Actions for this page Listen Print. Stay on Ijcrease of latest health news from Harvard Medical School. Rooibos tea is another type of tea that helps fight fatigue. Adam Meyer.

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8 Habits for (Almost) Limitless Energy

Increase energy levels -

It might be time to take a small break if you have lost your focus staring at a computer. Try getting up and walking around to boost your energy if you spend most of your day sitting.

Research has shown that short periods of moderate-intensity exercise throughout the day can improve your mood and decrease fatigue without negatively affecting work performance. Here are some ways to incorporate more exercise into your day:.

A short massage could aid brain function. A study published in found that 20 minutes of brain massage significantly decreased mental fatigue. The researchers also noted increases in attention and memory.

Try applying pressure to the "kiss point," or GV in acupressure:. Vitamin D, which comes from sunlight, is an essential vitamin that supports strong bones. Low vitamin D levels can cause fatigue and weakness.

Increasing your vitamin D intake helps reduce muscle fatigue and keeps your muscle cells healthy. You can increase your vitamin D intake by:. Talk to a healthcare provider or pharmacist before starting a supplement if you suspect you have a vitamin D deficiency.

The Food and Drug Administration minimally regulates supplements. The effects of supplements vary from person to person and depend on many variables, including type, dosage, frequency of use, and interactions with current medications.

Stress can affect your health in many ways. For example, long-term stress may cause difficulty sleeping and contribute to fatigue. You are also more likely to start work fatigued and become more tired during the day if you are stressed. Relieving that stress can ease your fatigue and give you more energy.

Here are a few ways you can reduce stress:. Reach out to a healthcare provider if you have severe stress symptoms for more than two weeks. They can help you figure out how to cope with stress. Vitamin B12 helps keep your blood and nerve cells healthy. Most adults need 2. A B12 deficiency can cause fatigue and weakness.

You can try eating more Brich foods to boost energy. Sources include:. People who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet might have trouble getting enough B Animal foods make up the most natural sources of the vitamin. Talk to a healthcare provider if you suspect you may be low on B They might recommend a supplement to help meet your intake goal.

Research has shown that naps of any length help improve cognitive function and how alert you feel. Still, experts only advise long naps i. Napping for long periods makes it hard to fall asleep at night.

Here are some tips for napping:. Some evidence suggests that musical activity helps boost energy levels. A study published in found that participants who actively made music through singing, keyboard playing, or rhythm tapping felt more energetic than others.

In contrast, the researchers noted that listening to music or a story might decrease your energy. The next time you listen to a song, try singing along to feel more awake.

Your body responds to lightness and darkness as signals to be awake and to fall asleep. Your circadian rhythm —the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a hour cycle—takes those light and dark signals so that your body knows when to rest and when to be awake.

Here are a few ways you can use sunlight to regulate your circadian rhythm:. Aromatherapy involves applying essential oils, such as those from flowers, herbs, or trees, to your skin or inhaling them. A study published in found that a blend of clove bud, frankincense, orange, and thyme helped decrease fatigue in women with post-acute COVID, or long COVID.

Other essential oils that you might try using include:. There are many other ways to get energy without resorting to a cup of coffee if you are trying to cut back on your caffeine intake. However you decide to get more energy, there are plenty of alternatives to that cup of coffee.

For example, eat regularly throughout the day with lean proteins and fiber-rich carbohydrates since you get energy from food. You can also substitute caffeine with water to avoid dehydration and the fatigue that comes with it.

Try relieving stress with exercise or meditation. Chang AM, Aeschbach D, Duffy JF, et al. Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Pham HT, Chuang HL, Kuo CP, et al. Electronic device use before bedtime and sleep quality among university students. Healthcare Basel. Ginns P, Kim T, Zervos E.

Chewing gum while studying: Effects on alertness and test performance. Appl Cogn Psychol. Zhang N, Du SM, Zhang JF, et al. Effects of dehydration and rehydration on cognitive performance and mood among male college students in Cangzhou, China: A self-controlled trial. Int J Environ Res Public Health.

