Lifestyle

Things that Drain Your Energy and How to Fix Them

Are you always tired even when you shouldn’t be? Has chronic fatigue turned out to be the order of the day? If you always feel drained of your energy, then something is wrong.

Yes, it could be because of stress. However, stress isn’t the only factor that contributes to low energy. There are other factors or lifestyle habits, some of which you aren’t aware of.

Taking note of these habits and adopting effective measures to address them will ensure that you complete basic tasks. It’ll also ensure that you remain sharp and productive, especially in the workplace.

Here are some common things that drain your energy, and how to fix them.

  1. Alcohol

While a moderate amount of alcohol can trigger feel-good chemicals in the brain that reduces anxiety and the risk of developing heart disease, excessive intake can result in severe health conditions like heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and digestive issues. In addition to these conditions, too much alcohol can also result in an energy drain.

But how? There are many ways!

First off, alcohol initially increases your  blood sugar level,  then as insulin is injected into your bloodstream, your blood sugar level plummets, resulting in weakness.

Try to consume a moderate amount of alcohol to avoid its energy-draining effects. And If you feel tired as a result of excessive alcohol intake, drink ice water and splash it on your face to boost consciousness.

  1. Stress

Of course, stress has to be on this list!

Stress is one of the leading and obvious causes of low energy. When you experience physical stress from work and relationship stress, your body reacts as it would when under an attack. Your body cranks out your body’s defense mechanism—the flight-or-flight hormone (cortisol). This raises energy levels at first, but your body cannot continue with the cortisol demand. And what happens next? Your cortisol falls rapidly, and your energy is zapped when you need it the most.

You can fight stress and maintain focus by drinking green tea. Green tea consists of enough caffeine to increase the production of the hormone adrenocorticotropin, which prompts the release of cortisol. It also has a flavonoid that helps achieve optimum focus and calmness.

  1. Sleep

They say the rich don’t sleep. So whenever you sleep for 3 hours daily, you often feel good, proud, and ecstatic. You ought not to be. First, the rich sleep well—an example is Elon Musk, who sleeps 6 hours daily.

Secondly, sleep is important to your mental and physical functioning, which makes sleeping deprivation detrimental to your health and energy levels.

National Sleep Foundation guidelines recommend between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night (for healthy adults) to give your body enough time to regenerate. If you decide to sleep for fewer hours, your energy levels will drop. The results? Lower performance and productivity.

Always ensure you take your sleep seriously. Sleep for 7-9 hours so you can wake up refreshed, emerged, and ready to take on the world.

  1. Coffee

Do you often stroll into the coffee shop on your way to the bar? If you do, you need to stop it.

Consuming a combo of alcohol and caffeine can raise risk-taking behavior, probably because caffeine reduces the depressant effect of alcohol. Also, the stimulating effect of caffeine may cover the feeling of being drunk.

Combining the two could make you less likely to determine your own intoxication, making you drink more. And when the energizing effects fade, you’ll be super-drunk and sleep-deprived, a terrible merger.

You can fight the effects of coffee and alcohol by sleeping. Ensure you set your alarm, so you don’t sleep for the whole day. A 10-20 minutes lap is not bad.

  1. Testosterone

Like fishes in the sea, your body is surrounded by a sea of hormones like testosterone. Testosterone, one of the body’s most important and common hormones, is a male sex hormone that controls sexual development, muscle mass, and red blood cell production. It fluctuates, achieving its apogee around 8 a.m. and reducing throughout the day.

A drop in your hormone levels can reduce your sex drive. It can also affect your stamina. On the other hand, low testosterone is associated with conditions like depressed mood, fatigue, loss of muscular strength, difficulties with concentration and memory, and loss of energy.

You can boost your testosterone levels by undergoing TRT in a hospital. For the best results, try to see a doctor that offers testosterone replacement therapy custom designed for you. Such type of therapy allows you to receive a treatment that suits your needs.

  1. Skipping Breakfast

Did you have breakfast this morning, or did you skip it? If you did, kudos to you. However, if you didn’t, you may want to ensure that you do the following day.

Skipping breakfast, a meal that determines how your blood sugar acts the rest of the day isn’t advisable. If you ignore breakfast totally, you strip your brain and muscles of energizing glucose.

What if, instead of having a healthy breakfast, you decided to take a refined carbohydrate meal, such as a muffin? In that case, you’ll experience a brief sugar increase, but it won’t last before plummeting. When insulin is pumped into your bloodstream, it helps clear sugar but also transmits a signal to your adrenal gland to halt the production of cortisol. The result? Adrenal fatigue.

To prevent this from happening, always complement your breakfast with protein to provide your body with the sugar and energy levels it needs. You could try a snack with 10g of protein.

Conclusion

It’s possible that you may find it hard to break off from these habits immediately. So, you can start slow. Practice abstinence for two days then increases it to five days and, later,  a week. With the right commitment and dedication, you are able to get rid of these habits completely.

 

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