It is September, and here in Georgia, the kids have been back to school for about one month. In other areas of the country, school is just starting. Whether you're a student, parent, or teacher, the back-to-school season often brings a sense of excitement mixed with the stress of adjusting to new routines. The amount of energy that it takes to make sure all areas in life are covered for oneself and for the family is A LOT. Late nights, busy mornings, and packed schedules can leave you drained.
What happens if you don’t take a moment to focus and recharge? The reserves get zapped. Think about the battery on your phone or computer. What happens once the built-up battery energy is used? The phone or computer powers off. This can happen to our health because the body will be moving through the day-to-day necessary activities but will be on autopilot, and fatigue and exhaustion start to set in. When the body’s energy starts getting used up and running low, serious health issues can start. We don’t want that to happen to you, and there’s good news: functional medicine offers valuable insights into how to preserve your energy and combat low energy levels during this transition.
Why Do Energy Levels Drop?
There are several reasons why energy dips during the back-to-school season:
Disrupted Routines: Transitioning from the relaxed pace of summer to the structured days of school can throw off your circadian rhythm, making it difficult to maintain steady energy throughout the day.
Nutritional Deficiencies: Convenience foods, skipped meals, and unbalanced diets can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies that impact your energy levels.
Increased Stress: The demands of academics, extracurricular activities, and work-life balance create stress that can affect both your mental and physical stamina.
Lack of Sleep: Early mornings and late-night study sessions or preparation can reduce the quality and duration of sleep, leading to daytime fatigue. A regular sleep routine benefits children by optimizing their sleep and helping with better functioning (Arlinghaus & Johnston, 2019).
With these challenges in mind, let’s explore how functional medicine addresses low energy and supports overall wellness.
Understanding Functional Medicine
Functional medicine is a personalized approach to healthcare that focuses on treating the root cause of health issues rather than just the symptoms. It emphasizes a holistic view of the body, taking into account your genetics, lifestyle, environment, and unique biochemistry. This approach is efficient when it comes to understanding and managing energy levels.
How Functional Medicine Helps Boost Energy
Functional medicine practitioners investigate factors that can impact your energy, such as hormone imbalances, digestive health, and chronic inflammation. Here's how it helps tackle low energy:
1. Balancing Nutrient Deficiencies
Energy production requires a steady supply of nutrients, including vitamins like B12, D, magnesium, and iron. Functional medicine begins with thorough testing to identify any deficiencies contributing to fatigue. Personalized nutrition plans, supplements, and dietary changes are then used to restore these key nutrients and optimize energy.
2. Supporting Adrenal Function
The adrenal glands, which sit atop your kidneys, are crucial in managing stress and energy by producing hormones like cortisol. Chronic stress can lead to adrenal fatigue, which causes sluggishness, brain fog, and exhaustion. Functional medicine focuses on reducing stress, improving sleep hygiene, and supporting adrenal health through adaptogenic herbs and lifestyle changes.
3. Improving Gut Health
Your digestive system is directly linked to your energy levels. Poor gut health can result in nutrient malabsorption, leading to fatigue. Functional medicine addresses gut imbalances such as leaky gut or dysbiosis by using probiotics, prebiotics, and dietary adjustments that promote healthy digestion and absorption of energy-boosting nutrients.
4. Optimizing Sleep
Sleep is the foundation of energy restoration. Functional medicine approaches sleep issues by looking at circadian rhythms, hormone balance, and sleep environment. Techniques such as establishing a consistent sleep routine, managing light exposure, and addressing underlying sleep disorders like insomnia can help you wake up feeling refreshed and energized.
5. Managing Stress and Anxiety
Chronic stress depletes energy reserves quickly. Functional medicine uses a combination of mindfulness techniques, nutritional support, and movement therapies like yoga or meditation to reduce stress and promote mental clarity. The practice often recommends stress management strategies tailored to each individual's lifestyle to create long-lasting changes.
Practical Tips to Preserve Energy During the School Year
While functional medicine provides a personalized approach, there are also general strategies that can help anyone preserve energy as they head back to school:
Prioritize Nutrition: Eat a balanced breakfast with protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates to sustain energy.
Hydrate: Dehydration can lead to fatigue, so drink enough water throughout the day.
Take Breaks: Schedule short breaks during study or work sessions to refresh your mind and body.
Move Your Body: Regular exercise boosts endorphins, increases blood flow, and improves overall energy levels.
Set Boundaries: Create a schedule that balances school, work, and personal time. Make sure to prioritize rest when needed.
Massage
One way to recharge the body’s battery and energy is through massage. Massage gives the body a reset through homeostasis, a stabilization of the physiological balance of the body. Massage therapy is an excellent and powerful treatment that helps decrease stress and benefits all systems that comprise the human body. Massage influences the balance of hormones, circulation, and lymphatic flow so that the body can function as it was intended.
In a blocked, randomized control trial study, it was seen that massage therapy was capable of significantly increasing subjective relaxation while decreasing subjective stress, helping to alleviate physical and psychological tension (Meier et al., 2020). Decreasing stress and allowing the body to reset is necessary for a recharged battery and a happy, productive home and work life.
Breathing
Ensuring you are centered is vital to happiness and productivity. Starting the day with a concentrated deep breathing routine is a great way to ground the body and prepare for what the day has scheduled and presents.
· Start with a calm and quiet space.
· Tune out what is going on around you.
· Close your eyes.
· Start by taking a deep breath and allowing your stomach to expand, allowing your diaphragm space to move.
· Continue by doing a set of 10 deep breaths.
· Now, continue your day!
The Takeaway
The back-to-school season can be physically and mentally demanding, but by understanding the underlying causes of fatigue, functional medicine provides a roadmap to restore and preserve your energy. From balancing nutrients to improving sleep, functional medicine offers personalized solutions that help you manage stress, maintain focus, and lead to long-term vitality.
Embrace this season with renewed energy, and let functional medicine guide you to optimal health!
Kiara Poloney FNP-BC, AFMCP, LMT
References
Arlinghaus, K. R., & Johnston, C. A. (2018). The Importance of Creating Habits and Routine. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(2), 142–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827618818044
Meier, M., Unternaehrer, E., Dimitroff, S. J., Benz, A. B., Bentele, U. U., Schorpp, S. M., Wenzel, M., & Pruessner, J. C. (2020). Standardized massage interventions as protocols for the induction of psychophysiological relaxation in the laboratory: A block randomized, controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-71173-w
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