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, but once your body begins to remove it from your system, it acts as a stimulant,” says Donna Arand, Ph.D., clinical director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Kettering Medical Center in Kettering, Ohio. “Four or five hours after your last drink, you’ll wake up, and it will be hard to fall back to sleep.” So instead of reaching for a glass of pinot noir, start a nighttime ritual that actually promotes sleep: Take a warm shower (when you step out, your body begins to cool off, a process it goes through before sleep) or sip a cup of decaf chamomile tea.
2- Breathe Easier
If you’re one of the 12 million Americans with sleep apnea, you’re about 80 percent more likely to feel sluggish during the day, no matter how many hours you sleep, Ojile says. The condition occurs when the soft tissue at the back of your throat blocks your airway during sleep, stopping your breathing and waking you up as many as hundreds of times a night. “Imagine how exhausted you’d feel if someone were constantly poking you awake,” Ojile says. “Apnea deprives your brain of oxygen, increases your heart rate, and saps your energy levels.”
3- Reschedule Your Sweat Sessions
Exercise will help improve the quality of your sleep—if you time it right. Working out late in the day can actually leave you staring at the ceiling in bed, since it can take three to four hours for your body to cool itself afterward. “When your core body temperature is too high and your heart rate is too fast, it can keep you awake,” Ojile says. It’s better to exercise at least four hours before bedtime. Better yet, hit the gym in the morning or at lunch—you’ll feel the energy-boosting effects for hours.
What you eat, everything from your meals to snacks, can have a huge effect on how your day goes. Here are some tips from Men’s Health Magazine to eat and sip your way to a successful day!
Breakfast
Eat This: Bacon or ham and fried eggs (Protein that will leave you feeling satisfied)
Benefit 1: Fullness and energy
Benefit 2: Relaxed blood vessel (i.e. lower blood pressure)
Not That: Pancakes, or a bagel with cream cheese
These carbohydrate-loaded options will send your blood glucose skyward and then crash! Leaving you hungry too soon.
Extra tip: Eat now at home, not later on the road.
A University of Massachusetts study found that eating breakfast out instead of at home more than doubles your odds of obesity.
Dealing with Stress:
Try This: Chewing gum
Benefit: Stress relief
Not That: Coffee
Caffeine can trigger a spike in the stress hormone cortisol.
Having Trouble Concentrating at Work
Drink This: Peppermint tea
Periodic whiffs of peppermint increase people’s concentration and performance on tasks requiring sustained attention.
Not That: Soda
Sugary drinks have proven to make people drowsy
Lunchtime
Eat This: Grilled salmon
Benefit: Alertness
Add This: Spinach or arugula salad
Benefit: Improved mood and memory
Not That: Tea with milk (Mixing milk (protein) with tea cancels out the health benefits)
Continue to complete your perfect day of eating menu.
Wouldn’t your day seem so much easier if you didn’t have to deal with fatigue?! Here are some tips from Mens Health to energy that will last all day long!
7 a.m.: The Morning Fog
Fill it up. Make your morning meal a bowl of instant oatmeal prepared with skim milk. Tufts University researchers recently found that people who ate one packet of instant oatmeal spiked with 1/2 cup of skim milk received a steady glucose infusion, which increased their alertness all morning and improved their ability to process information. And if you aren’t already jolting yourself with java, start; a University of Pennsylvania study shows that a dose of caffeine can combat sleep inertia.
1 p.m.: The Lunchtime Letdown
Order a combo meal. If you can’t (or won’t) limit your lunchtime carbohydrate consumption, work in extra fiber to slow your digestion and the release of insulin, says Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., owner of the consulting firm High Performance Nutrition. For example, if your noon nosh includes a baked potato, make sure you eat the skin, which is dense with a type of fiber called pectin. “Pectin slows everything down in the gastrointestinal tract,” says Kleiner.
3 p.m.: The Afternoon Slump
Expose yourself. As in, give yourself a shot of sunlight. The sun’s rays will provide a boost to your circadian clock that should solve your afternoon slump—if you time things right. “The key is adequate exposure to sunlight very quickly after you wake up in the morning,” says Michael Terman, Ph.D., a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University medical center. “As you move into the middle of the day, the same amount of light exposure doesn’t affect the circadian clock at all.”
