Four healthy ways to boost your energy

Sure, you can neck Pepsi with extra coffee and chocolate, but these healthy tips won’t make you feel sick.

Move yourself

It isn’t enough to do an hour of exercise then sit still for the rest of the day. Break things up by making sure you’re being active on and off for the whole time you’re not asleep. That might mean getting up once an hour to do some quick stretches, or could even be putting on a song and dancing your head off. Go for a walk, do some jumping jacks, fidget irritatingly. It’s like charging your phone a few percent at a time.

Get your stress under control

Yeah, easier said than done when assignments and non-school things are pulling at you all day every day. But there are ways to keep yourself back from the brink of freaking out. Learn some breathing exercises to help in the short term, and talk to your teachers or us if things feel like they’re out of control.

Sleep. Not too much

You don’t want to be spending all day between the sheets, but make sure you’re also not staying up all night bingeing Netflix then having to get up for school. About 7-8 hours is the healthy sweet spot (although teenagers often need more than this, so don’t stress). When you get in bed, don’t spend an hour scrolling through apps.

Optimise your food

OK, you can have some coffee. Just don’t drink it too late in the day or it will hurt your sleep. Beyond that, grab snacks that will perk you up – apples, almonds, plain Greek yoghurt – and plenty of water. When it comes to meals, go for lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and plenty of veggies. Unless it’s pizza night.