Beat the slump

Share this article

Nicole Topp is one of our amazing Healthy Mummy wellness experts. In a recent podcast, she discusses how to beat the slump. You can hear more about this topic in her podcast on the 3 Day Program.

We all know people who have WAY more energy than we do, but the science of the phenomenon is just coming into view. The tireless project jugglers, the calendar maximisers, how do they do it? The pandemic has had us all feeling drained, and the standard tricks don’t seem to be cutting it.

We spoke with Nicole on the subject and received some simple tips to help have more energy – which is undisputedly something that we all need!

While there are no miraculous solutions or quick fixes, there are all sorts of amazing things that you can do to help. You need to treat the cause, not just stimulate your way through. So, more coffee, more chocolate, more energy drinks will have the opposite effect.

Our level of consciousness around all of these issues needs to change. If we’re really honest with ourselves, understand that we are looking at a marathon, not a sprint.

For the full podcast, check out the Wellness Hub.

How to boost your energy levels

We need to look at when your energy levels are good? When are they worse? What is it that’s driving you? It will be different for us all. We may need help becoming aware, but the biggest thing to know is, don’t be afraid to rest!

Perfectionistic tendencies have us feeling guilty, or lazy, but in actual fact it’s just what our body is asking for. Or we may simply be dehydrated. It can never hurt to have another glass of water. This may seem too simple to be the answer, but we need water to function as much as we need rest.

So much of what we talk about plays back into wanting to do all of the things and keep fingers in all the pies. No one could possibly make a sandwich the way that I do. And sometimes cutting a corner is good for our mental health. So rather than exhausting yourself, get the takeaway! No one is going to die.

Shift your mindset

When it comes to parenting, we are actually doing a disservice by not allowing other people to step up and have that relationship with the kids.

As Nicole recalls, “Here I am exhausting myself trying to do all of the things, but I could actually, one, ask for help and two, allow them to do the things to create a relationship with my children that otherwise they wouldn’t have had. Once I made the shift to that mindset, it suddenly felt completely different .

So, it’s important to just notice some of those things that flare up and…having a nap can literally save everybody, because when we function a little bit better, the whole family feels better. Everyone’s a little calmer.”

Suddenly you can do the things, instead of feeling like you’re trying to do too many things all at once and not really connecting with the person that you’re dealing with. Your patience will increase because your energy is restored.

Nicole’s biggest hack around this is actually just listening to your body and if you need the rest, do it and don’t just numb out from it and completely disassociate. So, some of the most successful and wonderful people actually listen to their bodies, and this may seem a strange concept for many of us.

But once we get to know ourselves a little bit more we learn about our own personal rhythms and learning to go with that is such a big service to everybody around you because everything works or falls into place. Think about it when you are premenstrual, we’re more prone to being tired.

It’s important we check in with our bodies

“Progesterone has this beautiful way of making us feel more calm and more relaxed and we show up as wonder woman for the first two to nearly three weeks of our cycle, and then we have that week, to week and a half of feeling, oh, let’s even say less than energetic,” says Nicole.

“We really struggle with that. You know, the world perceives us to be this way. We must stay this way. It’s not really going to work out any other way…here’s how the world perceives us to be…and here’s how we really truly are. The bigger that gap and the wonkier that gap, the harder that is, because I hate to tell you this, but the cavalry is not coming. Cavalry is you.”

How breath and meditation can help

As mentioned previously there is no magical quick fix, it’s all learning, and the more we learn, the wiser we become, and this is one benefit to our ageing process! Think of the questions we can ask ourselves when we feel flat – how do you feel? Check in with your body and start at your toes and work your way up your body to just see where the tension was. This is a meditative technique also known as Yoga Nidra.

For Nicole, “It’s been a lifelong journey discovering that my breath gets distorted when something’s not right or I feel like I’m incredibly vulnerable and noticing those personal things for me was really, really useful to be able to teach my clients because…it’s going to be different for you and that’s totally okay, that’s the whole point.

“But you need to figure out what it is, so that you can figure out how you’re feeling because when you know how you feel, you can then figure out how you want to feel. In all honesty, sometimes we’re better at saying how we don’t want to feel.

“We don’t want to feel tired, impatient, frustrated, heavy, tense, angry, list all of the feelings, but it’s difficult to figure out what we want and we need to work on that too because numbing out to ourselves and disconnecting from ourselves, leads us to feel a little bit more powerless when it comes to trying to build our energy or whatever else.”

Check out all of our amazing podcast, brimmed full of interesting and useful information to help you live a healthier lifestyle.


 








Share this article

Be part of our friendly and supportive community

Want FREE delicious recipes, fitness tips and great specials?