Believe it or not, caffeine is one of the most recreationally used drugs. Almost 80% of the U.S. population consumes caffeine and depends on it throughout the day to maintain energy levels.1
While caffeine is safe to consume within the recommended daily limit (around 400mg), oftentimes this doesn’t cut it for most people. With caffeine dependency and increased tolerance equally on the rise, it may be time to look for other ways to boost your energy and alertness.
Though don’t get us wrong, there is nothing wrong with your morning cup of coffee to help kick-start your day, but having a reliance on it can ultimately leave you feeling more tired when you go without it.
Below are five ways in which you can naturally boost your energy and alertness without the need to rely on caffeine consumption. These are simple diet and lifestyle changes that can significantly improve your energy levels, as well as provide further benefits to overall health and well-being.
5 Ways To Get Energy Without Caffeine
1) Reduce Caffeine Dependence
Step one is attempting to curb caffeine addiction! Caffeine is classed as a stimulant, which is a drug that increases activity in the nervous system, thus resulting in increased alertness, wakefulness, and energy.
Due to this powerful effect, it can make it difficult to quit, particularly as your body builds up tolerance and dependence. To better understand this point, it’s important to understand how caffeine works.
When you consume caffeine, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels into the brain where it interacts with your neurons.
It gets to work in the brain by blocking the binding of the neurotransmitter adenosine to its receptor. Adenosine is a brain chemical that is gradually released throughout the day, which is what helps us feel more tired and sleepy come the evening.
During our sleep, adenosine breaks down and the cycle starts over again the next day. When caffeine is involved, it inhibits the binding of adenosine, therefore blocking tiredness, resulting in a sense of alertness.
To have more energy without caffeine, it’s recommended to re-establish your brain chemicals by avoiding caffeine. After a couple of weeks, your adenosine cycle will return to normal functioning.
2) Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
Now that you have reduced or completely cut out caffeine, you may be wondering how you get through the day feeling alert and energized without cups of coffee tide you over.
It goes without saying that to reduce tiredness throughout the day, sleep should be your main focus. Sleep has a restorative property within our body, and establishing good sleeping habits is one of the best things we can do, not just for energy levels, but for overall health.
Creating a consistent sleep schedule, winding down for 30 minutes before bedtime, reducing screen time and bright lights in the evenings, and ensuring your room is at a cool temperature are all things you can do to ensure you fall into a restful slumber.
In the mornings, you should do quite the opposite of the above. Get a dose of natural light when you wake up and get up and start moving around. This will help stimulate your brain without the need for caffeine.
3) Eat a Healthy Diet
Poor nutrition is one of the main culprits of feeling sluggish and lethargic throughout the day. If you’re not feeding your body an adequate amount of nutrients and quality calories, your energy levels, and health overall, will suffer.
Alter your mindset to think of food as fuel, something we need to sustain our energy levels throughout the day. For you to feel properly energized, you need to fuel your body with key nutrients, without the assistance of caffeine.
There are multiple nutrients that you obtain from food that can help with your energy levels. Consuming a diet that is mostly high in sugar, saturated fats, and preservatives are simply starving you of the nutrients you do need.
A good place to start is to consume typically “junk”, highly processed, and sugary foods in moderation, while aiming to increase your consumption of nutritious foods such as whole foods, fruits, and vegetables.
4) Physical Activity
This one seems counterproductive - how can you get more energy by using it up exercising?
Well, exercise is actually another great way to facilitate more energy during the day. When you exercise, it puts a healthy dose of stress on your body, which can have numerous benefits on your mind and energy levels.
Additionally, your body releases endorphins during exercise, which are like your body’s natural drugs to help provide you with a sensation of alertness and awareness. Exercise also increases your body’s core temperature, which also affects your alertness and wakefulness.
Even getting in a few minutes of exercise during the day will have many physiological benefits, including increasing your energy levels.
5) Supplements
Supplements are often recommended as a last resort once you have implemented all the above - cutting out caffeine, eating a healthier diet, being more active, and focusing more on quality sleep.
Many supplements may help increase your energy and alertness. One of the more popular options is a multivitamin, which can help bridge any potential nutrient gaps to ensure your health and energy is as they should be.
However, other supplements are more tailored to provide you with stimulant-free energy. One example is Performance Lab Energy, a stim-free energy formula that is designed to upgrade your natural production of cell energy, helping to power all metabolic processes.
Performance Lab Energy can boost energy production, support metabolic performance, and enhance vitality in a safe, natural, clean way.
Conclusion
Most of the global adult population is familiar with the effects of caffeine. Drinking a morning coffee to help wake up is a universal phenomenon and is at times a little too heavily relied upon.
If you’re looking to cut the caffeine a seek natural ways to boost your energy throughout the day, the first step is to look at your nutrition and lifestyle habits.
Are you getting enough quality sleep? Do you consume enough good quality food? Do you exercise and move around enough during the day?
Once you have these habits nailed down, a supplement can also provide an extra boost without the need for caffeine.
Our top pick is Performance Lab Energy, a natural, clean formula that can boost your energy and vitality without any stimulants!
References
- Mitchell, Diane C et al. “Beverage caffeine intakes in the U.S.” Food and chemical toxicology: an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association vol. 63 (2014): 136-42.
