Between the job and house and the kids, we are too tired to do anything extra by the end of the day. We could all use more energy. The most common cause of fatigue is stress. Stress causes tension and tension zaps emotional and physical energy. There are many things that we can do to help boost our energy levels.
Exercise makes you tired? That is a fallacy. Exercise actually releases tension and helps you feel more energized. It stimulates the cells and circulates the blood and oxygen in the body. It also makes the body produce endorphins which make you feel full of energy. Depression can cause us to feel sluggish and tired. Exercising doesn’t have to be strenuous either. Dancing, raking leaves, and swimming or playing tennis are all great forms of exercise and stress relief. Exercise also promotes sound sleep.
As we said before, stress can sap energy, making us feel sluggish. So, by decreasing stress, we can inadvertently increase our energy level. When we are happy and not depressed, we feel better mentally and physically. Some other ways to decrease stress include:
-Listening to “easy listening” music, “Sounds of Nature” cd’s or classical music. All of these have been found to have a relaxing effect. Conversely, hard rock, loud, harsh music can over stimulate and actually cause tension. Read more…
How often do you find yourself saying, “I’m so stressed out!” If you’re like many people, such a statement is a part of our everyday lives. Often we don’t take the time to relax our bodies and minds, refresh our outlook, and give ourselves much needed time away from the pressures we face on a daily basis. Unfortunately, over time, ignoring the buildup of stress can affect both physical and mental health. Along with draining our energy and decreasing our level of performance, stress can also wear down our bodies, contribute to emotional imbalance, high blood pressure, decreased circulation, headaches, depression, and overall poor general health. Below are a few simple strategies you can bring into your life that can help you free your body and mind from tension.
1. Breathing
Breathing right can help improve your posture and lung capacity, as well as your peace of mind. The great thing about utilizing breathing techniques to decrease stress is that you can use them anytime throughout your day: at work, in your car, on the phone, even waiting in line at the supermarket. The first step to breathing properly is to become aware of how you breathe. Awareness is always the first step to making a conscious change. Most of us use our lungs sparingly; our breaths are shallow because they’re surrounded by tension. To try deep breathing, place your hand on your lower abdomen. When you inhale, concentrate on pushing your hand out with your belly first, then filling up the rest of your lungs so your breath comes in bottom to top. In this way, you are using the full capacity of your lungs. Inhale through your nose and exhale out through your mouth and take long, slow breaths. Even after doing this just ten times consecutively, you should feel your shoulders drop a bit, and your neck extend upward. (Note: if you become light-headed while deep-breathing, switch to your regular breathing pattern and resume deep breathing when the feeling has passed.) If you practice this type of deep breathing just once a day for five or ten minutes, you will soon become so familiar with the technique that you can put it to use anytime without even thinking twice. Soon you’ll be going through your day breathing deeply and feeling great. Read more…
The options for drinks seem to be at an all time high with energy and sport drinks, new flavored sodas, tropical fruit juices, fancy vitamin water, and even water with protein appealing to all ages. Sodas and sport drinks, however, can have as much as 13 teaspoons of added sugar. It is especially important to look at the serving size on the nutrition label. So if you quickly read that a beverage bottle says 80 calories, you may need to look again. For example, if the serving size sates 2.5 servings/bottle, you need to do the math. In this case, the 80 calories beverage actually contains 200 calories. Similarly, not all fruit juice is alike. Many do provide 100% juice but be careful of marketing. SunnyD may look like orange juice and sell you on it’s 100% vitamin C, however it’s second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup as well as other ingredients not found in juice.
So what is a parent to do? Certainly, 100% fruit juice can be counted as a serving of fruit in a child’s diet. Just be careful of portion sizes. Offering OJ in a small glass (4- 6 oz) is great at breakfast but shouldn’t be the main choice of the day. Orange slices would be a great option, providing beneficial fiber and phytochemicals. If the soccer moms are bringing in sports drinks, you may need to be the one to point out that water is just fine. Sport drinks can be useful for the athlete who vigorously exercises for more than an hour, but isn’t necessarily needed for kids, teens, or adults. It is more important that you child is hydrated. Have your son or daughter drink water at least a half hour before his/her practice. Bring a water bottle to ensure he can drink during breaks in the game. Offering watermelon after the game is great as it contains 90% water. Finally, most adults and kids get plenty of protein (think cheese, milk, peanut butter, chicken, tofu, etc). Adding protein to a beverage just comes down to marketing again. Similarly, children consume plenty of vitamins in real food as well as fortified cereals and bread. Drinking vitamin water adds no real health benefit.
When you are out and about doing errands with the kids, it is quite convenient to just to purchase sodas, Slurpies and even a Jamba Juice for you family. Again, it is all about portions. A 16 oz Jamba Juice Mango-A Go Go has 300 calories. Ask for an extra cup and split it up between your kids or just ask them to only fill it up half way (it is hard to stop halfway once it is in your cup). Even for yourself as you drop in to Starbucks for a 12 oz pick-me- upper café mocha (with whip cream of course) you’ll be drinking in 260 calories. Having young children have sips of your frosted mocha is not a great idea because caffeine can have more of an effect on children whose body weight is much less than an adults. Caffeine can cause upset stomachs and disrupt sleep. Read more…
Did you know that you can increase good health by making sure that you get enough water? Yes plain water that has
been purified in some way. The water most of us get from the tap is full of chemicals that is bad for our health. Do
not drink tap water, unless you have your own well, which you know is not contaminated.
Drinking water is essential for a healthy body. Water regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, keeps skin youthful and muscles strong.
Water is present in every cell and tissue and involved in so many biological functions: digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion. It helps us with keeping our
hormones balanced and our brain chemistry Relies on water for proper balance. Water gives us energy and strengthens the immune system.
Most people are not drinking enough water and are semi dehydrated. Your body cannot work at optimum level without the water it needs.
What happens when you don’t drink enough water?
I won’t go into all the details, but do want to mention a few things here. All the things mentioned above that water helps keep in balance and lubricated are affected when you don’t drink water. You will not feel as well as you possibly
could, your body does not have what it needs for good health and so your health declines. Read more…
You cook healthy recipes, take a multi-vitamin, eat enough vegetables to stock a small produce stand (or so it seems) and drink plenty of water. You also make sure you get enough sleep, and you rarely skip a day at the gym. Still, you have low energy and are frequently sick. What’s the problem?
It might be your enzyme levels.
Enzymes help the body with a number of specific tasks — digesting food, stimulating the brain, providing cellular energy, and repairing all tissues, organs, and cells. Our bodies get these valuable enzymes by naturally producing them and by receiving them through food. As we age, however, it becomes increasingly difficult for our bodies to manufacture all the enzymes necessary for proper functioning. Additionally, enzymes are destroyed by certain cooking processes and chemical additives in food, as well as when we expose our bodies to pollution and environmental toxins. And when our enzyme levels run low, our risk of illness increases.
Home Off the Range
Almost all food today is cooked and processed. When food is cooked, however, many of the vital enzymes are destroyed by heat, as they are by the chemicals in processed foods. This places a burden on our digestive systems because when enzymes aren’t received through the food we eat, our bodies are responsible for manufacturing the enzymes necessary for digestion. And as the body directs all its attention to digesting food, other organ systems are compromised — vital enzymes that could be used for keeping our bodies healthy are diverted to the digestive system. The result? Illness and chronic disease Read more…