11 Jan 2019
Energy Boosters
The shoulder month’s in the year can leave us feeling a little lack lustre in the energy department. So, why not arm yourself with strategies for making your days go in a more positive direction?
Things to try this winter:
- Studies suggest that regular meditation (even if it is for short bursts of time), can have a positive impact on how energised we feel, it tends to improve our attention to detail and makes us more efficient.
- Try to work with your circadian clock, waking with sunlight and going to bed once it’s dark – that means limiting artificial light, such as blue light from smart phones and computers, that can mess with the natural rhythms, leading to less restful sleep.
- Equally on the technological front, going through a morning or evening routine that doesn’t involve checking work emails or social media updates, can be transforming. Allowing you time and headspace to process the events of the day, making room for meaningful interaction with your family members and giving you time to get in an emotional space before you have to tackle the pressures that jobs etc bring.
- The winter season can make us more melancholy, if you are a person that normally stews on a problem, or goes over and over an argument in your mind, then try changing tack – be the first to apologise if needed, learn to let things go, learn from your mistakes, but don’t re-hash them time and again, nothing zaps your energy more than a negative mind-set that can’t move on.
- Be creative – it is very easy to get stuck in a rut with the humdrum of life, wash, work, cook – rinse, repeat… But doing something that gets your creative juices flowing can be really inspiring, and the positive energy will spill over to other areas of your life. It doesn’t have to be something terribly taxing, maybe colouring, knitting, doing a jigsaw, anything that lets you focus on the task in-hand and lets you be in the moment, rather than something that allows your mind to wonder too much and go back to worrying.
- When the weather is colder and the nights drawn in, it can be hard to stay motivated on the exercise front, but there are so many benefits if you do something physical. Feelgood endorphins flood the body which in turn gives you a feeling of high energy – try and find something that you find fun, so you are more likely to continue and mix things up so you don’t get bored.
- If all else fails – focus on your breathing, anxiety can make us take shallow breaths without realising. The key to feeling more energetic and more relaxed is to simply breathe more deeply.
