Five ways to fight fatigue

Feed yourself;

When your gut bacteria is out of balance or you're not eating well your body and mind suffer, but eating to fuel your mind, body and gut bacteria doesn't need to include fancy recipes, expensive ingredients or countless supplements.

Two cheap and easily accessible ingredients are BANANAS and OATS.

Try adding a banana to your porridge or popping one with a handful of oats into a smoothie (preferably with some yoghurt) to give your gut and brain a boost. 

Bananas are a good source of potassium and fibre, and are great at stabilising gut bacteria, fighting inflammation, combatting diarrhoea and give that all important sugary hit to boost you up. 

Oats are full of slow release energy, are a prebiotic (feed healthy gut bacteria), provide fibre for healthy bowel movement, are anti-inflammatory and also contain antioxidant properties. 

Get hydrated;

Your body is approximately 60-70% water, which is essential for digestion, circulation, cell activity and regulation of body temperature, so it stands to reason that any level of dehydration will cause excess strain on your energy levels.

You should be taking on board at least 1.2 litres of fluid daily to avoid dehydration, or more if it is unseasonably warm or you are exercising. 

It is worth bearing in mind that all quantities recommended are guidelines and a good rule of thumb is to check your urine: 

If it is at all cloudy or dark in colour -> you are dehydrated and should begin increasing your fluid intake.

Also, If you are thirsty -> you are already dehydrated.

If you don't like the taste of water you can try flavouring your water with fruits, cordials or drinking non-caffeinated beverages. Try to avoid carbonated, caffeinated or drinks full of artificial sweeteners as they will not only counteract the hydrating properties of the drink, but they will disrupt your microbiome and add toxins to the body that it will need even more water to help flush out.

Take a mindful minute;

Fatigue can often be brought about by mental overwhelm, which unfortunately in our current world situation is easy. We not only have the usual overstimulation created by the non-stop accessibility created by our phones, tablets, and computers, but there is also a global pandemic to deal with! 

It's ok to feel overwhelmed by the current status quo, so now even more so than ever before it is hugely important to look after our mental health. Even a minute of mindfulness can have a positive impact. 

Try the following exercise once a day, or whenever you begin to feel like it's all getting a bit much;

- Sit or (if you have time) lie comfortably

- Close your eyes 

- Take a deep inhale through the nose, inflating the whole belly and rib cage, then slowly exhale as if you are blowing out a candle

- Take your attention to your feet, notice if there is any tension, pain or discomfort there, breath into it and on your exhale, imagine the tension dissipating

- Repeat this exercise upwards throughout the body, taking in your ankles, lower leg, knees, thighs, pelvis, stomach, back, shoulders, neck, face and head

- Once you are done, take another deep inhale and exhale, whilst imagining your feet rooted into the ground

- Finally, slowly blink your eyes open and try to take the sense of ease into the rest of your day

- This exercise can be done as quickly or slowly as your schedule allows and can be repeated as many times as necessary

Give yourself a mini massage;

Fatigue and sluggish movement go hand in hand, often creating heaviness in the limbs, which can create sluggish lymphatic return. To stimulate some energy and movement in your body try some dry skin brushing or massage to the limbs. Again, this can be done ideally once daily - perhaps after your morning shower – or whenever you get the opportunity. You can even do this through your clothes if during the day but directly onto the skin is best. 

- Start at your lower legs and make long brushing movements around the whole leg from the ankle to the knee, moving reasonably fast

- Once you have done both legs, move up to the thighs and repeat, then on to the lower and upper arms

- For an additional boost do the same for the abdomen and neck

Get inverted;

I have always said that I will never teach a restorative or yin yoga class without making the students lie with their legs up a wall for at least a few minutes, and with good reason!! 

Viparita Kirani, or legs up the wall pose, is incredibly restorative for the entire nervous system, especially when you are tired. Other benefits include; regulation of menstrual flow and relief of congestion in the legs. 

Please be aware that any inversion should be avoided by women during menstruation, as well as those with high blood pressure, eye problems such as glaucoma, and heart problems. If you have any concern please do not attempt without consulting your doctor.

I hope these simple fixes help you to feel more refreshed when you are tired.