In our fast-paced world, it’s understandable that we might feel overwhelmed and exhausted at times. And if you find yourself feeling tired all the time, you might assume that you’re simply not getting enough sleep. But, there are lots of other reasons why you might have low energy levels.
From making simple changes to your diet to finding ways to better manage stress and anxiety, here are nine ways to help beat tiredness.
1. Get a good night’s sleep
Let’s start with the most obvious cause of tiredness: not getting enough sleep.
While the amount of sleep needed varies from person to person, most adults need between seven and nine hours each day to function at their best. But, many people don’t get the right amount of sleep – or, if they do, it isn’t good quality sleep.
Heading to bed too late can be one reason you’re not feeling rested in the morning. Not only does having a late night reduce the number of hours we spend asleep, but it can also affect the quality of sleep.
Sleep is made up of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. REM sleep is lighter and dream-filled, whereas non-REM sleep is deeper and more restorative. The later we go to bed, the more likely we are to have REM sleep, so we might wake up feeling groggy, because the sleep we’ve had hasn’t been long or deep enough.
According to sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan, the hours before midnight are most beneficial for sleeping. But for those who are night owls, forcing yourself to go to sleep at 10pm isn’t usually feasible. A good rule of thumb is to go to bed when you feel sleepy, rather than trying to force yourself to stay up.
Sometimes, just being aware that going to bed earlier is beneficial can be enough to help you embrace the idea of an early night. It’s also helpful to go to bed at the same time every night – and, even if you’re really tired during the day, try to avoid naps, as they can make it more difficult to fall asleep later.
If you struggle to get to sleep or would like to find out more about how you can get a good night’s sleep, have a read of our eight tips or visit the sleep and fatigue section of our website. You might also find it helpful to sign up for the Sleep Better Clinic running on Rest Less Events.
2. Eat a healthy, balanced diet
What we eat has a knock-on effect on how we feel and our energy levels. When we’re tired, many of us crave a sugar hit or reach for comfort foods. While these may give you a brief energy boost, this soon wears off and can make you feel more sluggish later in the day.
Some of the best foods we can eat to improve our energy levels are whole plant foods and slow-release, unrefined carbs – this means plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
These foods are packed with antioxidants which can help to decrease inflammation, and their fibre content promotes healthy digestion, which can further aid sleep.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic fatigue are strongly linked, so adding fermented foods (like miso, yoghurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut) to your diet can be beneficial for your gut, and therefore your energy levels. Fermented foods improve the health of your digestive tract and may help to prevent and manage IBS.
For more information, you might like to read our article; 12 energy-boosting foods and drinks.
3. Drink plenty of water
Dehydration can affect sleep quality by causing your mouth and nose to dry out. This can lead to snoring and hoarseness, making us feel tired and less alert the next day.
This study found that people who decreased the amount of water they drank reported increased feelings of fatigue and lethargy. They also reported feeling less calm, satisfied, and positive – all of which can further impact the ability to have a good night’s sleep.
So, to keep your body running at its best and make sure your sleep isn’t affected, it’s important to stay properly hydrated. According to NHS guidelines, we should try to drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day.
If you think you need to drink more water, you might like to consider buying a motivational water bottle which has markings on to track how much you drink throughout the day and remind you when it’s time to take another sip.
You may also find our articles, 10 tips for staying hydrated and why it’s important and 9 healthy and hydrating alternatives to water, useful.
4. Find ways to manage stress
When we’re tired, it’s normal to focus on potential physical causes – but psychological factors can have a significant impact on our energy levels too.
Chronic stress can cause fatigue, but even stress on a smaller-scale can rob us of the mental and physical energy needed to comfortably get through the day. This is because, generally speaking, the more stressed we feel, the more energy we use. And stress hormones can harm our sleep patterns too.
Of course, reducing stress is easier said than done, but it’s important to weave relaxing activities into your day and make doing them a priority, however busy you might be.
Mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga are some of the best ways to reduce stress, but other activities like journaling, going for a walk, taking a bath, or simply speaking to friends can all make a difference. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, you might want to join a meditation workshop or attend some of the health and wellbeing classes over on Rest Less Events.
Try to remember that taking care of your mental health is just as important as your physical health. To learn more about the different ways you can prioritise your mental health, check out the healthy mind section of our website.
5. Reduce alcohol consumption
We know that drinking too much alcohol isn’t good for our health – but many of us aren’t aware of just how detrimental it can be to our sleep.
Alcohol is a toxin that the body works hard to expel, and this can affect the quality of our sleep – particularly if we’re dehydrated.
Many people believe that alcohol actually encourages and supports sleep, especially as having a nightcap before bed is a popular ritual for many. But, even though alcohol may sometimes help you fall asleep, you won’t sleep as deeply and can still wake up feeling groggy – even if you slept for eight hours.
