10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Power Up Your Energy Levels
“The energy of the mind is the essence of life” – Aristole
Energy oozes confidence, health and vitality, success, and has this underlying likability to it. When someone speaks to you with passion and enthusiasm, it completely outshines those speaking in monotone and the drone of tiredness. I know this from personal experience with certain lecturers at university (whom I hope aren’t reading this newsletter today..)
The point is, imagine what you could achieve in your day if your energy was dialled in? Imagine what your life would look like in a year, in a decade, or even further down the line? If you had the energy to get that workout in at lunch time. If you had the energy to connect with your kids after a hard day at work. If you had the energy to put that extra effort in with your partner instead of lying on the couch lifeless in front of the TV.
Our energy output is a reflection of the inputs we expose ourselves to. Whether through relationships, what we eat and drink, movement (or lack thereof), our ability to switch off to rest, and the amount of digital stimulus that pours through our nervous system keeping us wired in a sympathetic fight or flight state.
Many of our practice members find they become more in-tune with their mind and body throughout their healing journey. This might be mindfulness of posture, keeping tabs on what they’re eating, leaning into tools for regulating the nervous system like breathe work, prioritising rest and not to forget regular chiropractic adjustments. What we measure we improve. If you’re blind to what’s contributing to your energy deficiencies in your life, it’s hard to plug the holes. The bucket analogy is a great one. To keep the energy (or health) bucket full, you not only need to fill it up with the good stuff, but also make an attempt to plug the holes of the things draining your energy in the first place. Our team has come up with some simple tips to help boost your energy this month below. Be sure to share them with someone who needs it.
Start your day EARLY. Energy levels are more sustainable and focus is clearer when your day starts earlier. Give yourself the time to spend 5 minutes breathing and moving. Whether that’s a stretch or a quick walk around the block. Do what you can do to get to bed early, aim for 8 hours of sleep and feel the difference in your day.
Cold exposure. Whether in the shower, an ice bath or even just washing your face with cold water. These all have an effect on the vagus nerve which controls and regulates your parasympathetic division of your nervous system, also known as the rest and digest response. Personally, I choose the cost shower route for about 1-2 minutes per day.. But I always start with hot (because I’m not crazy). As long as you get the shivering response, you will have a positive effect on your rest and digest response, helping to dampen your sympathetic fight or flight response.
Wim Hof Breathing. Also known as hyperoxygenation breathing, it is a great way to ramp up your nervous system providing you with MORE energy.. There have been studies showing benefits to the immune system and vagus nerve function. These two integral systems have far reaching benefits to other parts of the body, so I highly recommend checking out the video below to utilise Wim Hof’s breathing method. Better used in the morning versus before bed as it is super stimulating!
Click here for the Wim Hof Breathing Video Tutorial
Spending time away from people every day, but also spending time with my favourite people every day. Relationships are a vital element in the energy equation. Surround yourself with people you want to be around and cut out the humans in your life that you notice make you feel drained after seeing them. Laughing is a huge part of our health that we take very seriously, so added bonus if the people you love crack regular funnies with you in the name of health!
Hydrate before you Caffeinate. 2 hours after you wake if possible. If you struggle with the post-lunch energy crash, avoiding caffeine early in the AM has a huge impact on the sustainability of your focus into the afternoon. Aim for 2-2.5L of filtered water per day. Hold off that morning coffee, I know you can do it!!
Move that body! My mindset towards exercise has changed drastically over the past few years. I’m in the fortunate position to help many people with issues affecting their mobility and ability to perform regular daily activities. This makes me even more grateful to be in a position every day where I can push my body to its limits. Whether playing sport, in the gym or outside running. Do something you enjoy, make it sustainable, and think about how energised you will be AFTER, not how tough it will be DURING the activity.
If you want to kill two birds with one stone, get outside and move at lunchtime. Sunlight is literally a big energy charger in the sky. Our body has been hardwired throughout evolution to know when it’s time to be awake and time to be asleep. It does this through our circadian rhythm. First thing in the morning, get sunlight (if not, make sure all lights are on nice and bright inside).. At lunchtime? Sunlight. Then turn those lights down at night to stimulate melatonin / sleep hormone release.
Feeling low in mood when you jump into bed at night? A great pattern interrupt for your day is gratitude. This can be very wishy washy, so I want to arm you with a great tool. Journaling – what are three things that went well today? No matter how bad your day, you will always be able to find three things that brightened your day and therefore energised you.
Never ever drink bad wine.. Yes you heard that right. Life’s too short for rubbish wine. If you’re going to do it, do it right! However, if you think you would like to take some time avoiding alcohol, more and more research every year is demonstrating its ill effects on our biology. This is a huge topic which deserves a blog of its own, so instead I recommend reading the book ‘Sober on a Drunk Planet’ by Sean Alexander.
Last but not least – get adjusted regularly. Your central nervous system is like a super computer controlling the function of every other system in your body. When this isn’t optimised and functioning at its full potential, you can’t expect your body to. Our Chiropractors are adjusted twice weekly, and the rest of the team are checked at least once per week. We work in a busy, dynamic environment which demands a lot of us, so we ensure our brain-body connection is clear as can be!
Some of these are common sense, but many of the above are not common in daily living. Make your health a priority. Everything else in your life sits on top of your ability to be healthy. If we lose our health, we lose everything. Get checked, get adjusted and give your life the injection of energy you’ve been needing.
I hope this helps,
Dr Hayes
