The thrill of riding a bike allows you to feel the breeze and sun exposure for the serotonin boost you need. The physical activity of your bike ride will also quicken the heartbeat and expand blood vessels to let more blood flow through you. Use your bike to commute or take a quick trip around the block to boost your energy levels.

Stationary bikes are great pieces of home exercise equipment that come in various designs to help you get the best workout possible. Use a dual-action stationary bike with a fan attached to the wheel to give you a cool breeze, similar to riding outside.

Spending minutes on the bike will give you the boost you need to tackle the rest of the day and stretch your legs for better blood flow even when you sit down for long periods.

The days are tiresome at times. Energy boosts are the help you need to make it through and get better sleep for a better tomorrow.

Grace's journey has evolved over the last 20 yrs or so starting off as a Physical Therapist for Beaumont then transitioning into a stay-at-home mom after 9 yrs. The pitfalls of her life caused her to dig deep to find truth in what constitutes a happy and healthy life.

She realized she had a passion for nutrition and started to study it to prevent health ailments, she became a yoga teacher and finally a Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

As she learned mindfulness and how to shift her mindset along with habit change she learned how to balance her life and passion for helping others in her career all the while raising her family. She understands how important it is to live a balanced life in order not to experience burnout, depression and anxiety as well as being preventive in her health to continue to live the life she loves.

When she found balance she became a better mom, spouse, business owner and leader in her community. So taking time for self care, stress management, exercise and good nutrition is a vital part of her life of being preventative over all physically and mentally. Call Now: x5. Home News 7 Ways To Boost Your Energy Levels During the Day.

Certain parts of the day may sap your energy, making it essential to have ways to boost your energy levels and keep yourself moving forward. Go for a Light Jog Moving your legs will help you feel more awake and increase blood circulation.

Bring a Companion Another way to improve your light jog is to do the activity with someone who will keep up with you. Stretch Away the Stress People with stressful jobs or a long list of items on a to-do list will encounter stress that eventually leads to fatigue.

Expose Yourself to Natural Light Natural light is a powerful resource that improves serotonin in the body, which helps us feel more awake and positive. The less sleep debt you have, the higher the peaks and shallower the dips. But you will still feel that fall in energy in the afternoon.

So, beyond keeping sleep debt low to maximize those energy peaks, you can schedule your day to make the most of them.

If you can, schedule demanding tasks — writing, coding, or important meetings — for your peaks and easier tasks — emails, admin, or taking a break or a nap — for your dips. Check RISE for the timing of these peaks and dips each day. Just like with your Melatonin Window, the more regular your sleep schedule, the more similar these times will be day to day.

Beyond your hour circadian rhythm, you can also think about your minute ultradian rhythms. Your energy rises and falls over roughly minute cycles throughout the day. Be sure to take short breaks to rest and recover between periods of focused work. You can learn more about ultradian rhythms here.

Beyond sleeping at the right times, you should eat at the right times, too. Keep meal times to the daytime to stay in circadian alignment and finish up your last meal two to three hours before bedtime to stop digestive issues keeping you up at night. Research published in states diets rich in fiber, fruits, vegetables, and anti-inflammatory nutrients and low in saturated fats are best for quality sleep.

Opt for a healthy diet of complex carbs like whole grains and legumes, healthy fats, energy-boosting snacks like peanut butter or nuts, and plenty of veggies. Avoid simple carbohydrates and sugary snacks as these spike your blood sugar levels, leading to an inevitable sugar crash.

You can learn more about which foods give you energy here and check RISE to see when your last meal should be each day. Sleep hygiene is a set of daily habits you can do to improve your sleep. Need more energy now?

Like right now? Caffeine is a great pick-me-up. But caffeine lasts in your system much longer than you think it could be up to 12 hours! RISE can tell you the best time to have your final coffee of the day. Get your heart rate up with a quick burst of physical activity.

For bonus points, head outside to combine exercise with natural light and fresh air. A minute brisk walk has been found to significantly boost energy more than a sugary snack. Just like with coffee, avoid exercise too close to bedtime to stop it impacting your sleep.

Taking a nap can boost your energy levels that day and reduce your sleep debt to improve them over time, too. In fact, one study found a minute nap improved fatigue, vigor, and cognitive performance, with some of these improvements lasting for more than 2.

