The festive season is well and truly here which means holidays are insight! If you are struggling to make it through the daily grind and have lost your usual momentum, here are my top 5 tips for maintaining your energy levels during the festive season.
Prioritise sleep
It goes without saying, if you want to make it through the festive season feeling energised, adequate sleep is a necessity. This may mean saying no to invites if you have had a big day or skimped on sleep the night before. To help encourage a restful nights sleep, shut off screens at least 1-2 hours before sleep, stop stimulants after 12pm if you are sensitive and add a serve of complex carbs to dinner as carbohydrate rich foods help boost tryptophan, an amino acid used to make melatonin, the hormone which helps us fall asleep.
Aim for balance
When in party mode, it can be tricky to maintain a balanced diet. However, skipping meals in anticipation of a party of grazing on refined snacks all day can lead to feelings of constant hunger and fatigue. Aim to ensure you eat at least 3 meals daily containing a serve of lean protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and vegetables. Eating in this way will help stabilise blood sugar, support satiety and improve overall energy.
Keep up your exercise routine
It can be very tempting to slip into holiday mode prematurely and ditch your exercise routine. However, exercise and movement are important to fend off feelings of fatigue, lack of concentration and motivation. If you can’t manage a full session of exercise, break it up into a few short bursts of exercise, as this will be equally as beneficial. When energy flags at work, instead of reaching for a sugary pick me up, go for a walk outside in the fresh air, I guarantee this will have a greater impact on energy.
Limit alcohol intake
Alcohol might seem like a good idea at the time to get you in the mood to celebrate, however, the high will be short lived. Alcohol itself can make you feel drowsy, impact sleep and cause feelings of grogginess the next day. If you want to wake feel refreshed, limit your alcohol intake and drink plenty of water to maintain hydration.
Support Immunity
When we go into holiday mode and finally stop, our defences can drop and we can become sick. To prevent this happening, follow all of the above tips in addition to supporting a healthy immune system. This means boosting the diet with immune supportive foods such as:
- Sweet potato, kale and carrots – Betacarotene
- Salmon, hemp and chia seeds – omega-3 fatty acids
- Brazil nuts, avocado and olive oil – antioxidants
- Kefir, sauerkraut and miso – probiotics
