Loss of drive limits you in your performance. You don't feel like exerting yourself, whether physically or mentally. Much even seems indifferent to you at this moment and you postpone things. Do you finally want to get out of this inaction and need help? Read on here to find out what the causes are and what you can do with a few tips to overcome your lack of drive and finally achieve your goals again.
Do you know that? No matter how much you have planned for that day or what obligations you have, you you just don't get pulled up to tackle your plans properly and just get started?
The Start of the week is particularly tough for many people. In the morning you prefer to stay in bed longer, you skip your morning shower or breakfast and you don't have to dress up - all for a few more minutes. Then somehow you drag yourself through the day and in the evening find yourself frustrated: You haven't achieved anything except crawling out of bed. Many people have several phases in their lives in which they suffer from listlessness and sometimes get into a rut that they can no longer easily get out of. But we have a few tips for declaring war on the listlessness.
What is listlessness?
Listlessness is that Colloquial term for a drive disorder and does not mean the ability and the will to actively advance one's goals and projects. Each of us must have had one or more days in our lives where the feeling arose that we were not able to pull ourselves up for anything.
This can go so far that you don't even feel like doing your daily hygiene routine or want to prepare your meal. If you don't eat anything, you are not getting any important nutrients, so that your body processes function optimally. This often leads to a low energy level.
If you suffer from listlessness, it usually lasts for the whole day from morning onwards or can even last for several days or weeks. You want yours so badly increase productivity, but all the appointments that come up during the day seem to be an effort and a great challenge. But where is the crux of the matter, that you cannot motivate yourself and maybe ask yourself all the time: Why am I so tired?
Causes of listlessness
The dark season is at the door. The Days are getting shorter, the nights longer. For many people this means that they suffer more from listlessness and tiredness during this time. But there can also be other reasons. The causes of listlessness are for example:
- lack of exercise
- dark season
- Nutrition
- Nutritional deficiency
- mental illness
- sleep disorders
- emotional stress
- Metabolic diseases
- Stress
lack of exercise
By lack of exercise the muscles slacken and your strength and endurance decrease. If you do not do sports, hardly move at work and you are not physically challenged in everyday life, they will even the smallest movements quickly turn into exertion. Without energy and with a feeling of exhaustion, the stimulus to move more is even less - a vicious circle of listlessness.
Diet and nutritional deficiency
Your listlessness can also be one-sided and unbalanced diet as well as a Nutritional deficiency be owed. In order for your body processes to function optimally, it needs energy and thus an adequate supply of nutrients. B vitamins, vitamin D, magnesium, folic acid and iron in particular are important building materials for an efficient body and mind. Likewise, a Metabolic disease be the cause of your listlessness.
Mental stress
But also Stress, emotional stress and mental illness, such as depression, are reasons for the lack of drive in everyday life. Just longer Stress paired with pressure triggers fear and negative feelings or if you are currently dissatisfied with your life or a certain situation. In the worst case, it can even lead to illness such as burnout or depression. Those affected then feel physically and mentally burned out, feel useless and find it difficult to get through the day due to their lack of drive, among other things. If you feel like this, please be sure to seek advice from a doctor. Many people find it difficult to get out of it on their own again.
sleep disorders
Sleep disorders, such as lack of sleep, can also be the cause of your listlessness. Sounds logical, doesn't it? If you don't get enough sleep, you have probably seen many times the next day that you suffered from symptoms such as tiredness and listlessness during the day. Adequate sleep is important for your brain and its performance. If that happens once on a single day, that's half the problem. In the long run, your sleep disorders will, however, gnaw more and more at your performance, possibly lead to more stress and the cycle continues. Before we show you how to prevent your listlessness, let's look at the symptoms and causes.
Symptoms: how does listlessness feel?
The symptoms of listlessness can and are recognizable in different ways individually for each person pronounced. Typical symptoms of listlessness are:
- Feelings of exhaustion
- indifference
- lack of concentration
- listlessness
- Lack of motivation
- fatigue
- Dejection
- passive behavior
- Problems getting up in the morning
- weak immune system
- inertia
- sleep disorders
So your listlessness doesn't have to express itself in the same way as with your friends. Perhaps you will get yourself excited to start the day in the morning, even manage your usual one morning routine and tend to suffer from tiredness and poor concentration, whereas one of your friends may no longer have any motivation for the upcoming tasks, even cancel all appointments for the day, withdraw completely and have no desire to do things that normally bring joy.
Tips: How can I overcome my listlessness?
You want yours procrastination stop and are now looking for ways out of the listlessness? Then you should First find out what your trigger and the causes are. Hasn't your lifestyle been the healthiest lately? Has your sleep suffered a lot lately? Are you dissatisfied with the situation at work or do you have problems with your partner?
The problem may also be in your diet and you have eaten a lot of junk food in the last few weeks instead of letting off steam at the vegetable counter or you are not exposed to enough daylight, have been to parties a lot and have drunk alcohol more often. You should listen carefully to your body and also question your current life situation in order to get to the bottom of it so that you can change your behavior. So what can you do about listlessness? What gives you energy?
With behavior changes against the listlessness
If your listlessness is not due to your diet or a serious health background, you can help yourself with a few tips. If stress is the trigger for your increasing listlessness, you should consciously give yourself time and some Relaxation techniques try out meditation, for example. This way you can try to let go, take a deep breath and recharge your batteries. Of course, you should also make sure that you reduce your stress and yours in the future Time management check once. Do you take on too many tasks and often put yourself under pressure?
lack of exercise could be the reason for your listlessness? Then there is no way around it to bring more movement into your life again. Start with small household chores that encourage you to get up more often or move from one place to the next. You can also take a detour to your apartment door after work or go for another walk. This is not only good for you physically, it also clears your head. Daylight is also important for vitamin D synthesis. Then try to integrate sport into your life again. Taking the first step and overcoming the weaker self will certainly be very difficult for you. But once you start you will feel better right away, I promise!
