There’s an epidemic of exhaustion happening right now, and it’s our go go go lifestyle that’s to blame.

I am seeing symptoms of exhaustion constantly! Every. Single. Day.

 And, I'm also feeling and seeing a lot of guilt surrounding the exhaustion. The feeling of “everybody else can do this, why can't I?”

But the truth is, we're all exhausted and we're all really struggling to get through this. 

We wake up in the morning tired, we start the day TIRED.

AND we start the day with a very long list of things that we have to do, so we get out of bed just because we need to things get done. 

Then we rush, rush, rush through our days. We rushed through our morning, we rushed through our work days, we rush through our time with our loved ones, just trying to get it all done…and what comes with that? 

A whole pile of forgetfulness. 

We forget what we're doing. We forget where we are going and then we're thinking like, okay, what's wrong with me? Why can't I remember? 

Forgetfulness comes with this go go go lifestyle. It's simply a symptom, so don't worry too much about it. We need to create some balance, but your forgetfulness will eventually go away. It’ll go away once we feel a bit less rush and a bit more present…and stay tuned to find out how to do that :)

When we’re rushing around, our cortisol is high. And it’s high from morning to night. We’re over-stimulated all day long. And then when our day FINALLY ends, we might crave a bit of wine.

Our body asks for this because wine/alcohol immediately puts you into relax-mode. While in the moment this can really help, it’s not looking at the real underlying issue. It’s your high cortisol levels that need some balancing :).

Symptoms of high cortisol –

Your brain is always going, it's hard to ever just be in the moment. Does that sound familiar?

It’s spinning, spinning, spinning with thoughts. You even wake up in the middle of the night with a head filled with worries. Coffee and caffeine feel FANTASTIC because it boosts your cortisol level up even further.

But high cortisol can lead to weight around her waist (yikes). It’s usually 5 – 10 pounds and it likes to sit like a tire around your belly. And this weight usually won’t move until your cortisol levels come down a bit. 

And then, eventually, our body can't keep up and then our cortisol falls really low.

Symptoms of low cortisol –

When your cortisol is low you never really feel awake in the day. It might take you hours and hours to get that groggy, cobwebby feeling out of your head in the morning. 

Your blood pressure is also usually low…which can create MEGA salt cravings.

And sometimes with low cortisol, you can get this giant boost of energy late at night around 9:00 to 10:00 PM and you finally feel normal. This is a big red flag symptom.

But, ALL of these are symptoms that your adrenals are getting tired.

My 4 Fave Ways to Bring Your Energy Back –

1. Eat every 3 – 4 hours –

It’s easy to forget to eat when lots of cortisol is pumping through your veins. It suppresses your natural hunger pangs, so missing lunch is SUPER easy.

But, not eating for large stretches of time uses extra cortisol to boost your blood sugar levels…cortisol you can’t afford to waste. 

Instead, try to eat something every 3 – 4 hours. Like – breakfast before 11am, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner. 

2. Enjoy more sea salt –

Your cravings for salt are REAL cravings! Add a sprinkle to your food throughout the day and even add a pinch to your water. If you need some extra sea salt, your salted water will taste like the most refreshing glass of water you’ve ever had! Try it yourself and see if you like it :).

3. Cut back on caffeine (sorry about this one) –

If you normally have 1 cup of coffee, that’s cool. You can (usually) keep that*. But, if you’ve crept up to 2, 3, or 4 cups a day…it’s time to cut back. 

Ironically, more caffeine = less energy overall. It can suck the energy right out of you (after that fun initial boost :).

Try to cut your caffeine intake in half and see how you feel. It’ll be a hard week (sorry) but you’ll feel the benefits in your second week :)

* if caffeine has no effect on you, no boost of energy, nothing….then you need to remove all of it for a while. 

4. Enjoy some time in nature –

One of the reasons we’re forgetful is that our heads are spinning with so many thoughts and we are missing out on the present moment. It’s very hard to remember where you left your phone if you were thinking of your list of to-dos when you put it down.

Nature has an amazing calming effect on us. It immediately calms our nervous system and brings our cortisol levels down. It’s called “shinrin yoku” or forest-bathing.

Try spending a few minutes each day around nature (especially trees), or if you’re in a busy city, try to walk through a park at least 1x week. Breathe deeply and feel the calming powers of nature. Ahhhhhh.

What to know how your body is handling stress, and where you land on The Adrenal Fatigue Code? Click here to take the short quiz :)

What are your favourite ways to relax? Share them with all of us in the comments below :).