Our bodies are constantly telling us what we need, though sometimes we might have the volume turned down too low for us to hear. Yet listening to your own body, and recognising the signals it is putting out, will help you keep yourself working at your optimal level.
There are many ways in which your body lets you know it needs something, such as a grumbling tummy, headaches, fatigue, cloudy thinking, shaking, or even just a very specific food craving such as oranges, or green leafy veggies. All of these little signals are often indications that your body is in need of something in particular.
So what are these signals indicating?
Headache: There can be many causes of headaches such as stress, eye strain, that time of the month, or even part of the flu; however the most common cause of headaches is dehydration. Whenever I get a bad headache I drink a large glass of water and wait 15 minutes to see if that helps before I take any further action, such as pain relief.
Grumbly Tummy: Though a tummy rumble can be a symptom of a stomach bug, or gastroenteritis, it is most commonly due to being hungry, or just having eaten something that your digestive system is working to digest. So if your tummy is grumbling, and you haven’t eaten in a while it might be time to fuel yourself!
Specific cravings: This doesn’t include you craving for hot chips or chocolate cake, because they are more mental cravings instead of physical cravings. Yet every now and then I will notice that I crave oranges, or lemons and this is often an indication that my body needs a little vitamin C. Other cravings such as for beans or eggs could indicate a need for protein, and meat or green leafy veg could be a need for iron. My recommendation is that if your food cravings are healthy, then listen to them and incorporate these foods into your next few meals.
Fatigue: Fatigue can be caused by illness, stress or your menstrual cycle, however the most common cause is lack of sleep. Remember your body needs sleep to regenerate and build new cells (including muscle cells), so make sure you are getting a healthy amount of sleep each night! If you find your evening sleep isn’t fulfilling your need then you might need to consider taking a quick nap to make up for it!
Shaking: Slight shaking can be caused by a variety of different things, such as heightened emotions of anger or fright, or less commonly disease. However a common cause for temporary shaking of your hands or body can be exhaustion or hunger. So if you notice that you do start shaking, consider if lack of sleep of feed might be the cause.