Why getting enough sleep should be a top priority

(Continued from last week)

2. Do some light exercise

Sometimes, in the middle of the work day, I start to feel sluggish and my brain can “shut down.”

When you feel sluggish, try to get up and exercise.

At those times, I find it useful to get up from my chair, stretch a little, walk around the office, and then continue work at the standing desk.

A little movement helps to revitalize me, and no wonder.

As specialists from the Harvard Medical School explain in their dedicated report, although exercise may not be the first thing that you’ll want to do when feeling depleted of energy, it stimulates your body and mind in some vital ways.

First, they write, in any form of exercise, at cellular level, more energy-producing units form in your muscles, so that your body may sustain the activity.

Exercise also “increases your body’s oxygen-carrying capacity” and boosts circulation, so said oxygen will reach and “feed” all your body parts sooner.

Moreover, it stimulates the release of stress hormones — in moderation — which make you feel more energized and alert.

“But what type of exercise should you do?” ask the report authors, who then go on to explain that, in short, anything will do — just as long as you engage in some kind of physical activity.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of time worrying about this. When it comes to exercise and energy, it’s hard to go wrong — and you don’t have to run for miles or work out to the point of exhaustion to start reaping benefits.”

A recent study involving hundreds of participants over a period of 15 years confirms that doing just half an hour of light aerobic exercise every day will help you to stay healthy, and it will bring long-reaching profit.

3. Put time aside for yoga, meditation

Practicing yoga and meditation might also help to boost your energy levels. This is because these practices focus on techniques — such as mindful breathing — that aim to promote a state of calm.

Yoga and meditation may also help you to fend off stress and fatigue.

So, if your fatigue is due — at least in part — to increased stress, taking up yoga or meditation as a routine “self-care” approach can help you to become more resistant to stressors.

One study from last year found that people who practice meditation and yoga often seemed to have better immune systems and to have developed resilience in the face of stress and anxiety.

Another study saw that engaging in just 25 minutes of yoga or meditation — compared with 25 minutes of quiet reading — could boost peoples’ mood, as well as their energy levels and executive function.

A review of studies investigating the health benefits of yoga also concluded that this practice can improve resilience to stress in people working in fairly high-intensity domains, as well as reduce anxiety and improve the symptoms of depression.

4. Learn to delegate tasks

This might not seem to be an available option for many of us who have taken on too numerous hats — perhaps as partners, parents, or dedicated career people.

Try to delegate some of your chores to achieve better balance.

We might feel stifled by our responsibilities — from the very small daily chores, such as doing the dishes, to the less mundane, such as a vital work project with many ramifications.

However, if we don’t find a decent strategy to redistribute some of these responsibilities, at least from time to time, it may lead to burnout and a constant sense of fatigue in our day-to-day lives, which is not at all conducive to productivity and happiness.

Research has shown that people who invest in services that allow them to stop worrying about some of the house chores that they dislike, so that they don’t have to deal with the mental and physical overload, have a greater sense of overall well-being.

“[O]ur research suggests,” explains Elizabeth Dunn, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, “people should […] consider buying their way out of unpleasant experiences.”

5. Don’t underestimate sleep

Finally, it’s vital to make sure that you get enough good-quality sleep at night to prevent fatigue or recover from the effect of tiring or stressful activity throughout the day.

Getting enough sleep should be a top priority

Although this may be the most obvious advice, many of us often underestimate the impact that shortened sleeping time, or disrupted sleep, can have on our energy levels and health and well-being, in general.

Research has associated disrupted sleep with neurodegeneration, mental health problems, and increased predisposition to worry.

How much sleep we need largely depends on our age and some other factors. However, on average, adults should sleep for around 7–9 hours per night in order to feel refreshed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that, to get a good night’s sleep, we should form a healthful routine. This includes going to bed at roughly the same time each night and getting up at roughly the same time every morning. And yes, this means no weekend lie-ins!

They also advise avoiding exposure to bright screens — such as those of smartphones, laptops, or tablets — just before bed, as this interferes with your natural body clock, leading to a state of alertness that will keep you awake even if you are tired and would like to sleep.

In short, the key takeaway from this Spotlight is that if you lack the energy that you think you should have, make sure that you familiarize yourself with your own needs and prioritize them.

Caffeine might help you to feel more alert in the short-term, but there are no shortcuts for keeping your energy resources well stocked. So, it’s best to form healthful habits that will help you to cope with stress and avoid energy depletion.

(Concluded)