Feeling Tired?
We all know that familiar groggy feeling in the morning, the afternoon, and sometimes almost all day long. You’ve tried a cup of coffee, a power nap, or even splashing your face with cold water but nothing seems to work. Well, let’s get to the root of all of this.
Some of the most common culprits to feeling tired all the time are:
- A poor diet
- Vitamin deficiency
- Lack of sleep
- Stress
How can you tackle this feeling of tiredness?
There are about 4 areas that add to the quality of life that often get overlooked: diet, sleep, and stress management. It is thought that just elite athletes need to pay attention to and manage these areas, however, they are just as important to every single person- athlete or not.
Diet- It is important to eliminate poor eating habits such as eating too much/too little and eating mostly non-nutritious foods. Because we know it is very difficult to create healthy eating habits especially for busy people, we recommend meal prepping healthy meals and snacks to make sure you are eating the right quantity and quality. For example, instead of going through a drive-thru, you will already have meals and snacks packed with you. Included in the diet section is the vitamin deficiency causing tiredness. Many people with those poor eating habits mentioned above are most likely not getting the daily amount of vitamins in. Vitamins are what keeps the cells in our body functioning, so without them, we can tend to feel slow, tired, and quite literally burned out. Eating fruits and vegetables at every meal, as well as limiting the intake of processed foods will help you get the nutritious, vitamin-filled foods into your body.
Sleep- Sounds simple, but you would be surprised how many people overlook their quality of sleep. Most people get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep per day. For adults, it is recommended to get about 7- 8 hours of sleep at night, but even 7 is sometimes stretching it. Kids are advised 9-12 hours of sleep because they need the rest to develop their minds and bodies. Teenagers are advised between 8 and 10 hours of sleep. Some ways to improve your quality of sleep is to set a good schedule for yourself. Try going to bed and waking up at around the same time every day. It is also recommended to stop drinking caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime. Drinking caffeine past those 6 hours can damage your circadian rhythm (your sleep/wake cycle).
Stress Management- While manageable stress is actually good for the brain, sometimes we get overwhelmed with what seems like never-ending pressure and stress. The goal of life is to be balanced, happy, and healthy so tackling the stress may certainly improve the quality of your life if you notice that it is causing any imbalance, unhappiness, or unhealthiness. To conquer stress, you must first find out what is causing it. This will allow you to take further action towards eliminating it. You can now understand the situation causing you to stress. Try to remain positive and practice stress management techniques. Check out our blog here for 7 Stress Management techniques!
