Being a parent is often exhausting and takes a lot of your energy. To be the best parent you can or want to be you need to find ways to increase or at least maintain your energy levels. If you are tired and energy-zapped you not only become less efficient and productive you can also quickly become grumpy, ill-tempered and stressed. Being a tired and stressed parent will negatively affect your family life and parenting.
There are two dimensions to your energy levels. One is physical, the other is mental. They are connected. If you have more mental energy, you are also more likely to have more physical energy. It does not necessarily work the other way around though.
One of the biggest energy-zappers for parents is lack of sleep. If you can improve on your sleep you are much more likely to have more energy. There are many things you can do to improve your sleep. Make sure your bedroom is sleep friendly. Use sleep meditations to fall asleep or go back to sleep when you have been woken up by your child. Do not consume caffeine drinks after 2pm and stop if you are drinking alcohol at least two hours before you go to bed. For dinner avoid foods that are heavy and hard to digest. Catch up on sleep when you can to increase your weekly sleeping hours. If you are a young mother staying at home with your baby, then sleep when your baby sleeps. While you may not be able to sleep seven hours through you can get your required sleep in sequences.
Find efficiencies and support in your family and work life. Maybe you are taking on too many tasks and it is time to get others more involved. Identify household chores and child caring activities where your partner can help more like preparing meals, shopping, child transport and supervising the children’s homework. Equally at work find tasks and meetings you can delegate. If you free up a couple of hours a week it will safe your energy and enable you to use this time for a bit of self-care or extra sleep.
Practice self-care by looking after your mind and body. Eat well according the widely discussed Mediterranean diet. That means eating mainly a variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Eat more fish and keep your consumption of red meats limited. Use healthy oils like olive oil for cooking. Drink plenty of water. Do not smoke or eat strongly processed foods like biscuits, crisps, pizzas and the likes. Ideally, you shouldn’t drink any alcohol but if you do, keep it to the government guidance levels. Keep your body moving. Walk and take the steps when you have the opportunity.
Do physical exercise like workouts, yoga, pilates, running, swimming or other at least twice a week to get your heart rate up and moving. Take at least an hour per week for me-time when you do the things you like doing, like listening to music or podcasts, reading a book, chatting with friends, pursuing a hobby or anything else you like doing. Self-care is not selfish or a luxury. Self-care is crucial for keeping your energy at sufficient levels. If you have no energy there is little you can give to your children and family.
Immerse yourself in nature through walks and forest bathing. You can also ground yourself in nature by standing and waking barefoot on natural grounds like grass or soil and yes you can also hug a tree. Getting into nature is scientifically proven to be good for you and will help in rebuilding your energy levels.
Built and focus your mental energy. With a calm and relaxed mindset, you will have much more energy as you can better manage the stress around you. Adopt daily mindfulness practice of at least ten to fifteen minutes. The core of your practice will be rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing that slows your heartbeat, and lowers your blood pressure. By observing, controlling and following your breath you learn how to focus your attention on what is happening in the present and accepting it without judgment and prejudice. You recognise your negative feelings as neutral occurrences which makes it easier to let go of them. By being in the here and now you do not dwell on the past or worry about the future. Your mindfulness practice will help to focus your energy on the tasks you need to do here and now. It will also built your mental strength and energy to better cope with your stressors. Building and maintaining your mental strength and resilience is key in for having more energy as a parent.
It may not always be possible for you to implement all these actions to their full extent but even if can do them to a certain level you will already have more energy.
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