A minute nap, on the other hand, improved performance, but participants felt sleep inertia , or grogginess, when they first woke up. Even mild dehydration can make you feel tired and the very act of drinking water can make you feel more alert. If you get up often to grab a glass of water, and later use the bathroom, the short burst of exercise will wake you up, too.

Heads-up: Although these short-term energy hacks can help you get through a particularly sleepy afternoon, focus on the things that make a real difference to your energy levels sleep debt and circadian alignment to improve your energy levels long term.

For when you do need a quick energy boost, RISE can find the best time in your calendar to do things like nap, workout, or go for a walk. One thing everyone can agree on is that life is better when you have more energy.

Lower your sleep debt, improve your sleep hygiene to meet your sleep need each night, and sync up your meal and sleep times with your circadian rhythm. Pare down those that are less important. Consider asking for extra help at work, if necessary.

Exercise almost guarantees that you'll sleep more soundly. It also gives your cells more energy to burn and circulates oxygen. And exercising can lead to higher brain dopamine levels, which helps elevate mood.

When walking, pick up the pace periodically to get extra health benefits. You know smoking threatens your health. But you may not know that smoking actually siphons off your energy by causing insomnia. The nicotine in tobacco is a stimulant, so it speeds the heart rate, raises blood pressure, and stimulates brain-wave activity associated with wakefulness, making it harder to fall asleep.

And once you do fall asleep, its addictive power can kick in and awaken you with cravings. If you think you may be sleep-deprived, try getting less sleep.

This advice may sound odd but determining how much sleep you actually need can reduce the time you spend in bed not sleeping. This process makes it easier to fall asleep and promotes more restful sleep in the long run. Here's how to do it:. Eating foods with a low glycemic index — whose sugars are absorbed slowly — may help you avoid the lag in energy that typically occurs after eating quickly absorbed sugars or refined starches.

Foods with a low glycemic index include whole grains, high-fiber vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils such as olive oil. In general, high-carbohydrate foods have the highest glycemic indexes. Proteins and fats have glycemic indexes that are close to zero. Caffeine does help increase alertness, so having a cup of coffee can help sharpen your mind.

But to get the energizing effects of caffeine, you have to use it judiciously. It can cause insomnia, especially when consumed in large amounts or after 2 p. One of the best hedges against the midafternoon slump is to avoid drinking alcohol at lunch.

The sedative effect of alcohol is especially strong at midday. Similarly, avoid a five o'clock cocktail if you want to have energy in the evening. If you're going to drink, do so in moderation at a time when you don't mind having your energy wind down.

What's the only nutrient that has been shown to enhance performance for all but the most demanding endurance activities?

It's not some pricey sports drink. It's water. If your body is short of fluids, one of the first signs is a feeling of fatigue. For more information on the many things you can do to increase your natural energy, order our Special Health Report, Boosting Your Energy.

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Less sugar means less immediate energy, but more cocoa content means more of the benefits of cocoa, including helpful antioxidants such as flavonoids. A study in the journal Archives of the Turkish Society of Cardiology notes that dark chocolate may benefit the cardiovascular system by helping more blood pump around the body.

This blood carries fresh oxygen, which may also make a person feel more awake and alert. A bowl of whole-grain oatmeal may be a great way to provide the body with energy. Oats are rich in fiber, and they may enable the body to feel fuller for longer than other breakfast choices.

As a study in The Journal of Nutrition notes, whole-grain oats are also a source of essential minerals, vitamins, and phenolic compounds, all of which may help energize the body.

Popcorn is rich in carbohydrates. However, it also contains fiber to help slow the digestion. Popcorn may make a person feel full for longer than other carbohydrates. As a study in Nutrition Journal notes, people who ate popcorn rather than potato chips felt fuller from the snack.

This may be helpful for dieters, as popcorn usually contains fewer calories than potato chips. Quinoa is a seed, but most people treat it as a grain. Quinoa is high in protein, carbohydrates, and fiber.

The combination of amino acids and slow-release carbohydrates may make for sustainable energy rather than a short burst of glucose from other grains.

One of the benefits of brown rice may be that it retains much of the fiber from the husk. The husk is not there in white rice, which may cause the body to absorb the carbohydrate content quickly.

This may lead to a spike and then a crash in energy levels. By having the husk, brown rice may help slow the digestion of these carbohydrates, therefore, releasing energy more slowly. Whether roasted soybeans or young edamame beans in the pod, soybeans contain protein with a wide variety of amino acids, as well as magnesium and potassium , according to the USDA.

