Energy, It’s Time to SHINE
Low energy. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Lethargy. Burnout. There are so many ways we can describe the lack of energy and vitality that so many of us feel. Feeling tired after a poor night sleep, or a late night out, is one thing. But what about when the tiredness never lets up? When we feel like day after day we are unable to generate enough energy to live our lives?
Fatigue and Medicine
It’s a sad fact, but many women when they see their medical doctor about fatigue, are told that “it’s normal to be tired”, “we’re all fatigued”, “you’re a parent, of course you’re tired.” Or we’re given suggestions like “get more sleep”, or “manage your stress” with little guidance on what that looks like.
But I believe women deserve better. We deserve more than a glib response to our concerns. We deserve an understanding of the different factors that contribute to fatigue, and guidance in how to overcome them.
Most importantly, we deserve to have support in our striving to have rockstar levels of energy – to have enough energy to be the mothers, wives, business women, daughters, and badass women that we are destined to be. We deserve to SHINE.
SHINE – The Essential Factors in Energy
I have developed a system for helping women to overcome fatigue and achieve all the abundant energy that they need. And I call it SHINE. It stands for the six essential factors in energy production – sleep, hormones, inflammation, nutrition, emotions and exercise. And I’d like to introduce it to you now.
Sleep
Ladies, we need a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep each night to allow for rest and recovery. And for most women that means giving ourselves at least 8 hours in bed for sleep opportunity.
Consistently getting less than 7 hours of sleep will slow your reaction time, impact decision making (a 3pm cupcake, sounds great!), decrease learning and memory, and absolutely tank your daytime energy.
Common sense, I know, but many, many women are engaging in self-inflicted sleep deprivation, and their energy is suffering as a consequence.
Hormones
Many hormones contribute to fatigue, and unsurprisingly, this is what is impacting the energy of many of the women in my practice. As women we experience changes in our hormones in daily cycles, monthly cycles, and lifetime cycles. It’s no wonder sometimes those cycles get out of balance.
Thyroid hormones are your main energy-boosting hormones and even slight imbalances can cause major fatigue. Other hormones, like cortisol, adrenaline, estrogen, and DHEA are also part of our energy production cascade. Prolonged stress will also lead to fatigue by impacting your daily cortisol curve, and leave you exhausted during the day and sleepless at night.
In my experience, hormone imbalances are one of the most commonly overlooked causes of fatigue in both women and men. And one of the reasons many women are dismissed from their medical doctor’s appointment with no real answer or direction on how to overcome fatigue.
Inflammation
When your immune system is working hard, like when it is fighting off a cold or flu, your energy drops because your brain tries to reserve energy for the important work of the immune system. Inflammation causes a similar state. Whether the inflammation is from joint pain, muscle strain, or from gut dysfunction, the result is the same. When you’re dealing with inflammation you’re more likely to be fatigued.
Nutrition
One of the causes and consequences of low energy, is poor nutrition. Specific nutrients are necessary for energy production, like iron, vitamin B12 and protein, but all of the macro- and micro-nutrients are needed in balance to truly optimize energy. A blood test is useful to identify iron or B12 deficiency, but for the other nutrients a dietary tracking app may be useful in helping to identify possible nutritional holes.
Emotions
Anxiety and depression may be a symptom of fatigue, or vice versa. Many studies have found that people who report being less satisfied in their life also report higher levels of fatigue. So take some time to reflect on your current emotional health and consider if your low energy may be an indication of some deeper emotional work to be done.
Exercise
And finally, exercise. The great catch 22 – you don’t have enough energy to exercise, but if you don’t exercise you don’t feel energized. The struggle is real!!! But for most women, starting with a small commitment to exercise, a 20 minute walk every day, is enough to have a real positive impact on your energy. And from that first small step, you can build up towards a greater goal of more exercise, and limitless energy.
The Help You Need
If you are struggling with low energy, fatigue, or burnout, the help you need is here. I suggest you start by looking at the six essential factors in energy production and see if there is any area you don’t SHINE. Start by taking small steps towards improving that area, and then move onto other areas. If you don’t know where to start, or need more guidance, get in touch and we can work together to give you back your energy and get you to SHINE. The world needs what you’ve got.
Disclaimer
The advice provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is meant to augment and not replace consultation with a licensed health care provider. Consultation with a Naturopathic Doctor or other primary care provider is recommended for anyone suffering from a health problem.
