In our fast-paced, unrelenting society, many of us find ourselves in some stage of adrenal fatigue. Burnt out, exhausted, and feeling worn down. This pattern starts when we first wake up in the morning and continues after the coffee wears off and the mid-afternoon crash. I would say that is the number one complaint that I hear in my practice is in regards to energy loss. And once it is gone, many people are desperate to get it back downing energy drinks, caffeine, drinking too much coffee, etc. to keep up with the daily demands. However, these tend to be fly by night approaches that do more damage than good tot eh system. Here are some tips to get your energy levels back on track, naturally.
Get enough quality sleep – this may be a no brainer, but often times people program themselves to get to bed around 12 PM- 1 AM, which leads to adrenal fatigue, and the adrenal glands do not like this process. They reset themselves between 10 PM – 2 AM, so it is important to be in bed during those times to regenerate them. Otherwise, you are borrowing from them to power through your day, which they can handle but eventually can throw off other systems such as your digestive system, immune system, etc.
Clear any infections in the body – Sniffles, nasal congestion, etc. are all signs of underlying immunological challenges, which can create adrenal fatigue. If the immune system is activated, it can put stress on the bodies energy restores because all none essential personnel go to trying to fight and stabilize the infection which can leave to understaffing of your bodies energy reserves. That is why if you get sick, it is SO important for you to get lots of sleep to regenerate your energy quickly.
Eat breakfast – energy in and energy out. Even if you are not hungry because you have trained your metabolism not to take in food, it is important to start the blood sugar on the right foot. That way, throughout the day, your blood sugar stays stable and supported. Blood sugar destabilization and adrenal fatigue have a symbiotic relationship. I find if I skip breakfast or have a breakfast that is not blood sugar supportive, my blood sugar and energy levels suffer all day.
Eat snacks – As a continuation of eating breakfast, I find my energy levels stay the most stable when I eat every couple of hours. That way, my blood sugar stays stable, and as I burn energy, I am refueling. As mentioned before the energy in and energy out.
Digesting well – If a person is not digesting well, they are not going to have the energy necessary to carry throughout the day. Therefore, if you notice that you are most fatigued after meals, or are gassy, bloating, etc. after meals, those are sure fire signs you are not digesting your food. Taking a digestive enzyme can be helpful but may not be the ultimate cause, reviewing lab work from a functional perspective can be extremely helpful in discovering how to repair the digestive process. Digesting well decreases the risk of adrenal fatigue.
There are many reasons that person energy may not be where it needs to be, and with everything we have going on not only, it is important to maintain energy but also conserve energy. Therefore maintaining relationships that take excessive energy, maintaining unhealthy habits long term, a lack of movement, and consistent stress responses all can have large impacts on the overall health of the body. Holistic healthcare is a way to get to the root cause from a comprehensive approach to the health of the body. Systemically, over a consistent period of time, we get to the root cause of why a persons’ every level may not be where they need to and restore energy levels once and for all. For more information about your adrenal glands read this blog post: http://www.staging6.staging6.holisticfamilypracticeva.com/blog/adrenal-glands/
