There’s nothing worse than waking up in the morning and thinking, “Wow, I can’t wait to go back to bed tonight”. I don’t know about you, but literally every single day I’m tired…regardless of how many hours of sleep I got the night before. I nap more now than I ever did when it was age-appropriate, and up until recently there wasn’t really anything I could do about it. It can be frustrating not knowing why you’re so tired or knowing how to fix it; here’s some changes I’ve made that have made a significant improvement in my day-to-day life.
1. Go to bed at the same time every. single. night.
Though this one may seem like a given, how many of you are actually on a regular sleep schedule? It can be hard to get to bed on time every single night, but you will thank yourself the next morning when you wake up well-rested and refreshed.
2. Hit the gym regularly
This is a weird one, I know; I listened to my mom when she said I was so tired because I wasn’t exercising enough, but turns out she was onto something. When all you do is lay around because you’re “tired”, you’re really just being lazy – going to the gym just makes you feel good and gives you the motivation to get through the day without a nap.
3. Eat a well-balanced diet
My New Year’s resolution for this year was to eat a vegetarian diet, and you would not believe how much that positively changed my body: I am more energized, and I just feel better as a whole. I’m not at all saying that you need to change your diet that drastically, but finding foods that make you feel good and are high in nutrients will only affect your body positively.
4. Take 25 minute naps
Okay, sometimes you don’t get enough sleep and it’s physically impossible to get through the day without a short nap. There’s nothing wrong with taking a quick nap to refresh yourself, but it’s been scientifically proven that your body does not need more than 25 minutes to restart and feel more energized. Taking a nap for any longer than 25 minutes can start to interfere with your sleep schedule and ultimately make you even more tired the next day
5. Drink water
This may seem dumb, but I swear it actually helps. I’m no sleep specialist by any means, but personally I’ve noticed that when I drink enough water (meaning 2-3 reusable bottles worth), I have more energy throughout the day and the next morning when I wake up, I’m not already exhausted.
These five things are so easy to incorporate into your life, even just one step at a time. I’ll be honest, I truly do go to bed at the same time every night…it’s just at 2 in the morning- but I know that my body will adjust and eventually I’ll be able to go to bed at a consistently early time! I truly believe that fitting these simple five ideas into your schedule will significantly improve your quality of life; imagine not being tired anymore! It’s worth a shot at least, isn’t it?
