7 wellness tips that will transform your energy levels

1) FIND MEANING IN WHAT YOU DO If you don’t like something about your life, remember that it is in your own power to change your own life. Take the risk – you never know how well it may pay off. According to the Terman Study, “those who stayed very involved in meaningful careers and worked the hardest, lived the longest.” (H/T)

2) LET YOURSELF RECHARGE It can be tempting to want to fill all of your downtime with activity, but allowing yourself to recharge is essential to your overall wellness. Your brain needs “20 percent of all the energy the body produces, and this requirement increases by 5 to 10 percent when you’re focused on a mental challenge.” Therefore, it is essential that you give yourself the best opportunity to use all 20 to 30% of your brain when it is needed – which can’t happen if you’re exhausted! By the way… this is a great excuse to add naps into your schedule if at all possible… (H/T)

3) MEDITATE Meditation is one of the most simple ways to increase your wellness – and one of the main reasons for that is because you can meditate anywhere. Meditation has helped me to become more focused in my own life, to battle fatigue and to increase my overall levels of happiness. Give it a try next time you feel the need to find a little more peace or wellness – there are plenty of beginner apps, podcasts and articles online to help you through the initial stages of meditation. The best part? If nothing else, it will help you to spend just a little bit of time with yourself to find clarity even if you can’t clear your mind completely.

4) OPEN UP Remember that your friends and your family are in your life for a reason – rely on them, trust them and open up to them! You’re not out there alone. According to the American Medical Association, when studying top doctors, they uncovered that “sharing issues with family and friends,” is a key aspect of avoiding burnout.

5) BUT REMEMBER TO SAY NO Opening up to your friends is different than saying yes to every proposal. In order to increase your own wellness, say no to the things that don’t make you happy. You don’t have to feel responsible for everyone and everything – remember that you and your own priorities need to come first in your own life. “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say, “no,” to almost everything.” (H/T)

6) SWEAT You’re shocked, I know. But really – sweating can help improve your wellness. “Being in good shape increases your ability to learn. After exercise, people pick up new vocabulary words 20% faster,” John J. Ratey explains in Spark. If learning new vocab isn’t something you see as essential to your overall wellness, just remember that your brain is one place – if learning new vocab is easier after exercise, working on other tasks will be easier as well because the research suggests “you may be able to learn and function more efficiently,” post sweat-sessions. (H/T)

7) REMEMBER TO LIVE! Enjoy your life. Do more of what makes you happy. I could put any advice I want in this section – but at the base of all plans to improve wellness is the central idea of improving your happiness, and that starts by making time for the things that already make you happy. No excuses needed – if you want to spend Friday night binge-watching Netflix, do it. Just remember to find balance as well