5 Top Ways to Increase Energy
Check Your Diet
Eating a diet high in processed foods such as sugar, refined white flour, vegetable oil, soy oil, canola oil or corn oil will create inflammation in the body. The body’s energy reserves are depleted with these types of foods as they harm our very crucial energy creators in every cell – our mitochondria. When they are harmed, we feel tired and much more. The body undergoes stress as it tries to cope with the release of inflammatory cytokines.
Eating a diet high that is nutrient rich is key to enhancing your energy creators, the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the tiny organelles in most every cell, that without which, we would not be alive. This is why eating to ensure they are strong and healthy means you’ll have energy to burn.
Foods to add to your diet to increase mitochondrial health include:
- Protein
- Omega 3s from wild-caught fish, grass-fed meat, nuts (especially walnuts), seeds and egg yolks
- Healthy Fats from fatty fish, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil and butter or ghee
- CoQ10 from organ meats, eggs, fatty fish, olive oil
Control Stress
Chronic stress-induced emotions consume huge amounts of energy. However, stressors that come and go allows our body to regain balance. Daily, chronic stress is potentially harmful because your mind and body are on high alert (fight/flight) for too long and they don’t return to a state of homeostasis or balance frequently enough. You’re not able to recover from the assault of the stress hormones. Over time, too much of the stress response can steal precious energy leading to helath conditions such as:
- Reduced Immune Response
- Headaches
- Insomnia
- Panic Attacks
- Digestive Conditions
- High Blood Pressure
- Heart Disease
- Depression
- Faster Aging
Proactively practice stress reduction activities such as deep breathing, meditation, tai chi, reading a book, yoga and more. Any of these choices will help to protect you from the health ravages of stress and keep your energy levels high.
Move Your Body
Exercise boosts energy in multiple ways. Exercise or any movement that gets the heart rate up and the blood flowing is going to raise your energy level. Exercise also promotes a strong heart so that it takes less energy to complete any task and this means more energy for you. Moving your body also plays an important part in boosting neurotransmitters such as endorphins, dopamine or serotonin that actually are the things that make us perform, make us move. In contrast, not moving creates less energy and therefore a lack of motivation to move.
Exercise also improves sleep – a core component to our energy and quality of health. Research shows that those who suffer from insomnia and exercise show significantly better sleep and sharper focus.
Drink Up!
When we are mildly dehydrated, cellular function slows down and so does everything else in our body. This is why when we chronically do not have enough water to drink, we tend to gain weight as our metabolism slows, we feel tired, we lose focus, and much more.
Drinking water is essential for optimal health and energy. Remember to drink water immediately upon awaking in the morning as you are mildly dehydrated – this will give you a wonderful burst of energy.
CBD
Many people mistakenly believe that CBD reduces energy levels and acts as a relaxant. This is mainly due to the effects of marijuana that contains THC the psychoactive component many have heard about. CBD itself, however, is non-psychoactive and contains loads of therapeutic benefits for energy and sleep alike.
CBD works by interacting with our bodies endocannabinoid system (ECS), a series of receptors in our body that help create balance and perform other functions, such as: appetite, memory, sleep, mood and perception of pain and more. CBD has a dual effect depending on the time of day it is administered. Because it helps regulate the body’s sleep/wake cycles, it can help to promote wakefulness, energy during daytime and relaxation at night.
CBD is able to give energy levels a boost by strengthening body cells that are responsible for making you feel sleepy and sluggish. It can help to reignite your focus and mental clarity, allowing you to think a lot clearer soon after taking it. CBD works to increase focus by increasing serotonin levels in the brain
If you are feeling sluggish, rundown or low on energy, CBD can help!