1. Morning exercise
Exercising for five minutes after getting up provides energy and that you burn twice as many calories during the day. And you really don't have to deliver top performance for that. Press a few times or do 'jumping jacks' to get your heart rate up. A nice alternative is a boxing match against yourself in the mirror. Bump at least 100 times to feel it real. Just don't hit ...
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2. Drink water
Drinking too little dehydrates you and makes you lethargic and tired again. Drink a glass of water when you get up and drink at least one liter during the day. In addition, it limits your calorie intake. Often times when you think you are hungry it is actually thirsty.
3. Breakfast
If you skip breakfast, you deprive your body of valuable fuels, so you start your day less energized. In addition, you also have a greater chance of being overweight. In addition, there is increasing evidence that skipping breakfast promotes type 2 diabetes. If you don't want a full breakfast in the morning, at least eat a piece of fruit. For example, a banana is a good source of energy. Or take a protein shake, so you can go back to it.
4. Snack in the morning
Even after a good breakfast you need new energy around 10:30 am. Your body will then have burned most of the fuels (glycogen) from the night before. Treat yourself to a handful of nuts or a banana to keep your engine running smoothly. Moreover, this prevents you from stuffing yourself with (fatty) food during lunch.
5. Skip your cup of coffee in the morning
Caffeine addicted? Try to cut back and only have your first cup of coffee after lunch. After lunch, your body produces adenosines, a kind of natural sleeping pills. Caffeine is then much more effective, especially if you regularly drink small cups of coffee. For a good night's sleep, it is wise to leave espressos for four hours before going to sleep.
6. Get big with your colleagues
According to a study by Tilburg University, introverts are more tired at work than their extroverted colleagues. People who like to be alone and do not like busyness feel less comfortable at work and are more likely to be listless.
7. Sit upright
If you walk through life with slumped shoulders, it can be a sign that you are running out of energy. According to Robert Cooper, author of High Energy Living, a good posture can actually generate an energy boost. For good posture, try the following trick: let your shoulders hang loosely and bring your chin to your chest. You are supposed to feel a slight tension in your neck. Then you gently nod your head a few times, as if you were nodding “yes”, but don't bend your head too far forward.
8. Break
"If something is difficult, it probably isn't worth it." This intelligent statement comes from the ever-beer-drinking philosopher Homer Simpson. Yet there is a truth in it. Sometimes it helps to take a break when you find yourself waning. Go around the block, put on some music, or do the following breathing exercise for new energy: Take a deep breath while counting to three, and exhale while counting to six.
9. Call while standing
Do you have to call a lot for work? From now on, stay standing a bit more often while you call. You stretch your muscles and your breathing deepens so that oxygen-rich blood flows into your brain. You desperately need this energy for when you are put on hold again.
10. Sing in the shower
Singing is a great way to get your body to produce endorphins. This makes you feel more energetic, happier and less stressed. The great thing is that it can be done almost anywhere and it doesn't matter how out of tune you sing. Although it will not really make your environment happier.
11. Find happy friends
Optimistic, energetic friends make you too. So surround yourself with people who are not only smart and talented, but also enthusiastic and poke at everything. Thirty minutes of negative nagging sucks all the energy out of you.
12. Divide large projects
Don't try to steam in one go until you fall over. Taking a break makes you less tired and more productive. Ultimately, you will therefore be faster with large jobs than if you do it in one go.
13. Strengthen your back
How could Pieter van den Hoogenband manage to tour the whole country after his gold medal, enthusiastically speak to hundreds of journalists and appear in almost every TV program? Because like other swimmers, he has a strong back. A strong back literally gives you more backbone to tackle things and ensures that you are less tired. For example, you can use the rowing machine for strong back muscles. Make sure you have a good posture, with your feet flat on the board, your knees slightly bent, your back straight and your stomach in.
14. A hippie moment
You may think it's ridiculous, but give it a try anyway. It is not without reason that meditation has been used for centuries to clear the head and obtain new energy. Sit up straight and close your eyes. Then quickly breathe in and out through your nose. Your chest must move up and down quickly and mechanically like a kind of bellows.
15. Exercise every day
You can give yourself a wonderful feeling through a solid session in the gym or cycling or jogging. During exercise, your body produces endorphins, which makes you feel positive and energized. In addition, endorphins stimulate the functioning of your immune system, so that you are less likely to catch the flu.
16. A power nap
A 20-minute nap is a perfect way to recharge. Studies have even shown that people who were allowed to take a nap at work became more productive and made fewer mistakes. However, you should not sleep too long because you may wake up more tired than you already were. Or you lie in your bed at night counting sheep.
17. Pump iron
Iron deficiency exhausts you. Your body needs iron to make hemoglobin, a red dye in red blood cells. Hemoglobin regulates the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the organs and tissues. An iron deficiency disrupts this logistical process and causes great fatigue. A good natural source of iron is beef.
18. Eat awake in the car
Don't let that long drive exhaust you and buy a bag of college oats to stay awake. Raisins are full of potassium, a mineral your body uses to convert the glucose in your blood into energy. Nuts are a rich source of magnesium. Like potassium, magnesium is required for the conversion of glucose into energy. With a magnesium deficiency, your body produces lactic acids, the same substance that makes the muscles acidify during heavy exertion.
19. Smell the energy
Spray some fresh air, smell flowers or go for a walk. Fresh scents give your energy level a quick boost.
20. Bring humor into your life
Laughter is not only a great way to put your problems into perspective, it also makes you healthier and sharper. During a burst of laughter, in addition to endorphins, killer cells are created, immune cells that switch off viruses, for example. Furthermore, the amount of stress hormones in your blood is reduced and your stomach and face get a full workout. That is why you sometimes feel just as satisfied after a laugh as after an hour of exercise. If you come out of your work cranky, watching a funny series is the way to recharge.
21. Find the sun
The sun gives you energy, makes you happy and increases your sex drive. This is because your body produces serotonin through sunlight. A serotonin deficiency makes you lethargic and tired, which is why you probably feel fitter in the summer than in the fall and winter. So don't feel like doing anything anymore? Quenched? Book a charter holiday to some sunny place and come back radiant.
22. Skip your nightcap
Alcohol makes you tired and relaxed, but just before bedtime it can reduce the quality of your night's sleep. Alcohol interferes with the REM phase of your sleep, the phase where sleep is deepest and when Victoria's Secret angels appear in your dreams. The REM phase is therefore precisely the phase from which you rest the most. So feel free to drink one or two drinks with a meal, but try not to drink anything for the last two hours before going to sleep.
23. Dive in early
An extra hour of sleep provides just as much energy as two cups of coffee. However, this principle only works if you go to sleep earlier, not by staying in bed even longer on a Sunday morning. Sleeping in for a long time makes you slower and disrupts your day and night rhythm.
24. Exercise and sleep
Japanese research has shown that if you train in the evening, you are less tired the next day. And according to American research, a late workout increases the amount of testosterone, which is important for your energy supply.
25. Sleeping on the couch
After your big fight, she refers you to the bank to spend the night. Still, you don't have to see this as a punishment. Sleeping in a different environment for a night can work wonders if you suffer from insomnia. Many people associate the bedroom with sleeping problems. They pretend that they cannot sleep, which of course happens. Sleeping in a different environment for a night can break this circle.