Perk Up Your Energy Levels

FOR maximum energy, you need to balance a good diet with a healthy

lifestyle. Regular exercise and sufficient sleep help. Take time off for

recreation to avoid excessive stress.

Our energy levels are depleted through excessive amounts of stress,

prolong working hours, over exertion at work or at play, lack of

exercise, or simply not having enough time for relaxation and recreation.

Take greater control of your life.

Practise effective time management. Spend time with friends and family

members. These efforts can help to reduce the amount of stress you

experience on a day-to-day basis.

Whether you are a busy executive, a homemaker, or a retiree, there are

times when you feel tired and lacking in energy. Here are some

non-exhaustive suggestions you can take to avoid your energy being

drained and perk up your energy levels.

Kicking bad habits

Recently, we spent millions of ringgit to discourage smoking among the

young and old.

However, statistically, the number of smokers is still increasing and

these efforts have not deterred the young from smoking.

If you smoke, try to stop. Smoking generates harmful free radicals in

the body that damage cell structure, lower levels of sex hormones such as

oestrogen and testosterone and is linked to a number of life threatening

illnesses such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, serious

respiratory ailments, stroke and cancer.

As it is difficult to give up smoking overnight, you may want to

consider doing it gradually. Reduce the nicotine load gradually. Switch

to a brand with low nicotine content.

Increasing the alkaline balance of your body helps reduce cravings. Eat

a diet that is high in fruit, vegetables and seeds. In addition, consider

taking a calcium and magnesium supplement daily, as these alkaline

minerals can help neutralise excess acidity.

Whenever you feel the need for a cigarette, eat a pear or an apple.

This will raise low blood levels, which is often the factor that triggers

nicotine craving.

Excessive alcohol intake taxes the liver and leads to fatigue as well

as energydraining health problems. If you drink, don’t overindulge.

Coffee is strongly additive. Breaking the habit may bring about

headaches and grogginess. But try to reduce your intake. Coffee is a

great energy-drainer. In the short term it may make you feel more alert

but in the long term, it triggers many symptoms like fatigue, a lack of

energy, nervous tremors and irritability.

Hold on to good habits

Why is sleep important? According to experts, if you want to be fully

alert, mentally sharp, cheerful, creative and energetic, you need to

spend about eight hours a night sleeping. Lack of sleep has its price;

our concentration and judgement wane and our ability to perform even

simple tasks decline.

Take time off to do some walking. If you work indoors all day, try to

get some daylight each day. Take a short walk after lunch instead of

heading straight to your desk. The exercise and fresh air will invigorate

you. Daylight has beneficial effects on the brain, making you feel

refreshed.

Meditation, visual imagery and pleasant music helps. Meditation

promotes mental clarity and will increase your energy, improve your mood

and keep you calm.

William Congreve wrote a few centuries ago that “music has charms to

soothe a savage beast”.

Recent studies show that music can reduce stress, enhance the immune

system function, reduce muscle tension, increase endorphin levels and

invoke feelings of love and inner peace.

Dr Herbert Benson, who coined the term `the relaxation response’, wrote

that one of the most effective ways to achieve this is through music. The

phenomenon known as `rhythm entertainment’ describes how an external

rhythmic stimulus, such as a ticking clock, drum or pulse in a musical

composition, involuntarily causes your heartbeat to match its speed.

Diet and supplements

Energy begins with the foods you eat. Your body burns the calories in

your food, taking the energy released from the calories to produce

specialised proteins called amino acids. Through a series of biochemical

and electrical processes, these create energy.

Supplementing your diet with supplements to boost your metabolism and

improve the way your body system work can increase your energy levels.

Take ginkgo to improve memory and alertness. Ginkgo contains two

chemicals – ginkgo flavones glycosides and terpene lactones – which have

remarkable healing properties.

Several groups of products help restore and enhance energy. These are

the `adaptogenic’ herbs which include liquorice, ginseng, ashwaganda and

reishi mushroom.

Adaptogenic herbs like ginseng will not give you the instant jolt you

get from coffee or a cigarette but they deliver a consistent and more

sustainable level of energy, alertness and wellbeing.

This article is written courtesy of Duopharma (M) Sdn Bhd