While many consider the morning to be the best time for a fitness routine, it is okay to pick another time in the day to workout.
According to the American Heart Association, the key to staying fit and feeling healthy is to keep your fitness routine consistent. So whether you like soaking up that morning sun or enjoying nightly calm, go for it! As long as you find a time that actually motivates you to move, you’ll have a better time sticking to a fitness routine.
But no matter what time you decide is best for your consistency, you might find that your own drowsiness gets in the way of a good workout. Sometimes this just means you need to get more sleep. But if you find that isn’t helping, you may have a more serious issue, such as hypothyroidism (i.e., an underactive thyroid gland), which commonly causes fatigue.
If that’s the case, what do you do?
Whether or not your fatigue is a symptom or your sole condition, consider trying out these five methods to make the most of your fitness time.
1. Talk to Your Doctor
Before going down the rabbit hole of fighting fatigue, make an appointment with your doctor. Talking to them will give you a better idea of what’s causing your fatigue to get in the way of your everyday activities. And once that’s determined, they’ll likely be able to offer helpful suggestions on how to remove or reduce the cause of your fatigue.
If the cause of your fatigue does happen to be a condition like hypothyroidism, your doctor might prescribe you medication like Synthroid®. This medication should help you get your fatigue back under control.
You can make sure that the price for this medicine remains affordable by purchasing it through an international or Canadian pharmacy referral service, such as Canada Med Pharmacy.
2. Eat Regularly Throughout the Day
Now, what if your fatigue seems to be a bit more nebulous? Think about what you’ve recently changed in your life. For instance, maybe you’ve started a new diet.
If so, you might want to consider whether you’re actually eating enough. As the UK’s health site NHS notes, one of the better ways to maintain a decent level of energy daily is by eating regular meals and healthy snacks every three to four hours. Spreading your mealtimes out like this is better than having three large meals a day. It gives your body a chance to feel full throughout the day and avoid less-than-healthy temptations. And your digestive system will be less taxed over having to break down your day’s meals.
3. Soothe Any Stress You Have
Throughout the rest of your day, you might occasionally encounter some stress. But you shouldn’t feel stressed all the time. Excess stress like that can actually give your body physical aches and pains, including those associated with fatigue.
You can make this stress much more manageable for you and your body through methods such as:
- Taking on a more positive perspective— while easier said than done, positive self-talk and a positive view in general can help you calm down and control your stress
- Coming up with emergency stress-relieving techniques— there are a number of techniques out there to help you defuse your stress in a flash, such as counting to 10 before reacting or taking slow, deep breaths until you feel calmer
- Doing feel-good activities — whether it’s making art, reading a book, or just listening to music, do activities that you know make you happy, as they will help lower your stress
4. Cut Back on Caffeine Consumption
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, you might want to consider cutting out caffeine if you feel tired. But it’s understandable if you need one or two coffees to get you through your workweek. So instead of cutting it out entirely, try reducing your consumption.
Because caffeine blocks your brain’s adenosine receptors (i.e., nerves in your brain that tell you when you should feel tired), you feel more alert and awake after consuming it. But all caffeine does is block your receptors, not the neurotransmitter that creates the fatigue. So once your caffeine consumption wears off, you’ll have a buildup of adenosine receptors to deal with.
To avoid this unwanted excess fatigue, try going for drinks and foods that don’t contain as much or any caffeine, such as natural grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and most importantly, water.
5. Make Water Your Main Beverage
Water is one of the most crucial beverages to a healthy life. It offers numerous health benefits, such as boosting your skin health, skin beauty, and evenhydrating your brain so that you become more alert and aware.
Water can also be a great replacement for alcohol. While alcohol is tastier, it actually makes you sleep less deeply. So even if you get the recommended eight hours of sleep, you’ll still feel tired. In contrast, water energizes you without affecting your sleep. As you can see by now, there are many ways to reduce your fatigue so that you have the energy you need to keep up with your desired fitness routine. And none of them need to cost you an arm and a leg! Simply keep an eye on your fatigue, and have a doctor check it out. While on your own, you can reduce fatigue even further just by eating regularly, minimizing any daily stress, avoiding caffeine, and drinking water. Eventually, your hard work will pay off, and you’ll have the energy you require to get everything you need from your workout.