How to Get More Energy: What Research Supports for Busy Workdays

Part of our Alpha GPC & NeuroMatcha guide library.

You slept, you had your coffee, and it is still only 10 a.m. when you start counting the hours until you can go home. You have plenty of company: in a national survey of U.S. workers, 37.9% reported fatigue in the past two weeks (Ricci et al., 2007). Here is what research shows about how to get more energy during a normal workday, what to eat, whether vitamins help, and when low energy is worth checking with a doctor.

What you'll learn

• Which everyday habits have the most research behind them, and how strong that research is
• How to get more energy at work, in the morning and without caffeine
• What to eat for steady energy and why the sugar rush is a myth
• Whether vitamins and iron help, and who should get tested first
• When low energy can be a sign of something else

How can I get more energy? The short list

The habits below have the most direct research behind them. Many of the studies were small, short or run in a lab, so treat them as a place to start rather than a guarantee.

Why do I have so little energy?

Usually it is several small things adding up rather than one big cause. Common everyday culprits include short sleep, long hours of sitting, heavy meals, not drinking enough, ongoing stress and drinking alcohol in the evening. MedlinePlus lists enough sleep, a balanced diet, water, regular exercise, a reasonable schedule and less stress among its main tips for reducing fatigue (MedlinePlus).

It also helps to work out which kind of tired you are. Heavy eyelids in the early afternoon point to sleepiness and the body clock, which we cover in why you get tired after lunch. Feeling drained after hours of focused work is closer to mental fatigue. Fuzzy thinking and trouble finding words is covered in brain fog.

Is sleep the first thing to fix?

Yes, if you regularly get less than about 7 hours, since that is the minimum most adults need. Adults aged 18 to 60 need 7 or more hours a night (CDC), and in a CDC analysis of 444,306 U.S. adults, more than a third reported usually sleeping less than that (Liu et al., 2016).

Quality matters too. If you feel sleepy or tired even after enough hours, that can be a sign of poor sleep quality, and the CDC suggests talking to your provider (CDC). Two common things work against you:

• Alcohol in the evening. It can help you fall asleep faster, but it increases sleep disruption in the second half of the night (Ebrahim et al., 2013). See is alcohol a stimulant or a depressant.
• Late caffeine. In a trial of 23 men, 400 mg of caffeine taken within 12 hours of bedtime delayed falling asleep (Gardiner et al., 2025).

Does moving really give you more energy?

Often, yes, and you do not need a hard workout. The result that surprises people most is that using energy can leave you with more of it.

Short walks during a desk day. In a crossover trial, 30 inactive adults spent 6 hours sitting, either with no breaks, with one 30-minute walk in the morning, or with a 5-minute walk every hour. Both kinds of walking raised energy and vigor compared with just sitting. Only the hourly walks also improved mood and lowered fatigue and food cravings at the end of the day, and thinking skills did not suffer. This was a lab study funded by Johnson & Johnson, and some of the authors worked there (Bergouignan et al., 2016).

Regular exercise over weeks. In a trial of 36 healthy, inactive young adults with persistent fatigue, six weeks of exercise three days a week improved feelings of energy at both low and moderate intensity. Low intensity was the better choice for reducing fatigue, and the changes were not tied to getting fitter (Puetz et al., 2008).

The honest caveat. A meta-analysis found exercise increased energy and lessened fatigue overall, but studies that used a placebo control and tested exercise alone found no effect (Puetz et al., 2006). So some of the benefit may come from expectation or from other parts of the program. Movement is still low risk for most people and has other benefits, but it is not a guaranteed fix.

If you feel much worse for a day or more after even light activity, stop pushing through and tell your doctor. Symptoms that get worse after activity are a core feature of ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) (CDC).

How to get more energy at work

Break up the day: move every hour, step away from the screen, and find some daylight. For people at a desk, these are the changes that fit into a normal schedule.

• Take micro-breaks. In a review of 22 study samples and 2,335 people, breaks of 10 minutes or less boosted vigor and reduced fatigue. The effects were small, and overall work performance did not clearly change (Albulescu et al., 2022).
• Get more light, especially in the morning. In a study of 109 office workers in five federal buildings, those with more morning light fell asleep faster and slept better. This shows a link, not proof of cause (Figueiro et al., 2017). In a separate small study, 16 women who sat near a bright window for 30 minutes after lunch were less sleepy for at least an hour (Kaida et al., 2006).
• Nap briefly if your job allows it. After a short night, a 10-minute nap helped right away, while a 30-minute nap left people groggy at first (Brooks & Lack, 2006).
• Keep lunch moderate. After a short night, a 922-calorie lunch made people sleepier on a long simulated drive than a 305-calorie lunch (Reyner et al., 2012).