Those who really enjoy an evening whisky or glass of wine don’t have to cut out alcohol entirely, but it’s best to have several alcohol-free days every week. When you do drink, aim to drink in moderation, and try not to drink just before bedtime.
NHS guidelines recommend that men and women shouldn’t drink more than 14 units a week. To find out more, and to calculate your own units, have a read of this NHS advice. There’s further advice and alternatives to try in our article; How to make healthier drinks choices.
6. Make exercise a habit
The benefits of exercise are widely known. But when we’re tired, exercising is often the last thing we feel like doing. Studies show that doing regular exercise can reduce symptoms of tiredness, improve sleep quality, and release endorphins that naturally boost our energy levels.
The NHS recommends doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. We should also try to do muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week to build strength and balance. For exercise inspiration, head over to the fitness and exercise section of our website.
If you spend a lot of time sitting, getting up and moving around more frequently can also have a positive effect on your energy levels. You might have to sit at a desk for work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to include short bursts of activity into your day. This could be as simple as going for a quick lunchtime walk or taking the stairs instead of the lift.
Even small changes to your lifestyle and daily routine, like parking your car further away or walking to the local shops instead of driving, can be good ways to get moving and raise your energy levels.
You can find more tips in our articles; 17 creative ways to increase your daily step count and 12 rewarding activities to do while walking. You might also like to consider joining Rest Less Events, where you can find fitness classes such as Pilates, DISCOaerobics, and early morning stretching.
7. Increase your iron intake
Iron deficiency (anaemia) is a common cause of fatigue and tiredness. When your iron levels are low, levels of haemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen) drop too, which makes it more difficult for oxygen to travel to your tissues and muscles.
Anaemia also harms your immune system and can increase your risk of becoming ill or developing an infection, which can make you more tired. Anaemia is more commonly seen in women than in men, but anyone can be affected.
Luckily, anaemia is usually simple to treat. Your doctor may recommend that you take an iron supplement and/or eat plenty of iron-rich foods.
Iron-rich foods include leafy green vegetables, fortified cereals and bread, beans, peas, lentils, meat and liver, nuts, and whole grains. You can read more about this in our article; Iron: what it is, why it’s important, and how to make sure you’re getting enough in your diet.
Note: Eating iron-rich foods is something all of us should do, but before you begin taking an iron supplement, you should speak to a GP and get your iron levels tested.
8. Cut down on caffeine
While drinking more fluids can help beat tiredness, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re drinking. If you drink lots of coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, or energy drinks, you may want to try lowering your caffeine intake or consider cutting it out entirely, because caffeine can impact sleep.
It’s usually best to reduce your caffeine intake gradually because sudden withdrawal can cause headaches and affect mood.
You may initially feel more tired without caffeine, but it’s important to remember that caffeine is only a short-term fix to tiredness. Once it’s eliminated from the body, you can experience a caffeine crash and feel even more tired than before. When this happens, it’s easy to fall into a caffeine-fueled cycle of tiredness. So, reducing your intake can help you to gain more energy in the long-term.
If you like having hot drinks, you might want to try caffeine-free herbal teas (like peppermint, lemon, or ginger), fruit teas, or Rooibos tea – or you can drink decaffeinated tea and coffee. You can learn more in our article; The health benefits of 9 different types of tea.
If you really love your morning coffee, you don’t have to cut it out entirely, but you could consider only having one or two caffeinated drinks a day. To make sure you’re able to properly wind down in the evening, it’s also helpful to avoid drinking caffeine from mid-afternoon onwards.
9. Eat smaller, more frequent meals
Most of us have experienced a slump shortly after eating a big meal, and one effective way of keeping our energy levels high is to eat smaller meals.
If you’re worried that this will mean you’ll be hungry, the good news is that eating smaller portions means you’re able to eat more regularly.
Eating smaller meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours means that your blood sugar levels remain stable, making it less likely that you’ll experience an energy slump.
When we go a long time in between meals, we can sometimes get intense cravings for sugary foods, so eating every three to four hours also means you’ll be less likely to eat junk food, and then experience the subsequent sugar slump.
Healthy snacks that release energy slowly include things like bananas, apple with peanut butter, avocados, or almonds. For more inspiration, why not try making one of these quick and healthy snacks?
Final thoughts…
When you’re feeling tired, not getting enough sleep may seem the obvious culprit, but there are a number of contributing factors. Sometimes, a simple change to your routine or diet can be the best way to increase your energy levels.
That said, chronic tiredness can sometimes be a symptom of an underlying health problem – so, if you’re concerned, or if your tiredness has persisted for a while, it’s important to make an appointment with your GP.
Generally, taking steps to look after your overall health, eat well, and exercise regularly can have a profound effect on beating tiredness – and, as an added benefit, they can often have a positive effect on mood too.
For more advice on boosting energy levels, why not check out the sleep and fatigue and general health section of our website?
Have you struggled with feelings of tiredness recently – or have you made any changes to your lifestyle that have given you an extra boost? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
