Every morning feels the same. You wake up, feel tired, and reach for your favorite caffeinated beverage. By 10:00 a.m., you feel tired again and reach for another caffeine drink. It can feel like your energy levels are constantly tanking.
Together, we’ll learn how energy is created and what you can do to support healthy energy levels without relying on coffee, tea, or energy drinks.
How Does Energy Work in the Body?
Your body makes energy inside your cells. When you eat food, it’s broken down into usable packets called glucose. Glucose is delivered to the cells, where the cells turn it into energy. It starts in the mitochondria, tiny structures inside your cells that are responsible for energy creation.
Mitochondria take the glucose you eat and transform it into a molecule called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. ATP is like energy cash flow. The more of it your cells have, the more energy they have to carry out cellular functions.
Cellular function is important because when our cells are operating properly, the tissues, organs, and systems they support operate properly, too. More cellular energy equates to more energy across your entire body.
What Happens to Energy Production With Age?
As we age, the energy production inside our mitochondria begins to decline. When the batteries in our cells wear out, we experience the effects everywhere. We feel tired, sluggish, and like we’ve lost our edge.
What happens next? We usually turn to caffeine to help prop up our energy levels.
Why Does Caffeine Give You Energy?
Your morning cup of coffee is essential, or at least that’s how it feels. You need that energy boost to get going, increase your mental awareness, and avoid feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. There’s a reason why caffeine makes you feel awake and alert.
Coffee is a stimulant, which means it works on certain parts of your brain. It causes a higher level of activity in your brain by triggering the release of awake hormones cortisol and adrenaline. At the same time, it also blocks receptors in the brain that are responsible for causing sleepiness.
The problem with caffeine is that, like many drugs, your body builds a tolerance to it. That explains why you need cup after cup of coffee or keep pounding energy drinks to stay alert.
There’s also another caveat. Caffeine has a half-life of about five hours. That means five hours after you’ve consumed it, half of it is still swirling around in your bloodstream. If you have a coffee at 5:00 p.m. and want to go to sleep at 10:00 p.m., you might not be able to fall asleep easily.
That could lead to missed sleep, which will likely lead to more caffeine consumption the following day.
How Can You Get Energy Without Using Caffeine?
If you want to get off the caffeine hamster wheel, it’s a good idea to focus on how to support your body’s natural energy production. Instead of using caffeine as a substitute, let’s talk about how to support your energy production right at the source: inside your mitochondria.
1. Try a Greens Powder
Greens powders are whole foods that have been dried and powdered to make them easy and convenient to take.
L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens contain nine greens and 30 superfoods per scoop, making it easy to get the vitamins and nutrients your body needs without prepping, cutting, or cooking.
When we created our greens powder, we didn’t stop with leafy greens. We added our M-Charge Complex, a proprietary blend of ingredients that go straight to your mitochondria to support their ability to recharge your cells.
M-Charge contains:
- ElevATP: Designed to help support ATP production, mitochondrial function, performance, and lean muscle strength.
- MLG50: Targets the gut microbiome and helps make antioxidants more bioavailable. It also helps support mitochondrial energy production and immune function.
- RedNite: Supports nitric oxide inside your cells (which helps your mitochondria uptake more oxygen and supports ATP production) and supports cardiovascular health. Over time, RedNite also helps support endurance and energy levels.
- PQQ: Another energy production support ingredient, PQQ also helps support your cells during exposure to free radicals (which can lead to premature aging in your cells).
Will you feel the same buzzed, blood pressure elevating, heart-racing feeling when you down an energy drink? No. But over time, you’ll experience higher levels of clean-burning energy that is consistent and sustainable in your body. Kind of like how you felt when you were ten years younger.
2. Get Enough Exercise, But Don’t Overdo It
Another piece of the energy puzzle is getting plenty of physical activity. Exercise helps send the message to your body that you need more energy. The key is to get the right amount of exercise. Too much strenuous exercise can leave you feeling fatigued.
Aim for about 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (any movement that increases your heart rate to 46 to 76% of your maximum heart rate) each week. Throw in some resistance training (weight lifting) to keep your bones strong and your muscles conditioned, and you’ve got a good recipe for wellness.
The health benefits of exercise extend beyond support for your energy levels; exercise also releases endorphins that help support your mental health.
3. Drink Enough Water
One of the common symptoms of dehydration is fatigue. If you’re constantly reaching for a pick-me-up, it could be because you’re not drinking enough water. Hydration is essential to your overall health, and your caffeine intake could be sabotaging you.
