The Best Energy Guide: When You Feel More Than Tired
Exhaustion is the feeling of being more than tired, where you can strongly feel a lack of energy and lethargy even after rest. It may be the case that you’re feeling more than tired because of psychological or physical fatigue. In most cases, exhaustion is associated with your routines or habits. It might be a response to poor dietary habits, physical exertion, boredom, stress, or a lack of sound sleep.
However, it might also be possible that exhaustion comes as a symptom of a medical problem that demands a thorough clinical treatment. When sleep, nutrition, and mental peace simply fail to resolve the problem at hand, it gets important to check the case with a doctor.
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Tips to Stop Feeling More than Tired
If you want to know how to boost your energy and stop feeling lethargic, then you should first realize the underlying factor that causes it. It might be possible that you have a poor sleep-wake cycle, for example. So, targeting that very cause can significantly increase your energy levels.
Eat Small Frequent Meals
One of the best ways to keep your energy levels high in the day is to take meals regularly. Three main meals with three snacks in between are the ideal course for the day. Avoid taking a large meal after hours of not eating anything.
Stay Active
Boredom and a sedentary lifestyle make you feel lethargic and unable to keep up with the physical and mental energy demands of the day. On the other hand, exercising on a regular basis will help you feel less fatigued and more energetic. Even if you walk for 15 minutes a day, you will feel an extensive energy boost. You can also improve it by increasing your time of physical activity.
For starters, be gradual and build your routine up over the course of weeks until you get to the target goal of 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week.
Lose Some Fat
Overweight and obese people usually get exhausted more easily than people of normal weight. It is because excess fat adds strain to your heart that leaves you feeling lethargic. So, if you want to get more energetic, try losing some fat. You can take a calorie-deficit diet and do a physical workout to become more active by the day.
Improve Sleep Hygiene
Most people of today’s world have poor sleep quality, which decreases their energy levels during the day. It is recommended to sleep for at least 6 to 7 hours a day without waking up in between. Also, make sure you are in a relaxed environment, so you get the REM sleep that you need. Make sure to keep your bed timings constant and don’t take naps in the daytime. Switch off your devices before you go to bed.
Cope with Stress Better
Stress takes up a lot of your energy. You should introduce some techniques for relaxation in order to get rid of the stress. For example, you can work out in a gym. You can also include specific techniques such as yoga, tai chi, mindfulness, and meditation. On the other hand, you can simply listen to some relaxing music or read a book. Spend time with your friends to feel better, literally whatever makes you feel relaxed.
Go For Individual Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy are some counseling therapies that a professional on mental health uses to help you feel better. By working on your mood, anxiety, stress, and depression, you can feel a boost in your mental health, and the feeling of being more than tired will reduce to a significant extent.
Reduce Caffeine Intake
While many people love to have a cup of coffee for a burst of energy first thing in the morning, caffeine on the scientific level does the opposite. It can make your lethargy worse. However, if you are addicted to caffeine or simply cannot start your day, then work on cutting it off gradually over a period of three weeks.
Cut off all sources of caffeine, including cola, energy drinks, caffeine, herbal remedies containing caffeine, and NSAIDs with caffeine in it. Go for a month without caffeine. You might find that cutting off the consumption of caffeine might give you a headache. So, it is best to go slowly in cutting it off in order to avoid caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol can really mess up your system, leaving effects such as drowsiness and dehydration to even liver failure. An alcohol hangover severely leaves you feeling tired and drained and is a result of sleeping after drinking alcohol. Simply cut it off, and if you can’t stick to only one to two glasses per day.
Try staying alcohol-free for some days and have alternatives, such as alcohol-free beers.
Stay Hydrated
Hydration really helps you stay fresh and active for the day. If you are dehydrated mildly, you might feel less active than normal.
So, always focus on drinking at least eight glasses of water a day and make sure to get enough electrolytes.
Start first thing in the morning, get a glass of water in with some electrolytes before coffee.
Water with lemon is one easy way of getting electrolytes (minerals) in your water.
Do it especially after you have your workout routine done.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
After hours of fasting, you need to consume breakfast first thing in the morning. It will give you the energy you need during the first hours to stay fresh and productive.
Your blood sugar can drop, which your energy is dramatically associated with your blood sugar, in addition to vitamin deficiency.
Make sure to add protein, carbs, and fats to your breakfast to get a balanced proportion for the day.
Also, make sure you don’t go for long hours without food; otherwise, there will be a drop in your blood glucose levels.
So, try eating regularly and maintain energy levels during the day.
Eat Healthy
Include all healthy and natural items such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and seeds in your diet.
Don’t go for processed and sugary foods as they keep you feeling lethargic. They are low in nutrients and can have energy sucking ingredients.
There will be a temporary high, following which there will be a low that leaves you to feel more than tired.
Also, include some high iron foods such as animal meat, eggs, and liver in your diet, so you don’t get anemia. Anemia can cause you to feel exhausted even if you stay physically active throughout the day.
Utilize Relaxation Techniques
Insomnia also causes you to stay agitated and sick most of the time. You can apply different techniques for relaxation and learn how to relax.
It will help you to feel more energetic during the day.
You can go for repeating a mantra, focus on how you breathe, or simply imagine a relaxing scene in your head.
Stay away from your phone, it can drain your energy.
Seek Treatment for Addiction
Addiction of any kind can make you feel more tired than usual. For example, recreational drugs and alcohol contribute to lethargy.
What’s more, cigarettes contain many harmful ingredients in them. Carbon monoxide reduces oxygen levels in the blood that causes smokers to feel lethargic. It is because, in order to metabolize glucose to get energy, you require oxygen, the deficiency of which leads to fatigue.
Workaholics are also prone to developing problems of lethargy as burnouts are common.
Also, conflict at work, as well as high demand of productivity throughout working hours, leads to excess drain in energy.
Seek Treatment for Chronic Disorders
Chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes can leave you feeling agitated. So, it is best to seek enough treatment for these disorders in order to control symptoms and feel less tired.
Talk to your doctor about the side effects of the medications used and get a multi-approach treatment for your condition.
It will help you to manage your symptoms accordingly. A doctor might check your adrenal or thyroid glands and give you the treatment accordingly. You can also work towards improving your adrenal health.
Look for Loopholes in Your Routine
Psychologically speaking, it is highly important to take a look at your routine and see the possible habits you seem to have that may contribute to your exhaustion.
Also, see if there is any current situation or issue in your life that is contributing to stress and fatigue. So, seeking medical help might help you in different ways.
Learn Doing Nothing
Some people are wired to do work and feel the constant need in them to stay productive. It can arise from feelings of low self-esteem or the fear of losing time for achieving something and getting behind.
It is only going to harm you in the end as you constantly feel lethargy and pressure. So, make sure you have a few hours in the week to just focus on yourself and relax. Also, make sure to re-analyze your priorities and make necessary changes.
Don’t overcommit and consider enough time for yourself to sit back and relax. Laughter and relaxation will help you feel more energetic if overcommitting and overworking is the case.
Final Words
It is never too late to work towards a better life in which you feel energetic and more active. If you feel more than tired, stop and have a look at your lifestyle. Check for relevant symptoms and make changes accordingly. It is never too late.
Originally posted 2021-12-23 18:19:10.
Megan Santiago
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