How Men Can Increase Their Energy Levels
If you’re a man in today’s world, you probably deal with personal and professional responsibilities and stressors that make you feel overwhelmed. When you combine this with the constant barrage of negative news from the world around you, it’s no wonder you feel like you’ve got less in the tank than you should.
The good news is, your energy levels may be low now, but they don’t have to stay that way forever. If you’re ready to get back in the game and feeling your best, here are some great ways for men to increase their energy levels.
What Is Low Energy?
To feel energetic again, you need to understand what causes low energy in the first place.
Generally, a man experiencing low energy feels tired, especially during the day. However, sometimes, even when you’ve got plenty of sleep the night before, fatigue will set in during the day and stick around.
Low energy levels in men are also marked by noticeable difficulty concentrating, which you probably know as brain fog. Also, whether you are on the job or at home, you may feel exhausted after completing the most basic tasks.
Finally, if you’ve got low energy, chances are you’ve noticed that you tend to lack the motivation you used to have to get things done each day.
As for low energy, this can be caused by numerous things. But, in many cases, it is a combination of factors that deplete your resources.
If you are on the go constantly and have little time to spare between your job and home life, a poor diet and lack of exercise may be causing your low energy. Also, if you’re a bit older, the natural drop in your testosterone may be sapping your energy.
Should you be dealing with difficulties that are taking a toll on your emotions, this can also be why you don’t feel as energetic as in years past. However, you can do plenty of things to get those energy levels back up.
What Are the Symptoms of Low Energy?
Remember that since you lead a busy life, it’s normal to get tired or even depressed about things now and then. However if the following symptoms are happening on an almost daily basis, it probably means you are suffering from low energy.
1. Feeling exhausted for no obvious reason.
2. Difficulty concentrating or completing routine tasks at work or home.
3. Physical and mental fatigue despite a good night’s sleep.
4. Lack of motivation, especially for things you usually enjoy doing.
Along with these symptoms, you may also notice that you are more irritable with family and friends and may even be taking naps during the day that you never did in the past.
Once you believe your energy levels are lower than they need to be, it’s always important to assess what you are doing on a day-to-day basis that may be causing your problems and consider seeing a doctor for a check-up. More often than many men realize, a medical condition is behind their low energy.
What Causes Low Energy in Most Men?
Low energy can occur in both younger and older men. For example, if you are under a high level of stress at your job or in your personal life, this can lead to a lack of energy. There are other causes as well, including those listed below.
1. Poor Diet
Should your diet lack the proper nutrients your body needs each day or you are not providing your body with sufficient calories per day, your poor diet may be what’s decreasing your energy levels.
2. Too Much or Too Little Exercise
Yes, if you exercise to the extreme, it will have the opposite effect on how much energy you have to put into the rest of your life. Likewise, if you stay away from the gym too often, the lack of physical activity will drain your energy. Exercising helps your body release adrenaline and build muscle, which can help win the physical vs. mental fatigue war your body and mind have been waging lately.
3. Low Testosterone
Also known as male hypogonadism, having low testosterone is often what many men discover is causing their energy levels to take a nosedive.
Testosterone is the major male sex hormone, and it greatly impacts physical and mental health. If you’ve got low-T, you may be experiencing symptoms like:
· Decreased muscle mass
· Decreased body hair growth
· Erectile dysfunction
· Depression
· Hot flashes
If you think low-T may be a factor in your decreasing energy, you should get tested for testosterone and other hormones and biomarkers that could be contributing to your problem.
4. Sleep Problems
Insomnia and sleep apnea are common reasons many men have low energy levels. These two issues affect men of all ages, and they are usually caused by psychological and physical reasons. By talking to your doctor, you may not only be able to get plenty of sleep again but also wake up feeling more energetic than you have had in months, or maybe even years!
5. Medical Conditions
Various medical conditions such as thyroid disorder, anemia, and diabetes can send your energy to depths that you never thought were possible. Should you suffer from hypothyroidism, your body’s metabolism will be out of whack.
As a result, your body won’t produce enough hormones to offset any problems, which results in you feeling like it’s a struggle to get through the day. If your diet is not up to par or you notice you can’t seem to stand cold temperatures like you once did, your thyroid gland may be the reason.
