Lani Lopez - Get your energy back and fight the Monday blues

The saying, ‘You’ve got to give to get’, describes the connection between energy and exercise. As hard as it is to get out and start exercising when you are low on energy, it is a great way to gain new energy levels.

The more you exercise (consistently at least 30 minutes a day), the less tired you feel. Change the feeling by doing. And it’s easy to do.

A minimum of twenty minutes is all you need, giving great returns in wellbeing and increased fitness. It doesn’t have to be hard high impact exercise; walking is effective, energising exercise.

The biggest barrier is getting started. We can procrastinate, planning what to do, where to go, how far, how hard and for how long.

I recommend that you bite the bullet and  just lace up your walking shoes and get out the door. Twenty minutes later you’re done and it’s time to plan your next workout.

Exercise gets addictive, and it has a carry on benefit into the next day. During exercise endorphins released improve mood, circulation, mental clarity and above all, energy. So get out the door and earn that energy.
 

Renewable Energy
We need energy every day. Supporting our body to refresh and renew energy is as easy as it is productive.

Mental fatigue is a big demand and drain on energy. To keep our mental focus and clarity we need to rewire our brain and rest.

Active rest is all important in our busy modern lifestyle. The best form of this is mindfulness.  A simple and accessible form of meditation, mindfulness is increasingly popular in hospitals worldwide, both as a tool for recovery and in disease management and prevention.

Mindfulness is a simple tool of relaxing our brains by consciously focussing our senses into a single moment.  Mindfulness is as easy as turning off the mobile and all mental activity for a few moments, to tune in to our immediate environment and experience.  

Just take a few slow relaxing breaths, 5-10 will do, focus only on your breathing and let the mind still for these few moments. Eyes can be open and softly focussed, or closed. Relax your hands, relax your face and just breathe.

Research shows that this simple process restores mental clarity, focus and energy with long-lasting benefits against the energy sapping effects of stress.

Sleep is the big energy restorer and if yours is broken or elusive, apply some simple sleep hygiene and recover your rest.

1. Set a regular bed-time and stick to it.
2. Keep the bedroom dark, low lights and get black out curtains or use an eye mask.
3. Steady temperature, keep your bedroom at a comfortable ambient temperature and use clothing or bedcovers for your perfect feel.
4. Romance and rest in your bed room only. That means no TV, laptop, tablets, mobile or back lit screen readers. These wake the brain and block production of sleep-inducing melatonin.

Self talk and affirmation
The phrase, “neurons that fire together wire together” can be attributed to Donald Hebb, a neuropsychologist.

Each time you repeat a particular thought or action, you strengthen the connection between a set of brain cells. Mindfulness rewires the system and so does stopping that negative thought and rethinking it into a positive affirmation.

When I hear my internal negative talk such as ‘I’m tired and I’m exhausted’, I imagine a big lollipop stop sign blocking those words.  Then I say:

• I can do this.
• Every day I have more energy.

Take baby steps, get enough healthy nutrition, sleep, avoid dramas where you can and say these wonderful affirmations to rewire your brain until your body and you believe it.