Lentils are a relatively cheap form of protein and fiber, which may make them a great option for people on a budget.

The USDA note that 1 cup of lentils contains about 18 g of protein, 40 g of carbs, 15 g of fiber, and less than 4 g of sugar.

The fiber may help to manage the digestion of the carbs, keeping the body full and providing a source of sustained energy. Many nuts contain a blend of protein, fats, and some carbohydrates to provide energy throughout the day.

Nuts are typically also rich sources of vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, calcium , or phosphorous. Nuts are usually high in essential fatty acids. As a study in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition notes, these fatty acids may help reduce inflammation, which may also reduce fatigue.

Peanut butter is typically rich in protein, fats, and fiber, and may help a person feel full for longer after eating it. This may cut the need for constant snacking, which may also leave a person feeling drained as their body has to digest continuously.

Many seeds, such as pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds, are rich sources of fatty acids and fiber, which may translate to more energy.

Seeds are also easy to carry and make a great addition to a quick trail mix. Water is the most crucial energizing ingredient on this list.

Water is vital for every cell in the body to work correctly. While most people think of dehydration as an extreme scenario, the body may become partially dehydrated if a person goes all morning without water.

Maintaining energy can be as simple as carrying a water bottle around and sipping it throughout the day to stay properly hydrated. Coffee is a recognizable energy booster. The caffeine in coffee makes the body and mind feel alert and may make people more productive.

Coffee also contains antioxidants called polyphenols, which may reduce oxidative stress in the cells and help the body function better.

Coffee is a stimulant, however, so people should consume it in moderation. Too much coffee may lead to energy loss as the body withdraws from the caffeine. Green tea still contains small amounts of caffeine, but it also has compounds that may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body.

The result may be a smoother transition than coffee to a more awake and energetic state. Yerba maté is a drink native to South America.

Drinking the herb as a tea provides the body with similar stimulating effects as tea or coffee. Yerba maté contains many active nutrients, antioxidants, and amino acids. People who drink yerba maté say it provides a much smoother form of energy by comparison to the jolt of energy from coffee.

As a study in the journal Nutrients notes, yerba maté may also improve mood and help people feel full, even after exercise, which may be helpful for those looking to lose weight while maintaining their energy levels. Certain Foods Can Boost Your Mood, Health, And Energy , while Others Can Make You Feel Fatigued.

Eating highly nutritious meals daily helps improve your overall health, boost your immune system, and improve digestion. All of these factors have an impact on your energy levels throughout the day.

Certain foods help boost your energy, more than others. These include:. Being properly hydrated alongside eating well is a healthy habit to get into when looking to boost your overall energy levels. As mentioned, certain foods can be problematic —both for digestion and energy.

Foods such as Those High In Sugar Can Cause A Crash In Energy Levels , and incredibly heavy foods that take a long time to digest can make you feel fatigued. Additionally, Food Sensitivities Can Contribute To Fatigue , and cause discomfort that may affect your mood.

You can do an Elimination Diet to test for sensitivities, or visit an allergist. Alcohol Is A Depressant And Affects Sleep Quality and overall energy levels.

Alcohol may make you feel drowsy or irritable — both during and after consumption. Increased alcohol intake can also make you dehydrated, additionally contributing to unwanted side effects.

Drinking in moderation can help you avoid unwanted side effects of alcohol, including fatigue. The Centers for Disease Control Prevention CDC define Moderate Drinking As Two Or Fewer Drinks In A Day. Additionally, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAA defines Heavy Drinking As More Than 14 Drinks Per Week.

Cut unhealthy carbs. Processed foods high in carbohydrates can leave you feeling tired. Simple carbs — found in sugar and starchy, processed foods, provide a quick boost but are immediately followed by a crash from rapid spikes and drops in blood sugar levels. Consider a vitamin B supplement. B12 supports energy production and maintains blood cell health.

Take a nap. Research by the National Institute of Mental Health found afternoon naps improved cognitive function, especially alertness. Go for a walk. If you feel sluggish, get up and move, especially after a meal. A brisk minute walk improved energy with effects lasting up to two hours, in experiments conducted by California State University.

Be strategic about caffeine. A cup or two of coffee or tea can help enhance mental clarity. But to get the right benefits, consume caffeine judiciously.