Do you know that three out of five people complain about a lack of mental energy? Stress, overwhelm, and burnout are on the rise, so no wonder you feel mentally exhausted.
If it isn’t worrying about your job, finances, health, or your kids’ future, then it is the global economy, recession, and cost of living. Add day-to-day chores and juggling endless responsibilities and you feel depleted, depressed, and unmotivated.
The thing is that the world is not slowing down, and there will always be challenges in life. That is why you need to have the physical and mental energy to face whatever is thrown your way. And here are five ways to boost your mental energy pronto!
What Affects Mental Energy
Before we jump into the solutions, let’s talk about the cause. Why? Because most of the time when you eliminate the cause of the problem, you get a plan to follow.
A lack of mental energy usually shows up as brain fog, an inability to concentrate, finish a task, or remember things. You may be irritated easily, frustrated, or angry. You may also have constant headaches, dizziness, feel unwell, or even have physical pain.
Mental energy could be triggered by underlying health issues, so if you have been feeling unwell for a while, a trip to a holistic practitioner can be beneficial. But low mental energy could be caused by stress, lack of rest, sleep, or exercise, food, and any medication or alcohol consumption.
The easiest way to boost your mental energy is by identifying what drains it and working at ways to reduce or remove the drain if possible. It is also important that you take action once you recognize where the leak is because leaving things unattended can lead to more serious health problems.
How to Improve Mental Energy
I’m going to be bland here and say that the best remedy for tiredness is rest. I’m sure you heard it before because this is an obvious answer. But humans are complex, so we rarely do what seems like the most suitable choice.
The saying you can’t give from an empty cup is a cliché but is true. If you always run on empty and never recharge your mental or physical batteries, you are going to run out of power.
So, here is an action step you can take right now. Take out your calendar (or open it up on your phone or laptop) and schedule some well-deserved rest time. If you can book holidays right away that’s fantastic. If not, plan a weekend away, take a day off, or at a minimum schedule a cope of hours a week for rest.
Scheduling time to rest may seem silly to you, but what doesn’t get scheduled, doesn’t get done. And if you feel tired, stressed, and lacking energy you know this is true. Now, when this is done, let’s jump into ways you can boost your mental energy on the go!
Boost #1 Have a Morning Routine
The way how you start your day matters, because if you feel rushed in the morning, you will feel like that for the rest of your day. A morning routine is a must if you want to have high levels of mental energy.
I swear by my morning routine. It sets me up for the day, it makes my focus clear, it puts me in a positive and motivational mood, and it knocks the stress and overwhelm out of the park.
Your morning routine can be as elaborate as you want, but if you are short on time (and who isn’t right?) then even ten minutes in the morning can do wonders for your energy levels.
Part of your morning routine needs to be meditation. If you are new to meditation or have tried it
before and felt it didn’t work, I want you to change your perspective on meditation. You are not required to sit with your legs crossed and chant.
You want to quiet the mind and create some space so you can gain clarity. And you do it through meditation.
Meditation is paying attention to breathing. So, find a comfortable space, and take deep diaphragmatic breaths. Focus all your attention on breathing in and out. You can count to four and make your exhale longer with each breath.
Diaphragmatic breathing will not only deliver fresh oxygen to your brain improving its sharpness, but it will also stimulate your nervous system. By improving your breathing pattern, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is the relax and restore system. And move away from the sympathetic nervous system which is the fight-or-flight system.
Boost #2 Set Priorities
The number one reason why you feel overwhelmed is due to your to-do list. I find that my mental energy always plummets when I look at the list of tasks I want to accomplish in a day. This happens before I even start attending to the tasks on the list!
Tony Robbins says that we usually overestimate what we can do in a year, but underestimate what we can do in five years. Your to-do list follows the same pattern. I often have more than ten items on my to-do list, meaning I’m overestimating what I can get done in one day.
That is why you need to set clear and achievable priorities for the day. I like to follow the rule of three. Have three priorities for each day, week, and month. I look at my to-do list and pick things that need to get done that day.
This gives me clarity on which direction I need to go, what is important, and what moves the needle. It also helps me with beating the overwhelm, stress, and yes, draining my mental energy.
