Download Practice Breathing from your Diaphragm (Belly Breaths)

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Get Active
Contents
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Walking4
Cycling5
Lunchtime swim
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Yoga6
Downward Facing Dog
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Forward Bend
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Child’s Pose
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Eat Better Food
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Spinach Smoothie Recipe Drink Less Alcohol
Always Eat Breakfast
Breathe13
Practice Breathing from your Diaphragm (Belly Breaths) 14
Improve Your Sleep Quality
How Can You Calm Your Thoughts? —Mindfulness for Sleeping 2
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Get Active
Exercise increases your metabolism, improves glucose uptake and insulin resistance. It
balances hormones and releases endorphins. With all of these benefits, it’s no surprise
that exercise does wonders for your energy.
At least 30 minutes of exercise a day is optimal. Exercise increases blood flow which in
turn helps to increase energy. Not only does exercise give you a quick energy boost, but
it will help you to sleep better that night. Just avoid working out close to bed time, as your
body needs time to slow down again before going to sleep.
For an even better result, do your workouts in the sunshine. This will help to balance
serotonin and melatonin, and stabilise your circadian rhythm.
So what are the best workouts for combating fatigue?
For increased energy, the key is to aim for a low to moderate intensity - don’t push yourself
too hard or you’ll just end up depleting your energy stores.
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Walking
You will see benefits from as little as a leisurely 10 minute walk. Walking has been found
to promote mental health, boost energy, combat anxiety and depression, improve your
sleep quality and relieve stress.
“Find some hills as you progress to challenge your muscles and increase your
heart rate. Rain keeping you in? Find a step around your house or work and do
some step ups for 5 minutes leading with the right leg then swap. No step? Make
your way to the closest shopping centre and go from one end to the other, then
repeat. If the sun is shining, simply head out in any direction for half the amount
of time you want to walk for & then turn around and retrace your steps.”
—Sandy Duxbury (Personal Trainer)
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Park in a car park further away
Get off the bus a stop early
Try somewhere new to eat that is further away from your office
Use the bathroom one level above or below you in your workplace and use the
stairs to get there
Suggest having lunchtime walking meetings with your colleagues
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Cycling
A great low impact fun exercise that gets you outdoors and even saves your hip pocket
on travel expenses whilst looking after the environment. Combine your cycling with
walking or public transport to get to your next event on the weekend.
Lunchtime swim
Check out your local pool for their lunchtime swim rates. It’s a great way to sneak
exercise into your day. The cardiovascular benefits that come with aerobic exercise
helps your lungs work more effectively and can lower your blood pressure. Give your
afternoon a lift off with more oxygen to the brain and a more productive afternoon.
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Yoga
“Recent studies reveal the effects that yoga has, not only your physical body,
but highlight the mental, intellectual and spiritual health effects when doing this
low–moderate form of exercise. It is proving to be an effective method to reduce
anxiety, depression and stress. Either done in a structured class or from your
computer or phone, it may be the only hour of your day where you are encouraged
to do deep abdominal breathing, slowing your heartbeat and lowering your blood
pressure.”
—Sandy Duxbury (Personal Trainer)
Practicing inversions (poses where your head is positioned below your heart) are great
for a quick energy boost as they encourage blood flow to your brain.
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Downward Facing Dog
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Start on your hands and knees. Align your wrists so that they’re directly under
your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Make sure that the
folds of your wrists are parallel with the top edge of your mat.
Straighten your elbows, back relaxed. Spread your fingers wide, pressing
firmly through your fingers and palms, distributing your weight evenly. Pay
close attention to your index finger which may tend to rise.
Exhale as your tuck your toes and lift your knees off the floor. Reach your
pelvis up and draw your sit bones back, gently straightening your legs.
Keep your upper back straight by pulling the shoulder blades together,
broadening your collarbones.
Focus on lengthening your spine, drawing your chest towards your thighs while
pressing the mat away from you. Engage your quadriceps and sink you heels
towards the floor. Take a number of slow, deep breaths.
Downward Facing Dog
Added Benefits
relieves headaches, insomnia & stress, improves digestion
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Forward Bend
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Start standing straight with your feet hip distance apart.
Exhale as you bend forward, gently lengthening your spine, letting the crown
of your head hang down.
Lift your sit bones toward the ceiling. Keep your legs as straight as you can,
without locking your knees.
If you can keep the front of your torso long and your knees straight, place
your palms or fingertips on the floor beside your feet, or grip the back of your
ankles.
Ensure your quadriceps are engaged by drawing them up to the ceiling.
Relax as you lift your hips high, moving your weight slightly more onto the balls
of your feet.
Let your head hang and breathe, deep and slow.
Forward Bend
Added Benefits
relieves tension in the spine, neck, and back, stimulates the
kidneys, liver, spleen
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Child’s Pose
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Start on your hands and knees. Spread your knees wide, keeping your big
toes still touching and sit down on your toes.
Lengthen your spine as you lean forward, stretching your arms out in front of
you on the ground. Allow your forehead to rest on the floor.
Keep your arms long and extended, palms facing down.
Sit your hips back down as far as they can go.
Broaden your upper back and relax your shoulders, lengthening from your
hips to your armpits.
Breathe, slowly and deeply.
