10 STEPS TO REVITALISE YOUR LIFE
REVITALISE
By HARALD GAIER.
Your energy levels are essential to how you feel – when you are feeling full of energy you’ll also be feeling good. A lack of energy will probably leave you feeling down in the dumps. So if you want to feel great – then its time to energise your life!
Here are ten top tips to put that spring back in your step and re-energising your life.
1. Water: Being dehydrated can sap your energy, even slight dehydration of 1 or 2 % of your body weight can make you feel tired. If you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.
2. Yoga: Instead of the usual cup of coffee in the morning why not try a 10-15 minute yoga routine. Yoga is an ancient art that allows you to exercise every muscle in your body. It helps supply greater amounts of oxygen to your blood, which speeds up your metabolism as well as increasing the energy levels in your body. Yoga is a great way to wake your body up and gives you that much needed burst of energy.
3. Keep the weight off: Obesity is a growing concern within the UK with nearly half the population being obese. Often this can be the cause for a lack of energy, as people don’t realise how much extra weight they have to carry around on a daily basis. This excess weight can slow you down and leave you feeling drained and tired.
4. It’s good to nibble: It’s important to maintain a normal blood sugar level, in order to do this you should eat every few hours. This will help you maintain muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat tissue, whilst putting the much needed skip in your step. But don’t overdo it. Overeating can be just as bad as starvation.
5. Embrace carbohydrates: Carbohydrates is considered a dirty word these days, however we need them if we are to function. They provide us with the much-needed energy to power us through the day. Eating fibre filled fresh fruits such as strawberries is a good way to allow the carbohydrates you eat to release their energy slowly into your body, allowing you the fuel you need to go all day.
6. Sleep: The body requires 8 hours sleep in order to fully rejuvenate itself. Most people only get between 5-6 hours sleep, which means that your body isn’t fully alert and therefore is lacking in energy.
7. Avoid quick fixes: Many people believe that when they are tired they should eat a sugary snack in order to give them a much-needed boost, however this isn’t the case. The body will waste copious amounts of energy turning the sugar in the snack into energy to use in your body. It will only give you a boost for a short while, but will inevitably leave you more drained as it imbalances your blood sugar. The best things to snack on are fresh fruit or whole grain products.
8. Exercise: A good way to become energised is to keep yourself active. Exercise gets your heart pumping and increases your metabolism, but more importantly it releases endorphins. This means that the same happy sensation you get when you eat chocolate or hug someone, you get whilst exercising. For this reason your brain begins to crave it more.
9. Detox: Throughout our daily life we ingest things that pollute our bodies. These are called toxins and they can make us ill, depressed, lethargic and bloated. It is good to flush these toxins out of our bodies every so often. There are many detoxification diets available however certain fruits such as cranberries and pomegranates are a good way to flush the bad toxins out.
10. Laugh: The ability to laugh is undoubtedly the best energiser. Laughter generates chemicals in the blood that boost well-being. Laughter gives an over-all feeling of relief. Try to indulge in a good, hearty laugh every day, and enjoy the boost of energy it gives you.
About the author:
Dr Harald Gaier is a naturopathic physician based on Harley Street. Dr Gaier has nearly four decades of clinical experience and writes for several of today’s leading alternative medicine publications. For more information see: www.drgaier.com
For more interviews with Dr Gaier listen to PASSION for the PLANET radio or listen on-demand at PASSION for FRESH IDEAS