How to boost your EQ (Energy Quotient)

Migun USA Corp.

Energy Quotient (EQ)

Youre trying to do everything rightexercising, eating well, sleeping 8 hours a night. But some days you just feel like curling up on the couch. Whats going on?- The answer lies in your energy quotient (EQ), the sum of your physical, mental, and emotional energy reserves.

Boost your physical EQ

Try rhodiala. Youve heard that ginseng is energizing, but the rhodiola, available in health food stores, may also increase brain chemicals that stimulate your central nerve system and increase alertness. One Russian study found that people who took rhodiola reported higher levels of physical fitness, better coordination, and less mental fatigue. Try 100 mg twice a day.

Boost your physical EQ

Drink up. Half the people who come to me complaining fatigue are actually dehydrated, says Woodson Merrel, MD, executive director of the Continuum Center for Health and Healing at New York City. Aim to drink eight glasses of water a day.

Boost your physical EQ

Skip the gym. I see patients all the time who tell me that when theyre exhausted they head to the gym, says author Schwartz, a New York City internist. But if youre physically fatigued, then exercise will make you feel worse. Instead take a napor at least a break.

Boost your physical EQ

Borrow your kids lunch- If its a banana and peanut butter sandwich. Banana packs potassium, a mineral, your body needs convert sugar in your blood into energy. The peanut butter is high in magnesium, which gives your cells much needed energy. Aim for 400 mg of magnesium and 3,500 mg of potassium daily.

Boost your physical EQ

See your doctor about sinusitis. The worn out and achy feeling may be due to sinus problems, not true fatigue. A recent Georgetown University survey of almost 300 patients found that those who reported unexplained chronic fatigue were nine times more likely to have sinusitis symptoms than those who felt rested and well. Clearing them up helped that fatigue.

Boost your emotional EQ

Cultivate social connections. Belonging to a club, attending religious services, or volunteering may be as beneficial to your long-term health as regular exercise, suggests research. We think its because all these activities provide social support, which relieves stress, helps boost emotional energy, says Joseph Grzywacz, PhD, Wake Forest Univ.

Boost your emotional EQ

Try some emotional kung fu. Be inspired by this ancient art of self defense and use attacking force to your advantage. Instead of using up energy ruminating about an attack or trying to defend yourself, use your resources as a way to recast it as an attack on the problem rather than on you, suggests Charles Manz, PhD, University of Mass.

Boost your emotional EQ

Keep a journal. At the end of a long, stressful day, take 15 minutes and jot down your feelings, suggests Dr. Rabin, MD, PhD, Univ. of Pittsburgh. Research has found that people who write about upsetting thoughts are healthier and happier than those who keep them bottled up.

Boost your emotional EQ

Let your emotions out. Women who ruminate have higher blood pressure and risk of depression anxiety than do those who express their emotions more freely. The best way to deal with a feelingwhether its sadness or angeris to express it to someone, preferably a trusted friend or family member, and then try to let it go, professor author Nolen-Hoeksema.

Boost your mental EQ

Go for green tea. Its a much better pick me up than your typical Starbuck latte. The reason? Although it does have some energizing caffeine, it also contains theanine, a compound that has a stress reducing effect on your brain.

Boost your mental EQ

Have bran for breakfast. Eating a morning meal rich in fiber may make you more alert during the day. A recent study done at Cardiff Wales found that subjects who ate high fiber cereal in the morning showed a 10% reduction in fatigue, lower incidence or depression, and better cognitive skills. One theory:Fiber helps slow down the absorption of food in the stomach, so you have more energy for a longer period of time.

Boost your mental EQ

Pop a peppermint. Oils in the peppermint plant increase alertness by stimulating your trigeminal nerve, which is the same nerve thats activated when you revive someone with smelling salts, says Dr. Hirsch, MD.