Few Natural Ways to Boost Your Energy

 JJ VIRGIN

I often find many people turning to caffeine to boost their energy levels. If energy beverages aren't your go-to drink.I'm not judging. We've become a caffeine-addicted nation, trying to fulfill an ever-growing to-do list as an overwhelming array of responsibilities and demands can drain every ounce of energy before lunchtime.
Despite your best efforts, some days you feel like you're running on empty and desperately seeking a second wind to pull you through that afternoon meeting and then fight rush-hour traffic. Manufacturers have responded with a growing array of energy drinks and new coffee joints popping up on nearly every street corner.
I understand caffeine's pick-me-up appeal, but drinking caffeine may actually make you feel worse by causing you to crash.
Instead if you want a steady, sustained all-day energy, these five strategies can help you create and maintain it:

1. Get plenty of high-quality sleep.
Studies show sleep loss can measurably decrease cognitive functions . More specifically, lack of sleep reduces speed of processing and attention. The next day you're a semi-functioning caffeinated mess, more apt to make lousy decisions like eating three of those freshly-baked cookies your coworker brought in, and then blowing off your evening workout to crash on the couch with Seinfeld reruns. "Deficits worsen with increasing time awake," researchers in this study said, "but they may be overturned after normal sleep is resumed." That's good news if sleep deprivation leaves you running on empty. Starting tonight, aim for seven to nine hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep for consistent all-day energy.

2. Check your thyroid levels.
"The thyroid gland is the master switch that lets your body use food to make energy," Dr. Alan Christianson, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Thyroid Disease," told me. "When this does not work right, not only do you not make energy, but the same food ends up being made into fat. No fun!" Ask your doctor to run a thyroid panel and include free T3 to make sure you convert well to the active form. Signs of low thyroid include low body temperature, dry skin, weak nails, poor hair growth, high cholesterol, constipation, slightly yellow palms, and missing the outer third of your eyebrows.

3. Learn how to balance your blood sugar.
Despite their reputation as energy boosters, carbohydrate-rich foods create a blood sugar spike-and-crash roller coaster, triggering hunger, cravings and fatigue. Ditch the high-glycemic carbs for protein-rich foods. "Protein can make you feel satisfied without feeling stuffed," writes Dr. Jonny Bowden in his book "The Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy." "When I see people with low energy, I'm almost always struck with how much better they do when they revamp their diets and increase their protein." Try to enjoy clean protein sources like wild-caught fish with healthy fats, leafy greens, and slow-release high-fiber carbs to steady blood sugar and maintain consistent energy.

4. Try burst training.
If I told you could get a fat-blasting workout in just minutes a day, you'd think I sounded like an infomercial. Fortunately,many studies support high-intensity interval training, or burst training, as the most effective workout in just minutes a day. "The most efficient way to increase cardiovascular strength, brain health, and energy is through interval training," writes Bowden in "The Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy." "After just 10 minutes of interval training, you should have enough energy to blast through your day."

5. Learn to relax and recharge.
"Being chronically stressed is much like having a permanent low-grade flu," Jonathan Bailor, author of "The Calorie Myth," told me. "Your body is spending energy putting out fires instead of fueling your full potential. To live a chronically stressed life is to never be fully alive." Studies show acupuncture,massage therapy, and Transcendental Meditation effective to reduce stress. You might also consider rhodiola rosea, an adaptogenic herb, to reduce stress-related fatigue. The point is to figure out what works for you and make it a consistent habit.

Alcoholism

Not everyone who takes drinks becomes a confirmed alcoholic. However, it cannot be determined in advance who will and who will not.

Alcoholics are defined as those who have become victims of their habit of drinking to the extent that their lives are dominated by their desire for liquor. It is, of course, in this group of persons that the most serious complications of the use of alcohol occur. In cases of prolonged use of alcohol, there develops a gradual deterioration of the brain tissues with various manifestations of mental illness.

As we review this recital of the damage that alcohol does to the organs of the body and, especially, to the brain, we marvel that anyone who has ever used alcohol could be tempted to drink again. The explanation is that the desire for alcohol is promoted by its psychological effects. These persuade a person to continue drinking I spite of the unfavorable effects on the functions of his body.

Is there a Care?

Attempted cure of alcoholism is often disappointing because the continued use of alcohol rests on a psychological foundation. The drinker is self deceived in that he feels strong when he is weak, warm when he is cold, adequate when he is a failure, and secure in spite of his insecurity. Ehen deprived o alcohol; he must face an unpleasant reality which has been made even worse by alcohol. So he continues to drink.

The only successful way to help an alcoholic is to bring him to a willingness to face reality squarely. Drinking is a habit that gains strength from the effect of the alcohol I n providing apparent temporary release from the obligations and frustrations of life.

As in breaking any habit, a strong determination is required. Al alcoholic can stop drinking if he really desires to. Typical of his attitudes, however, is a weakness of purpose. In spite of good motives, he gives in easily to the temptation to take another drink whenever the going becomes hard.

One of the most successful programs for the help of alcoholics is that provided by Alcoholics Anonymous. There is a chapter of this organization in almost every city, and the members are ready to help persons who sincerely desire to discontinue their use of alcohol.

The success of Alcohols Anonymous rests on sound psychological and religious principles. Also, the member of the organization take a personal interest in every new member. This element of comradeship helps the struggling alcoholic when tempted to drown his disappointments and discouragements in another drink..

The same principles of encouragement, of reliance upon divine aid, and of stability through comradeship can be used by anyone who desires to help a friend or relative overcome the habit of drinking.

Perhaps the greatest service anyone can render to the family, to the community, and to the nation, however, in combating the evils of alcohol, is to promote constantly the benefits of abstinence. Only as persons refrain from alcohol by refusing to take the first drink can they be confident of freedom from the physical illnesses, the mental slavery, and the destruction of personality which follow in the wake of this indulgence.