We eat, we smile; we starve, we whine.

It is Friday 3pm and you are yawning away. You receive a text message from your friends asking you out for a drink, but you decline. It is now Monday morning and again you are moaning “I’m tired.”

It’s a vicious cycle. It certainly doesn’t have to be. It is all about taking a look at your lifestyle and making certain changes. Let’s take look at the most common blunders.

Do you find yourself running out of the house in the morning having skipped breakfast? The answer is more likely to be a “yes” than a “no”. When you were a child your mother kept nagging you about how it was the most important meal of the day. She was right! However breakfast doesn’t mean a meal of eggs, baked beans and toast or the dreaded porridge she would make you eat. It can be as simple as a piece of fruit and all-bran cereal. All of us have those few minutes to get that arranged in the morning.

Having your first meal of the day reassures your body that you need no nibbles of tea biscuits until lunchtime. Eat at fixed times and do not deprive your body of the important nutrients. When you feed your body, your energy level rises. Think of how a baby’s mood changes when hungry and is mellower after feeding. Adults are just larger versions of babies. We eat, we smile. We starve, we whine.

Do you also find yourself dependent upon coffee? Without a cup you don’t seem to function, there is minimal brain activity and you snap at anyone who approaches you. That first cup makes you sigh and thank god it was invented. Your second cup is that kick that makes you believe you are invincible. But one cup too many and you become impossible to be around.

The best way to address this craving is to cut back. Caffeine is healthy within moderation. The more you drink, the more it tends to keep your mind super active. This of course acts against your body. It can affect your sleeping pattern, and you need your sleep to recharge. Living on four hours of sleep may have been possible when we were students, but then adulthood kicks in and more hours are necessary.

A good way of keeping your energy level up is to keep your body hydrated by drinking water. Remember those Evian water commercials with those adorable babies? It was not just smart advertising but also a message to remind us to drink water. Our body requires about seven glasses of fluids a day, and water is by far the healthier option. Unfortunately not all of us commit to this.

Another common energy depriver is stress. Stress at work, at home, in love: it could be anything and everything. Stress acts against your body. It keeps you up at night and makes you think and toss and turn. There is no cure for stress, as all of us react differently. Some of us choose to smoke or have a drink. Not healthy options. Better to try going to the gym, practising yoga or some form of meditation or even go for a massage.

To be productive in life, you need energy. Remember, we are just larger versions of babies. What they need is what we need too. Eat right, sleep more and become a new you.

Pooja Sahny