Like food, sleep is one of those basic human needs that brings us a lot of joy. I certainly look forward to an early night after a hectic or stressful day, and there have been a lot of these kind of days during this strange time when we are trying to work from home and look after the needs of our families too. A lie-in on a Saturday morning and the thought of snuggling down into freshly washed sheets can mean the world to us.
Shaking off fatigue and that tired feeling can almost seem impossible at times, but as long as your tiredness isn’t due to an underlying condition, there are a few things you can do to fight off that weariness.
Maybe You Need Sleep
Poor quality sleep can affect your brain function, memory and information processing, but spatial and cognitive behaviour can also become foggy or disjointed, massively impacting on your quality of life. Irritable behaviour, increased stress, a shortened temper and poor focus are common side effects, often affecting those around us rather than ourselves. Our physical health can also be affected, influencing things like our metabolism and blood pressure. The NHS also claim that poor sleep can lead to serious medical conditions such as obesity and heart disease, and recommend that adults aim for at least eight hours of sleep every night.
If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, you may well find yourself feeling tired, as weird as that may sound. Spending all day sitting around can affect our mood and make us feel more sluggish, so it’s definitely worth fitting in at least a 20-minute walk each day.
While managing stress levels and fitting in time for exercise are important factors in handling tiredness levels, it’s nutrition that can have a really significant effect on fatigue. There are a lot of fatigue-fighting vitamins and minerals found in food, but if our diets lack sufficient fruits and vegetables, and if we’re failing to eat a varied diet, lack of nutrients could be what’s making us feel tired all the time. It’s also important to drink 2-3 litres of water a day to keep our brains healthy and our bodies well hydrated.
So, What Nutrients Can Help Combat Tiredness?
Some of the key vitamins that are known to contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue include vitamins C, D, B6, B12 and folate (B9). All these B vitamins and vitamin C are water soluble vitamins which means they are not retained by the body; this means we need access to a continuous supply every day to ensure we are getting our recommended daily allowance (RDI). On the other hand, vitamin D is fat soluble, and this means excess is stored in the liver until it’s needed. Despite this useful attribute, vitamin D is mainly retrieved from the sun so winter months, overcast days or staying indoors for long periods of time, such as during Covid 19 can put us at risk of developing a vitamin D deficiency.
As already mentioned, fruits and vegetables should be our go to for these vitamins and we shouldn’t have a problem meeting our RDI if we eat a variety of different types as our five-a-day, but if we’re like over two-thirds of the population, it’s likely that we’re struggling to get our quota.
Vitamin D intake has declined by 20%, folate by 10% and according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, there is not a single nutrient where significant numbers of people are not falling short of the target recommendation. This drop in nutrient intake is worrying and Dr Breus, dubbed as ‘The Sleep Doctor’, argues that a lack of such vitamins could also affect sleep as well as contributing to that tired feeling.
One solution you could try is drinking Argi+ and Forever Aloe Vera Gel – our very own vitamin-infused beverage. Argi+ is high in vitamins C, D, B6, B12 and folate and Forever Aloe Vera Gel is high in vitamin C and great for overall wellbeing. Simply pour one sachet of Argi+ into the 330ml carton of Forever Aloe Vera Gel, shake and drink – you’ll soon be full of the fatigue-fighting vitamins you need to see you through the day! I always start my day with a shot of Forever aloe vera drinking gel. I take my argi+ in my morning shake, and sometimes sip a glass of water with argi in before bedtime as a soothing blackcurrant drink. Want to know more? Give me a buzz on 07840 640240 or email me at: heather_gregory@tiscali.co.uk for a little more information. Alternatively you can go straight to my Forever web site below to order your healthy supplies.
8 August 2020
