7 Everyday Habits That Drain Your Energy
Have you ever found yourself wondering why you just haven’t had as much energy as you used to towards the end of your day? You may simply brush it off as not getting enough sleep the night before or maybe you just overworked yourself that day.
While these reasons are completely probable for an “off day,” it is highly likely that it is actually a culmination of things when you begin to notice this drained feeling every single day.
Becoming more aware of your everyday habits can help you to drop the ones that are negatively impacting your life and to pick up habits that create a better version of you. This self awareness is something that you must get used to but once you do, you’ll find yourself more motivated to be productive. You’ll also feel less sluggish and burnt out.
To help you get started, I have gathered a few daily habits that I’ve noticed myself doing in the past that can drain energy without even realizing it. Along with these habits are ways you can kick each one and get back to your energetic and productive self.
7 Everyday Habits That Are Draining Your Energy
1. Thinking negatively
You may think that what goes on inside your head has no effect on the energy of your body but the truth is, your thoughts actually play a really big role. Allowing negative thoughts to flow freely throughout your mind can quickly become exhausting.
These negative thoughts can lead to feelings such as anxiety, depression, envy, etc. After a few weeks of living with these all-consuming thoughts and feelings, it is easy to feel drained and to lack the motivation you had before. Everything, even the simplest of tasks begin to feel impossible to complete.
The best way to combat this is to become more aware of these negative thoughts when they are happening and to discover what can trigger them. Find new ways to structure your life where you are not being consumed with such a negative way of thinking.
Add activities into your weekly routine like meditation or yoga to try or set aside some time everyday to clear your head.
2. Sleeping too much or laying in bed all day
While one of the most common reasons we have no energy during the day is because we aren’t getting enough sleep at night, sleeping too much is also a problem. Sleeping too much or even just laying in bed all day can actually decrease your energy levels causing you to feel drowsy and less determined to tackle the rest of the day.
Avoid sleeping in too often or spending the whole day in bed. Just make sure you are getting about 6–8 hours of sleep per night.
3. Not drinking enough water
Hydration has a lot to do with how well your brain is functioning. Not drinking enough water every day can lead to an electrolyte imbalance which reduces your energy even further.
Even on those days when you are only a little dehydrated, it can still be much harder to concentrate than if you had drunk a proper amount. Now, I know we are not dehydrating ourselves on purpose, it can be hard on a busy day to remember to drink water.
To get better at this, get into the habit of bringing a water bottle everywhere you go. It is much easier to remember to drink water when it is directly in front of you.
4. Communicating with toxic people
If you’ve ever had an unpleasant conversation with someone you don’t like, you know how exhausted your entire body feels once it is over. No matter how friendly we are to others, there are always going to be toxic people out there who make you feel this way.
While avoiding these types of people isn’t always easy, surrounding yourself with positive kind-hearted people can help combat this negative exhausted feeling. Having these positive people creates a space in your life for you to go when you need the good energy and motivation to keep going.
5. Making poor diet choices
Every time that we choose to skip a meal or pick up fast food instead of cooking a proper meal at home, we are choosing convenience over our health. No matter how busy and quick pace your lifestyle is, making your diet a priority is paramount for improving energy levels and living a healthy life.
Avoid foods that include processed sugar as this can cause a little spike of energy that after just 30 minutes to an hour causes you to crash.
You’ll also want to avoid eating too many foods that include saturated fats as they are much harder to digest and take quite a bit of energy to process, making you feel sluggish and tired.
Keeping your belly well-fed with at least 3 meals a day not only keeps you healthier, but it can help increase your energy and improve your concentration throughout each day.
6. Living/working in an unorganized environment
If you’ve ever been in a terribly unorganized or cluttered room, you know how exhausting the mess can be just to look at let alone live or work inside of every day.
Even if you are someone who doesn’t mind the mess, the longer you wait to get organized, the more you will be tasked with cleaning up later.
You also waste so much time and energy looking for something every time you need it since it is never left in the same place.
Take a deep breath and dedicate a day to throwing away things you do not need and finding a designated place for everything.
Pleasing others and neglecting yourself
If you are a people pleaser it can be easy to get lost in helping others and completely forgetting about your own needs and time. Attempting to spread yourself so thin can cause you to lose focus of your own goals and dedicate more time to others rather than yourself.
There’s nothing wrong with people being helpful and supportive, but when you end each day with less and less energy and nothing accomplished for yourself, it is time to step back and reevaluate things. Get out of the habit of saying yes to everyone and learn how to say no.
In Conclusion
There are so many little things that we do each and every daythat we don’t even realize are negatively impacting our life and slowly draining all our energy.
By learning and becoming more aware of these daily habits, we can combat them and start getting our energy and motivation back to accomplish our goals.
I hope this article has helped you to discover any negative daily habits you may have that have been holding you back. If you enjoyed reading, check out my other wellness & lifestyle articles!
