At least once a month, one of my friends complain that after work they have no energy left and feel tired. The reasons are many from not sleeping enough or during the wrong hours, to bad eating habits.

Inspired by Leo’s article about 16 great, healthy dinners in 10-minutes or less, I will try to give you the best tips to have a very enjoyable evening after work and to go to work full of energy.

1. A good night sleep. I am sure you all know the expert’s theory for a good rest which is sleeping 8 hours a night, but what is the most important is which eight hours? According to Ayurvedic medicine the best hours to rest your body are between 10pm and 6am. It’s advised to sleep when the sun is out, while it’s dark outside so that your body rejuvenates. Like this, you will have a lot more energy during the day.

2. Breathing properly. Do you know that you may not breathe properly? A few months ago when I was having a massage the masseuse told me I wasn’t breathing the way I should, I was only breathing to get some air inside my lungs. However, Yoga can help. Sit up straight, close your eyes and place your hands just above your waistline, then inhale gently through your nose. Do not expand your upper-chest, but your lower-chest and stomach. Then exhale forcefully through your nostrils and draw your lower-chest and your stomach in. Repeat 10 times and you will get the habit of breathing properly.

3. Exercise in the morning. Twenty or thirty minutes of daily exercise will not only make you more energetic during the day but will also keep your joints and muscles in shape. Exercising is a great way to combat stress, the biggest energy eater, because it will produce lots of chemicals needed by the brain.

4. Alternated showers. It’s 40 Celsius around here so I can bet everyone would enjoy a very cold shower to cool down, but studies showed that in order to regain your energy you need to alternate between hot and cold water (1 minute each). This will help to draw blood to your skin, which translates into better blood circulation for all your organs.

5. A quick nap. If you’re a person that needs a nap during the day, you should do it between 1pm and 4pm because this is normally the time of the day when your body naturally slows down. A 10-30 minutes nap (do not exceed) will energize you for several hours. I am aware that people usually work full time so a solution would be to take a nap during your breaks.

6. Eating healthier. This is another topic of which we hear a lot of theories. The main idea is to consume more vitamins and minerals and less fats and cholesterol. Here is my advice so that you get the most energy from food:

- a rich breakfast. Remember that just like a car uses gasoline to start the engine, your body needs to be fueled, too. You need to start your own engine in the morning, so after exercising and taking a shower you should eat breakfast. Aim for a combination of whole grains, fruits and vegetables and a moderate amount of low-fat proteins and dairy products. The combinations above can also be used for lunch or dinner.
- frequent eating which translates into eating small meals more than 3 times a day. The reason is to prevent your blood sugar levels from crashing. Sugar is what gives you lots of energy for short term, because as soon as you give your body sugar, it will produce insulin, to overtake it. That is why a healthy blood sugar level should be maintained.
- savor your meals. Not many of us do. Everyone is in a hurry so you eat your yogurt while running to the other meeting, on the other floor? You need to settle down and eat your meal in a calm place so that you can really taste and savor what you are having. You will be back to the office prepared for a new round in the bull-fight!
- eat enough calories. You eat enough, you work hard but you’re losing weight? Unless you are over-weight then an alarm sign should ring. This means you’re not having enough calories a day and you should do something about that problem, as soon as possible. If you don’t put enough gas into your car you cannot expect for it to run more than what you’ve put in. Your body is not getting enough calories so you cannot ask for more energy.
- be aware of what you’re eating. Avoid fast foods because all you will get there is tempting meals that are full of fats and cholesterol. I know they taste extremely well but would you put bad gas in your car if you know in time it will damage? Can you risk any interventions to your body in the future? Try to eat less meat (at least eat fish and sea-food if you can’t live without it), less dairy products (but don’t eliminate them) especially if you know the source and it’s nothing artificial and eat as many fruits and vegetables you want. Many will feel like having a snack while getting the chart done for the 3 o`clock presentation and I have the answer. Replace chipss or pretzels with dried dates, dried apricots or any other fruit you like.

7. Don’t eat too late. This is the part where you should try eating the last meal 5 hours before bedtime. It usually takes 5 hours for the food to be digested and released from the stomach to the small intestine. If you eat at 9pm and then head to bed at 10pm it means your body is working, so imagine why you’re lacking energy next morning.

8. Music has energy. Have you noticed that sometime you fall asleep when listening to Julio Iglesias or any other soft songs? It’s true. Your mind relaxes, your muscles do too, and you fall asleep. It’s been studied that a faster tempo song can energize the body therefore why not listening to some upbeat music in the morning, when you workout or at the office if everyone is fine with it.

9. A cup of coffee after work or a cup of energizing tea (fresh ginseng or ginseng tea bags) that will temporary increase your energy level and will make you more alert.

10. Spend some quality time. Have you noticed that after a weekend in the mountains, to the seaside or in a place where you feel really well and relaxed you have more energy when you’re back home? It really works to relax your mind and body. However, I am not only talking about weekends here. To get your mind off your daily problems you can invite friends over or you can have a few hours out with them, be it in the park on a terrace or at a restaurant. Socializing is a very powerful technique to relieve tension and stress.

I know everyone aims for a great career that will bring lots and lots of money and you don’t have time to take into consideration the 10 little tips I gave above. However I would like you to think of that quote by Octavian Paler: “we lose our health to make money, and then we lose our money to get our health back – most of the time being unsuccessful“.

Is it worth it?

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