Do you wake up and still feel tired? This is one of the most frequent frustrations our patients initially convey when we discuss health concerns on intake forms at our clinic in Miami Shores. The reason why you may be waking tired is most likely unique to you and will require troubleshooting by one of our physicians. There are, however, a handful of easy steps that you can take to start making some improvements today to help you feel less tired and more energized as you start your day.
Cut Down on Caffeine
Try to limit yourself to one cup of coffee a day. Though caffeine may give you an initial boost of energy after it wears off, you may be left feeling depleted. Your cup of coffee also dehydrates you, leading you to more tiredness. Lowering your caffeine intake can give you more energy in the long run.
Drinking more than 2 cups of coffee a day increases your risk of adrenal fatigue. Every time you consume coffee, your adrenal glands produce cortisol, the main stress hormone. With consistent caffeine intake, you could be forcing your adrenal glands to overproduce the hormone, causing adrenal fatigue.
Slowly reducing your caffeine intake will help to reduce feelings of withdrawal as you balance out your natural energy levels.
Avoid caffeine after midday and especially after dinner so you can naturally wind down for a restful night of sleep. Better quality sleep will restore energy levels.
Drink More Water
When it comes to how to stop feeling tired, one of the most important considerations is staying hydrated.
Dehydration happens when your body loses fluid and electrolytes more quickly than it can replace them. You may also feel dizzy, lightheaded, and especially thirsty. That’s because your body needs to be properly hydrated to feel energized and function optimally.
When you’re dehydrated, your blood pressure drops, which leads to poor circulation and reduced flow to your brain. This causes feelings of sleepiness.
Often, your body needs more than just plain water to stay hydrated. It needs essential minerals, known as electrolytes, to help maintain proper fluid balance and hydration both inside and outside of your cells.
In addition to actually drinking enough water, you may want to consider adding a good quality electrolyte to your drinking water to improve the ability of water to make it into your cells.
Address Your Allergies
The chemicals released by your body to combat allergic reactions can cause you to feel tired. They can bring on inflammation of your sinuses, airways, or skin. Accompanying head and nose congestion can cause you to sleep poorly.
These factors can make you wake up feeling sluggish and contribute to brain fog, making it difficult to concentrate and complete your daily activities.
Consider getting an air purifier for your bedroom. Our favorite one is Winix. This will at least help to clean the air that you are breathing all night as you sleep.
Prioritize Iron-Rich Foods
To avoid feeling lethargic and lousy overall, it’s crucial to ensure you’re getting iron. Lack of iron can lead to tiredness. This is due to low hemoglobin levels, which make it more difficult for oxygen to be carried to your tissues and muscles. It also weakens your immune system, making you more likely to develop illness and infection.
Iron from plants (non-heme) isn’t as easily absorbed as iron from animal products (heme). So favor getting your iron from a daily intake of animal protein sources like beef, lamb, and liver. Not only will these foods helps to restore your iron levels, but they have the added benefit of stabilizing blood sugar levels which will also improve your fatigue level.
You can try filling your plate with a whole lot of iron-rich, body-boosting vegetables. But how you prepare them can increase the amount of iron. For example, one cup of cooked spinach contains more iron than one cup of raw spinach. The reason for this increase in nutrients is simply because you’ll need more cooked spinach than you did raw spinach to fill up the same-sized cup.)
Consuming foods rich in Vitamin C increase iron absorption. Examples of foods to try and include with your meals at the same time as eating your iron-rich animal protein; citrus, chard, broccoli, red or green bell pepper, kiwi, strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupe, or papaya.
Sleep with Your Mouth Closed for Better Breathing
While sleeping, many of our mouths fall open, causing our respiratory airways to narrow. This makes efficient breathing difficult and inhaling sufficient airflow almost impossible.
Because we are unable to breathe efficiently. With our airways narrowed, we begin snoring, leading to poor sleep quality for both the snorer and sleep disturbances for the partner sleeping with the snorer.
The first line of defense is to breathe through the nose as nose breathing filters, warms, and humidifies inhaled air, acting as the body’s first line of defense against allergens and pathogens. Beyond protecting you, nose breathing ensures efficient breathing and sufficient airflow by reducing collapsibility during sleep. It also facilitates a more regulated breathing rhythm during sleep allowing a deeper sleep.
The number one cause of snoring is mouth breathing. Switching to nose breathing at night has been shown to reduce snoring by 72% on average.
Consider using SomniFix Strips at night helps to curb mouth breathing and get you back in the habit of nose breathing instead. This will significantly improve the quality of your sleep and have you waking more refreshed.
We do not take a cookie-cutter approach to restore energy. You are unique. If you have applied all of these solutions to your life yet still have feelings of fatigue, please consider seeing us in person at our clinic or online to troubleshoot the unique causes of your lack of energy.
