Do you drink coffee all day long just to keep going? For most people, this is one of the worst things you can do. It keeps you in a vicious cycle of tiredness all the time. Now, don’t go hating on me just yet. I love coffee and caffeine as much as you do. I’ve given it up several times in my life but always find myself enjoying it again. If you don’t have any negative reactions to it, then you don’t have to give it up. The problem comes when you find yourself drinking it throughout the day to keep yourself going.
You shouldn’t need coffee/caffeine all day long just to function.
You shouldn’t. I know it’s been made popular and a running joke in recent years but it’s not normal or healthy to need caffeine to make it through the day. If you do need it, there’s a deeper issue going on. I’m not really going to dive into those today because then this email would be way too long. Instead, I’m going to give you 5 ways to ditch your afternoon caffeine addiction and increase your energy naturally. solutions to your low energy to try first.
Let’s Talk About Coffee
Coffee isn’t bad for you. It actually does have some health benefits. Believe it or not, coffee actually Contains nutrients! A few of them include:
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 11% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5): 6% of the RDI.
- Manganese and potassium: 3% of the RDI.
- Magnesium and niacin (vitamin B3): 2% of the RDI.
Coffee has also been shown to help with:
- Increasing physical performance
- Boosting fat burning
- Protecting against type 2 diabetes, if you have black
- Seems to have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Parkinson’s disease
- And is the biggest source of antioxidants for most Americans
So, if you love coffee and you aren’t a caffeine-sensitive individual, you don’t have to give it up. WHEW! However, you can overdo it. When you overdo it, it can negatively impact your sleep quality, contributes to feelings of anxiety, leave you feeling shaky, and even affect your heart. People HAVE DIED from too much caffeine. Typically those are from energy drinks but still, it happens.
The question is now, how do you get sustained energy so you can do what you need to do all day long without a nap or dipping into the candy drawer at 2p?
5 Ways To Increase Your Energy Naturally
#1 Take A B-Complex With Your Morning Caffeine
This is a trick I’ve been using for a while and was amazed at how much it helped. You might not realize this but if you drink energy drinks (whether the healthy kind or not) look at the label. You’ll see they have a buttload of B vitamins in them along with Caffeine. This is on purpose! B vitamins give you sustained energy (versus the crash you get with caffeine).
I challenge you to give it a try for 2 weeks and see what happens.
#2 Skip The Morning Carbs
Your blood sugar is at its peak when you first wake up. When you eat carbs (cereal, bagel, muffins, granola, sugar-laden coffee, etc) in the morning, you’re making your blood sugar spike further, and thus, setting yourself up for a blood sugar rollercoaster all day long.
When it comes to breakfast you want:
- Fat
- Fiber
- Protein
Starting your day with this kind of meal helps keep your blood sugar stable all day long. With stable blood sugar, you will have sustained energy all day long too! This means you’re less likely to be falling asleep at your desk at 1P.
Now, I know figuring out what to eat that fits into that criteria isn’t easy so I created a downloadable guide for you to help get you started.
#3 Go For a Walk on your Lunch Break
Sunshine wakes up the brain and body. Literally. Daytime sunshine exposure also helps you sleep better at night. So instead of staying inside all day long, go for a walk on your lunch break. Not only will this improve your ability to focus and produce well at work or taking care of the kids, but you’ll also have more energy and sleep better at night. Win-win!
#4 Drink Half Your Body Weight in Water
I’m always amazed at how many people don’t like to drink water. They:
- Don’t like going to the bathroom all-day
- Think it tastes gross
- Don’t think about it
- Don’t make it easy
These are poor excuses and it’s time to get past them.
When you first increase water, yes you’ll go to the bathroom more. Your body will regulate itself after about 2 weeks. It’ll be more than 2-3 times per day, but you won’t be needing to go every 30-60 minutes either.
Another trick to help with the up-all-night peeing problem. Drink half of your daily water intake by lunch and the other half by the time you finish dinner. Then you’re less likely to wake up several times to go to the bathroom.
If you’re one of those weird people who doesn’t like the taste of water, this isn’t an excuse to not drink it. If it doesn’t taste good, find a way to make it taste better. Invest in a high-quality water filtering system that also adds minerals back into the water. Add a slice of lemon or orange to your water. Something to make it taste better. You can get the recipes here.
My last water tip: Make it easy to drink! I keep a cup with a straw with me at all times with water. I don’t drink enough water if I don’t have a straw. So I have cups with straws. Figure out what makes it easy for you to drink it and do that. Then keep it close by so you can also drink without thinking about it.
#5 Take Magnesium Before Bed
Magnesium is what we call a “relaxing mineral.” Calcium constricts, and magnesium contracts. Magnesium helps you relax, feel sleepy, and helps you stay asleep. Improving your sleep increases your energy. It’s a simple addition with far-reaching health benefits, sleep being just one of them.
7 years ago my son would wake up and play between 1-3 every single night. His behavior and ability to learn went downhill. I was desperate for answers that weren’t melatonin. I found that nightly magnesium often resolves this so I gave it a try. It worked! We’ve been taking it ever since.
If you struggle with falling asleep and/or staying asleep, give magnesium a try. There are many different types out there, Magnesium citrate is the form used to help with relaxation and improve sleep. We use the Calm brand.
And those are my 5 tips to ditch the afternoon caffeine and increase your energy naturally! I personally do all 5 of these and as you heard, helped me and my kids sleep better
