Feeling Sluggish?
Here are some things you can try to help with feeling tired and sluggish.
Sometimes we all go through periods in our lives where we feel tired, and sluggish. The daily demands, stresses, and our diets, all factor in on how we feel. Have you heard of the statement, "you are what you eat", it is so true. What we put in our bodies and how we take care of ourselves will impact how we feel. My life is very chaotic at times, very demanding with serving in the military, juggling my civilian career, school, teaching, running a health and wellness business, involved with community service, home projects, three fur babies, and family to balance can wear someone out. As someone in their mid-40s, I am still going strong as I did in my 20s. Based on research and from my personal experiences over the years, these elements have helped me to continue and maintain that healthy balance despite everything going on in my daily life.
Eat foods that are colorful. If we eat foods that are rich in dark purple, like blueberries, cherries, raspberries, and more, these are full of anti-oxidants. Eat foods that are dark green like broccoli, spinach, and kale. these are all full of healthy nutrients. According to health.com, these superfoods are high in fiber, fight inflammation, protect the heart, can help prevent cancer, and some act as a natural detox. If you don't have time to eat all of these foods everyday, change it up, have different shakes or smoothies or incorporate some in the morning, lunch and dinner. I have a daily mid morning routine, which I will share under my recipes for my daily variation of smoothies. This helps me to get the vitamins and nutrients I need. One thing I incorporate in my daily regime is one cup of water with 1 TBSP of Apple Cider Vinegar before I go to bed. Everyone that knows me, is aware I live and use ACV for everything. ACV has a lot of fiber and this helps with balancing my PH, detox, and staying regular. I can get all this without the use of over the counter meds or prescription which then creates other health complications. The fiber of ACV helps with cancer prevention because with regular eliminations, there is no build up of toxins, foods, etc. in your body. As a result, reducing that sluggishness, and bulging of the stomach region. So next time you experience constipation, ask yourself, are you drinking enough water? If not, take that cup of water with 1 TBSP of ACV. If the taste is too bad for you, add a tsp of honey or lemon. You will feel the difference once you incorporate this in your daily regime. If you are taking prescriptions medications, it may take some time. But always check with your doctor before introducing anything into your body.
Get plenty of sleep. Studies and medical research has proven that getting enough rest is essential to keeping your body strong and keeping mental alertness. As humans we can run non-stop but eventually our bodies will not function as they should. I can recall when I was younger, living on 4-5 hours of sleep, eventually over time, it catches up. When you don't sleep you are denying your body from healing and the recovery process. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, " When people don’t get enough sleep, their health risks rise. Symptoms of depression, seizures, high blood pressure and migraines worsen. Immunity is compromised, increasing the likelihood of illness and infection. Sleep also plays a role in metabolism: Even one night of missed sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person. “There are many important connections between health and sleep,” says Wu.
Keep your body moving. I know life is busy, and everything has shifted to work remotely or sit at our desks all day, or even have long commutes to work. Remember, make time to move daily. If you work at desk, get a standup desk. You are burning calories, and if you are standing erect, you are helping your back and abdominal muscles. Every hour, take a walk for about 10 mins. Go up and down a flight of stairs to keep your blood flowing. I make sure I incorporate some form of activity for 30-minutes. I have my apple watch and tracks my movements. I wake up at 0500 in the morning, and do my PraiseMoves workout, for 20 minutes and do my bike for 20, minutes with 10 minutes of light weight training. This works for me, if you don't have that much time, take a brisk walk in the evening. In the evening, or after work, take that time to make time to get that body moving. Again, you don't need a lot of time, 20-30 minutes is recommended.
Do a couple of stretches and drink a glass of water. This will help with feeling tired at your desk. If you don't like water, add some lemon juice to get fiber, potassium, and other helpful nutrients in your body with very little effort. If you really want to add something to wake you up, add some mint, or peppermint leaves in your water, or a drop of essential oils (check for purity and ability to ingest, not all oils are made to ingest in the body) to keep you alert and awake. Peppermint is known for alertness, and anti-inflammation.
One final thing that has helped with my weight management is not eating after 6:00 p.m. I eat dinner around 5 or 5:30, and after that, I don't eat anything else. This creates a fasting period for me, as research has shown that fasting helps with resetting the body. The Bible also mentions fasting, so this has been around for thousands of years. According to Boulder Medical Center, "fasting cleanses our body of toxins and forces cells into processes that are not usually stimulated when a steady stream of fuel from food is always present. When we fast, the body does not have its usual access to glucose, forcing the cells to resort to other means and materials to produce energy. As a result, the body begins gluconeogenesis, a natural process of producing its own sugar. The liver helps by converting non-carbohydrate materials like lactate, amino acids, and fats into glucose energy. Because our bodies conserve energy during fasting, our basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy our bodies burn while resting) becomes more efficient, thereby lowering our heart rate and blood pressure."
B-12 Vitamins. Have you seen postings and notifications of B-12 shots at medical offices, health and wellness centers? There is a reason for that. B-12 is essential for immune health. I know when my body is feeling wore out, and not because of lack of my ACV, but our bodies need various minerals and vitmains to maintain homeostasis. I don't take B-12 everyday, maybe a few time a month. I can definitely feel the difference if I feel like I am wore out, I know I am lacking this vitamin. As a female, I also incorporate iron vitamins. Not everyday, but a few days a month with my B-12. Webmd states "Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that helps the body create DNA, nourishes the brain and nervous system, and assists with the formation of healthy red blood cells. A lack of B12 can put you at higher risk for a specific type of anemia that makes you feel weak and tired."
These basic practices will eventually help you over time. As I always remind people, it took time to get our body to the way it is, and will also take some time to recover. You will be amazed how our bodies can recover if we take good care of it.
