I need more energy.

Energy is life, isn’t it?

I mean, when you physically don’t have the energy to play with your kids, or get out of bed, or try something new… you won’t have the energy to change anything. It’s a catch-22.

This is a very very common health concern. I hear it time and time again. I need more energy.

IF you were a rechargeable battery – you’d know exactly what to do. But even rechargeable appliances lose energy over time – and our solution is simply to replace them on a fairly regular basis.

You can’t plug yourself in or regularly replace yourself, right?

Well, maybe you can*. Let me assist in this thought experiment.

There are plenty of reasons that you may not be energized, but the least common denominator is that your body needs some fuel… and it needs to be able to access that fuel.

Let’s address the low-hanging fruit first.

Sleep.

Sleep is where the magic happens. And oftentimes in our modern lives, we short ourselves this magic. Growth, repair, hormonal choreography of all sorts are happening only when you get the appropriate amount of quality sleep. It’s like enforced meditation. You hand over control of your body to your brain… your body needs a break.

So, for improved energy – prioritize sleep. Set a sleep schedule, make your room dark, keep screens out of your room, keep work out of your room… your room is an oasis, and if you don’t feel like it is – you should aim to make it so.

Did you know that professional athletes get 10+hours of sleep? Yep… if you want your body to work optimally… you need to work on this part of your life.

Diet.

And by diet, I mean the foods that you eat every day… not that you need to ‘diet’ or are on the ‘wrong diet’… and because I’m anti-restrictive and pro-abundance… I’ll go out on a limb and add this.

You probably aren’t eating enough different kinds of foods.

As creatures of habit – we have routine breakfast, lunch, dinner, & snacks. In fact, here’s a challenge for you. Go ahead and write down all of the foods that you eat today – and write down every NEW food you eat for the next week. Now compare that number to the number of foods in the world ;).

OK, that might not be immediately helpful… but it’s a start. Think about the crazy number of fruits & veggies that you aren’t eating. There is some opportunity to increase the information delivered to your body.

ALSO – consider this. If you eat any of the ‘beige’ food group for breakfast… (Beige food group = refined flours, cereal, bread, pancakes, bagels, muffins, waffles… this is my daughter’s favorite food group) consider swapping it out for veggies, eggs, meats… Refined foods provide temporary energy yes, but very little nutritional fuel for your cells. And you need to fuel your cells to feel sustained energy.

Stress.

Stress can be a vague notion I guess… there are so many stressors in our lives…  You might be drained physically because you mind and body are being taxed by stress hormones. It’s exhausting… I’ve been there. It’s important to recognize your stressors and work to eliminate them.

I can help with this. This is part of what I do. Check out my free Humanosity intro for a quick exercise to help you visualize where this journey might start.

Needless to say – sometimes it isn’t clear to you what your major stressors are… but it’s clear to others around you.

 

Lack of Nature.

Yep. There is emerging science that supports this idea.

Remember this: YOU ARE NATURE. What role does it play in your life?

This is a common scenario: It’s hot and muggy outside, so we prefer to be inside, out of the sun, away from the bugs, shades drawn to keep the house cool. When we do go outside, we’re covered from head to toe in clothing or sunscreen, we’re wearing shoes to protect our feet from… everything out there. We might only be outside to get to our car, and then to get to our office.

All of the above scenario is a result of our modern lives – the choices we have today to enable us to avoid contact with the outside world.

Ironically – you may be energized by touching the earth. Seriously. You may be missing out on the therapeutic effects of being outside in nature. Of taking a stroll through the trees.

Movement.

If you have no energy – the last thing that you’re thinking about is exercise – I get it… but there’s some positive feedback that happens when you move your body. So consider this… moving isn’t ‘exercising’… it’s moving. Walking (outside in particular) can be one of the best movement nutrients (I’m studying Nutritious Movement right now – yes, there is such a thing… thankyouverymuch Katy Bowman).

Maybe a bit of movement will get the blood flowing – and feed your cells – destress you – and help you get quality sleep… win-win-win-win-win.

This is a simple list – and the real work comes in making the change, in figure out which parts of life you’re deficient in, and how you can tweak your environment to make it better work for your health.

*Re: plugging yourself in. This means reconnecting to what it means to be human… in all aspects, reconnecting to a living planet to fuel your body. Deep thoughts, I know… but your body – your cells – regenerate… you have the opportunity to create an environment that supports the chemistry – the biology – of life.