Setting priorities doesn’t have to take long. I do it as a part of my morning routine. The added benefit is that my mind is clear and focused, I’m also in a relaxing state (as I have just activated my parasympathetic nervous system), and I am motivated.
You want to be in an inspirational state when you set your priorities for the day. You will be brave with picking tasks that will challenge you and get you out of your comfort zone. And this in itself boost your mental energy.
Boost #3 Set Stress Breaks
Do you know what is the most precious commodity now? It’s focus. There are so many things competing for our attention that unfortunately, our focus span is dropping fast. Your mental fatigue can be caused by multitasking.
I used to love multitasking. I would be the one who could work on a task, talk on the phone, answer emails, upload some documents, and be thinking about the shopping list. I thought I was being productive.
Neuroscience 101 teaches us that our brain uses a lot of energy while multitasking. The focus that is lost by jumping from one task to another is the energy drain. Getting back to what you were doing takes much more energy than you think.
To prevent your brain from overloading you need to have stress breaks.
A stress break as the name suggests is a break when your brain can rest. It doesn’t need to be long, even a few minutes can be beneficial. This short break will let your brain take a breather and realign with what to focus on next.
I use multiple stress breaks throughout the day. They are usually every 50 to 60 minutes, or at the end of a block time. However, if I’m working on a task for a few hours, I would have a stress break somewhere in between.
Because I keep my mental energy levels high during the day, I experience less mental exhaustion at the end of the day. Do I get it right every time? No! But I can see the difference in my focus, tiredness, and my mood when I don’t.
Boost #4 Get Moving
I’m a big advocate of the body-mind connection. And I want you to be one too. The sooner you realise that whatever happens in your body affects your mind and vice versa the easier it would be for you to get on the exercise train.
Most of us lead a very sedentary lifestyle. We were not designed to sit all day in front of a computer. We were designed to move around, with the occasional run while chased by a tiger.
There is no other way to say it but if you experience mental fatigue then you need to increase your physical energy. There are countless workout routines and fitness apps. But what I want you to do is incorporate regular physical activity into your day.
If you have time to add a 30-minute workout, fantastic! However, if you are short on time, I want you to look for ways how you can do small body movements throughout the day.
How can you add some walking, jogging, playing, stretching, and strengthening into what you do during the day? Does it mean you need to park your car further from the entrance, so you walk the distance? Does it mean you take the stairs rather than the lift? Or maybe you stand up every time you talk on the phone?
I add small bursts of activities to my stress breaks. After taking a few diaphragmatic breaths, I do some push-ups, squats, or stretching. It does not replace my daily workout routine, but it keeps my mental energy high throughout the day.
Boost #5 Nourish Your Body
Following from the theme of body-mind connection, the more you look after your physical energy the better your mental energy is going to be. And there is no better way to nourish your body than through food.
Your brain draws energy from the food you eat, too. And your brain needs neurotransmitters, hormones, minerals, and your nervous and digestive systems, to name a few, to be healthy to sustain the daily pressure.
A healthy, well-balanced diet that delivers all the nutrients your complex body requires will boost your mental energy. Focus on consuming healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil, avocados, seeds, and nuts, and reduce simple carbohydrates, especially those containing high amounts of sugars and starch.
Eat also foods that are high in anti-inflammatory compounds such as polyphenols. Polyphenols can be found in colorful vegetables and fruit, as well as tea, coffee, and chocolate.
Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated during the day and avoid drinking sugar-loaded drinks or stimulants. There are different opinions about the health benefits of alcohol, as some indicate that it can be a relaxant.
However, alcohol also makes you feel sleepy and causes your brain to lose its sharpness.
You want to enhance your brain function, by improving your memory, reducing inflammation, and protecting your brain from daily stressors. This way you avoid mental exhaustion.
How to Boost Your Mental Energy
It’s very hard to follow through on your diet, project, or daily tasks if you don’t have the mental energy to do it.
The best remedy to boost your mental energy is rest. Yes, this is an old saying, but be honest with yourself when was the last time you truly rested? So, schedule some well-deserved me time now.
And in the meantime, create a morning routine that helps you to regain your focus and clarity, and allows you to catch your breath. Add some stress and movement breaks throughout the day so you don’t collapse in the evening. And nourish your body through food so your brain stays sharp.
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