If the problem is the evening, when you get home with nothing left, see how to recover from mental fatigue.

What should I eat for more energy?

Choose balanced meals and do not count on sugar for a boost, because the "sugar rush" does not hold up. A meta-analysis of 31 studies and 1,259 people found carbohydrates did not improve any aspect of mood at any time point. Compared with placebo, they were linked to more fatigue and less alertness within the first hour (Mantantzis et al., 2019).

The overall pattern may matter as well. In a controlled feeding study, 82 adults ate a high-glycemic-load diet and a low-glycemic-load diet for 28 days each, with the same calories and the same share of carbohydrate, fat and protein. Fatigue scores were 26% higher on the high-glycemic-load diet (Breymeyer et al., 2016). Glycemic load describes how much a food raises blood sugar. In everyday terms, that usually means more beans, vegetables and whole grains, and fewer sweets and refined starches.

For the afternoon, a sugary drink is the option to rethink. For what to eat around exercise, see what to eat after a workout.

Does drinking water help with low energy?

It can if you are running low on fluids, since even mild dehydration can make you feel more tired. In lab studies, young women who lost about 1.36% of their body mass in fluid reported less vigor, more fatigue, more headaches and more trouble concentrating, although most of their thinking tests did not change (Armstrong et al., 2012). Young men at about 1.59% reported more fatigue and tension (Ganio et al., 2011). Both studies were small and used exercise, and in some trials a diuretic, to cause the fluid loss, so a normal day at a desk may not look the same.

MedlinePlus includes plenty of water through the day in its tips for fatigue (MedlinePlus). For how your coffee fits in, see does coffee count toward your water intake.

How to get more energy without caffeine

Try a few minutes of movement first. In a small study, 18 college women who regularly slept too little walked stairs for 10 minutes at an easy to moderate pace, or took a capsule with a low dose of caffeine (50 mg) or a placebo. The stair walking raised feelings of energy more than either capsule, though the effect was short-lived (Randolph & O'Connor, 2017).

Other caffeine-free options from this guide are an hourly walk (Bergouignan et al., 2016), a short break away from your screen (Albulescu et al., 2022), time near a bright window (Kaida et al., 2006) and a 10-minute nap (Brooks & Lack, 2006). If you are cutting back after years of regular coffee, expect a rough patch first: see caffeine withdrawal.

How to get more energy in the morning

Give yourself some time, get light and protect the night before, because some morning grogginess is normal. Researchers call it sleep inertia: the groggy feeling and slower thinking right after waking, which fade the longer you are awake. It is worse after a short night (Hilditch & McHill, 2019).

• Protect your sleep the night before. Aim for 7 or more hours (CDC).
• Get morning light. Open the curtains or walk outside; morning light was linked to better sleep in office workers (Figueiro et al., 2017).
• Move a little. An easy walk or some stairs may help you feel more awake for a short while (Randolph & O'Connor, 2017).
• Keep your wake-up time steady. This is common sleep advice rather than something we can point to a strong trial for, but it is free and easy to test.

Wondering when to have your first cup? See whether you should wait 90 minutes to drink coffee.

Does caffeine give you energy?

Not in the sense of adding fuel: it makes you feel more awake by blocking adenosine, a brain chemical tied to sleepiness (Hilditch & McHill, 2019). That can be useful, but it does not repay missed sleep, and too much too late can cost you sleep (Gardiner et al., 2025), which can leave you more tired the next day. Stay within the 400 mg a day the FDA cites for most healthy adults (FDA), and see how much caffeine is too much.

Smaller doses earlier in the day are the easier choice for your night. In a trial of 23 men, 100 mg had no significant effect on sleep even 4 hours before bed (Gardiner et al., 2025). Some people also prefer caffeine with L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea. In a small lab study by researchers at a tea company, 50 mg of caffeine with 100 mg of L-theanine improved the speed and accuracy of switching attention an hour later (Owen et al., 2008). That study tested attention, not energy, and it did not test matcha itself.

If you want a lower-caffeine option, NeuroMatcha has 17.64 mg of caffeine per 2-tablespoon serving (Product Facts). See also matcha vs coffee and why caffeine crashes happen.

