How to Get More Energy
“Everything is energy.” - Albert Einstein
I was recently asked “How do you get more energy?”
The answer is simple. You already have all the energy you need.
The First law of Thermodynamics is the guiding principle of the universe. Energy can neither be created or destroyed; it can only be converted from one form to another.
So how do you convert your existing energy to beneficial energy so you can feel energized?
Mindfulness
The first step is to pay attention to your energy. Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, often developed through meditation, of sustaining attention to the contents of one’s own mind. It has significant elements of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. It also plays a key role in modern psychology and psychotherapy. If that is too “woo woo” for you, just think of it as paying attention to your thoughts and the sensations in your body. Pay attention to what gives you the energy you want (positive energy) and what gives you energy you do not want (negative energy).
These terms are not fixed. For instance being tired is perceived as bad in the middle of an important meeting but great at bedtime. Feeling like you want to sprint out the door is great when it is time to exercise but not so great during a job interview.
How to Get More Positive Energy
You are going to hit more targets if you aim:
Set the goal that you want more positive energy
Pay attention to your energy
Start putting more positive energy into your daily routine
Be mindful of what builds negative energy.
Take Responsibility for Your Energy
Negative energy will not be eliminated but it can be converted to or balanced with positive energy.
Ultimately, improving your energy takes effort. You need to decide if you are willing to change some of your programming to make improvements. You can continue to do the same thing day after day and you may even stumble into some beneficial habits or you can begin your quest to convert your energy.
If you are interested in starting NOW, keep reading. We are often unconscious of what gives us beneficial energy. The goal is to be conscious of what gives us beneficial energy and conscious of what steals this energy. Once you are aware then you can either take ownership or willfully ignore it. Either way at least you are in charge. If you decide to make some changes you will certainly need some grit and perseverance.
“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, it needs to be said again.” - Andre Gide
Fix Your Sleep Habits
If you are tired during the day, focus on improving your sleep. If you have a cell phone you have a computer in your pocket. Take time to listen to sleep podcasts, read sleep books, or watch Youtube videos on sleep. I have learned a lot from Matt Walker, PhD and sleep expert. He has short videos, books, and long form podcasts.
As you learn more you will identify your problem areas. With awareness comes the ability to make a conscious decision of what you are willing to fix. Are you willing to adjust your timing of caffeine intake, nutrition, screen time, and exercise level? You can learn about all kinds of supplements and biohacks that could be your secret weapon to improve your sleep but the most important place to start is building a healthy sleep routine. This will inevitably include waking up at the same time everyday. Your body has been trained since the beginning of time to wake up with the sun (or at least between 6-8 am).
Staying up late is a recent phenomenon fueled by artificial light and screens. You may have been programmed to think you are a night owl but you are not. As you set an earlier waking time you will become more tired and adjust to an earlier bedtime. A short nap of 10-90 minutes could help you make it through the transition. If napping is not your thing consider a Non Sleep Deep Rest protocol.
Bring Mindfulness to Your Nutrition
Be mindful of which meals and snacks make you feel light and energized for several hours versus foods that make you feel heavy and bloated. Most of us will find we feel better eating whole foods and worse eating processed carbohydrates and greasy fast food. Sugar may trick us into getting temporary boosts but will hurt our long term energy during the day.
This awareness may lead to decreasing or eliminating your sugar and processed carbohydrate intake. Most people do not need to eliminate them completely but they will choose to consciously decide when it is appropriate for them to enjoy at the expense of feeling a little less energized.
The benefits are almost immediate when you eat for energy. You don’t need to set weight loss or body image goals because these results become a natural byproduct.
With practice you will be aware of unconscious eating. This can look like eating a carton of ice cream to cope with anxiety and depression, or it might be gobbling down a plate of nachos or a basket of bread at a restaurant because you’re excited to be out with friends. The majority of people don’t realize what they’re doing in the moment but they’ll often feel guilty once the food hangover kicks in.
Remember, guilt won’t help anything. Just start again and over time you’ll get better at being conscious of your eating habits. Ultimately, you can choose to consciously eat “less optimal” foods that are pleasurable and enjoy them without the guilt.
Prioritize Hydration
Hydration is key. It’s easy to research and experiment with a routine that works for you. Many people see results from adding supplements or electrolytes to their water. Others need to adjust the timing of hydration to avoid waking up at night to use the bathroom.
Caffeine can be beneficial for many people. It does not create energy but can mask feeling tired. If you drink coffee avoid all the additions like sugary creamers and syrups that turn it into a dessert. Drink it at appropriate times so you can receive the benefits without it interfering with sleep.
Move Your Body
Human beings were born to move. Our whole anatomy is designed for running, walking, reaching, lifting, and throwing. You are an energy converting machine. If you keep the energy bottled up it will destroy you. Exercise will convert the energy to a useful form. The irony is as you exercise to fatigue you will have more functional energy throughout your day. Learn the 80/20 productivity rule. If you complete 20% of a task you will get 80% of the result. Let's take a competitive Ironman as an example. An Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and ends with a full 26.22 mile marathon run. It is widely considered the most difficult one-day sporting event in the world. To be competitive at the elite level, much less complete the race, requires an insane amount of training. The good news is that you can use the rule of productivity to reach 80% of the Ironman fitness level with 20% of the training. My guess is you can be healthy at even less than 20%.
One way to get started: Accept the Dr. House Summer Sprint Challenge. To learn more about the challenge follow me on Instagram at @hughhousemd.