But also emotional stress can be reasons for your lack of drive. In the worst case, the emotional stress goes so far that it turns into depression. If you have problems with your partner or friends, you should get rid of the problems. Your conflicts will most likely not resolve themselves. Find that open conversation and you may be able to get over the problem quickly. Do you have a concern that interferes with your work? Talk to your colleague or supervisor about what is bothering you. Nobody can read your mind.
Your friends or family can also help against your listlessness. Interpersonal relationships help to overcome problems and can help you get away from negative thoughts or feelings. Who is set goals can, he can also achieve this. Social contacts can be your motivation to get more out of your day.
Loss of drive: which foods give a lot of energy?
In order for you to be fit and productive, it is important that you eat a balanced and healthy diet. So stop stuffing yourself with empty calories and pack valuable suppliers of vital substances into your diet. Sure, indulging in a pizza or burger every now and then is absolutely fine, but you don't get a lot of good nutritional values. Processed and already packaged foods such as ready meals or canned food usually contain many preservatives, additives, trans fats and artificial ingredients. This may give you a short burst of energy, but then fatigue follows. Therefore, it is best to eat as much fresh food as possible.
These foods give you energy:
- Avocado
- Oats
- pumpkin seeds
- sweet potatoes
In addition to the right foods, however also not to neglect the drinking, which your body needs for an optimal function. It is best to use water, which makes up 60% of your body weight. Water does not provide you with energy in the form of calories, but it does supports energetic processes in the body. If you don't drink enough, dehydration could result. This slows down your body functions and makes you feel sluggish and tired.1
Avocado
Avocados should definitely be on your next shopping list. they are rich in the essential unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids and on the one hand help you to get more energy when you suffer from listlessness and on the other hand avocados keep you awake for a long time and support your intellectual performance. Cut a few slices from the avocado or make a creamy paste and spread it on your bread for breakfast.2
Oats
For breakfast, if you are listless, oats are also ideal to start the day and provide you with long-lasting energy. Oats is rich in vitamins and minerals that support the production of energy, such as B vitamins and iron. With healthy toppings you can always vary your meal according to your wishes, for example with milk and mixed berries. If you still need something sweet, you can stir in a little honey or agave syrup, for example.
pumpkin seeds
If you suffer from fatigue, you should reach for pumpkin seeds. they contain plenty of proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and iron. Pumpkin seeds are not only an energy booster for those who are listless, they also strengthen the immune system. For example, you can add a handful of pumpkin seeds to your lunch salad.
sweet potatoes
Have you ever tried sweet potatoes? In recent years, sweet potatoes have become more and more popular, and rightly so! they have one high fiber content and thanks to the complex carbohydrates, you digest them at a slow pace, which gives you an even supply of energy. You can also make bread or buns from sweet potatoes and top them with avocado.
Which nutrients help with listlessness?
Physical causes are a common cause of listlessness. A lack of vital substances is often associated with symptoms such as tiredness and an increased risk of contracting an infection. If you are constantly listless and tired, it could be because you have a nutritional deficiency, such as a lack of
- B vitamins
- Vitamin D
- Iron
- Magnesium
The best thing to do is to have your doctor check you out if you have the feeling that you haven't just had a few bad days. If you can find the causes, you can use a few tips to overcome your listlessness.
B vitamins
Through a Deficiency in B vitamins could impair the function of the mitochondriathat are the powerhouse of your cell. This means that B vitamins are significantly involved in your energy metabolism and your performance.
Iron
Iron deficiency is also not uncommon - women in particular have a higher requirement than men due to menstruation. Iron is important for the formation of hemoglobin, which is the main component of red blood cells and is required for the transport of oxygen. As a result, when you suffer from iron deficiency, you often feel tired and lack energy.
Vitamin D
If you suffer from constant fatigue, it could also be one Vitamin D deficiency lie. The so-called sun vitamin is involved in many cell processes and has a great influence on your immune system. However, you should expose the vitamin to daylight in order to absorb it, as it is mainly absorbed through the skin - you only get very little and insufficient amounts of it from food.
Now test the Vitamin D3 + K2 drops DAILY SUNSHINE - Your liquid sun rays from the pipette! With the neutral taste, you can simply let the drops drip onto your tongue or mix them into a drink. Also perfect to take away!
Magnesium
The mineral Magnesium Among other things, it is responsible for ensuring that your nervous system in the brain functions and is well supplied with blood. If this function is disturbed by a magnesium deficiency, the transmission of the stimuli in the nerves can be disturbed and the blood flow poorer. This is why you can feel tired and listless so quickly.
Summary
If the whole day feels like a great challenge, you suffer from tiredness, weakness and listlessness, then there is also a problem with your motivation and drive. There can be various reasons why you feel so weak, and even physical, for example you have nutritional deficiencies. So that you can change something about it, you should first think about where your listlessness comes from.
The foods that you eat are, for example, significantly involved in your energy balance. So that you do not have to suffer from your listlessness for too long, you can get back to your top shape with your behavior, your food and possibly a lack of nutrients. If you suffer from an illness such as depression, see your doctor and get advice from him.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20646222/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23638933