COURTESY HEALTH.COM
Lack of sleep isn’t the only thing sapping your energy. Here, experts reveal common bad habits that can make you feel tired.
You skip exercise when you’re tired
Skipping your workout to save energy actually works against you. Regular exercise boosts strength and endurance, helps make your cardiovascular system run more efficiently, and delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. So next time you’re tempted to crash on the couch, at least go for a brisk walk—you won’t regret it.
You don’t drink enough water
Being even slightly dehydrated—as little as 2% of normal fluid loss—takes a toll on energy levels, says Amy Goodson, RD, a dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume, explains Goodson, which makes the blood thicker. This requires your heart to pump less efficiently, reducing the speed at which oxygen and nutrients reach your muscles and organs. To calculate your normal fluid needs, take your weight in pounds, divide in half and drink that number of ounces of fluid a day, Goodson recommends.
You’re not consuming enough iron
An iron deficiency can leave you feeling sluggish, irritable, weak, and unable to focus. Boost your iron intake to reduce your risk of anemia: load up on lean beef, kidney beans, tofu, eggs, green vegetables, nuts, and peanut butter, and pair them with foods high in vitamin C (vitamin C improves iron absorption when eaten together), suggests Goodson.
You’re a perfectionist
Striving to be perfect—which, let’s face it, is impossible—makes you work much harder and longer than necessary, says Irene S. Levine, PhD, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. Levine recommends setting a time limit for yourself on your projects, and taking care to obey it.
You make mountains out of molehills
“catastrophizing,” or expecting that the worst-case scenario will always occur can paralyze you and make you mentally exhausted, says Levine. Getting outdoors, meditating, exercising, or sharing your concerns with a friend may help you better cope and become more realistic.
You skip breakfast
The food you eat fuels your body, and when you sleep, your body continues using what you consumed at dinner the night before to keep your blood pumping and oxygen flowing. So, when you wake up in the morning, you need to refuel with breakfast. Skip it, and you’ll feel sluggish. “Eating breakfast is like starting a fire in your body by kickstarting your metabolism,” Goodson says. Goodson recommends a breakfast that includes whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fat.
You live on junk food
Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbs rank high on the glycemic index (GI), an indicator of how rapidly carbohydrates increase blood sugar. Keep blood sugar steady by having a lean protein along with a whole grain at every meal, says Goodson.
You have trouble saying ‘no’
People-pleasing often comes at the expense of your own energy and happiness. It can make you resentful and angry over time. Train yourself to say ‘no’ out loud, suggests Susan Albers, a licensed clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic and author of Eat.Q.“Hearing yourself say the word aloud makes it easier to say it when the next opportunity calls for it.”
You work through vacation
Checking your email when you should be relaxing by the pool puts you at risk of burnout, says Lombardo. Unplugging and allowing yourself to truly unwind allows your mind and body to rejuvenate and return to the office stronger.
You have wine before bed
Alcohol initially depresses the central nervous system, producing a sedative effect, says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine, P.C., in New York City. “But it ultimately sabotages sleep maintenance.” Dr. Towfigh recommends stopping all alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.
You check e-mails at bedtime
The glaring light of a tablet, smartphone, or your computer’s backlit screen can throw off your body’s natural circadian rhythm by suppressing melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep and wake cycles, says Dr. Towfigh. Avoid all technology for one to two hours before bedtime, he says.
You rely on caffeine to get through the day
Using caffeine improperly can seriously disrupt your sleep-wake cycle, says Dr. Towfigh. Caffeine blocks adenosine, the byproduct of active cells that drives you to sleep as it accumulates, he explains.
You stay up late on weekends
Burning the midnight oil on Saturday night and then sleeping in Sunday morning leads to difficulty falling asleep Sunday night—and a sleep-deprived Monday morning, says Dr. Towfigh. “Napping for 20 minutes or so allows the body to recharge without entering the deeper stages of sleep, which can cause you to wake up more tired,” he says.
