You sit in front of the TV in the evening and have no idea where your energy went. Getting up in the morning, rushing to get everyone breakfast and on time out of the house so you make it on time to work. At work tasks are piling up and with that your stress level increases. After work, you pick up the kids and drive to several different activities while you still think about that work email that has to be answered. Once everyone is at home, dinner has to be put on the table and then it’s bedtime for the kids. Once it’s quiet in the house you just fall on the couch surfing through the TV channels. Until going too late to bed and start all over again.
Is that you? Doesn’t need to be like this. You could also sound like this.
You wake up rested in the morning and look forward to the day. Enjoy breakfast time with the family and get ready for work. While driving, listening to some music and sing along. Your workday is focused and intentional. After work you spend time with your kids and prepare a nice meal together. Once the kids are in bed you have enough energy to do some gardening, painting, exercising or having a good time with your loved one.
Here are 8 simple ways to get your energy levels up:
1. Set intentions for the day
Just after you get out of bed, set your intentions for the day. Check in what your body is telling you. Do you need to take it slow today and make sure you get some rest or do you have energy to do an extra activity? How do you want to feel today? You want to feel vibrant, energetic, creative or more grounded, balanced and peaceful.
An example for a morning intention could be “I want to feel vibrant, sexy and confident and my intention for today is to have that talk with my boss”. This will help you to focus more throughout the day and respect and acknowledge your body.
2. Drink more water
This feels like a no brainer and we have heard it a thousand times. Drinking more water is good for us. Starting the day with a glass of fresh water and if you feel like adding some lemon, will go a long way. Keep the bottle next to your desk or carry it with you. Make it easy not to forget drinking water.
3. Move at least 20 min
Most of us sit the majority of the day. Either on the desk, in the car or on the couch and we barely move throughout the day. Studies show that moving reduces stress and makes you smarter because of increased blood flow and it just makes you feel good. Now that spring is here it’s time to get outside, go for a walk with a friend, work in the garden, ride a bike with your kids and keep moving. Choose and activity that makes you happy.
4. Increase dark leafy green vegetables
Have you ever eaten a very tasty but sweet breakfast with a lot of juice, croissants, chocolate spread and probably lots of cheese too and then felt like not moving all day long? Feeling heavy, sluggish and unmotivated to do anything else than just lie on the couch and watch movies.
Increase your dark leafy green vegetables and your energy will go up. Prepare a delicious kale salad for dinner, or add some spinach to your scrambled eggs in the morning.
And if you’re not convinced yet, here are more benefits:
- eating dark leafy green vegetables provide your body with vitamin A,C,K and folate
- helps you burn fat
- provides protection against the sun and toxins in the environment
- is anti- aging
- good for your digestion system
- good source of fiber, high in minerals like iron, magnesium and calcium
- boost bone health
Take in all these delicious vitamins, fiber and minerals that our body is craving and fill it up, so your body and mind is ready to whatever you want to do.
Food plays an important role on your energy levels and how you feel. Want some inspiration, go and get the free 2 week meal plan to be inspired.
Leafy green vegetables are micro greens, kale, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, swiss chard, arugula, romaine lettuce, broccoli, cabbage.
5. Laugh
That one sounds so easy, but have you actually checked in and see how often you really laugh? For me I realized it’s not as often as I wanted. So I put it on my agenda. I even decided that if I haven’t laughed until dinner time I’m gonna fake it, somehow I always end up laughing for real. So it works for me.
The beauty with a small children is that there are many possibilities to laugh. Just tickle, watch them play, play with them or share stories. Enjoy and cherish these moments.
6.Kiss and hug
How often do you kiss or hug someone?
Touch it’s shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and keep your relationship happy.
It’s a way to show compassion and love. A hug can go a long way to feel energetic and happy. Want to read more about it, here an article “How the power of touch reduces pain and even fights disease”
7. Prepare for bed
Prepare for a good and restful night of sleep by taking the time to calm down in the evening.
Find what works for you, this might be meditation, praying or a long bath or shower. Read a book or listen to some good music to let go of the day and prepare for sleep. Turn your computer, TV or phone off and just spend some quality time with yourself or a loved one. You can actually combine step 5 and six and get ready for a good night sleep which will set the stage for another great day to come.
8. Sleep
A good night sleep increases your energy and productivity throughout the day. There are a few things we can do to make sure sleep is going down smoothly. One mentioned already is to turn off computers, TV and your phone. Sleep in a dark room without lights. Don’t eat a big meal straight before bedtime. Sleep in something comfortable or even naked. And set up your sleep environment so you feel relaxed and comfortable.
And yes, getting a good night sleep is a tough one with a baby or toddler.
These are 8 ways to increase your energy. All of that said, we’re all unique, so each step will look different from one mother to the next. Experiment and find out what works for you and what has the biggest impact on your energy levels.
Now I’m curious, let me know what are you already doing to feel good and what is stressing you?
Want to make some lifestyle changes to have more energy for the good things in live? Check out my coaching program and the blog post about 8 reasons for Health Coaching.
