How many of you keep on pushing even though you feel really exhausted?

You reach for that third or fourth cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon, after having had your early morning cup of joe. You get to bed around midnight swearing that you meant to be in bed by 10pm.  You are exhausted!

Ahhh! It’s only Wednesday and you feel cooked! You wonder, “how can I keep going at this pace?”

In full disclosure, I know that there are times that I keep on pushing even though I am exhausted. We most often blame exhaustion on too much to do in too short a time. Yet, the reason can also be poor self-care habits.

Here are 5 helpful tips to reduce feeling exhausted.

Are you exhausted?

1. Less caffeine.

Since I mentioned coffee, limit your intake to 3 or less cups a day. Research shows that the more you imbibe lots of caffeinated drinks each day, the more your body gets used to it and it no longer helps to reverse sluggishness. Alternatively, drink more water, eat some high-energy foods like almonds, blueberries, emergen-C, (which is a vitamin C powder supplement) and other anti-oxidants.

2. Dark by night, light by day.

Ensure that you have shades to block out light in your bedroom. We need darkness to maximize having restful sleep, and maximum light during the day in our waking hours. So at night think dark, and if it’s a grey day, then make sure you have extra lamps near you so you can soak in more light. If it’s a sunny day, go outside for a 15- minute walk and get some vitamin D. Vitamin D can help fatigue. And your body will thank you for moving and waking up your limbs. Plus you may even get some inspirational idea while you walk.

3. Take a short nap or meditate.

It’s amazing how restful a 15-minute nap can be, especially if you add some soothing music in the background. I usually put on an alarm to ensure that my short nap intentions don’t turn stressful by oversleeping. Alternatively meditate for 10 to 20 minutes. If you don’t know how, then simply do some deep breathing, and focus on taking in long deep breaths and then exhaling slowly. If 5 minutes is all you have, then that’s fine as well. You’ll be amazed how you feel afterwards.

4. Exercise and eat nutritiously.

I hear you saying, that’s obvious. Yet, how many of us say, “I’ll exercise tomorrow” or “that piece of cheesecake looks really good.” If you keep reaching for the carbs and sugar, i.e. sweet desserts and pasta, you’ll end up feeling more tired. So choose protein and veggies, and have a small handful of almonds on hand.

Build in time to exercise regularly. You may be surprised how exercising wakes you up, so don’t exercise just before you want to go to sleep. Be sure to vary the type of exercise from high energy aerobic activity to yoga and stretching.

5. Don’t take your crankiness out on others.

We can all relate to being more stressed and cranky when we are tired. Beware of conflict! Be conscious of what you are saying or writing, so it won’t come back to bite you.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, staying awake for 18 hours causes you to function similarly to someone with .08 blood alcohol level. So build in ways to get more rest!

Your mind, body and spirit will be thankful.

If you haven’t taken the stressed out solutions quiz discover how you can reduce your stress.