Page 27 - Women’s Health - Australia (February 2020)
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wellbeing
without exhausting
its valuable reserves.
DO IT TODAY: You might lighting feature. It helps
want to go somewhere you regulate your body
private for this exercise clock by letting you set
STEPTWO from Oliver Luke Delorie, the brightness, colour and
TreatYourGut author of Energy, 50 temperature of the light
astheMVP Instant Exercises. “Sit in your bedroom to mimic
It’s tempting to follow- with your spine straight, the sun rising and setting.
up a festive diet of fancy rest your palms on your
gins and Ferrero Rocher knees and take a few STEP FIVE
with a cheeky little juice slow, deep breaths to Revamp your
cleanse, but this will relax your body. Start Recovery
drain – we repeat drain ‘panting like a dog’ – take A T-shirt-drenching
– your batteries. “If your short, quick in-and-out workout is the ultimate
gut health or digestion breaths, ensuring each energy booster, but
isn’t working properly, lasts the same amount going too hard can have
nutrients may not be of time. Once you get the opposite effect. “I
available, and your energy the hang of it, switch to see a lot of women who
levels will be low,” says breathing the same way, overtrain at the gym, and
Sneaky Nicole Dynan, known as but through your nose. then don’t eat enough to
Drainers The Gut Health Dietitian. After 30 seconds, slow recover from that,” says
down. You may feel your
DO IT TODAY: Bin
Cramer. “You also need
1. Not having those skinny teas and body tingle and notice adequate rest days.” She
boundaries. do a grocery shop for a slight glow.” Go you advises doing five days of
Saying ‘yes’ when wholegrain or high-fibre Mother of Dragons, you. training with one or two
it should be ‘no’ breads and cereals, fruit, day’s rest. “On rest days
stresses you out and vegetables and dairy STEPFOUR you could go for a light
sends your energy foods. “These are slowly LightenUp walk, swim, yoga or do
somewhere other digested (low-GI) carbs, Early rising can give you stretching/foam rolling to
than where you which provide long- a surge of energy to help with your recovery.”
want it to go. lasting energy for the tackle extra things like DO IT TODAY: To aid
brain,” says Dynan. finishing The Testaments recovery and keep
2. Social media
overload. Being a and getting to ‘Inbox your energy up post-
desk potato makes STEPTHREE Zero’. If you hate 6am? workout, you need
you shallow breathe, BreatheFire “One way to shift our healthy fats – according
while staring at a If you can barely keep body clock to that of an to a study published in
screen leaves your your eyes open at 3pm, early riser is to limit our Neuro Endocrinology
eyes dry and tired. look to an energy booster exposure to bright lights Letters, low levels of
that isn’t a packet of in the evening at least omega-3 fatty acids
3. Building sites. M&Ms. Enter Kundalini two hours before bed,” have been linked to
Noise pollution is ‘breath of fire’, which, says Dr Libby Weaver, increased fatigue. “Aim
a stress trigger, according to a study nutritional biochemist for a tablespoon of fats
according to a in International Journal and author of The Energy – think the size of your
review of studies of Yoga Therapy, can Guide. “This includes thumb – per meal,” says
in Antioxidants and increase the capacity lighting in the house – dim Cramer. We’re talking
PHOTOGRAPHY: GARRETH BARCLAY energy. Pass the to respond to acute any backlit device such as hummus and nuts. wh
Redox Signaling.
them or use lamps – and
avocado, pesto, oils,
of your nervous system
Anything that
stresses your
phones, television or any
stressors (spreadsheets!)
nervous system
other type of screen.”
depletes your
DO IT TODAY: If you need
noise-cancelling
extra help, try smart-light
headphones, stat.
LIFX Mini Day & Dusk,
which has a circadian
FEBRUARY 2020 womenshealth.com.au 27
