I love this quote  – “Today my heart beat 103,369 times; my blood traveled 168 million miles. I breathed 438 cubic feet of air, I ate three pounds of food. I drank 2.9 pounds of liquid, I perspired 1.43 pints. I generated 450 tons of energy. I spoke 4,800 words. I moved 750 major muscles, and I exercised 7 million brain cells. No wonder I’m all tired out!” – Bob Hope

One of the complaints we hear from people over and over is how tired they feel all the time. I too experience times where I am tired and fight sleepiness. Being tired obviously decreases motivation and causes us to feel like you aren’t at 100%.

In order to beat tiredness it’s a good idea to have a plan. Here’s a 8 point plan I use to beat daytime tiredness:

1. A Good aerobic exercise – I’m not talking about a leisurely walk after dinner, I am saying some high intensity stuff. If you find yourself wanting to doze during the day, then you need to increase your aerobic exercise. It increases your blood flow, decreases standing heart rate. You’ll be relaxed more during the day, sleep better at night and feel more energy. (A good bike ride works for me)

2. Cut the sugar – Are you drinking sugar in your coffee or morning beverage? It could be making you tired. When I switched from sugar to honey, I noticed a difference in my energy level that week. Plus, an old farmer’s tip says eating honey from your local bees helps to do away with sinus allergies. Worth a try anyway.

3. Eat a good breakfast – by “good” I don’t mean Fruit Loops or a Danish. Grab some protein, eggs, low fat toast, granola, yogurt. (Brenda really helps me with this one)

4. Eat a light lunch – This advice comes from Benjamin Franklin. He noticed that his co-workers would gorge themselves at lunch and then have an afternoon of sleepiness. He chose instead to slowly and methodically eat a hunk of bread as he read a book.

5. Take time during lunch for you – which is the second part of Ben Franklin’s advice. While he slowly ate his bread he’d take “Ben time” by reading a book. By taking a full break from the reality of work in this way, you can come back from a “mini-vacation” refreshed and ready to take on the afternoon.

6. Cat-nap – If you have a flexible schedule you can nap when you get tired. The key with this is not to nap too long. A 1 to 2 hour nap will make you more tired…Sometimes you can squeeze in a 15 minute cat nap during lunch. Other times you might have to wait until after work. Either way, a nap can refresh and rejuvenate you.

7. By banishing Negative People From Your Life –Negative people. They’re like human black holes which suddenly come out of nowhere and just suck the life out of you. You try to stay positive and remain strong but their negativity ends up just completely draining you, you feel exhausted, and you may also start to feel depressed too. So what can you do? One of the first things to do is to be aware of who the negative people are in your life.

Proverbs 12:18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.

Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; {6} In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. {7} Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. {8} It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

8. Stay in a consistent relationship with God.“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” –  Matthew 11:28

It is an amazing gift to stay wide awake through life… we miss so much when we sleep walk right through it.

Wide awake.

Steve

Lead Pastor of Prescott First Assembly