Child’s Pose
Added Benefits
calming, improves digestion, decompresses lower back
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Eat Better Food
If you’re low in energy, you need to look at both what you’re eating and how regularly
you’re eating.
“In order to maximise energy it is important to take pressure off the
adrenal system. To do this, you need to reduce stressors or demands
on your system. We all know about emotional and mental stressors but
do we consider physical ones like going too long without eating, eating
too much sugar or drinking caffeine, eating foods we are intolerant or
sensitive to? These are important factors to reduce to get the most of
your energy system. Taking out allergens can be a good start along with
eating more regularly.”
—Vicki Witt (Nutritionist)
Dehydration is another common cause of fatigue to look out for. The cure? Drink more
water! Rather than going for big gulps a few times a day, water is best off sipped
frequently throughout. Add a squeeze of lemon to your glass for an extra dose of
potassium and vitamin C —both of which have energy boosting powers.
Ditch processed food, simple or refined sugar and carbohydrates. Sure, they’ll give you
short term satisfaction… but that will be followed by a giant energy crash. For optimal
energy, go for unprocessed, complex carbohydrates with lots of fiber: wholegrains, fruit
and vegetables. Fiber’s time-releasing effects on carbohydrates will ensure that the
energy is steadily released into your bloodstream so that it’s maintained for longer.
Ensure that you’re getting enough iron in your diet. Iron is responsible for supplying
oxygen to the brain so is essential for feeling energetic. Spinach is a great source of
iron and is also packed full of many other nutrients including vitamins A, B2, C and K.
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Spinach Smoothie Recipe
Not only is this smoothie super healthy, but it’s amazingly tasty. Especially if you’re not
normally a fan of spinach, this is a great way to get more into your diet. Combined with
the banana’s sweetness and the peanut butter’s creaminess, it could almost pass as a
dessert. It’s hydrating, high in iron, potassium, magnesium, fiber and healthy fats.
Method
er and blend
d
n
le
b
a
in
e
Plac
(serves 1)
until smooth.
Ingredients
1 big handful of
spinach leaves
1 teaspoon of natural,
low salt peanut butter
1/2 banana
1 cup coconut water
(or water)
ice cubes
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Drink Less Alcohol
This one should be obvious. Alcohol is a depressant, which means it will make you
tired. Not only this, but alcohol also ruins the quality of your sleep, meaning you’ll be
less refreshed the next day. Aim for no more than two standard drinks on any one night
and make sure you get as many alcohol free days in as possible.
Always Eat Breakfast
Breakfast starts your metabolism for the day so it’s very important you eat breakfast
to set yourself up right. A good breakfast should be low in fat, combining complex
carbohydrates, fibre and protein.
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Breathe
Concentrate on breathing all the way down to your belly - when we’re tired we often
take short, shallow chest breaths which don’t bring as much oxygen into the lungs.
Deep breaths better deliver oxygen to your body’s cells and nutrients into your blood
stream. Increased oxygen can contribute to greater mental capabilities, healthier
muscles and organs, leaving you feeling more energetic and focused.
Stress uses up a lot of energy. By practicing slow, deep, belly breaths you can calm
your nervous system, reducing stress & anxiety. Less stress means your body can then
use the energy you have on other tasks.
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Practice Breathing from your Diaphragm (Belly Breaths)
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Sit or stand up right, shoulders down and back.
Place your hands on your belly to feel for movement as you breathe.
Inhale deeply through your nose, feeling your stomach moving outwards as
you do.
Exhale through your nose (or mouth), pushing your stomach back in and up as
you do.
Repeat.
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Improve Your Sleep Quality
A better night’s sleep means more energy for the day ahead. If you’re taking a long
time to fall asleep or waking up in the night, here are a few things that you can do to
get some better zzzs.
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Aim to stick to a regular schedule of going to bed and waking up at the
same time. This should allow for 8 hours of sleep each night and you should
try not to change this schedule much on the weekends.
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If you must nap during the day, only let yourself snooze for a short 20 - 30
minutes.
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Avoid blue-light exposure before bed. This includes staring at the TV,
computer or your phone screen.
Pay attention to what you eat and aim to eat dinner a few hours before bed
time. Don’t go to bed uncomfortably full or hungry.
Avoid caffeine after mid day and you’ll find yourself falling to sleep much
faster.
If you’re lying there wide awake, unable to calm your thoughts. Put all your focus on
your breath, concentrating on practicing those deep belly breaths, in and out, nice
and slow.
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How Can You Calm Your Thoughts?
—Mindfulness for Sleeping
Even when you’re practicing your deep belly breaths, it is easy to let your mind
wander onto things that you can’t control or change. Here is an exercise you can do
to help soothe your mind and help you drift off to sleep.
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Become aware and accepting of your thoughts. Become non-judgemental of
both your good and bad thoughts.This will help you stop stressing about the
fact that you may be struggling to fall asleep.
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As you’re doing your belly breaths start to become more aware of how you
feel. How does your breath feel going in and out of your nose or mouth? Is it
cold or warm?
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Become aware of your body, all the way from the tips of your toes to the end
of your fingers. Feel yourself sinking into your mattress as you let go of any
tension you might discover.
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This eBook was produced by Self eHealth Pty Ltd. © 2016
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