15 Ways to Wake Up Happy Instead of Groggy
Life moves fast even when your body moves slower.
With hectic households and schedules, information overload, work hours that bleed into off hours, and a social life increasingly devoted to Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, it’s no wonder you’re exhausted!
By trying to do and have it all, most days leave you running on empty and wondering why.
The answer is simple – mental and physical fatigue are poison to your internal and external happiness. So how can you be your best self without the energy you need to look life in the eye?
You can’t.
Until you learn to accept responsibility for your fatigue, and develop new habits that will lead you to change, you’ll never truly tackle the tired.
The food you eat, exercise you get (or don’t get), your sleep patterns, and how you engage the world contribute to your overall happiness and energy. The good news is, you can take control now and create the life you want by forming and following a few new healthy habits.
Follow these 15 Tips and you WILL feel less groggy and find a happier, more vibrant YOU!
1) Take The Time To Eat a Hearty Breakfast Even if you don’t think you’re hungry, your body requires fuel to be efficient. People who eat a balanced breakfast feel and perform better than those who skip their morning meal. This doesn’t mean slogging down a heavy, cholesterol-laden meal, thick with saturated fats. Nor does it mean rolling down your window and trading a folded bill for a paper bag, but a light meal filled with the right nutrients can keep you focused, help you get more done, and set the tone for the rest of your day. Even if you don’t have time to make a healthy meal, grabbing a piece of fruit and a slice of toast on the way out the door can give you the necessary energy to start your morning off right.
2) Express Yourself Sometimes it’s better to vent. Keeping your emotions bottled up without ever pulling the cork means you are carrying emotional weight wherever you go. As with any unnecessary load, this can leave you feeling fatigued. Many people mistakingly believe that they must keep all their stresses, fears and anxieties inside. Yet by giving vent to those creeping concerns and rising frustrations, you can greatly reduce their ability to affect your moods sap your energy.
3) Be Aware of Your Moods Yes, it is important to be aware of your body’s physical fatigue, but you should also be aware that emotional strain can leave you as exhausted as a long day of manual labor. When you are stressed, angry, worried, sad, or even bored, your mind can exert an energy that leaves your body tired. And though you may try, you can never outrun your emotions. But you can determine how you react to what happens around you. By being aware of your moods, you can eliminate the lingering thoughts that might otherwise loop while you’re trying to fall to sleep.
4) Monitor Your Caffeine Intake If you’re like many Americans, you probably think coffee enhances your energy and increases your ability to remain alert throughout the day. While this is partly true, there are consequences to ingesting too much, especially when caffeine is consumed later in the day. A moderate amount, say two to three hundred milligrams (the amount found in a couple cups of coffee) can increase your energy, but when caffeine is consumed en masse or late in the day, it can decay the quality of your sleep. A good cup of fresh coffee can be a great way to kick start your morning, just make sure not to overdo it.
5) Eat Small Meals Throughout the Day Eating small meals throughout the day can lead to increased energy and decreased fatigue. By consuming three smaller meals, with an additional two to three snacks spaced throughout the day, you can keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable. Large meals are more demanding on your body and can leave you feeling logy. Make sure everything you eat is balanced with carbs, proteins, and healthy fats and you will have consistent energy, feel less tired and be more naturally happy.
6) Listen to Music You Enjoy Tapping your toes to some favorite tunes is highly effective for turning a bad mood good, stripping anxieties and giving a BIG boost to waning energy. Even in the midst of a stressful situation, music can distract you from negativity. Load your MP3 player with your favorite songs or burn a custom CD you can play in the car, at the gym or at work. Make sure you have access to music that makes you happy and you will be more likely to have a smile on your face and feel less tired at the end of the day.
7) Take Deep, Cleansing Breaths When your body or mind is stressed, it’s natural to take short, shallow breaths, rather than the deep inhale, exhale that can clear your mind and relax your body. Though calm breathing is one of the most foolproof methods for managing a stressful situation, it can also be one of the last things we think to do. Condition yourself to count to 10, or take deep breaths when you feel anxiety first starting to creep. This can help you feel less fatigued during the day, get better rest at night, and rise with a smile in the morning.
