You know the feeling - that "get up and go" has turned into "hit snooze and turn over." Yet no matter how much sleep you get, you still feel tired and fatigued. That's not a pleasant place to be in and if the following tips don't sort you out, it's definitely worth a trip to your doctor to see if there's an underlying problem.
1. Watch your stress levels
Stress is part and parcel of our modern, 21st century, lives. Short of quitting society and becoming a hermit, living in a cave somewhere really obscure, you'll have some stress in your life. Guaranteed.
The trick is to keep your stress to a manageable level if at all possible.
Too much work and too much pressure will take their toll on you. If you push yourself too far, your body will eventually say "stop." Usually with some kind of serious heart or other attack. Then you'll have to relax in a hospital bed, maybe with oxygen being piped into you.
So pay attention to your stress levels and check out which method of reducing stress works best for you. Ideally without artificial additives, so don't just hit the bottle in an effort to mask your stress. Check out things like yoga, meditation or even just a nice walk or swim.
2. Go to sleep at a regular time
We're creatures of habit. If you're burning the midnight oil one night and trying to go to sleep as soon as the early evening news has finished another night, your body won't have a clue what time bedtime is.
Pick a regular bedtime and stick reasonably close to it. Sure, there'll be a variance but it shouldn't regularly be measured in hours. Otherwise you'll have your own personal perpetual version of jet lag.
And while you're at it, make sure that your bedroom isn't too hot or too cold as that can affect how well we sleep at night.
3. Cut down on the junk food
Sure, junk food tastes nice. The manufacturers wouldn't have it any other way, otherwise sales would drop.
But a diet of just junk food isn't good for you - watch the movie Super Size Me if you need any more proof of that.
If your life schedule is too hectic to make your own food on a regular basis, take a look at some of the other options available to you. TV dinners aren't brilliant but they're probably lower in things like salt and fat than a regular fast food takeaway. And at least you can read the ingredients at your leisure. Plus if you count in things like driving time, it's probably quicker to "prepare" one of these meals in the microwave than it is to have a take out.
4. Get some more exercise
Which may actually mean "get some exercise" if you're less active than you've led yourself to believe.
Simple things are fine - you don't need to trek down to the gym to get exercise. A brisk walk around the block or in the park will work fine. Truth be known, it's probably an order of magnitude more exercise than you're doing at the moment and will help you to overcome your tiredness.
1. Watch your stress levels
Stress is part and parcel of our modern, 21st century, lives. Short of quitting society and becoming a hermit, living in a cave somewhere really obscure, you'll have some stress in your life. Guaranteed.
The trick is to keep your stress to a manageable level if at all possible.
Too much work and too much pressure will take their toll on you. If you push yourself too far, your body will eventually say "stop." Usually with some kind of serious heart or other attack. Then you'll have to relax in a hospital bed, maybe with oxygen being piped into you.
So pay attention to your stress levels and check out which method of reducing stress works best for you. Ideally without artificial additives, so don't just hit the bottle in an effort to mask your stress. Check out things like yoga, meditation or even just a nice walk or swim.
2. Go to sleep at a regular time
We're creatures of habit. If you're burning the midnight oil one night and trying to go to sleep as soon as the early evening news has finished another night, your body won't have a clue what time bedtime is.
Pick a regular bedtime and stick reasonably close to it. Sure, there'll be a variance but it shouldn't regularly be measured in hours. Otherwise you'll have your own personal perpetual version of jet lag.
And while you're at it, make sure that your bedroom isn't too hot or too cold as that can affect how well we sleep at night.
3. Cut down on the junk food
Sure, junk food tastes nice. The manufacturers wouldn't have it any other way, otherwise sales would drop.
But a diet of just junk food isn't good for you - watch the movie Super Size Me if you need any more proof of that.
If your life schedule is too hectic to make your own food on a regular basis, take a look at some of the other options available to you. TV dinners aren't brilliant but they're probably lower in things like salt and fat than a regular fast food takeaway. And at least you can read the ingredients at your leisure. Plus if you count in things like driving time, it's probably quicker to "prepare" one of these meals in the microwave than it is to have a take out.
4. Get some more exercise
Which may actually mean "get some exercise" if you're less active than you've led yourself to believe.
Simple things are fine - you don't need to trek down to the gym to get exercise. A brisk walk around the block or in the park will work fine. Truth be known, it's probably an order of magnitude more exercise than you're doing at the moment and will help you to overcome your tiredness.