Ciao lovely people and welcome to another wellness post. This week, I’ve decided to put together a list of things you can do to bring some energy back into your life when you get fatigued. 

It’s important to know that there will probably always be something that disrupts your schedule and prevents you from living your ideal zen life. This is normal and should be anticipated by putting in place systems that help you relax and take a step back when you start to feel overwhelmed. I think it’s important to outline a few different kinds of fatigue as the tips for relieving each will vary slightly.

One that first comes to mind would be physical fatigue as many of us lead busy lives: running to and from work, exercising, and doing the myriad errands that befall us each day. This is especially common for those that exercise intensely daily. If you find that your body is consistently sore after your workouts and you are starting to feel weak and/or slightly run down you may need to take a step back and a few days off. My go-to relaxation for this is the sauna. 

• Spending time in a hot room sweating may not be your idea of a great time, but saunas have been shown to have immense health benefits. Alternating between the hot sauna and the cold bath that typically follows is great for reducing inflammation and calming the body. This is quite an extensive topic so if you all would like to read more about it I’m happy to do a separate blog post on it.

In addition to physical fatigue there are a few other ways our body and mind can get tired that I’ve thought of:

- Decision fatigue. This comes from the thousands of minute decisions we make each day varying from what we will wear, have for dinner, the route we take to work, what we write in our emails, and whether to have tea or coffee. One of my biggest tips for reducing decision fatigue is to hone your routine. This could manifest in a few different ways: plan out what you will wear the night before, meal prep your food for the week on Sunday, have your coffee cup ready in the kitchen when you wake up. Having a concrete routine will decrease the number of decisions you make daily and free up precious mental energy to give to other more important matters. 

- New life phase. Life is made of ups and downs with rare periods of prolonged stability. Whether you’ve just moved to a new city, had a baby, graduated from college or gotten married, you’ll have to establish some kind of system to cope with your new situation. It’s important to know that feeling overwhelmed, under equipped and/or nervous in these situations is completely normal and can be ameliorated in a few ways. Some of the things I’ve found helpful in these situations include: 

• Talking to close friends/ family and asking for advice or simply sharing how you feel. 

• Keep as many familiar factors as possible. Whether it’s making the same kind of food, working out at the same time each day or waking up at the same time each morning, these little consistencies will do wonders for helping you to adapt. 

• Make time just for you. If you find yourself particularly overwhelmed remember it’s ok to take a step back and spend some time taking care of yourself. Self care comes in many forms- a massage, reading a book, exercising, going out with friends- so just find what works for you and schedule that. 

- Particularly busy time of the year (i.e. holidays, birthday, end of the quarter in work). While the previous point had to do with major changes that happen infrequently throughout one’s life, this point has to do with the crazy periods that we can anticipate. As I mentioned before, I cannot stress enough the importance of having systems in place to keep you organized. If you are worried about buying holiday presents for all of your loved ones, start a holiday budget in June. If you have a birthday coming up that you’d like to go away for, ask your boss for vacation time well in advance. Whichever way you choose, getting ahead of the event is key. 

What are some of your favorite ways to cope with fatigue? I’d be really curious to know so if you’re up to it please feel free to share down below or send it to me on Instagram (@alexandratempletonfit). 

Thank you all so much for stopping by this week. I’ll see you here next Tuesday for a new blog!

Xoxo,

Alexandra