Do vitamins give you more energy?

They are most likely to help if you are actually low in one, so get tested before you buy. Vitamins and minerals are needed to turn food into usable energy, and a review of the science focuses on what happens when levels are not adequate. Most of its authors work for a consumer health company (Tardy et al., 2020). Needing a vitamin does not mean that taking extra gives you extra energy.

Iron shows the pattern well:

• In 144 women with unexplained fatigue who were not anemic, fatigue fell 29% with iron and 13% with placebo over four weeks, and only women with low or borderline ferritin, a marker of iron stores, improved (Verdon et al., 2003).
• In 198 menstruating women aged 18 to 53 with fatigue, low ferritin and no anemia, fatigue fell 47.7% with iron and 28.8% with placebo over 12 weeks, with no significant change in quality of life, depression or anxiety (Vaucher et al., 2012).

Notice that fatigue also dropped on placebo in both trials. These were women with low iron stores, so the results do not apply to everyone. Do not start iron on your own, because it can be harmful in large amounts (MedlinePlus). Ask for a blood test instead.

Vitamin B12 is similar. Low levels can cause fatigue and lack of energy, and over time nerve damage. A strict vegetarian diet and long-term use of metformin are among the possible causes (MedlinePlus). MedlinePlus advises discussing with your provider whether any supplemental vitamins might help (MedlinePlus).

When is low energy a sign of something else?

When it lasts for weeks or does not get better with rest and good habits, it deserves a checkup. Fatigue that is not relieved by enough sleep, good nutrition and a low-stress environment should be evaluated by your provider (MedlinePlus). Common possibilities include:

Contact your provider right away for confusion, dizziness or blurred vision (MedlinePlus). If you are thinking about harming yourself, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. In a life-threatening situation, call 911 (NIMH).

Common myths (quick reality check)

• Myth: A sugary snack gives you a quick burst of energy. Reality: A meta-analysis found carbohydrates did not improve mood and were linked to more fatigue and less alertness in the first hour (Mantantzis et al., 2019).

• Myth: When you are tired, you should rest instead of moving. Reality: For many healthy people, a few minutes of easy movement raised energy in studies (Bergouignan et al., 2016; Randolph & O'Connor, 2017). The exception is people whose symptoms get worse after activity, who should talk to a doctor (CDC).

• Myth: Everyone who is tired needs a vitamin. Reality: In the iron trials, improvement was seen in women with low or borderline iron stores (Verdon et al., 2003). A blood test tells you more than a guess does.

• Myth: More coffee fixes low energy. Reality: Caffeine can make you feel more awake for a while, but a large dose late in the day can delay sleep and leave you more tired the next day (Gardiner et al., 2025).

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the fastest way to get more energy?

Get up and move for a few minutes. In a small study, 10 minutes of easy stair walking raised feelings of energy more than a low dose of caffeine, though the effect was short-lived.

How can I get more energy naturally?

Sleep 7 or more hours, walk for a few minutes every hour, exercise regularly, get daylight, drink water, take short breaks and go easy on sugar and heavy lunches.

How do I have more energy throughout the day?

Spread your activity out. In one trial, 5-minute walks every hour lowered end-of-day fatigue compared with sitting. Keep lunch moderate and take small breaks between tasks.

How can I get more energy without caffeine?

Try a short walk or stairs, a break away from your screen, time near a bright window or a 10-minute nap if you can.

Why do I have no energy even though I sleep enough?

Sleep quality, sitting all day, stress, diet or a medical cause such as low iron, thyroid problems, sleep apnea or depression may be involved. If it lasts for weeks, see your doctor.

What vitamin is good for energy?

A vitamin is most likely to help if you are low in it. Low iron and low vitamin B12 can both cause tiredness. Ask your doctor for a blood test before taking supplements.

What foods give you the most energy?

No single food gives a lasting boost. Balanced meals with more beans, vegetables and whole grains and fewer sweets and refined starches are a sensible choice.

Related guides

• Why am I so tired after lunch?
• Mental fatigue: signs, causes and how to recover
• Brain fog: symptoms, causes and what helps
• Why does coffee make me tired?
• L-theanine and caffeine: why matcha feels different from coffee
• How long does caffeine stay in your system?

Disclaimer and when to seek help

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel tired most days, are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a health condition or take medication, talk to your health care provider before changing your diet, exercise, caffeine or supplements.

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