6 p.m.: The Preworkout Conk-Out
Snack before you sweat. Schedule a small snack roughly an hour and a half before your postwork workout. The ideal mini meal totals 250 calories and consists of 25 to 35 grams (g) carbohydrates, 10 to 15 g protein, and up to 5 g fat, says Kleiner. Two handfuls of pretzels and two slices of cheese fits the nutritional bill, as does a Myoplex Lite bar.
8 p.m.: The Prime-Time Torpor
Rock yourself awake. First, do not stretch out on the couch or recline in your easy chair. “Underlying sleepiness becomes more apparent when we put ourselves in sleep-conducive positions, such as lying down,” says Wright. And instead of turning on the TV, power up your iPod. “To increase the perception of energy, listen to a piece of music that is upbeat and familiar, and use that song to get you going,” says Andrea Scheve, director of the University of Pittsburgh medical center music-therapy program.
Shut It Off
It would be funny if it weren’t so frustrating: You spend the entire day fighting fatigue, only to slip into bed, shut your eyes, and suddenly realize that you now have too much energy. This is due to doing too many other activities, other than sleeping, in your bed. Which means the fix is what sleep researchers have recommended all along: no books, no Leno, and definitely no laptop when you’re under the covers. Sex is fine—it is, after all, nature’s perfect sleep aid.
According to Mens Health
According to experts their are 14 reasons that you may be feeling drained. Here are the main culprits from Fitness.com
- You Don’t Exercise
- You’re an Irregular Sleeper
- You’re Taking New Pills
- Your Bedroom Isn’t Dark
- You’re Dehydrated
- You Slouch
- You’re Itchy
- You’ve Got a Major Sweet Tooth
- You’re Under Pressure
- You Drink Coffee or Soda
- You Snore
- You’re Iron Deficient
- You’re Lonely
- You’re Depressed
A get-up and go mentality in the morning not only gets your metabolism going, but it also will provide you with the amount of energy that you’ll need for the rest of your day. Earlier mornings do not mean that you’ll be tired all day.
Here are some tips to becoming a morning person…even without the coffee.
1. Cue Energy with Color
Wake up your senses with bright hues. Add a hot pink pillow or tangerine throw rug to your room to get your adrenaline going.
2. Wake Up and See the Roses
According to research from Harvard, seeing flowers first thing in the a.m.gave women a mood lift and energy boost that lasted all day.
3. Stop Hitting the Snooze Button
Your brain knows that when you hit the snooze button there’s not enough time to rest so you actually will end up feeling more tired than if you would have awoken the first time your alarm sounded.
4. Picture the Day Ahead
Before you get out of bed close your eyes and picture your day ahead. This awakens the part of the brain you’re about to use and gives you a positive energy.
5. Drink Instant Energy
Drink a glass of water a.s.a.p. so that you replenish the loss of fluids in your body.
6. Let the Sunshine In
The sunshine wakes you up, so start your day in its rays.
7. Give Yourself a Face Rub
Starting at your forehead and working down to your chin, lightly flutter tap or drum your fingertips, varying the velocity, intensity, and location until you’ve touched your entire face. Bonus: These moves give you a quick healthy glow.
8. Have a Romp in the Hay
Must we explain?
According toPrevtion.com
One is good, but two are better when working towards your health.
Use these combinations to reach each goal faster and reap the promised health benefits sooner.
1. Protect your heart
Green Tea + Lemon
2. Boost brainpower
Exercise + Music
3. Rev Immunity
Pot Roast + Carrots
4. Flush Fat
Burger + Frozen Yogurt
5. Save Your Eyesight
Salad + Avocado
6. Build Muscle
Weights + Stretching
7. Avoid metabolic syndrome
Meditteranean diet + nuts
8. Fight Fatigue
Eggs + Orange Juice
9. Bolster your memory
Curcumin + Black Pepper
10. Sidestep skin cancer
Caffeine + Cardio
According to Sympatico.ca
Did you know that feeling the burn and sweating can make you happier, healthier and more energetic?!
Not only will getting fit improve your health, but it will improve your lifestyle as well.
Continue reading to find out all the benefits of working out.
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