Sunny Health

You’re healthy. You’ve been making a point to sleep and wake up at regular hours, and to get the recommended eight hours sleep almost every day. Your work doesn’t utilize much physical energy, and you enjoy regular work hours.  Haze PSI has been at a healthy level. Why do you still feel tired and listless?

Apart from getting ample rest, many factors do play a part in your well-being. If you often feel tired despite sleeping the desired number of hours, you may be lacking something else in your lifestyle.

Unhealthy diet

Proteins are very important sources of energy. Make sure you’re getting sufficient protein in your daily meals. Examples of food that are rich in protein include fish, nuts, seeds and beans. Reduce consumption of food that are high in saturated fats, processed foods, artificial sugars and trans fats. Not only can they lead to health problems related to obesity, they also sap your energy.
Be sure to consume generous servings of fruits and vegetables per day as well. Vitamin C helps to enhance your immune system, and fibres will stimulate bowl movements, thus detoxifying your body and keeping constipation at bay.

Deficiency in certain vitamins and minerals

Examples of those that have an impact on your fatigue levels:

Selenium: For thyroid function and metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more activity you can indulge in without feeling spent.

Iodine: Low iodine levels result in fatigue.

Omega-3: As Omega-3 is a health fatty acid, and our brain is largely made up of fatty acids, lack of Omega-3 for renewal can cause cognitive, behavorial and memory-related deficiencies. This is also why people tend to not be able to remember things well when fatigues.

In addition, Omega-3 helps to prevent or control a myriad of health problems including heart disease and certain cancers like breast, prostate and colon cancer, diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis. They are even helpful to mental conditions like depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Vitamin D: Low levels of Vitamin D leads to low energy levels and depression.
Magnesium: Magnesium is essential for energy production in bones and muscles.
Consider getting vitamin prescriptions from your doctor if you’re not getting enough of this in your daily diet.

Lack of exercise / inactive lifestyle

Strange but true. The less you move, the more tired you feel. Regular exercise helps to boost energy and mood and fitness levels.

Poor quality of sleep

You may be going to bed and waking up at fixed timings, but are you really sleeping well throughout? Stress, menopause and andropause in people in their 40s and 50s, poor bladder control which leads to waking up in the middle of the night are examples of causes of lack of sleep. In fact, lack of sleep may not even be apparent. Dreams are part and parcel of your sleep cycle, but if you’re remembering your dreams vividly, or even getting waken up by them, it means that you haven’t been sleeping well at all.

Check out past articles I’ve written about improving sleep quality, or go to the doctor to get insomnia treated in serious cases.

Not having breakfast

Are you skipping breakfast just so you can sleep in longer? Well, don’t. For years, experts have proven through research that not having breakfast leads to a number of health problems, including a poorer ability to remain alert and focused throughout the day.

It’s in the mind

You may claim you’re tired, but sometimes, it’s more a case of “I can’t wait to get this over and done with.” This would explain why some people look listless at work, but become very energetic when they go out after work. You’d think they’d head straight home if they were really tired! If you’re mentally tired, you may want to try adopting more optimism, doing things you enjoy to cheer you up, or perhaps consider a job switch if it is really getting you down.

Illness

Constant fatigue may be a symptom of something much more serious. Anaemia, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hepatitis C and some cancers result in fatigue. Get a full body check-up and consult your doctor if your fatigue isn’t the result of any of the above.

Sources:
http://health.yahoo.net/articles/nutrition/7-hidden-causes-fatigue
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/fats/what-omega-3-fatty-acid-does-for-you.html

The study was done on men aged 45-82 however, and one might argue that the subjects are skewed. Nevertheless, while more research needs to be done to establish a direct link between breakfast and heart attacks, it has certainly been proven that breakfast does a lot of good for males and females across various age groups.

The million dollar question however, is making time for a well-balanced healthy breakfast. Easier said than done, said  a friend of mine recently with regards to finding time during the morning rush hour. He had lamented that rising at 7 in the morning left barely sufficient time for morning exercise, shower, shaving, and putting together his outfit before going off to work. He drives to work and starts work at 9pm.

Rightly, aside from outfit planning (which can be done the night before to save time), the morning before work or school is a hectic period made worst by the fervent desire that you were still lying in bed. Getting up earlier is not a solution for everyone as some people feel queasy if they were to eat early in the morning.

A good solution is an almost instantaneous breakfast that is light and healthy.

Here are some ideas that require usually less than fifteen minutes to prepare. Just make sure you have the ingredients the night before and know where you keep them so you don’t waste time scrambling around for them.

(Image from livelighter.org)

Cheesy Fruit Breakfast Bowl

You don’t even have to cook this!

You will need –
- One serving of your favourite fruit, cut up or cubed. Apples, bananas, blue berries, grapes, pears are healthy and tasty options
- ½ cup of low-fat Cottage cheese
- ½ table spoon of cinnamon sauce, or natural honey for diabetics and those who should be watching their sugar levels.
Quantities can be adjusted according to personal preference.

Place cottage cheese in a bowl. Mix in half of the cinnamon sauce / honey until the mixture is well blended.

Add your cut or cubed fruit, stir, and then top with the remaining cinnamon sauce / honey.

That’s all! You can vary the types of fruits each day for more variety.


Oatmeal with fruits

Oatmeal is one of the healthiest choices for breakfast. Steel-cut oats are the healthiest, but they also take a rather long time to cook, so if you don’t have the luxury, you can still go with instant oats. Instants do not contain much fibre, and that’s where fruits and nuts make up for it. In particular, blueberries go well with oats. Flaxseed and almonds stimulate the meal with a crunchy texture while contributing additional essential nutrients, including fibre, unsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals.


Egg in a mug

Most of us wouldn’t think of putting eggs in our mugs unless we’re making milo with egg, but when you’re in a rush, it sure is easier to multi-task by eating from a mug than a plate or bowl! Why else did the concept of cup noodles come about?

You will need:

A microwave oven.
½ serving of apples or pears, chopped or cubed. Other fruits will do too, but this dish will be served warm, so you would probably not want to add fruits that will taste weird when warm. Alternatively, you can also use broccoli instead of fruits.
½ an egg, raw. Keep the other half refrigerated for the next day.
¼ cup of cottage cheese. Cheddar cheese slices will do too, but they should be chopped up for easier blending.
Seasoning: salt, pepper, garlic powder (optional)

Quantities can be adjusted according to personal preference.

Add the chopped fruits in a mug, and put the mug in the microwave oven to microwave for about one minute. This serves to soften and warm the fruits.

Pour the egg in and microwave for about another 2 minutes.

Add cheese and stir, then microwave for about 1 minute.

Mix and scramble. When the egg is set, you can add some seasoning.

Enjoy!

For an additional treat, you can add other ingredients like shredded mushrooms, ham bits and even some minced meat for a more filling breakfast. Make sure meat is already cooked as you can’t count on a microwave oven to cook your raw meat in such a short time frame! Look into your fridge and see what you got. Leftovers from dinner the night before could inspire some creative new recipes!

Caution: Eggs are high in protein, so refrain from eating this every morning.


Bananas

Bananas are nutritious, tasty, filling and really easy to eat on the go. You don’t even need to add additional seasoning as they are naturally sweet. What’s not to like about them? Of course, it can be tiresome to eat them every morning. You can create variety by adding them to a bowl of cereal and milk, or having them with sour fruits. From personal experience, they taste best when consumed with cubed strawberries and blueberries.

If all else fails, head to 7-11 or your nearest bread store the night before and stock up on ready-made sandwiches! They’re still healthier than chemically processed instants.