Adrenaline & Lethargy

Get going. Right. In the A.M. it's not often that easy. At night it's major work to shut it down sometimes. This combination of lethargy and adrenaline is the push-pull that gets me out of bed but keeps me flying way beyond quitting time. If you're like me, maybe some of these remedies will help.

HERBAL REMEDIES

A lot of my friends like to smoka de ganga. I prefer some chamomile or other herbal tea. It always does the trick. The thing about the other herb is you never know if it's going to speed you up or slow you down, from what I understand, you just never know. Also, despite reports to the contrary, you aren't going to have an herbal hangover in the morning. The other stuff can keep you from rising so you can just forget about shining.

CAFFEINE, COFFEE & More

When I'm really lethargic there is nothing like a strong cup of java-Joe-kaffe. I like mine black and I don't look back. We've all seen the joys of a coffee high-the astonishment of how just an hour ago you were like "the time to make the donuts guy" and here you are now, multitasking 15 things. But the crash; not so pretty. Also, you can't do it everyday: then you end up having to have five cups instead of one. As with any drug, caffeine builds an incredibly fast tolerance so...that's right, better moderate your usage.

VITAMINS

Occassionally I replace coffee with a packet of Emergen-C and find that it is great for releasing hidden energy stores too. It has a lot of B vitamins in there and I call B the boost vitamin--its also a boon to your attitude. Try it yourself and tell me what you think.

GREEN TEA

Kombucha is the best kind supposedly, but whatever one you get, green tea has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. It doesn't have the kick of coffee in my opinion, but sometimes, I don't want my ass kicked, if you know what I mean.

FOOD

This can be both an upper and a downer. Black people talk about the itis all the time (see The Boondocks if you are unfamiliar). But if you have a simple bowl of cereal in the morning or some good protein in a lite meal (egg white omelette) you can get some energy from that and keep yourself going till the afternoon. Remember, every nutritionist says you shouldn't skip meals. I have to admit though, sometimes after a strong cup of coffee, I tend not to want to eat--just another reason for me to not to use it everyday.

ALCOHOL

Lots of my ladies like to have a glass of wine or four in the evening. It's never really been my thing but if you prefer not to go gently into that good night, then red wine would probably be better for the slow down process. We don't touch the stuff before noon however...right ladies?

DIET/SLEEPING PILLS

Tried it once. Dexatrim/Ambien. Don't really recommend these. I mean it was fine that one time, but...I guess I'm just not that into pills.


EXERCISE

Thirty minutes of cardio can really get your blood flowing and good circulation is one of the best ways to invigorate yourself in the morning. Funny enough, the same thing is said in some studies for bedtime. I found that a modification of this does work really well at calming the mind and that's deep stretching or a slow/short yoga routine. I don't recommend getting on the treadmill while watching the nightly news, but I'm not a fitness expert.



These are just things that work for me. I practice moderation in the usage of all these since I like them to work when I try them. You have to do what works for you. Staying in tune with the needs of your body (as these are mainly remedies that affect you physically) is a great way not to get burnt out on any one thing and you can have your arsenal of tricks handy. As I see it moderation keeps you at your sexiest.