Ever had to peel your head off your desk come 3pm because you physically can’t keep your eyes open? Or hover around the tea room or vending machine for a sugar hit, all to avoid the dreaded mid-afternoon slump that seems to hit you like a truck each and every day…You’re not alone.

Perhaps you thought it was normal to feel frequently tired because you’re not getting enough sleep – whilst this may certainly be the case, quite often, your fatigue isn’t the problem, but more so the symptom.

We understand. You get your eight hours in, each and every night but you’re still always tired, often foggy, and some days feel like you’re wading through mud. There could be a few reasons why you feel this way, but there’s a chance we may be able to blame your less than average digestive health.

That’s right, your digestion is commonly the cause of your fatigue.

Your stomach can be likened to a pit. Food literally falls in and then your body sets about assimilating it, breaking it down into the goodness that serves as fuel. But, if this efficient machine known as your digestive system is compromised, rather than it gently massaging your food, breaking it down and distributing the nutrients; food gets stuck.

If your food is unable to be digested, it may become stagnant within the walls of the gut, and the once effortless task of digestion now becomes a battle. The body literally exhausts itself trying to perform the normal task of digestion. This can leave you with a host of symptoms far outside of the system itself (i.e. constipation), tiredness being an obvious one.

The body, like any instrument, must have all parts in full working order for it to operative effectively.

If you’re one, who’s feeling constantly tired there are a few simple changes you may like to make to your lifestyle that can have a big impact. By being kinder to your digestives system, we allow the body to work smarter (and not harder) – we’re all about ease!

It’s simply about removing any unnecessary load placed on the body to allow recovery – just because your digestive system isn’t happy today, doesn’t mean you can’t lead it to better days.

Here are my favourite 5 tips to break the tiredness cycle;

• Move towards warm and cooked foods.

Your digestive system likes to digest and assimilate your food at around 37 degrees Celsius. For this reason, moving away from cold and raw foods can have a huge impact on a sluggish system.  Try this on for 7 days and see how you feel – often you’ll not only notice less fatigue but improved bowels and you can say goodbye to bloating.

• Keep it bland.

The digestive system is easily confused with loads of different flavours. Keep your foods bland and simple for 7 days, and see how your body responds. Think of foods like soups, stews, and broths, as well as porridge or congee.

• Eat at the same time each day.

Your digestive system loves routine. Keep things moving along nicely by eating regularly.

• Sleep for health.

Avoid going to bed on a full stomach of food and allow your body to really sleep well overnight. If it’s busy digesting when you’re supposed to be sleeping, you aren’t going to feel very refreshed when your alarm goes off.

• Breathe before you dig in.

One of the biggest digestive issues is that we eat when we are not ready – under stress or on the run – right at the time where your body isn’t actually in a position to digest. If you are in ‘fight or flight’ your body sends energy to your limbs and brain, not your digestive system. Take 5 belly breaths before each meal to switch your system over to ‘rest and digest’ and notice that you will be able to digest much better.