Other ways to make a difference: Go for a walk or hike (even better in nature) 20 to 60 minutes a few times a week. Now add some weight lifting or body weight exercises a couple days a week. You can get this done in 10-20 minutes. Lastly, add in a few stretches or yoga poses.
Voila! You are in shape with more energy in just 10-60 minutes a day. Less than 20% of Ironman training and you will have great results.
The Right Exercise for You
Exercise is easier when you find your “flow.” This means reaching an energetic state where you’re completely focused on an activity. Ideally you find an exercise that allows you to escape the stress of the day. When you see someone who loves a certain exercise this is often where they find flow. My sister finds flow in yoga. One cousin finds flow in running, another in cycling, and another in functional strength training. A few friends find it walking in nature and others walking in cities. Mr. Rogers found flow in swimming and Nick the Scribe finds flow lifting weights. Once you find your flow your functional energy will increase immensely.
You will soon learn that there are different types of “tired”. There is “tired” from an active productive day and “tired” from inactivity. Exercise leads to more useful energy that you can channel into other important activities.
Is Your Leisure Time Causing Stress?
Stress cannot be avoided in life and it’s not always bad. Stress can keep you alive in an emergency, and keep you on time and on task in more mundane situations. However, many of us are choosing stressful leisure activities, which leaves us less capable of handling stress when it comes to the things that are truly important like family relationships and our livelihood.
Entertainment:
Be mindful of the entertainment you choose and whether it’s increasing your stress. Is the murder mystery you are watching on Netflix increasing your heart rate and blood pressure? It may be the most popular show around but if you have other stressful situations you can not avoid you should consider the comedy or nature show.There is a reason people watched Bob Ross paint, Mr. Rogers talk to puppets, and Steve Irwin interact with nature.
Sports:
Many of us are sports fanatics. I recently asked my son how much better life was now that the Orioles were good again. He estimated 10%. It could be true. Go to a few games, watch games and highlights, listen to some interviews, and the wins add smiles to your face. Your team's losses on the other hand; the bad calls, the frustrating injuries, and the decisions that don’t pan out can be irritating (e.g. Raven’s loss to Chiefs took some fans weeks to months to recover).
Politics:
For some politics has become a huge time commitment. As a citizen it is important to be informed. However, if we come back to the 80/20 rule you can get 80% of the information in 20% of the time. The media’s success is fueled by division and bad news. Reading every article and watching every news program will only add stress. Pick and choose how much you need to be informed while being mindful of how much stress you can handle in your current situation.
Becoming a Peaceful Warrior
“The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks, and observes.” - Bruce Lee
Now some of you may really want to change the world and no one can hold you back. That said, to make a real difference you need to be mentally and often physically strong. To do this you will need to be able to control your energy. You will need to be a Peaceful Warrior who is not crippled by uncontrolled emotions of anger, anxiety, and depression. If this is your purpose, start with the energy you bring to the world and move forward from that place.
The Impact of Social Media
For most, social media is here to stay even though countless experts have reported that it’s directly related to an increase in anxiety and depression. You can acknowledge this without going cold turkey. Rather, if your social media is making you bored, angry, envious, anxious, or depressed, adjust your settings. Hide people who are annoying or causing jealousy, and follow pages that energize you.
Be mindful of your scrolling, and when you do sit down to scroll do it with purpose. Look at profiles and pages that spark positive energy and consciously avoid content that brings you down.
Be Willing to Try New Solutions
“I would do anything for love but I won’t do that.” -Meatloaf
In my orthopedic practice I see people daily who are going through some serious battles both physically and mentally. Unfortunately modern medicine does not have all the answers. Some common examples are autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and recently long COVID. The diagnosis is made, and your doctor seems to have some suggestions to take the edge off but no cure. Fighting these ailments takes energy that you could use for other rewarding purposes. What you need to ask yourself is what are you willing to try outside of standard solutions for even a small chance to improve your life?
When you say you would do anything to feel better ask yourself if you actually mean it. Here are some examples of trying potential, new solutions:
Tom Brady’s TB12 diet is an anti-inflammatory diet that’s similar to the autoimmune paleo diet. This is something he incorporated into his life so he could play a few seasons past retirement age. Is it something you would be willing to try? I see patients on a regular basis who have used antiinflammatory diets to control serious diseases like diabetes to more trivial issues like tennis elbow and rotator cuff tendonitis. I have a friend who feels the carnivore diet cured his long COVID. My wife is on an anti-inflammatory nutrition plan after breaking her pelvis after being thrown from a horse so that she can continue to improve her riding without the distraction of aches and pains. While no long term case control studies exist, ultimately you need to decide if you are willing to experiment with your nutrition knowing that you may fail many times before you find what works.
Would you try to exercise with the attitude of “the mile you walk is better than the 3 miles you don’t run”? Maybe you need something drastic to convert your energy. In that case would you start your day with a cold plunge? If you want to learn more, read my blog The Reluctant Cold Plunger. Everyone I know who has tried it reports increased energy.
Grounding sounds crazy but maybe it works. After all, some wise people say everything is energy, including the earth. Getting early morning sunlight in your eyes can reset your circadian rhythms and fix your sleep. Are you willing to see some sunrises?
Maybe you just need some hobbies that you enjoy instead of focusing on tasks that make you irritable. You may be better off spending 10 minutes practicing gratitude, praying, or meditating instead of another 10 minutes focused on negativity.
Watch your thoughts, they become deeds
Watch your deeds, they become habits
I guess some people might need a complete overhaul with drastic career or relationship changes to improve their energy. My suspicion is the majority just need small changes that accumulate over time.