5 ways to stay energised without coffee

Here are a few tricks our members use to avoid drinking coffee too much. Although coffee in general is not bad for you it still influences your sleep quality and can be quite an addictive habit. 

Drink tea

For most people drinking a warm beverage is part of the habit of drinking coffee. Black and green teas actually contain a little bit of caffeine – a 200 ml cup of green tea has 24 mg of caffeine and black tea has 40 mg. But the same amount of coffee has about 81 mg. If you want an easy transition from not drinking coffee then replacing it with tea is a good step. For example, adding milk to your black tea will make it as creamy as a coffee . But if you want to go “cold turkey” then try herbal teas or decaf coffee. The market is also full of all kinds of different warm beverage choices but check their caffeine levels before drinking.

Work out

Adrenaline can give you energy and the best way to achieve that is by working out. This does not require a full 45-minute workout session. A few exercises that get your heart rate up will do the trick. Some easy ways to work out in the office are planking or push ups, emptying the dishwasher or just walking around the office in a high speed.  Or do what we have done – install a pull up bar in the office for some afternoon energisers. 

Do handstands

This is a tip we got from our member Egle who has been doing it for two years now. Doing a handstand for a few seconds or minutes a day can have multiple benefits. The blood flow to your brain has an energizing  effect. It can also reduce the production of cortisol, a stress hormone, which can have long term benefits of relieving feelings of sadness and anxiety.
Being able to do a handstand requires training but it is possible. If you are the type of person who is motivated by progress or doing a project, then this could be this little thing you do with the added benefit of keeping you energised. Start out with using a wall to help you and when you experience headaches then reduce the time you are upside down.

Drink water

Drinking water is generally a good thing for our health. One of the greatest benefits is how it can boost your energy. Studies have shown that drinking water may activate the metabolism and increase energy levels (source 1; source 2). One trick to make sure you drink enough water is to have a big water class next to you at all times when you’re working and every time you drink the last sip, you have to refill it. This also gets you moving throughout the day. In the office you can try filtered water but tap water is also very good for you as it has higher ph levels that are similar to the body’s natural ph levels. Some offices also have carbonated water if the regular water “taste” is too bland but keep in mind that carbonated water is not very good for your teeth in the long run. 

Push through the midday slump

It is quite often that the energy levels only drop at a certain time of the day. Every day between 3 – 4 pm you will see a group of people gathering in the cafe lounge chatting and drinking coffee because they are trying to survive the midday slump. Is it the same for you? It is getting closer to 3 pm and the yawning just does not want to stop? We have noticed that this slump only lasts for about 30 minutes so if you can get over that line then you have defeated the midday slump. But how to do it? One way is to distract yourself and move around, maybe talk to other people and drink a beverage we have suggested above.