6 ways to beat fatigue and feel more energy

Each day more than 2 million Americans complain of feeling fatigued.

What’s more, over four million people have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

When you feel chronically fatigued, you are always in a cycle of being tired, having low energy, poor focus, bad eating habits, chronic aches and pains, tend to have a short temper.

Fatigue can also lead to depression and loss of joy for life. Well, you can make strides in boosting energy and reducing fatigue with these simple six lifestyle changes…

1. Sleep tight

The power of restorative rest and sleep is one of the most essential things one can do for rejuvenating the mind and body, keeping energy high and fatigue at bay. Many of the symptoms of fatigue, like foggy headedness, recall difficulty, muscle motor issues and pain are all associated with poor sleep. Sleeping from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. is said to be the best time for our body clocks. Here are some great tips for sleeping well.

2. Eat tight

Food is an essential piece of the wellness puzzle. It can energize us and fatigue us. To begin, eating too much at any one sitting requires a lot of energy to digest, and can leave you in that so-called “food coma.” Studies have shown that easing less leads to a longer life, too. Be sure to avoid the foods that sap your energy, including: soda, sugar and simple carbohydrates like white bread, rice and potatoes. Replace these with energy-giving foods, including: fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, clean water, and lean protein.

3. Stress less

Stress erodes your health, steals energy and undermines quality of life. The best ways to stress less include reframing the ways in which you see the world, view events and your place in them. Take a break from the unrelenting news cycle. Compartmentalize your time to not take on more than you can handle to create a balanced work/life balance. Find times for hobbies, too.

4. Meditate more

Meditation allows you time to be with yourself while shutting out the noise of the world. Meditation not only can relax you, but can help reduce stress and especially the production of stress hormones like cortisol, that sap energy and cause fatigue. Meditation quiets the mind, slows respiration and helps heal the body. Daoist Meditation is a simple method that both quiets the mind and develops energy to defeat both mental and physical fatigue.

5. Exercise today

Don’t delay, exercise today. Why? Because you must expend energy to create energy. Even though that sounds counter-intuitive, the more often you use energy to exercise, the more energy your body produces as a result. And the more you sit around sedentary, the more fatigued you feel. It’s almost like stored energy becomes somehow stale in the body, and saps energy instead of releasing it. Exercise creates feelings of wellbeing because one is able to let off steam, get out anger, move the blood, sweat out toxins and help the body release chemicals like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. And mixing up the daily routine between running, walking, weight training and aerobics keep things interesting and fun.

6. Express gratitude

One of the easiest ways to free up energy and reduce fatigue is to express gratitude as often as possible. Each day you can tell those around you how grateful you are for their help, work, friendship, etc. You can tell your spouse or children or parents how much you love them. You can even look around your surroundings and make a note of what you are grateful for, including clean air, a nice chair to sit on, your new book, a steady paycheck, and so on. Feeling grateful for even the smallest of things makes life worth living and seems to dissolve mental fog and physical fatigue. My Gratitude Journal is what I use daily to keep up a steady gratitude practice.