Tired? More often than not when I ask a client how their week is going, how they’re feeling the reply will be ‘tired today’ or ‘its been a long week’ which to be fair is usually the case given the stresses of work, commuting and colleagues this is without considering that the average daily hours worked in the City are significantly higher than anywhere else in Europe.

I see daily what tiredness can do which prompted this blog. I want to share 3 simple steps that are easy to implement and cost-effective. Tips that will not only improve your concentration and efficiency throughout the day, but more importantly benefit your health.

Hydration. This is most definitely the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to reduce the side effects of fatigue. 9 times of of 10 I know that most of my clients haven’t consumed anywhere near enough water. Dehydration occurs in stages, and it doesn’t take much to become mildly dehydrated which can impair concentration and thinking. If you struggle with water then consuming water dense foods such as Cucumber (96.7% water content), Celery (97.4%), Ice-burg lettuce (95.6%), Tomatoes (94.5%). Or buy a refillable bottle that can sit on your desk and depending on how many litres it can hold consume 2 litres worth a day.

Entering the realm of food now, and Protein is a very hot topic. Question, do you know how much protein you have eaten today? And I’m not talking grams, I’m talking portions, can you count at least 3 portions of meat or fish you have eaten today? If not, more than likely you haven’t consumed enough. A diet deficient in protein can lead to an increase in stress levels, moodiness, disturbed sleep and low energy levels. Without protein to help stabilise our blood sugar, the tendency to experience fatiguing highs and lows in mood and energy increases. Over a long period of time these high and lows can exhaust the body – couple this with poor hydration and you aren’t going to feel great.

Last and by no means least, it seems obvious as well SLEEP! During sleep our body’s go through many different processes of rejuvenation and hormone regeneration. The goal is 7 hours minimum per night, if you think you can function on 4 or 5 hours then maybe you can we are all different and know our body’s but you may be missing a trick you could be performing to even higher levels with a couple of more hours that what you’re already getting. Sleep like dehydration happens in stages from light to deeper sleeping. Its very hard for the body to get into a deep sleep if you’re sleeping less than 7 hours per night. Lastly, sleep in a dark room, pitch black if possible and try to stay away from electrical lighting before bed so the brain can shit down.