Mood plays an important role in your quality of life and energy and in turn can affect your mental and physical health and influence relationships. Perhaps you suffer from low mood and energy, or have done in the past? As Health Coaches, we support people with low mood and energy.  In fact 4 out of 5 clients we speak to state that mood and/or energy are areas they need help with.

Boost your mood and your energy will increase.

Boost your energy and your mood will improve.

Fortunately, energy and mood can be helped with some dietary and lifestyle choices.

Here are some top tips to support your mood and increase your energy.

1. Move more. Often, when our mood is low our energy levels are also low. The last thing we feel like doing is exercising or moving more! However, if you take some small steps towards increasing your movement, it will really help to lift your mood, especially if this is combined with getting outdoors.
2. Think food and mood! Add more vegetables and fruits like berries, and dark leafy greens. Dark chocolate, protein rich foods, slow releasing carbohydrates and oily fish can all help with mood and blood sugar balance to increase your energy.  
3. Breathe – take time to take a breath. Think about your breath. If you only have a few minutes to spare try the 4-7-8 breathing technique which will help to lower stress. Find somewhere comfortable to sit. If you can, close your eyes.

• Breathe in through your nose to the count of four.
• Hold the breath to the count of seven.
• Exhale through your mouth to the count of eight.

4. Take some time out for you. Do something you love or once loved.
5. Take care of the beneficial bacteria in your gut by eating pro and pre biotic foods. A balanced microbiome is essential for the production of neurotransmitter serotonin which affects mood. These include onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, yoghurt, kefir and sauerkraut.
6. Sleep. Try to go to bed at the same time every night and reduce screen time. Have a relaxing bath 30 minutes before bedtime, perhaps add in Epsom salts.
7. Reduce or eliminate alcohol. Too much alcohol can affect your gut microbiome and your liver which can impact your mood and energy.

There are many more tips to help with mood and energy, but these are some of our favourites. You can use them to help yourself, your friends and family members.

The role of a well-trained Health Coach extends to helping clients manage emotions, challenge negative thinking patterns, improve relationship skills, reduce stress and anxiety — all of which bolster mood and energy levels. There are many components to this support which include food choices, thinking patterns and how we relate to our challenges.