How to energise your team in the dark winter days

The mornings are getting darker and colder, and it can be hard enough to get out of bed on time for work, let alone exercise.

Now that hybrid working has become the norm for the majority of businesses, many employees are finding that they feel less refreshed when starting their day, as they don’t have the commute to wake them up. And a vitamin D deficiency can directly affect quality of sleep, causing daytime tiredness even if they’ve had a goodnight’s rest.

The fact that many people are now able to work from home more often is a blessing in many ways, improving accessibility and flexibility and creating a wider job pool for people to choose from.

However, it can be easy for people to slip into bad habits which increase tiredness. For example, people are going to sleep later, as they don’t have to be up as early, and it is tempting to work late as there is no commute home to provide a physical reminder of when work ends.

In fact, the average person working from home completes an extra six hours of unpaid overtime per week – and overworking promotes fatigue.

Here are some great tips to help employees feel energised, more refreshed and ready to start their day – without taking a single sip of coffee!

1 – Replacing coffee with short bursts of movement

Instead of reaching for coffee, a 15-minute brisk walk can significantly boost energy levels. Movement releases endorphins, which are known as the happy hormone. As a result, individuals will feel much more level headed, motivated, energised and most importantly – awake.

2 – Completing 30 minutes of exercise every day

Exercise can save someone from living a life of drowsiness, fatigue and exhaustion. Half an hour of exercise is approximately 3% of a day, and is a manageable starting point for most people. After all, an average of almost two hours per day is spent on social media.

Exercises such as HIIT (high intensity interval training), strength training and cardio boosts energy levels and improves mental health.

3 – Never hit snooze

Research has shown that hitting snooze results people feel more tired. Instead of hitting snooze and spending the first 30 minutes of a day drifting in and out of restless sleep, get up, brush your teeth, get some fresh air and do some exercise. Before you know it, excitement of the day ahead will takeover.

4 – Be Surrounded by positive people

If you have a negative mindset, no number of Red Bulls, black coffees or energy bars will solve this for you. Often, this kind of fatigue is ultimately down to a choice an individual is  making to feel tired everyday with no intention of doing anything about it.

Be surrounded with positive people and uplifting souls. Always try to avoid negative responses. If someone asks you how you are, instead of replying with “I’m so tired” or “I’m totally exhausted”, change it to “I’m ready for a fabulous day!”. Be the light, the energy and the vibe you know that you want to be. If this requires a small amount of “fake it till you make it”, so be it. The more you say it, the more you’ll start to believe it and be it!