How will you protect your energy in the end-of-year sprint?

As the year winds down, it feels relevant to focus on mood and energy. Instead of starting a gentle coast towards the holidays, many of us feel a bit like a puppet in a wild sprint, lurchingly jumping around to fit everything in as we race towards the cut-off. If that resonates with you, you may find yourself feeling tired and flat even when you really do want to celebrate.

At the best of times mood plays an important role in your quality of life and energy. It can affect your mental and physical health and influence relationships. And like last month’s look at health and happiness, mood and energy go hand-in-hand.

Boost your mood and your energy will increase.

Boost your energy and your mood will improve.

You influence your energy and mood with your lifestyle choices. Here are five areas where you can support your mood and increase your energy…

1. Move more

When you feel down, your energy levels are typically also low. The last thing you feel like doing is exercising or moving more! BUT, if you take small steps towards increasing your movement, it will really help to lift your mood, especially if go outside to do it. How this looks is entirely up to you, and if time is limited short bursts make a difference. Pick what is easy for you: it could be a walk around the block, a boogie around the garden, some energetic housework with your favorite playlist. Maybe you can combine movement and reflective time alone, or do something active with friends?

2. Think food and mood!

Add more vegetables and fruits, like berries and dark leafy greens, to your plate. Dark chocolate (more than 70%), protein rich foods, slow releasing carbohydrates and oily fish can all help with mood and blood sugar balance to increase your energy. Take care of the beneficial bacteria in your gut by eating pro- and pre-biotic foods (including onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, yoghurt, kefir and sauerkraut). When you keep your microbiome in balance it can more easily produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood.

3. Breathe

Become aware of your breathing and take some slow breaths. So easy to do, especially when you are tight for time. There are many different breathing techniques you could research and experiment with to see what you prefer. For example, the 4-7-8 breathing technique will help to lower stress:

Find somewhere comfortable to sit. If you can, close your eyes.

Breathe in through your nose to the count of four.

Hold the breath to the count of seven.

Exhale through your mouth to the count of eight.

Do this for a couple of minutes.

4. Take some time out for you

What do you love doing? Or what did you love doing once upon a time? Maybe this is another opportunity to move. Or a creative hobby. Give yourself 15 minutes and see how it lifts you.

5. Sleep

You may need to attend many more functions and events than usual. It’s easy to keep going and put sleep on the backburner, which then has a knock-on impact on how you feel. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time on most days. Get some direct outside light when you get up as well as in the late afternoon to support your sleeping rhythm. I encourage you to be conscious of your choices at night so that you don’t inadvertently drain your battery.

What has helped me the most this month

During September I started my own meditation challenge. That means a scrap of paper with all the dates written down and visible in a place where I see it every day (but you can go here for a nicer tool to help you keep track of any practices you want to introduce into your days).

Anyway, as the hurtling towards year-end has begun, I find it so helpful to know I can set the alarm for 10 or 15 minutes, and just be. Typically when I open my eyes again I feel refreshed, much less pressurized and more in control. In the long term, a consistent meditation practice is associated with stronger emotional resilience and psychological wellbeing, which in turn have positive physical impacts.

I wish you all the best as you navigate this potentially frenetic time. I will be in touch again one more time this year with some more thoughts on taking care through the holiday period. Do let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to cover in December. And please do share this newsletter with friends and colleagues who may benefit from simple tips to feel better and boost energy.

Wishing you much happiness and health,