Do you ever feel like you have hit a brick wall during the middle of the afternoon? If you are like most women, your to do list will keep you busy way past your normal working hours: pick up the kids, go to sports with kids, cook dinner, homework with the kids, workout, house work, feel the dog, pay the bills, etc. It’s exhausting work that never seems to end!!!

There are strategies that you can use to get an energy boost. Some are for an instant boost and others are more long term boosters. They require some time and patience, but it will be worth it.

When you reach for a snack, skip the candy bar and go for a healthy snack containing protein and a complex carbohydrate instead of that sugar. Experts recommend whole grain crackers with low fat cheese or a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread. The sugar of a candy bar is short lived in energy boosting, but experts say that the combination of protein and a complex carbohydrate increases your blood glucose level for a longer energy boost.

Eating a high fiber, carbohydrate rich breakfast will make for a short and long term energy stimulant. Examples of the breakfast you should consider are whole wheat toast or high fiber cereal. A half a cup of high fiber cereal contains as much as 14 grams of fiber. Your goal should be 25 to 30 grams of total fiber per day, but most Americans get only 10 to 15 grams.

In today’s busy world, it is hard to take breaks, but taking a short break and doing nothing for a few minutes helps you overcome fatigue and you will get more done over the course of the day. Making a habit of taking 5 to 10 minute breaks will help your energy long term. “If you take short breaks throughout the day, you will have more overall accomplishments,” says Gordon, author of The Energy Bus.

Researchers have found that workers who took four breaks per hour, usually just 30 seconds each, followed by a 14-minute break after two hours of sitting at the computer, reported higher performance and worked faster and more accurately than their co-workers.
Experts also recommend that you drop everything for 10 minutes and go for a walk. Studies have also shown that if you can take 3 minutes and close your eyes and meditate, it will also boost your energy. Experts say that this will help you to take control of your exhaustion. Just disappear into the bathroom at work for 3 minutes and close your eyes, they say.

It is also important that you surround yourself with positive people whenever you can. You can’t always stay away from negativity, but they less you are around them the better. Many times, people in bad moods can bring you down with them. If you become tense, you may find yourself, all of a sudden, exhausted and possibly nauseous or dizzy. It is contagious.

Tags: healthy lifestyle, tips