Good sleep is a lifestyle, not just a bedtime routine. We all know that after a poor night's sleep our energy is sluggish, we eat poorly, lack motivation for exercise and feel brain fog. Interestingly, optimizing your sleep for maximum energy starts with habits you incorporate throughout the day!
Most of us need seven to eight hours of sleep for optimal daytime functioning, but at least 50% of Americans struggle with sleep quantity and quality. Sleep influences your brain function, mental clarity, mood, hormonal balance, weight management, detoxification and stress response. Prioritizing quality sleep will lead to more than energized days, but also improve your overall wellness.
Low energy can be caused by many factors beyond sleep. If you get quality sleep but still feel exhausted, take a look at chronic stress, exercise, nutrition, draining relationships, hormonal imbalances or a demanding schedule.
To upgrade your energy levels, invest in the health of your mitochondria–the powerhouses in our cells that turn food and oxygen into energy. Start with a few ideas below for 21 days and see how rejuvenated you feel!
Energy Boosters:
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Hydrate: Drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily.
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Control your blood sugar: Eat a balance of protein, fiber and healthy fats throughout the day. Try green protein smoothies with “Truvani” protein powder, eggs with spinach and wild salmon paired with veggies.
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Ditch inflammatory foods: Prevent mitochondrial damage by skipping sugar, processed foods, artificial colors, chemical food additives, and, if intolerant or sensitive, gluten and dairy.
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Fill half your plate with veggies per meal: Cruciferous veggies are loaded with glutathione, our master antioxidant, and contain vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are immunity boosting and disease fighting powerhouses.
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Eat your B vitamins: Grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught salmon, leafy greens and spirulina, a plant based superfood with B12, are useful for energy.
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Amplify your healthy fats: Wild-caught salmon, nuts, avocado, etc. boosts your mood, provides sustained energy and improves mental functioning. Try “Vital Choice” delivery of wild Alaskan salmon to your doorstep and sprouted nuts and seeds from “GoRaw”.
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Power-up on adaptogens: Herbal ingredients used to cope with stress, anxiety, fatigue and boost energy.
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Immunity: “Host Defence Daily Mushroom Immune Support”
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Stress: “Four Sigmatic” Reishi or “Moon Juice” Ashwagandha
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Mental Clarity: “Four Sigmatic” Lion's Mane
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Energy: “MoonJuice” Maca or Cordyceps Mushrooms
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Self-care energy enhancers: add micro-breaks for self-care. Think of self care as any activity or way of thinking that brings you back to your higher self—deep belly breathing, meditation or yoga from “Glo”, “Headspace” or local CT yogi, Abbey Chase, mantra’s, walks in nature, decreasing your scroll-time on social media, add in more laughter and time with friends and family.
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Get moving: Increase your heart rate to release endorphins and elevate your energy and mood while balancing your stress response. It’s also wonderful for your brain, heart, metabolic health and more. Bonus points if you exercise outside!
Sleep Optimizers:
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Pause caffeine after noon.
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Sweat it out: People who engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise may see a difference in sleep quality that same night. Avoid exercising three hours before bed.
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Pause eating before bed: Eat no later than a few hours before bed to allow your digestion to relax. Eating sugar and processed foods right before bed can influence your sleep quality.
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Decrease alcohol: It interferes with your sleep quality.
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Go to bed and wake up at the same time daily: swings in your sleep schedule or trying to catch up on sleep after a week of late nights can cause changes in metabolism. Commit to falling asleep earlier.
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Unplug: Turn off your devices and screens 1 hour prior to bed to clear your mind and allow for melatonin production. Blue lights emitted from screens block melatonin, your body’s sleep hormone and critical antioxidant.
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Make your bedroom a sanctuary: Reduce the clutter, dim the lights, consider an eye mask and calming music or white noise. Keep your bedroom temperature cool at 67 degrees. Try essential oils such as “DoTerra” lavender on your wrists or feet. These also work for kids.
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Create bedtime relaxation rituals: Move from fight-or-flight into a parasympathetic relaxed state with epsom baths, teas, deep belly breathing using the “Breathing” or “Glo” app, yoga nidra on “Glo”, journing, reading etc.
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Teas, Adaptogens, CBD and Supplements:
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Teas: Lavender, chamomile, lemon balm or specific sleep blends from “Gaia Herbs” or the de-stress blend at Arogya in Westport.
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Adaptogens: “Chill the F Out” by Apothekary with reishi mushroom, ashwagandha, raw cacao
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Sleep CBD: Arogya in Westport
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Sleep Tonic by “Herb Pharm”: with valerian, passionflower and other rapidly absorbed liquid herb extracts
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Magnesium: relaxes the nervous system and muscles
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