Day 250 of 365 - Energy vs. Fatigue
There is an epidemic of fatigue associated with our stressful modern lifestyle. One hundred years ago, people would sleep well all night and wake up energized for their day. Now, this is much less common. Being out of our natural rhythms drains energy. With our overstimulating and demanding way of living, we either get less sleep than we need by choice, to accomplish what needs to get done in a day, or, involuntarily by either having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
To fight off common daily fatigue, we use more and more stimulants, like coffee. It does provide energy, but at a cost. Think of your energy reserves as a bank balance which you draw upon throughout the day. Using caffeine or other stimulants, like energy drinks, draws from that bank, but does not replenish the balance.
What we seem to forget is, that we need a balance between stimulation and restoration. Energy needs to be cultivated. The balance between energy and fatigue is dependent primarily on the combination of factors of food, sleep and stress. Occasional high stress, followed by rest is normal. Consistent stress is not, and it depletes our energy.
Since plants live in natural rhythms, using plant medicines can be beneficial in restoring balance. There is a class of herbs called adaptogens which can help with this. They help with re-grounding, focus and vitality. Their primary purpose is to help the body handle stress and to come back into balance. As such, they can act as either a stimulant or relaxant, supporting the body in what it needs to do, hence the name adaptogenic. Their benefits are not typically felt right away. They are intended to be taken over time to strengthen the system. Effects are more gentle and subtle, yet still powerful.
Adaptogenic herbs are non-toxic plants which have been used in Chinese and Ayurvedic healing traditions for centuries. Some can be eaten with food. Others are consumed as tinctures, teas or supplements. Being something which shows more benefit over time, they are not a quick fix. However, they can be a great adjunct for someone who is seeking to decrease stress and over-stimulation.
The ones that you most commonly hear or read about in the health and wellness world these days are Ashwaganda, Rhodiola, Holy Basil and Maca. They can both soothe and energize by improving the body's ability to manage stress. What needs to be kept in mind though, is, that lifestyle changes are also required for long term benefits. It should be no surprise that important factors in bringing the body back into balance are good nutrition, decreasing over-stimulation which is both environmental and ingested, and choosing to go to bed earlier at night.
It takes time for the body to reset. In order to achieve that we need to be willing to go through withdrawal from the excessive stimulation of life. In other words, we should not expect to get an instant reset by taking an adaptogenic herb while continuing to ingest excessive caffeine and running on all cylinders. We need to find more ways to make deposits into our energy bank to restore that natural balance between energy and fatigue in order to have vitality.
To fight off common daily fatigue, we use more and more stimulants, like coffee. It does provide energy, but at a cost. Think of your energy reserves as a bank balance which you draw upon throughout the day. Using caffeine or other stimulants, like energy drinks, draws from that bank, but does not replenish the balance.
What we seem to forget is, that we need a balance between stimulation and restoration. Energy needs to be cultivated. The balance between energy and fatigue is dependent primarily on the combination of factors of food, sleep and stress. Occasional high stress, followed by rest is normal. Consistent stress is not, and it depletes our energy.
Since plants live in natural rhythms, using plant medicines can be beneficial in restoring balance. There is a class of herbs called adaptogens which can help with this. They help with re-grounding, focus and vitality. Their primary purpose is to help the body handle stress and to come back into balance. As such, they can act as either a stimulant or relaxant, supporting the body in what it needs to do, hence the name adaptogenic. Their benefits are not typically felt right away. They are intended to be taken over time to strengthen the system. Effects are more gentle and subtle, yet still powerful.
Adaptogenic herbs are non-toxic plants which have been used in Chinese and Ayurvedic healing traditions for centuries. Some can be eaten with food. Others are consumed as tinctures, teas or supplements. Being something which shows more benefit over time, they are not a quick fix. However, they can be a great adjunct for someone who is seeking to decrease stress and over-stimulation.
The ones that you most commonly hear or read about in the health and wellness world these days are Ashwaganda, Rhodiola, Holy Basil and Maca. They can both soothe and energize by improving the body's ability to manage stress. What needs to be kept in mind though, is, that lifestyle changes are also required for long term benefits. It should be no surprise that important factors in bringing the body back into balance are good nutrition, decreasing over-stimulation which is both environmental and ingested, and choosing to go to bed earlier at night.
It takes time for the body to reset. In order to achieve that we need to be willing to go through withdrawal from the excessive stimulation of life. In other words, we should not expect to get an instant reset by taking an adaptogenic herb while continuing to ingest excessive caffeine and running on all cylinders. We need to find more ways to make deposits into our energy bank to restore that natural balance between energy and fatigue in order to have vitality.
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