Feeling weak and down in the dumps? Are you a perpetual couch potato who never feels good mentally or physically? This is going to sound counter-intuitive to the individuals who have given themselves over to a life time of laziness, get your ass up and move. Get your heart rate up and keep it up for at least a half hour at a time, at a minimum of three times per week. Exercise of any kind is one of the best antidotes there is for fatigue. Look around at people you know, those folks who exercise are always going to feel more energetic, while the sedentary are always going to be searching for a couch to nap on.
Exercise increases blood flow to your muscles and brain. It releases hormones which will energize you. Exercise stimulates your nervous system to produce endorphins that will make you feel better, they will elevate your mood and give you a feeling of well-being. According to Dr. C. W. Smith of University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, “Exercise should be a part of everyone’s lifestle, but may be a particularly important part of the treatment of patients with depression and chronic fatigue. It will reliably and consistently decrease feelings of tiredness and despondency.” As someone who suffers from Seasonal Depression, I not only agree with this doctor, I know for certainty, through my personal experience, the doctor is absolutely correct in this analysis. Exercise makes you feel better every time you truly get active. But do not think for one minute that just one day is going to do it for you. It takes time to build strength and stamina which will allow you to change how you feel.
In a study, eighteen people rated their energy levels after twelve days of either eating a candy bar or walking briskly for ten minutes. Results indicated that walking increased energy levels and lowered tension, while the sugary snack increased feelings of tension and only temporarily rasied energy levels, followed by an increase of fatigue and reduced energy. Really, you do not even need to take the word of any study in this topic, get your tail up and move, see for yourself how exercise will affect the way you feel. Vigorous, or even mild exercise such as walking will enhance your body chemistry and also reduce your stress hormones, it will lower your blood pressure and fill your lungs and muscle tissues with oxygen. Elevatng your heart rate through good exercise will increase your levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is a high energy substance generated in our cells. Even stretching will relieve muscle tension that comes from fatigue producing stresses and assists blood flow through our the body, as well as oxygenating the brain for enhanced mental clarity.
It does not matter how you are feeling today, providing you are in otherwise decent health, you never need to settle for a life of fatigue. You can do something about it if you make the choice to do so. You must make this choice. Holly Atkinson, M. D., in her book Women and Fatigue recommends keeping a journal to identify when you are most energized, tired, or in your best and worst moods. Discover what it is that precededes your high and low energy, including sleep, stress, diet or exercise habits. If you exercise and keep a journal to track your workouts, that is a great place to record how you feel and the impact your level of energy or lack thereof had on your workout session. Being proactive about your sense of well being is really easy if you choose to do something about it. A journal will help you pin point what might be dragging you down into the dumps. It will help you identify what makes you feel good. With knowledge, once you have identified the source of your fatigue, you can draft a plan to do something about it. With knowledge, you can combat your blahs and rev up your engine.
Bear in mind, there is no single magic bullet to make you feel better. It is going to take a combination of factors to get your soaring with the eagles rather than wallowing in the mud with pigs. Energy is a blend of stamina and vitality, ambition and curiosity. You need a can do attitude with a focused mind. You have to make choices, develope a plan, and then execute it. If you take good care of your body though a healthy diet and exercise, if you remain ever vigilant of your health and work with your body’s natural energy, then you can stack the deck in favor of living a life of superior quality over that of drudgery. The choice is yours to act on. At David’s Way, we can give you plenty of tools to work with in order to improve your lot in life, but you must execute the action.