5 Top Tips to Combat Tiredness

Do your mind some good

Stress and/or depression are leading causes of tiredness and fatigue: being overwhelmed with negative and draining thoughts can quickly have you feeling sleepy. It’s as important to look after your mind as it is to look after your body. One way of keeping your mind and wellbeing in check is to meditate - often people can feel that meditation 'just isn’t for them’, but it really can improve your quality of life and energy levels in a short space of time. Using meditation tools such as Calm or Headspace can really help beginners ease into this ancient practice.

Eat more frequently

Many people that have problems with feeling tired and fatigued often feel too tired to eat, don’t feel hungry at all or once they do eat feel extremely sleepy afterwards, this is called postprandial somnolence. The reason is that after you eat you have reduced blood flow to the brain as your body is focussing on digesting the food you have just eaten. If you’re feeling extremely tired after eating, try eating smaller meals more frequently or taking smaller meals and adding in snacks such as fruit or nuts between each meal - this will help your energy levels rise and fall more gradually.

Omega 3 fish oils

This is one of the most beneficial supplements out there, the list of benefits includes improved heart health, cancer protection, ADHD control as well as combating autoimmune conditions. Omega 3 is also affective for combatting tiredness and increasing quality of sleep. The brain’s membrane itself is made up of DHA (contained in omega 3’s) and is an essential building block at a molecular level - the brain would not exist without omega 3 fatty acids, so as you can see it’s crucial for brain health. Low levels of DHA are linked to low levels of melatonin which helps you get off to sleep and so vital in aiding quality and length of sleep. It has been proven that omega 3’s also help improve attention span, decrease impulsiveness and restlessness in children.

Exercise

Often people think if they’re feeling tired that they should skip their training session, they couldn’t be more wrong. Exercise increases energy levels, mental alertness and in general makes you feel more pumped and positive - even if it’s a short 30 minute session, you will leave feeling 10 times better than when you started. Exercise releases endorphins that naturally boost energy levels and this can also lead to a better quality of sleep. Exercise also works on increasing heart strength, size and makes it perform more efficiently, transporting more oxygen to the brain and other organs and in turn, increases performance and concentration.

Water

Tiredness and fatigue are two of the most common side affects of being dehydrated, you’ll be surprised how much your energy levels boost just by increasing the amount of water you intake by one litre per day. We as fitness professionals have been pushing the importance of water perpetually, it really is the most simple and effective way to improve overall health, but it is still overlooked by so many. Water increases energy levels, decreases tiredness and also helps in a multitude of other areas, such as fat loss, maintaining blood pressure, preventing kidney damage and benefiting skin health. Drink 3-5 litres of water per day and try to drink throughout the day with a slight reduction before bed.