Overcome tiredness and feel active by using these vitamins.
With the hectic lives that we all seem to lead these days, it can be a struggle wake up in the morning, feeling well rested and ready to tackle the day. A lack of energy can make it a struggle to be your best self and complete your daily activities to the highest possible standard.
Tiredness and lack of energy can be attributed to many different reasons ranging from not getting restful sleep to your body not producing energy properly. The reasons for these problems often come from not getting the right amounts of certain vitamins and minerals from your diet to keep your body performing at its peak.
With that in mind, here are some of the best vitamins to overcome a lack of energy.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 has a few different functions in your body. The first is that it helps make new DNA as well as keeping nerve and blood cells healthy, however its most important function in terms of tiredness is that it helps prevent megaloblastic anemia.
Megaloblastic anemia occurs when you don’t have enough red blood cells in your body, which means that oxygen doesn’t get transported around your body very effectively.
Adults over the age of 50 are at a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency as their stomachs don’t produce enough proteins that absorb it, and people who don’t eat animal products are also at risk as they are the only natural food source for vitamin B12. If you fit into either of these categories it may be worth using a vitamin B12 supplement.
Iron
Iron deficiency is more common than you might think. Iron is needed for your body to make hemoglobin, which is the component of the red blood cell that transports oxygen from your lungs to other parts of the body.
As a result, if you have an iron deficiency you’ll feel tired and fatigued regardless of how much sleep you get.
Iron deficiency is common in pregnant women and those with an iron poor diet, but since there are also health risks associated with having too much iron, it’s worth getting a blood test to find out if you’re iron deficient before you decide to take an iron supplement.
Tyrosine
Tyrosine is produced naturally in your body but is also found in foods that are typically high in protein. It is responsible for producing neurotransmitters which are the chemicals that communicate messages between the nerves in your brain.
Low levels of tyrosine make it hard to concentrate and result in tiredness and fatigue due to a loss of energy. Since tyrosine is produced naturally in the body, the main cause of tyrosine deficiency is overworking yourself by consistently doing either physically or mentally taxing activities with little or no break.
Tyrosine also helps in the production of other chemicals in the body including dopamine, which has an effect on motor function and memory.
Tyrosine is used by a lot of people as a pre-workout supplement, and although there is little evidence suggesting that too much tyrosine in your diet can have negative impacts, it is worth seeing a GP or doing further research before supplementing tyrosine both before workouts and as part of your diet.
Melatonin
You may not have been expecting to see melatonin on this list as all the other supplements increase energy and reduce fatigue, while melatonin helps you sleep.
Sometimes being tired and having low energy levels can be attributed to something as simple as not getting a good night's sleep. Melatonin’s role in the body is to regulate your body’s sleep cycle and circadian rhythm.
Often called the sleep hormone, studies have shown that taking melatonin two hours before sleep can help you to fall asleep faster and improve both sleep duration and quality.
There are some side effects associated with melatonin such as potentially increasing blood sugar and blood pressure, so consulting a GP may be useful before taking melatonin too regularly.
Rhodiola Rosea
Rhodiola is a plant that grows in the mountains of Europe and Asia which is used to treat anxiety, fatigue and depression. Although it has been used to treat these symptoms for centuries, it’s now scientifically proven that rhodiola does work to prevent and help these conditions.
It takes as little as a week for the effects of rhodiola to be felt and they can continue for as long as you use it.
Rhodiola is also a totally natural supplement, meaning that you are not putting anything synthetic into your body, and there are no associated sided effects according to current research.
Since our bodies are such complex organisms, there could be dozens of potential reasons for why you feel fatigued or lack energy all the time. There is no point in just trying new supplements in the hope that one works, because not only is the likelihood of finding and fixing the problem low, you could be damaging your health.
See a GP or get a blood test to try to find the root of why you never have any energy and then create a plan to fix the problem in the long term rather than just covering it up. Once you do though, you’ll start living your best life!