Disordered sleep
While some of us wear our late-night-early-morning routines like badges of honor, lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can wreak havoc on the body, productivity, fitness routines, and overall sense of well-being. And poor sleep isn’t an isolated event. Sleepiness compounds to create energy crashes during the day, increases stress hormones, and promotes poor eating habits. As the energy roller coaster dips, we often turn to caffeine, sugar, and energy drinks to combat fatigue. These quick fixes further complicate the energy crisis. It’s only a matter of time until illness, depression, or chronic fatigue set in, but it’s not until the daily energy crash turns into an all out well-being train wreck that we begin to take notice.
[su_box title=”What to listen for” style=”noise” box_color=”#fff” title_color=”#2e383f”]Everyone has a bum night of sleep every now and again, but paying attention to how frequently you suffer insomnia or fitful, interrupted sleep is important. If you notice:
- unusual hunger,
- increasingly frequent bad moods,
- problems concentrating,
- trouble staying awake,
- alert despite pounding caffeine and energy drinks,
- poor motor function,
you might be suffering from a sleep problem that requires intervention. Instead of trying to self-medicate with sugar and caffeine, try setting a grown-up bedtime routine. Sleep debt must be repaid on the road to restoring energy levels. Adding an hour or two a night over the course of a month will help restore natural sleep patterns.[/su_box]
Once you feel a bit more well-rested, turn your attention to fuel that provides lasting energy: Nutritious foods (protein instead of sugar, for example), plenty of water, and snacks when you need them. Put some limits around your coffee consumption coffee, like having it only early in the day and perhaps in limited amounts.
The Takeaway
Considering how busy most of us are with school, work, relationships, family, working out, and the countless tiny things we make time for each day, it’s not surprising that we sometimes lose perspective on how we’re physically getting through it all. Sometimes the opportunity to rest, eat healthfully, or ditch the energy drink in favor of going to sleep a little earlier slips right past us. But resolving to pay extra close attention to our bodies’ “check engine” lights could be the difference between taking a few days off to tend to an ache or a cold and losing weeks or months to an injury or sickness you just can’t kick.
