Parents, how do you stay energized?

I am so groggy today. I’ve been trying to stay awake all night while I work again, and I’m just not cut out for it like I used to be! So I’ve been drinking coffee—or at least I was before it made me feel even groggier. How do you folks do it?

Let’s make one thing clear: We all need sleep. I refuse to scorn it like I used to, and I just cannot go days without it anymore. I can’t function. And we need to embrace that as a culture. But you’re always going to have days when you need to re-energize for one reason or another. My question is, how do you do it?

Here are some good ideas from Dr. Laura for the long-term that I think are really worth doing, and here are a few short-term ideas from me:

Take a break. Get up, go outside, stretch, play with a pet (like River, pictured here in his tower).

Drink ice water. It wakes me up so much better than coffee.

Floss. For some reason, flossing always wakes me up!

Take some deep belly breath and fill your lungs up with oxygen.

Splash some water or your favorite toner on your face.

Sniff some cinnamon or peppermint. Try essential oil, tea, gum—whatever you’ve got to energize your senses.

Avoid Facebook! It’s so hard to do, but it wastes time and they say it makes you miserable anyway.

How about you? How do you stay energized?

Photo courtesy of Sara S.