This is your year! You’re ready to burst into the new year with fresh resolutions, you’re going to make it all happen, you’re going to…you’re…y a a a w w w n…TIRED! Mentally, you may be ready to tackle the new year with gusto, but what do you do when you feel physically drained? Boost your energy with these ideas:
- Stick to low-fat meals and snacks: High-fat foods are likely to make you moodier and more tired by midafternoon than lower-fat meals are, according to a British study. Digesting fat releases a hormone called cholecystokinin, which seems to provoke a brain drain.
- Consider magnesium deficiency: Magnesium is a crucial, but frequently overlooked, part of a balanced diet. It’s crucial in more than 300 bodily functions – many of which relate to energy. Get your daily dose of this fatigue-fighting mineral by eating 5 servings of these magnesium-rich foods a day: almonds/cashews, sunflower seeds, dried herbs, bran like rice/wheat/oat, and the last one is really going to be difficult – cocoa powder. Yep, as in dark chocolate!
- Make time for tea: Black, green, and white teas all contain the energizing amino acid L-theanine. Brits given L-theanine plus caffeine equivalent to several cups of tea and a cup of coffee increased their speed on word and number problems and felt less tired than when they got either substance alone. (Nope, there’s no L-theanine in coffee.)
- Keep Hydrated: Getting to the point where you’re just starting to feel thirsty — a mere 2.6% drop in hydration levels — can double your feelings of fatigue. It made study volunteers work twice as hard on a set of brain-teasing puzzles.
Wishing you energy-filled days to accomplish all of your goals for 2013!
