With the start of winter well and truly here, it is entirely understandable and completely natural to be experiencing decreased levels of energy and even a general lack of motivation.
You are entirely within your right to, wherever possible, spend the cold evenings snuggled tight on the couch with a good book or movie boxset and a myriad of blankets around you. However, it is not especially good for your emotional health and wellbeing to spend every night wrapped up indoors and not achieving anything but making your way through every Lord of the Rings movie (the extended version, of course).
With that being said, continue reading to learn of five practical and effective ways to improve your energy levels and increase motivation.
1. PMA
Although admittedly easier said than done, waking up in the morning to your alarm clock and deliberately telling yourself that today will be a productive one can work wonders for both your physical and emotional energy levels.
A PMA, or positive mental attitude, is obviously not going to actually inject palpable amounts of extra energy into your system, but it certainly helps in changing your attitude, thoughts, and behaviours to cope and even achieve more.
2. Professional Massage
One of the fundamental ways that your body conserves its energy levels is through the delivery of oxygen to every single one of your body’s cells.
A professional and therapeutic massage from a renowned and reputable massage salon will improve your circulation and increase the blood flow, thus providing your body with more energy.
3. Stop Smoking
By now, in 2022, everyone is all too aware of the plethora of harmful dangers caused to the body by smoking, but along with the yellow teeth, bad breath, and risk of harmful diseases, what many people don’t realise is that smoking causes a long-term reduction in energy levels.
When a person smokes, nicotine quickly enters their bloodstream as well as drastically affecting the chemicals in the brain, which does indeed produce an instant boost in energy levels as well as a reduction in feelings of stress and anxiety.
However, as soon as the nicotine enters, it dissipates to the rest of the body, resulting in a sudden crash in energy levels and leaving the smoker feeling on edge and agitated.
4. Exercise
Although initially sounding like the ultimate contradiction, in actual fact exercising your body (and mind) results in the increase in a hormone called mitochondria which are used to produce more energy to meet the needs of the exercise.
Mitochondria essentially make fuel from the glucose in the body, and the more you exercise, the harder the mitochondria works and the more fuel is produced.
5. Sleep For Longer
Another, on the surface, obvious point, but is still one that is often neglected, even by people who are worried that they always feel lethargic and tired, particularly in the afternoon after lunch.
The number one cause for low energy levels in most adults is the lack of sleep they are getting on a regular and long-term basis, and to ensure you get as much sleep as you need, avoid using electronics for at least an hour before you go to bed and ensure your bedroom is both cool and dark.
