Your guide to feeling less tired all the time

Feeling tired all the time? With just a few simple tweaks to your daily routine, the seemingly permanent imprint of your behind on the sofa will rise up and vanish, and you'll quickly rediscover your get-up-and-go energy. Here are some tips to help.

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If you need a quadruple shot of espresso just to bring your eyelids to half mast in the morning, you may be driving yourself deeper and deeper into a low-energy rut.

• Compelling research from various institutions, including Harvard Medical School, finds that frequent low doses of caffeine – the amount in a quarter-cup of coffee – are more effective than a few larger doses of caffeine in keeping people alert.

Consider sipping your coffee slowly instead of gulping it quickly to make the most of the caffeine in it.

Foods with a low glycemic load – such as beans, bran cereal, brown rice, whole-wheat bread and nuts – have less impact on your blood sugar than foods with a high glycemic load, including white rice, spaghetti, potatoes and sugary juices and drinks.

• Eating more low glycemic-load foods will help you to keep your blood sugar steady and avoid the lightheadedness and "shakes" associated with blood sugar drops, which usually follow rises.

This might sound silly, but it really works!

• As you walk, focus your thoughts on the things for which you feel most thankful. Then, after the walk, make a mental note of how you feel.

This simple technique gives you both a sense of well-being and the positive benefits of walking and exercise, flooding your brain with happy neurotransmitters and endorphins.

• It's a simple, yet powerful, exercise that energizes the mind and body, and builds mental and physical muscle.

When you find yourself thinking a negative thought, picture a stop sign. Then either push the thought out of your mind or replace it with a positive one.

• Negative feelings take a lot of mental energy.
• Whenever possible, avoid unnecessary self-criticism. Stop blaming yourself for past events that you cannot change.

You deserve the same level of respect and kindness as others, so give yourself a pat on the back every so often.

Fatigue is often one of the first symptoms of dehydration. What's more, if all you've sipped throughout the day is coffee and soft drinks then it's quite likely that you're dehydrated.

• Water helps you to rehydrate and stave off the effects of dehydration. Plus, the refreshing coldness will serve as a virtual slap in the face.