For people who feel ‘tired but wired’, these six everyday habits could be zapping their energy levels.
According to registered nutritional therapist Jackie Lynch, everything from not eating enough protein to dehydration and dodging carbohydrates leave people feeling permanently exhausted.
While starting your morning with a dose of caffeine may seem like a logical way to perk you up, Ms Lynch, who is releasing a new book on common energy robbers, argues over-relying on coffee disrupts sleep and interferes with blood-sugar levels, leading to slumps.
Lack of exercise can also rob people of energy by preventing circulation, while overindulging in alcohol makes them wake in the night and feel unrefreshed the next day.
Here, in a piece for Get The Gloss, London-based Ms Lynch talks about the most common reasons people feel tired and how to give their energy levels a much needed boost.
When you are running low on energy and still have a mountain of things to do, it is easy to go for the quick fix of a shot of caffeine, a chocolate bar or a sugary drink just to keep you going. But are you making the smartest choice for long-term energy?
In my book ‘Va Va Voom: the 10-Day Energy Diet’, I explore the different foods that boost your energy, and the energy robbers that leave you tired and drained.
Here are some of the most common energy errors I see in my nutrition clinic with some simple strategies to help you get your energy back on track.
Not eating enough protein
Symptoms:
- Sugar or carbohydrate cravings
- Lack of muscle tone
- Brittle nails
Far too many people only eat a proper portion of protein once a day and women are often especially guilty.
It simply is not enough to have a chicken breast or salmon steak in the evening.
We need protein for lots of crucial functions in the body, but it is particularly important to fill you up and to keep you going during a busy day.
Protein plays an essential role in maintaining blood sugar balance because it helps to slow down the release of carbohydrates in the body, ensuring more sustained energy.
Good sources of protein include meat, fish, eggs, pulses, quinoa, nuts and seeds. Eating a portion of protein with every meal and snack will help balance your blood-sugar levels and avoid those pesky mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy slumps.
People need around a fist-sized protein portion with their meal, for example a chicken breast, eight almonds or 50g of hummus.
Following a low-carbohydrate diet
The symptoms:
- Bloating or wind
- Reduced physical performance/running out of steam
- Poor immune function
Poor old carbohydrates have had a terrible press with the vogue for low-carb diets, however, as the preferred source of rapid energy for the body, carbohydrates are actually a vital source of fuel.
This makes a strict low-carbohydrate diet a real problem for both mental and physical energy.
Our brain is entirely dependent on the glucose found in carbohydrates for energy (unlike the rest of the body it cannot use fat stores) and anyone with a physically demanding job or lifestyle will soon start to struggle on a low-carb diet because they are literally running out of fuel.
Yet, all carbohydrates are not equal and the body will quickly burn through sugary foods or refined versions such as white bread or rice, leading to a blood sugar spike and crash, leaving you back at square one.
To achieve sustained energy, it is best to opt for fibre-rich complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, vegetables and pulses.
Proteins and complex carbohydrates are the dream team when it comes to energy, so aim for a combination of the two with each meal and snack.
Over-relying on caffeine
The symptoms:
- Insomnia or disturbed sleep
- Feeling ‘wired’
- Nervousness or anxiety
Caffeine is a double-edged sword when it comes to energy.
There is no doubt a dose of caffeine can provide a quick energy boost and studies have shown it may also enhance athletic performance. Yet, there can be too much of a good thing and all caffeine’s benefits start to melt away if you keep topping up with it to keep you going throughout the day.
Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that can disrupt sleep, but there are other less obvious ways it depletes energy.
Excessive caffeine activates the insulin response (the hormone that removes sugar from the blood), which can lead to a blood sugar crash and energy slump. Alcohol and nicotine have similar insulin-stimulating effects.
Regular caffeine can also block the absorption of plant sources of iron in the gut, which inhibits the production of haemoglobin and the transportation of oxygen. These our needed by our cells to produce energy.
The daily recommended maximum intake of caffeine is 400mg. A large latte or cappuccino typically contains 200mg; so it is easy to overindulge.
Keep an eye out for surprising sources of caffeine. Green tea contains as much as black tea and if you are drinking several cups throughout the day, this could be depleting your long-term energy.
Energy drinks, colas and even chocolate (dark is usually higher than milk) are other culprits.
Not moving enough
The symptoms:
- Lower back pain
- Constipation
- Sluggishness or lethargy
It may seem counter-intuitive but moderate exercise when you are feeling tired can perk you up.
Exercise improves our circulation, sending oxygen around the body to support energy production in the brain, tissues and muscles.
Regular exercise helps to reduce stress levels, which can rob us of energy, and improves mental energy by releasing ‘feel-good’ chemicals, such as serotonin and endorphins.
Even regular low-impact exercise such as walking can improve energy levels by up to 20 per cent in someone with an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.
While this is a popular time of year for signing up to gym memberships, there is also lots of ‘free’ exercise to be had by using the stairs, walking up escalators, opting to walk instead of taking the car and taking a quick walk at lunchtime instead of eating at your desk.
A brisk 15-minute walk every day can help to relieve sluggishness, however, this should ideally be part of a broader weekly exercise routine. Guidelines advise at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise such as brisk walking or cycling a week.
Dehydration
The symptoms:
- Headaches
- Confusion
- Dry eyes
Our body needs water to support the circulatory system, which delivers nutrients and oxygen around the body so cells can produce energy.
Just two per cent dehydration can significantly affect our physical performance, reducing strength, speed and stamina.
Dehydration also impairs our mental energy as when the brain is starved of water, it results in poor concentration, lack of creativity and confusion.
There is not a fixed amount of water that we should be drinking, as it depends on age, build, level of physical activity and environmental temperatures.
Your water intake should be enough to stop you feeling thirsty over long periods and to ensure your urine is a pale straw colour.
Drinking plenty of water or herbal teas throughout the day is the best way to ensure you are getting all the fluid you need, however, it is worth noting that fruit and vegetables also contain lots of water.
Over-relying on alcohol to unwind
The symptoms:
- Poor quality sleep
- Needing the toilet in the middle of the night
- Weight gain
If you are in the habit of unwinding at the end of the day with a glass or two of wine this could be having a significant impact on your long-term energy levels.
While you may feel that alcohol helps you relax and get to sleep faster, it actually has a sedative effect that disrupts your sleep cycles so you are likely to wake feeling unrefreshed.
Regular alcohol consumption can also affect your energy levels in other ways: it depletes B vitamins, which play a vital role in energy production, as well as the combination of sugar and stimulants in alcohol disrupting blood-sugar levels, setting people up for a blood-sugar crash and energy slump.
Excessive levels of alcohol also keep livers very busy with the detoxification process, which distracts the organs from the important business of energy metabolism.
Opting for at least three consecutive alcohol-free days every week should dramatically improve the quality of your sleep and free up your liver to get on with all its other many jobs.
This article was originally published by Get The Gloss and reproduced with their permission.