8) Be a Hero You don’t have to have an S on your chest to be a hero. Do a bit of good for someone in need and you might be amazed at the spring it puts in your step. Altruism can boost your mood and give you a sense of control. Find a charity or community that could benefit from your contribution. Even a small gesture can give a BIG boost to your spirit.
9) Know When to Say When Though alcohol can help you feel like the life of the party, it is a depressant that can tire your nervous system. You might have been getting sleepy while sipping that glass of merlot, but the truth is that after the sedative effects of the wine have worn off, your body will still be metabolizing the alcohol, causing you to rise in the middle of the night. And you might have difficulty drifting back to sleep. It isn’t necessary to give up alcohol to keep from feeling tired. Plenty of studies show that moderate consumption, such as a glass of wine with dinner, can be good for the heart and digestion. Just make sure you’re not drinking too close to bedtime.
10) Cut Back on Late Night Media It is tempting to watch TV or surf the web after hours, especially if you have children and have been waiting all day to unwind. Yet the bright light emitted by modern LCD screens can be a big impediment to falling asleep. Bright light leads to a reduction in the body’s production of melatonin, the chemical produced by the brain that tells your body it’s time to shutdown. Surfing the web and watching television are of course fine in moderation. Just know that staying up late to catch up on your favorite shows or login to Facebook one last time is likely to leave you more tired and impede your ability to be bright and happy the following day.
11) Get Plenty of Exercise Exercise is wonderful for your spirit, yet it is also beneficial to your body’s regeneration. Regular exercise can help you feel more confident, enhance your energy and lead to a significant increase in your general level of happiness. Aerobic exercise before bedtime can also help you to fall to sleep faster, spend more hours in deep sleep and wake up less often throughout the night.
12) Drink Plenty of Water Your body is made of mostly water. Blood, body fluids and cell structure are all dependent on regular hydration. Even mild deprivation can cause the body’s blood to thicken and force the heart to work a lot harder, pumping blood to cells and organs, and resulting in premature exhaustion. If you aren’t eliminating every two to four hours, you probably aren’t properly hydrated. Drink at least eight glasses of water per day and eat plenty of foods that have high amounts of water.
13) Keep a Journal Even if you don’t usually write anything other than an email, putting your worries in writing works. Take time to scribble the stressful things that are weighing on your mind. This will trigger the problem solving mechanism inside your brain. As you fall to sleep, rise in the morning, get ready for work, or weave your way through traffic, your brain will be searching for solutions. Writing down your worries initiates the process, which will lead to an increase in the amount of rest your body can get.
14) Don’t Waste Time Tossing and Turning. If you can’t fall asleep within 15 minutes or so, get up and do something else. Rather than laying in bed flipping your pillow, adjusting your feet and trying to find a cool spot in the bed, break the routine. Laying in bed trying to fall asleep can lead to looping hours of lingering thoughts. Do something relaxing such as reading or meditating, rather than something stimulating like watching TV or surfing the Web. As soon as you feel sleepy, head back to bed. You might be amazed how fast you fall to sleep.
15) Don’t Harbor a Grudge This is a BIG one. Holding a grudge keeps part of your brain prisoner; always working hard to accomplish nothing. Worse, keeping a grudge can increase your blood pressure, resulting in an impaired immune system that leaves you exhausted and without a clear explanation. By letting go of things you cannot change, you will put yourself in the driver’s seat of life and keep your body’s defense mechanisms in check. This will help you to be a little less tired and a whole lot happier.
There’s not much you can do to change the tone of modern life. It is a non-stop carousel of hectic schedules and far too many to-dos. Yet, by taking ownership of your habits, you will be able to live the best life possible, get the rest you need, and amplify the happiness that is already inside you.
Vincent King is a ghostwriter who loves to workout four times per week, and lives an active, healthy lifestyle.
Photo © istock/grandriver
