energy

Move over coffee, you're not the only way to energize in the morning. If you'd like to trade that cup of strong black brew for something that wakes you up without the jittery caffeine jolt, here are four non-caffeinated drinks to opt for tomorrow morning.

Apple Cider Vinegar-Cranberry Drink

Actress Nikki Reed uses this blend to help power her through morning workouts, since the apple cider vinegar has been shown to help boost energy (as well as aid in digestion, which can also help put a pep in your step). This apple cider vinegar and cranberry drink recipe is more palatable if you aren't a fan of drinking the vinegar straight.

Green Juice

A tall glass of green juice in the morning offers your body much-needed nutrients for a healthy, energized start to your day. This parsley, apple, spinach, and ginger green juice recipe offers a good dose of vitamin C, antioxidants, and iron, all of which can help raise your energy levels.

Peppermint Tea

If you're craving something hot in the morning, opt for an herbal tea made from peppermint. Even without caffeine, the mint in the tea can help wake you up. Look for noncaffeinated peppermint tea blends at your grocery store, or throw a few mint leaves into a cup of boiling water, cover, and steep for five to 10 minutes.

One more energizing drink after the break!

The holiday season can fight against the body's natural desire to relax and hibernate. But instead of putting on another pot of coffee — or worse, a sugary soda or energy drink! — try one of these quick techniques to boost your energy level naturally.

Break for it: When feeling tired or overwhelmed, sometimes all you really need is a quick break. But you don't need to head outside for a lengthy walk — especially when it's so cold outside. Whether you simply close your eyes to get a break from the screen or take a walk around your office building, taking a time-out will keep you feeling more productive and centered.

Tap your thymus: For an instant boost of energy, Marian Buck-Murray, a nutrition coach and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner, recommends tapping your thymus with your fingertips for 20 seconds, slowly breathing in and out. "Your thymus is located at center top of your chest, below the collar bone, between your breasts. When tapped it triggers the production of T-cells, boosts energy, relieves stress, and increases strength and vitality."

Keep reading for two more ways to boost energy naturally.

Morning workouts may be better in many respects, but if you're like me, you'd take an evening workout any day. And while I normally look forward to my workout, sometimes energy levels leave me preferring the couch. To make sure I check my workout off my to-do list for the day, here are ways to keep energy up in the evening.

Well-timed snack: Lunch is a distant memory by the time you're ready for after-work exercise, so snacks are in order if you want to have the energy you need for a good workout. But eating too much right before a workout can be your downfall as well. The solution? A well-timed, well-balanced snack of carbs and protein to help power through a workout; go for easily digestible carbs — like saltine crackers or raisins — if you're grabbing something right before you head out. Here are some ideas on what to eat before you workout that you can easily eat at work.

Water: Feeling sluggish? Dehydration could be the culprit. Make sure you stay amply hydrated all day — otherwise you could be met with fatigue at the start of your workout. If your exercise routine is intense, make sure you keep a water bottle handy to stay hydrated throughout your routine.

An extra kick: Coffee perks you up in the morning, and it can do the same before your workout. Studies have shown that drinking caffeine before a workout helps increase your stamina and energy throughout. If an evening cup of coffee spells disaster for your bedtime routine, try green tea instead.

Sluggish days — we've all had them. The quick solution is often downing a cup of coffee — and then another — with the hope of making it through the day. According to dietitian Ashley Koff, this is exactly what we shouldn't be doing. At this year's espnW Women + Sports Summit (which I attended as a guest of Lexus), Koff put forth the idea of better energy vs. more energy: better meaning the energy is long-lasting and efficient, and more being a quick fix that forces the body to keep pushing even when tired. "Better energy is like rolling hills, and more energy is like spikes that cause the body to burn out," says Koff.
In order to achieve the right kind of energy to power through the day, Koff stresses how and what we eat plays a major role.

• Quantity: Portion control matters when it comes to maintaining energy throughout the day, but Koff warns against thinking that this means having less: "Once you know the right amounts you should be eating, you'll find that all food is still available to you." Koff has a simple way to figure out portion sizes when putting together a meal: use the fist as a way to measure carbs, the palm (no fingers) to measure protein, and the thumb should be the visual cue for fats (except for nuts, which should equal a small handful). Go ahead and eat all the veggies you want — no limits there!
• Quality: Koff says there's no right diet plan. "Forget the low-carb, no-carb, Paleo, and all that other stuff. Instead become a qualitarian." Choosing quality means striving to eat food that is found in nature, but it doesn't always have to be in its raw state, says Koff. For instance, wheat is OK. "Though processed, its foundation is natural." What you're looking to do is eliminate artificial foods, refined carbs and sugars, partially hydrogenated oil, and high-fructose corn syrup in favor of organic, sustainable, and whole food items.

See how what you're eating can affect energy levels and lead to weight gain after the break!

If you're feeling sluggish and can't seem to get anything done, perhaps it's time to work on your internal store of energy. By reinvigorating yourself, you'll be able to get more things done and have an easier time completing tasks. Here are changes you can make in your lifestyle to increase your energy.

