When, after lunch or in the middle of a meeting, we are hit by a drop in energy, we often resort to a coffee or a snack. But there are other, healthier solutions that we can rely on. How to hydrate often, eat carbohydrates and avoid fasting, be outdoors, exercise and try to sleep well, he recommends. Michelangelo Giampietro, specialist in Food Science and Sports Medicine and lecturer at the Coni School of Sport in Rome.
Eat carbohydrates
The first thing to do, when we feel less strength and concentration, is to investigate the causes. Not eating enough or not eating the right amount of carbohydrates could be among them. “A low-carbohydrate diet, fasting, a drop in blood sugar because you haven’t eaten for hours or exercised: the causes related to nutrition are different,” says the expert.
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And the solutions must be found in the same place: at the table.
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The (temporary) power of sugar
The best carbohydrates are complex, unrefined carbohydrates, such as whole grains. The simple ones, sugars, give the sprint to quickly resolve low-energy situations, explains the expert. But it is a temporary solution. “If we eat only a lump or a candy, we risk a ‘rebound effect’: simple sugars immediately increase blood sugar, but the action of insulin results in a drop in the same blood sugar which can go below the starting point” . What to do then? “The advice is to combine simple and complex sugars, for example by eating bread with jam or honey”. The power of sugar is enormous. Even just contact with the walls of the mouth gives a sense of greater energy. “It stimulates, through receptors present on the mucosa, some points of the brain responsible for the sense of gratification. Just rinse your mouth, as if you were doing a gargle”, explains Giampietro. A (temporary) solution in some cases adopted by athletes in times of low energy.
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Sleep well and drink enough
Another cause of a decrease in efficiency may lie in lack of or bad sleep: hours and quality must be taken care of. “The body at night recharges the batteries from an organic and psychic point of view. For this reason, sleeping well is important in order not to have energy drops during the day”, says Giampietro. We are less efficient even in cases where we have drunk little. “It is also a cognitive fatigue: the brain is negatively affected by dehydration with an alteration, for example, of calculation or mnemonic abilities”. But how much to drink? “You need at least two liters of drinks a day, of which at least half of water. The rest of herbal teas, infusions, milk, juices, centrifuged”.
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Physical activity
Physical movement fights the sense of fatigue. “Muscle work produces substances that have a euphoric, exciting effect. Among these also endorphins, which give a feeling of well-being and efficiency”. To achieve this goal, it is not necessary to exert too much effort and get too tired: any type of physical exercise leads to the same result. Even a hike.
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A glass of milk
Low energy could also be due to the lack of serotonin: it has a calming action, facilitates sleep, and at the same time, gives a feeling of well-being and pleasure. Where do we find it? “It is produced by the body when it has enough carbohydrates and tryptophan, an amino acid present in many proteins of animal and vegetable origin. To ensure the right amount of it, just eat often and have complete meals: at every meal there must be carbohydrates and proteins”. Dissociated diets don’t help. An effect that is easy to see in infants, who need food and sleep to grow. “With milk they take tryptophan, which together with lactose promotes the production of serotonin. This is why they sleep”, explains the expert. Hence the advice to drink a glass of milk before going to sleep.
Coffee and chocolate help
A coffee helps. Even more than one. “But let’s be content: three to five a day. No more,” advises Giampietro. Abusing it could create an “addictive” condition that would limit its energizing effectiveness. Another pleasant remedy for times when we feel lacking in energy is chocolate. “Preferably dark, because it contains a higher concentration of anandamide, a lipid capable of simulating the effects of cannabinoids in mammals: it guarantees a burst of energy”, says Giampietro.
Beware of iron
On the other hand, supplementation with products containing iron is not one of the remedies for loss of energy. “We have to be very careful with iron: it should only be taken when there is a correctly diagnosed anemia. Because it is toxic, so much so that the body has developed sophisticated mechanisms to prevent it from being taken in excessive quantities”. It is perfectly fine to take it through food, taking into account that some combinations limit it (the calcium in milk and its derivatives, the phytates present in unrefined cereals and legumes) or increase its absorption (meat with foods containing vitamin C, legumes with meat) ..
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Be outside
Research from the University of Rochester, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, has highlighted that spending time immersed in nature can have a powerful invigorating effect. The open air, the sun on the skin. A walk, even if only for ten minutes, allows you to take in air and oxygenate the blood and brain, to make the muscles move. “There is also a psychological component, going out in the sun has an anti-depressant effect. If, in addition to the walk, we indulge in the pleasure of an ice cream, then we reconcile ourselves with life” concludes the expert.
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