Lifestyle Basics
Incorporating the following things into your lifestyle will yield dividends to your energy. You may be unable to do all of these depending on your circumstances. It is up to you to take control of your life and change your situation and environment.
Conscious Breathing
Sunlight & Circadian Rhythm
Nature & Grounding
Joyful Movement
Friends & Relationships
Resources
Conscious Breathing
Start to become aware of your breath. Your breath is what feeds oxygen to your tissues. It regulates the balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen. You need carbon dioxide (CO2) for your cells to use the oxygen you breathe to make energy. A lot of people are breathing wrong. Start to bring awareness to your breath while you exercise, in a stressful situation, while at work, or just relaxing. Being aware of your breath will make you less stressed, more energetic, and more present in the moment. If you forget to notice your breath you can set a timer every 30 minutes to remind yourself.
You may notice:
P.S. If you wake up with a dry mouth in the morning, you have been mouth-breathing all night. This is reducing your recovery capabilities and creates a bacteria breeding ground. Invest in some mouth tape. This is the one I use.
Sun & Circadian Rhythm
The circadian rhythm is your internal body clock, It controls your sleeping and waking cycles. When the sun is up, your body knows it's daytime, and you feel more awake and energetic. This is because your circadian rhythm also regulates the release of hormones. There is a reason why when most of you stay up and sleep until 2 pm the rest of your day is completely wasted. You’re not firing on all cylinders. Of course, mindset trumps all but that’s another article. Your body clock is regulated by your exposure to light.
Circadian Rhythm Basics:
Get outside within an hour of waking up; 10 to 15 minutes every day. The closer to sunrise the better.
Get outside during the day; 15 to 20 minutes every couple hours. A minimum of 2 hours of unfiltered sunlight in your eyes per day is preferable. (no sunglasses, windows etc.)
Get outside in the evening/sunset; 10 to 15 minutes every day.
Sleep within 2 to 3 hours of sunset as much as you can. 5 nights per week is a good goal.
Blue Light (house lights, television, laptop, and/or phone) after sunset can disrupt your circadian rhythm. Your ability to access light will vary by your location, time of year, weather and other reasons. Do your best with what is available to you.
Nature & Grounding
Try to get into nature at least once a week. Drive out to the forest on the weekend, or visit the most local park. The more you can go the better. Every day if you can! When the weather gets warmer connect to the earth (grounding). This can be done by going barefoot on the ground. If you garden you can touch the earth with your hands.
Literally just from standing barefoot on the ground. If you are not connected to the earth this summer you are bananas!
Joyful Movement
This means movement that you enjoy. This does not have to be lifting weights in the gym. It can be dancing, hiking, yoga, rock climbing or even gardening. Exercise is important for elevating your mood and managing your stress. Movement enhances your lymph flow, this will help clear your body of waste. It increases your blood flow which will increase the amount of oxygen and nutrients that get to the brain and other parts of the body. Many activities are also a great way to make friends. For example, you can join an adult sports league.
Friends & Relationships
Building and maintaining friendships and relationships can greatly improve your lifestyle and overall health. Having trusted companions provides emotional support, reduces stress levels, and contributes to better mental well-being. Strong social connections help develop social skills, leading to effective communication and conflict resolution. Building a social network not only brings joy and fun but can also benefit you in other endeavors.
Your friends and loved ones can positively or negatively influence your lifestyle habits, encouraging healthier or poorer choices in terms of physical activities and nutrition, etc. Invest time and effort into nurturing these connections, prioritize quality time together, and enjoy the many benefits of meaningful relationships.
If you don’t have many friends. Think about the person you want to be, do they dance, sing, lift extremely heavy weights, etc.? Whatever it is they do, go and sign up for that hobby… It’s that simple. I wanted to play volleyball at university so I went to drop-ins and made a bunch of cool volleyball friends. Don’t overthink it.
Resources
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT): Helps release emotions and fears. It involves tapping on specific points on the body while focusing on negative emotions or traumatic experiences.
Buteyko Breathing Method: focuses on correcting dysfunctional breathing patterns, particularly overbreathing or hyperventilation
