Beating fatigue with food- Naomi Laws

We’ve all been there. It’s that time again where we’ve had a terrible nights sleep (or perhaps even no sleep!), either due to a late night with friends, or just purely from the inability to go to sleep. But alas, morning is here (how is it morning so quickly?) and we are suffering the consequences – tiredness. But this is ok right? The day will go quickly and before we know it, we will be back in our cosy, warm beds. But have you thought about the decisions that you make in the day when it comes to food choice when you’re tired?

It is thought that the average ‘tired’ person eats more than 500 extra calories per day, which is suggested to try compensate the feelings of tiredness and help give us an energy boost.  This could be in food and drink, such as reaching for extra snacks throughout the day such as cereal bars, crisps and chocolate, all washed down with an energy drink.  

It’s easy to think ‘well that’s okay I’ll just make sure that I sleep well every night and then I don’t have to worry‘.  But there’s going to be several points in your year, where you just can’t control the events of the night.  For instance, you stay in a hotel for the night, but the rest of the guests stay up late, and you’re forced to hear the sounds of slamming doors until the early hours.  

Or, you’ve organised a house party at yours, and your guests have overstayed their welcome and before you know it, it’s the early hours of the morning!  Or, you’ve gone to a weekend festival, you thought you picked a peaceful quiet spot and you couldn’t have been more wrong! But hey, you met some new people!

The first piece of advice is to consume complex carbohydrates.  This is because complex carbohydrates take longer to break down compared to simple carbohydrates.

The second piece of advice is to consume protein during the day; perhaps for lunch.   Protein takes longer to break down, so similarly to complex carbohydrates, this will help you to feel fuller for longer compared to foods that are processed.  This is beneficial as this will also stop you from wanting to reach for unhealthy snacks throughout the day.  Try to combine both protein and complex carbohydrates if you can to create that perfect combo, even if it’s just eggs on wholegrain toast!  

Secondly, a diet rich with protein can help you to avoid iron-deficiency anaemia, which is also a cause of tiredness, even if you’ve slept well!  If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, you can still consume protein and iron-rich foods without having to eat animal products, such as green leafy vegetables , chickpeas and fortified cereals to name a few.