6. Depression
Although depression is a medical condition, many men fail to acknowledge that they suffer from it. However, if you are wondering, “why are my energy levels so low” and you find yourself feeling more irritable or angry, withdrawing from friends and family, and having problems with your sexual performance or completing daily tasks, it’s time for you to take depression seriously as a possible reason why you have lower and lower amounts of energy.
How Do I Increase My Low Energy Levels?
When you do find yourself experiencing a level of energy in your life that is much lower than it’s been in the past, always visit your doctor so that you can rule out any underlying health problems. Your well-being is crucial, and you should practice self-care regularly. This includes increasing your energy levels in the following ways.
1. Eat Energy-Rich Foods
One of the simplest and healthiest ways to give yourself more energy is to incorporate energy-rich foods into your daily diet. Rather than eating foods that are high in fats and sugars or processed with preservatives, eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein.
2. Exercise Regularly
Exercising often will increase your body’s testosterone and adrenaline levels, which will help you maintain high energy levels. If you don’t want to spend hours at a gym daily, that’s fine. Remember, regular exercise can mean lifting weights, running to do yard work, or taking a leisurely walk around your neighborhood.
3. Vitamins and Supplements
As more has been learned about what lowers men’s energy levels and what men can take for it, you’ll be glad to know that there are now numerous vitamins and supplements to put a spring in your step. In fact, taking a multivitamin can do more for men than you probably ever imagined when it comes to low energy.
However, taking the right multivitamin to increase your energy would be best. To do so, carefully read the label to ensure it has important ingredients. To get your energy levels higher, you should look for a multivitamin pack containing vitamins B12, B6, A, C, and E.
4. Be Smart About Your Booze
While there’s usually no harm in having an alcoholic beverage now and then, too much of a good thing can contribute to your lower energy levels. Therefore, you need to be smart about how much alcohol you drink, and how often you drink it.
Most of all, don’t have that nightcap before going to bed. Though you’ll feel drowsy initially, alcohol contains sugars and carbs that increase your body’s level of stress hormones, particularly epinephrine. As a result, your heart rate will increase as you try to sleep, leading to problems with your circadian rhythm and REM sleep.
5. Water and More Water
How can men overcome fatigue? The answer for you and countless other men may simply be to drink more and more water each day.
If you wait to drink until you are already thirsty, your body is already starting to get dehydrated. Once this begins, feelings of fatigue and difficulty concentrating are not far behind.
To beat your energy crisis, carry a water bottle around as much as possible. If you can drink about two liters of water daily, you’ll be amazed at how much more energetic you may feel.
6. Have a Regular Sleep Routine
If you find yourself burning the midnight oil too often, taking a nap or two during the day, or having no regular time to go to bed and wake up each morning, it’s no wonder you’re now running low on energy. To solve this problem, there are a few things you can do, including:
· Skip the daytime nap
· Put down your smartphone
· Avoid caffeine at bedtime
· Establish a regular bedtime
According to most sleep experts, you’re more likely to get a good night’s sleep consistently if you can schedule your bedtime around 10 p.m. and your wake-up time close to 7 p.m. if possible. This is a typical circadian rhythm cycle for most people, so if you can get on this schedule on weekdays and weekends, you should wake up and feel refreshed.
7. Don’t Smoke
Needless to say, smoking is bad for your health in various ways. However, you may not realize that by having that last-minute cigarette before bedtime, you’re virtually guaranteeing you’ll have a lower energy level the next morning.
The nicotine contained in a cigarette’s tobacco is a very potent stimulant. Thus, once you smoke and fall asleep, the nicotine will raise your blood pressure and stimulate brainwave activity. Once this happens, you won’t stay asleep for long, even if you’ve fallen asleep. Upon awakening, it will be very difficult to fall back asleep, ensuring your energy level for the next day will be anything but stellar.
8. Don’t Skip Breakfast
When your mother told you breakfast was the day’s most important meal, she knew what she was talking about. When you wake up each morning, your body craves fuel. Yet if you run out the door before eating a good breakfast, it’s the equivalent of trying to drive your car around all day without any gas in its tank. So your day will start roaring by taking a few minutes for a healthy breakfast.
The Bottom Line
Now that you know many simple ways to increase men’s energy levels, there’s no better time to eat healthy, exercise, get tested for low-T and other male biomarkers, and reach for that multivitamin. Once you do, you’ll return to your previous self as a man filled with energy, motivation, and a passion for life.