Get better sleep. Sleep is key when it comes to fatigue. It's a time when your body rests and regenerates itself for yet another day. If you're having problems with sleep, get a physical to first see if there's something off with your body healthwise. Perhaps you aren't getting enough iron, or maybe there's a deeper health issue that needs to be rectified like thyroid problems. Start practicing good sleep habits like going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, making sure you're only exposed to dim lighting when it's close to bedtime, and experimenting to find your sleep sweet spot to make sure you're not sleeping too much or too little. Here are more suggestions on how to improve your sleep.

Move around more. Even though it may seem like exercising will make you more tired, the truth is, engaging in physical activity will increase your energy. Set a regular schedule and try to work out at least three times a week. And if you're feeling like you're stuck in a slump at work, even a brisk 10-minute walk will energize you. Challenge yourself by taking the stairs and investing in a pedometer ($22, originally $32) to motivate you. A pedometer is basically a gadget that measures how much you walk a day. The recommended amount of steps for an active lifestyle is 10,000 a day.

Clean your home. Your home is a place for you to unwind and relax, so having a cluttered home can make you antsy. Gazing upon a mound of clothing instead of open, clean space is enough to make anyone stressed out. Having an untidy home is like facing a visible, never-ending to-do list all the time. Give yourself a break and start tackling the clutter in your home. If it seems overwhelming, start by resolving to dispose of one type of item a day. Here's a list to get you started.

Read on for more.

Sometimes, you just can't beat that afternoon slump. Sitting at a desk all day can leave you feeling the opposite of energetic, especially around those postlunch hours when our bodies expend more energy digesting or we crash from the effects of our morning cup of coffee — and when that happens, don't think you can always rely on energy drinks. Besides their long list of unpronounceable ingredients, a new study has found that energy drinks contain high levels of citric acid, which can cause major tooth enamel erosion.

Luckily, even without the energy drinks you don't have to spend your nine-to-five dreading the inevitable urge to nap. Here are some ways for combating that afternoon slump.

• Exercise in the morning. A good day begins with a good start. Exercising in the morning is beneficial for many reasons: you don't have to worry about scheduling a time later, and it's nice to be able to check something off your list before the day really begins. A morning sweat session is also good for keeping your energy levels up throughout the day, so if you find yourself hitting a wall in the afternoon, try moving your workout session to before work and see how you feel.
• Take an afternoon walk. If you find yourself spending more time dozing and daydreaming than working in the afternoon, take a 10-minute break to rev up your body. Just walking around the office, chatting with co-workers, or taking a break to enjoy the sunshine outside can be all you need to give your body a recharge.

Still tired? Read on for more tips that'll keep you from taking a nap at your desk!

Whether you wake up in the morning feeling like you have half a brain, or you deal with a regular afternoon slump, there are ways to perk yourself up that don't involve a trip to the coffee shop. Keep reading to see three natural — and easy — ways to lift yourself out of a sluggish streak.

Exercise: One of the easiest ways to beat a bout of fatigue is to get up and get moving! Even a little stretching is enough to get the blood flowing, loosen up muscles, and wake up a tired body. Try this energy-boosting yoga series if you need a little jump in the day, or, even better, get outside. Studies show that regular exercise can boost energy levels by 20 percent, and that a dose of natural light increases alertness and brain activity. Try and fit an afternoon run into your schedule or make a point to go for an outdoor walk during your lunch break.

Eat the right foods: It's easy to make poor food choices when you're tired, but resist the urge to grab a sugar-laden soda or candy bar. Instead, go for a healthy energy-boosting snack instead. Something that's a good mix of complex carbs, protein, and fiber will perk you up and sustain you through the day. If you're feeling exceptionally sluggish, treat yourself to a cup of green tea, which will also help get your metabolic rate up.

Drink water: Sometimes combating fatigue is as easy as reaching for a glass of water — fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration, after all. Make sure you always carry a water bottle with you or that you sip from a glass throughout the day.

It hits you quick, usually at 3 p.m. on the dot. You become fidgety, your brain starts to lose focus, and your eyes begin to droop. Sometimes, caffeine isn't enough to ward off the afternoon slump, so here are some quick ways you can regain your energy and focus, depending on how intense of a boost you need.

• Small: Using an acupressure technique, squeeze the webbed skin in between your thumb and pointer finger with the thumb and pointer finger from your opposing hand. Massage the area for about a minute on each hand. This common pressure point will relieve headaches, itchy eyes, and stiffness of the shoulders and arms.
• Medium: Besides twisting your body from side to side, consider taking mini breaks every 20 minutes or so to do some quick desk exercises. Learn how to properly sit at your desk, release your neck and wrists, and stretch your back to increase blood flow and energy.
• Hard: If you work from home or in an unconventional office setting, do a headstand to reap the most intense yet rewarding energy boost. This inverted pose will circulate all that stagnant blood back through your heart, warm you up, and give you lasting energy.