Revitalising your lifestyle

Philip Brophy
Mar 28
3 min read

Better self-care for a new you • 3 min read

#PsychFact

Research from the University of Georgia shows that while movement energises us, staying sedentary saps our energy.

Even low-intensity exercise is shown to increase energy by 20%, while decreasing fatigue by 65%.

Introduction

We’ve looked at the more emotionally involved methods around building and conserving our energy supplies.

Today, we’ll look at how we can conserve energy with more physically oriented health measures.

Getting in those Z’s!

Consistent research shows us that most adults need at least seven hours of sleep nightly. This is because when we sleep, our cells replenish all the energy that we’ve consumed during the day, increasing immunity, repairing tissue, and revitalising our minds and bodies.

You can experiment with different ways to improve the quality, even adding 10 to 20 minutes of extra sleep, by going to bed a few minutes earlier, which can have a powerful impact on your cognition and energy levels.

Also, try to assess how other aspects may be affecting the quality of your sleep, e.g., light, the room temperature, your mattress, and surrounding noise.

Look to see how these can be adjusted to best suit your sleeping habits.

Eating with care

Poor dietary habits can lead to chronic inflammation that deplete our cells, manifesting as fatigue. A key aspect to healthy eating is having a proper breakfast. Skipping breakfast can destabilise our blood glucose levels, meaning that our energy levels will quickly lag.

You can eat small and frequent snacks with a low glycaemic index, which will keep you fuller for longer. These include protein-rich, whole grains, high-fibre vegetables, and nuts. The sugar in such foods is slowly absorbed, meaning that they won’t bring on sugar spikes and their

subsequent crash and burn.

Rebooting with exercise

Exercise also ensures a great night’s sleep — it increases brain dopamine levels, elevating your mood, and recharging your cells by getting more oxygen to them.

If you find that you can’t carve out the time, your exercise doesn’t have to be intense. It can be light and easy. Try combining exercise into your daily tasks, e.g., taking the stairs, holding walking meetings, and standing up at your desk more often.

One final note…

If your fatigue feels chronic, you may need to see a doctor to assess whether you have an undiagnosed medical condition, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression, vitamin D deficiency, long COVID or hypothyroidism.

Key takeaways

Try eating low glycaemic, protein-rich foods, (e.g., nut and seed snacks) that will keep you fuller for longer, absorbing sugar more slowly, thus avoiding sugar spikes and the dreaded crash and burn.
Sleep regenerates our cells, giving us more energy to perform at our optimum the following day. The more you get adequate sleep (extensive research recommends seven to eight hours), the more you can give to everyone around you.
Exercise induces more oxygen circulation — this revitalises our cells, giving us more energy. If you’re short on time, try incorporating light exercise into your daily tasks, e.g., walking meetings or taking the stairs.

Think big. act small

Can you test one of the above methods to nip your fatigue in the bud?

How about experimenting with different sleep patterns, adding on ten (or even five) minutes extra every night to see which time frame best suits you?

This will help protect both your mental and physical health, producing the most energised and productive version of you, both inside and outside of the workplace.

Content sources

Forbes, 2020, Monique Valcour, ‘How to Refuel When You’re Feeling Emotionally Drained’
Forbes, 2021, Anne Iversen, ‘How To Supercharge Your Energy Levels To Get The Most Out Of Your Workday’
Forbes, 2022, Sarah Hayes Coomer, ‘Hey, Health Coach: Why Am I So Tired All The Time?’
Forbes, 2020, Frances Bridges, 'How To Fight Fatigue And Increase Your Energy'
Harvard Business Review, 2021, Elizabeth Grace Saunders, ‘4 Ways to Manage Your Energy More Effectively’
Harvard Health Publishing, 2020, ‘9 Tips to Boost your Energy’
Psychology Today, 2015, Mitchell L. Gaynor M.D., '8 Ways to Banish Fatigue (and Boost Energy) for Good'
UGA Today, 2008, Sam Fahmy, ‘Low-intensity exercise reduces fatigue symptoms by 65 percent’