5 TOP TIPS TO FEEL MORE AWAKE
It’s 7am. You’ve got a solid 8 hours and yet, you still feel as tired as when you went to bed. Tiredness can make us less productive at work and cause problems with concentration and focus. Here at Overhang HQ, working long days and heading to bed late is all too common. However, through powerful habits and routines, in general, we’re pretty damn good at feeling awake, refreshed and ready to tackle the day.
Here are our top tips to feel more awake:
1. Stick to a regular sleep pattern
Harder than it sounds, especially if you’re a social butterfly. Feeling more awake often starts before you go to bed. Monitor your sleep habits and recognise how many hours you need to feel refreshed. Establish a regular routine where you go to bed and get up at the same time – even on weekends. This will help your body clock stay in tune so it can most effectively regulate your bodily functions and prevent feelings of tiredness at times when you should be feeling alert.
2. Have a cold shower
A shower at any time of the day is a great way to feel refreshed, but if the warm water is lulling you into a sense of security, here’s a tip to help stimulate your blood flow. Towards the end of your shower, turn the water to cold for 30 seconds, then switch it back to hot, and then back to cold again.
Think about it. During the night, you’ll spend at least 6-8 hours without additional water and sweating under the covers. Moisture escapes via your pores during the night excreting both moisture and mineral content from your body. The LAST thing your body needs is a hot shower.
Have it cold. And we mean, properly cold. Extreme cold triggers the ‘fight or flight’ in us and for that brief moment of pain, you will feel like a new person ready to start your day.
3. Soak up the sunshine
Natural daylight tells our body it’s time to rise and shine, so first thing in the morning open the curtains and get outside, whether it’s walking to work or just talking the dog around the block. It’s recommended you get at least 30 minutes of daylight exposure a day. Sitting under artificial strip lights and in front of screens can confuse our body clock and make us feel sleepy so try to limit screentime too, especially in the evening.
To take it to the next level, try sleeping with your curtains open. The natural rising and falling of the sun is attuned to our own body clocks, so you’ll wake up more naturally and more gently than having that hideous alarm blasting your eardrums out each morning.
4. Get some exercise
When the heart starts pumping it fires oxygen to your brain and organs, helping boost alertness. Mornings are a great time for a run, but even just a short 10-minute walk is enough to keep you energised for up to 2 hours. Practice deep breathing too to increase your blood oxygen levels, lower blood pressure and improve your energy levels.
5. Eat regularly and healthily
Eating regularly will ensure your blood sugar doesn’t drop, which often results in fatigue and moodiness. It’s also important you eat a nutritionally balanced diet rich in whole grains, proteins, fruit and veg, as indulging in processed, sugary and fatty foods may cause a momentary burst of energy only to be followed by a slump. Caffeine can also cause your energy to wane and can disrupt your sleep cycle. Why do you think we hate on energy drinks so much? Instead, reach for a revitalising natural health drink first thing in the morning, or whenever you feel your energy dipping.
Made from natural ingredients including burdock, ginger and milk thistle, Overhang is packed with essential vitamins to give you the best start to your day or whenever you need a pick-me-up. Including half your recommended daily allowance of vitamins C, B3, B5 and B6, it will also ensure you stay fit and healthy as well as alert to whatever comes your way. Try it today and see why it’s rated so high by so many.
Sad man holding pillow by hang_in_there licensed under Creative Commons 4.0