Caffeine is a diuretic, which means you’ll lose more fluid when you drink it. If you’re still drinking caffeine, make an effort to drink water in between your caffeinated beverages.
4. Set a Consistent Sleep Schedule
Nothing will have you reaching for a quick fix for tiredness like not getting enough sleep. Missing sleep is a cumulative event. That means the more you miss, the more it adds up. Sleep debt refers to the amount of sleep you need but aren’t getting.
For instance, if you need eight hours of sleep per night but only get six for two nights in a row, you’ve accumulated a sleep debt of four hours.
The only way to pay off the debt is with more sleep. Not getting a good night’s sleep leads to grogginess and fatigue. Make sure you’re getting the sleep you need, and remember that your caffeine intake could be interfering with your ability to fall asleep at night.
5. Spend Time Outside
Fatigue hates bright light. Your circadian rhythm is the biological clock inside your body that governs your sleep and awake times. It runs on light, which is why you begin to feel tired as the sun goes down and naturally wake up when sunlight pours through your windows.
If you’re attempting to boost your energy levels without caffeine, take a walk outside. As a bonus, you’ll make sure you get your vitamin D levels up and pumping. Vitamin D is created when UV rays interact with cholesterol in your skin cells.
6. Engage in Hobbies
Hobbies keep your brain engaged and focused. If you’re feeling sedentary on the weekends, find something you enjoy doing, and do it. Hobbies and staying actively social are part of maintaining your well-being, especially as you age.
Golfing, sewing, playing cards, birdwatching, or reading a book can all keep your brain stimulated and help you stay alert instead of dozing off on the couch watching reruns of shows you probably didn’t like to begin with.
7. Get Your B Vitamins
B vitamins are essential for sustaining your energy levels. Most people get plenty of B vitamins from their foods, but a simple blood test can determine if you’re low. Foods that contain B vitamins include leafy greens, vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and legumes.
One easy way to make sure you get what you need? Use a greens powder as a supplement. One scoop gives you plenty of green vegetable goodness and B vitamins to support your levels.
8. Manage Your Stress
Stress is a necessary part of life, but not all stress is healthy. Chronic stress can cause mental and emotional fatigue, increasing your risk of getting sick more frequently. Not to mention, it’s bad for your heart.
Managing stress looks different for every person. Your solution may include talking to a therapist or trusted friend or practicing yoga. Whatever it is, make sure you are actively using your stress-management tools to keep your stress levels within a healthy, normal range.
9. Eat Regularly
Are you the person that just has a cup of Joe for breakfast or regularly skips meals to get in a few more hours at work? That could be the reason why you’re feeling tired. While you’re attempting to go caffeine-free, focus on supporting your body with the energizing foods it needs, and eat them regularly.
Whole grains are healthy carbs that are essential for giving you energy that won’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike and fall (like refined carbohydrates). When you have cravings for sugar, satisfy your sweet tooth with natural sugars from berries. Throw in some healthy fats and lean protein to keep your belly full.
Focus on avoiding processed foods, which typically contain unhealthy trans fats and added sugar that can cause you to feel tired twenty minutes after you’ve consumed them.
10. Nap Mindfully
When you’re tired, a nap can seem like the perfect solution. However, if your nap lasts longer than 30 minutes, it could be counterproductive to your energy levels. A power nap can make you feel refreshed, but napping longer could end up interfering with your nighttime sleep schedule, leaving you unable to fall asleep when you need to.
11. Get Your Electrolytes
Electrolytes are responsible for numerous bodily functions, including helping muscles contract and even helping keep our hearts beating in rhythm. Electrolytes include minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium. When you aren’t getting enough of them, you may naturally feel tired and worn out.
If you’re using L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens, you don’t have to worry about getting your electrolytes in. Our greens powder is packed with them to keep you healthy and supported.
The Bottom Line
Can you go caffeine-free? Absolutely.
In fact, cutting down on caffeine can help you increase your energy levels and feel better over time. Focus on making small changes to support your natural energy levels.
One way to do it? Hit the easy button and add L’Evate You Vitality Daily Greens to your wellness routine. L’Evate You helps you optimize your health and restore balance to your energy levels. It’s an easy and convenient way to support your total wellness.
Sources:
Mitochondrial Aging and Age-Related Dysfunction of Mitochondria | PMC
The role of mitochondrial function and cellular bioenergetics in ageing | PMC
Pharmacology of Caffeine - Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance | NCBI Bookshelf
Target Heart Rate and Estimated Maximum Heart Rate | Physical Activity | CDC