Water in diet. de Rijk MG, van Eekelen APJ, Kaldenberg E, et al. The association between eating frequency with alertness and gastrointestinal complaints in nurses during the night shift. J Sleep Res. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Eating to boost energy. Campanelli S, Tort ABL, Lobão-Soares B. Pranayamas and their neurophysiological effects. Int J Yoga. Malhotra V, Javed D, Wakode S, et al.

Study of immediate neurological and autonomic changes during kapalbhati pranayama in yoga practitioners. J Family Med Prim Care. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Your guide to healthy sleep. Mendelsohn AI. Creatures of habit: The neuroscience of habit and purposeful behavior. Biol Psychiatry. NIH News in Health. Good sleep for good health. Bergouignan A, Legget KT, De Jong N, et al.

Effect of frequent interruptions of prolonged sitting on self-perceived levels of energy, mood, food cravings and cognitive function. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Get active. Lim JH, Kim H, Jeon C, et al. The effects on mental fatigue and the cognitive function of mechanical massage and binaural beats brain massage provided by massage chairs.

Complement Ther Clin Pract. Yang J, Do A, Mallory MJ, et al. Acupressure: An effective and feasible alternative treatment for anxiety during the COVID pandemic.

Glob Adv Health Med. Vitamin D. Sizar O, Khare S, Goyal A, et al. A good way to keep up your energy through the day is to eat regular meals and healthy snacks every 3 to 4 hours, rather than a large meal less often. You might feel that exercise is the last thing on your mind.

But, in fact, regular exercise will make you feel less tired in the long run, so you'll have more energy. Even a single minute walk can give you an energy boost, and the benefits increase with more frequent physical activity.

Start with a small amount of exercise. Build it up gradually over weeks and months until you reach the recommended goal of 2 hours 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as cycling or fast walking, every week. Read more about starting exercise. Find out the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to If your body is carrying excess weight, it can be exhausting.

It also puts extra strain on your heart, which can make you tired. Lose weight and you'll feel much more energetic. Apart from eating healthily, the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to be more active and do more exercise. Read more about how to lose weight.

The website of the Royal College of Psychiatrists has information on sleeping well. Stress uses up a lot of energy. Try to introduce relaxing activities into your day. This could be:. Read more about how to relieve stress. There's some evidence that talking therapies such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy CBT might help to fight fatigue, or tiredness caused by stress, anxiety or low mood.

See a GP for a referral for talking treatment on the NHS, or for advice on seeing a private therapist. Caffeine is a stimulant which means it makes you feel more awake.

But it can also disrupt your usual sleep rhythms, leading to problems sleeping and then daytime tiredness. The effects of caffeine on the body can last up to 7 hours, so you may want to avoid it in the evening if you are having trouble sleeping.

If you do want to cut caffeine out of your diet completely then the charity The Sleep Charity recommends you reduce your intake gradually. Trying to suddenly stop can lead to insomnia and headaches. Although a couple of glasses of wine in the evening can help you fall asleep, you sleep less deeply after drinking alcohol.

The next day you'll be tired, even if you sleep a full 8 hours.

Increaee those days when no amount of Stress management techniques for self-compassion can perk you up. What Gives You Energy? Why Are Your Energy Levels So Low? Signs You Should Prioritize Rest Rather Than Pushing Through Arrow. The Takeaway Arrow. Luckily, there are easy, Increease ways to banish Stress management techniques for self-compassion, boost energy Incease and get Increqse spring in Increaes step once again — Endurance training tips. Drinking fresh vegetable juice is a shock to your Increase energy levels eneegy in a good way! Losing the vegetable fiber during juicing makes veggies easier for your body to absorb and digest. Additionally, drinking your veggies helps provide important vitamins and minerals while also supplying energy to your cells. If you feel an illness coming on, vegetable juice is also a good way to stop it in its tracks and keep energy up before it dips. Make your own instead. If you need an idea, try my favorite vegetable juice recipe.