Modern life can be so hectic, it sometimes gets difficult to catch your breath. If you're finding things getting too stressful, that you're tired or life is crazy busy, here are some tips to help boost your energy.

Get into some yoga

Western ideas of yoga are often quite fast-paced, and it's common for people to feel that you need to be actively doing something to be getting value out of it, however, some of the best yoga to combat your body's fight or flight response is all about active restoration. This could include:

• Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall/Waterfall Pose) - Find a wall, lie down with your sitbones right up against it and flip yourself upside down so that your legs rest up the wall.
• Svasana (Corpse Pose) - Lie down on the floor or in bed and allow your body to fully relax with your arms at your sides.
• Meditation - Any kind, whether it's in stillness and silence, with someone else guiding you, or another form of meditation it may help.

You don't have to spend ages doing this - the longer the better, but even just a few minutes is better than none. You could even set a timer for whatever time you have to give.

Grab a siesta

Sometimes if you feel tired, it's your body literally saying, 'I need sleep!' Try to make time in the middle of your day for a quick nap. The sweet spot seems to be less than 20 minutes, any more than that and it's more likely that you will enter deep sleep so you may wake from your nap feeling sluggish and even more tired.

If you're not much of a nap person, find it difficult to sleep in the middle of the day or find that it affects your night sleep, treat it as a rest instead. Close your eyes and have a break, lie down outside and cloud gaze... Your brain likely needs a break from being in 'input' mode. Think about your brain like a computer - if you do too many things at once and overload a computer, it may stop working altogether while it catches up. The same thing can happen to our brain; between mobile screens, computers, televisions, conversations, schedules and everything else that goes on in your day, your brain needs down time in order to process it all.

Spend time in nature

Humans aren't made to be indoors all the time; from a yoga perspective it can be grounding and energy-increasing to spend time in nature. When we're outdoors we get fresh air, sunshine to synthesise Vitamin D, and it also helps soothe our nervous system.

Manage the stress source

This isn't always possible, but if you can manage the source of your stress or tiredness, take charge. This could mean:

• Delegating activities to others by handing off things that you don't need to do yourself.
• Saying 'no' to some events or actions and focusing just on what's most important and necessary.
• Engaging the help of others to alleviate your workload so you don't have to do everything yourself.

It may even mean simply looking honestly at your life and evaluating what's causing your tiredness. If there's nothing you can do about the cause, try to create strategies to help manage the situation as best you can.

Adjust your eating habits

Have you noticed whether your tiredness peaks at specific times of day? Keep a food diary to observe if there is a nutrition link to your energy drop. It may be to do with food timing such as not eating frequently enough, or it may be the type of food you're eating.

One thing that often helps with energy levels is making smarter carbohydrate choices - high GI carbs give you quick energy followed by a sharp drop and energy slump. Low GI carbs take longer for your body to break down, giving you longer lasting slow release energy. Learn more about it here.

Rehydrate

Drink plenty of water. Alcohol, caffeine, soft drinks and juices can sometimes leave you feeling worse for varying reasons. Aim for 6-8 glasses of water each day to ensure you're adequately hydrated - potentially more if you're very active or in hot/dehydrating conditions.

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