You’re tired, you say. Always tired. So, so tired. What the hell happened? Where is that human who used to have energy to keep going until midnight? Do 10,000 things and then still party the night away?

I’m so sorry, my dear. We’re older. The stuff we got away with in our youth doesn’t translate now. Our bodies (our minds, our souls) require more careful, kind care. More attention. More good stuff.

That’s not quite the downer it may seem to be. A few changes, and you’ll feel the difference. No, it does not mean you have to eat bean sprouts 24/7 or never, ever engage in a binge watch of your favorite show or, well, give up everything you love about life. Wellness does not need to be that rigid.

Here are some ideas where to look for change that’ll matter. Don’t do them all. No, do not do it! I swear — I find you trying to make 12 changes all in the same week, and I’m gonna come right over there and smack some sense into you. (Well, probably not — more likely I’ll give you a hug, then have a good chat about a better way to do this.) All at once doesn’t work. Slow and small and sure does.

Find what stands out as something that makes sense for you. Not anyone else. You. Something you read that instantly pings you as an, “Oh, yeah … ‘bout that.” Then put it into effect this week. For a while. Till it feels like a reasonably natural part of your life. Then come back. What else? Do the same.

Okay, here are some of the top ideas that you can change on your own to help revive that lost energy:

Posting on Facebook in the middle of the night (or anywhere near). Seriously, folks, every time I see (the next day, thankyouverymuch) that someone on social media complained at night about not being able to go to sleep, I kind of want to shake them. But, I know this. Some don’t know. That lovely light emitted from your computer or smartphone or tablet shuts down your natural ability to sleep. Kills it. Bright light, especially the blue light put out by these devices, is not what creates sleepy time. Your body thinks, “Oh, this crazy human apparently wants to be wide awake for hours.” And, so, it does that for you. Best advice: Shut the damn things off an hour or two before bed. If not, at minimum, install an app to change that light to something more conducive for sleep. I have one on my computer and one on my phone. (Because, yeah, sometimes I don’t listen to my own advice.) Search for “blue light filter.” I have this on my computer: Get Flux and this on my phone: Twilight. They work, and it’s an easy fix. If you rob yourself of a solid night’s sleep night after night, how can you be anything but worn out? Even one night will affect you.

Likewise … sleep, make time for it. You don’t, and you’re going to pay for it throughout your day. You’ll be less efficient. You’ll get less done. Not really worth it. Most of us need around 8 hours of quality sleep. If you lay in bed long enough, but you can’t sleep well, consider the above, and then also read some of my tips and articles about improving sleep. Simply go to the right hand column of this page, and enter “sleep” in the search box. Here are two of the more comprehensive ones to get you started: Extra help to get some zzzzzs and 7 natural, safe ways to help you sleep.

Here comes the sun. (I hope.) If you don’t have an optimal level of vitamin D in your body, it affects your sleep. You can get a test to find out, but getting some sun helps, too. Most of us above the equator are not getting enough vitamin D naturally anymore. Don’t be so afraid of the sun; just don’t bake yourself. Unfortunately, we are deficient in so many needed nutrients and vitamins anymore. You may need to replace them. Another similar example: Find yourself twitching and turning all night? Could be you are low in magnesium. It’s too bad we don’t get items like this effortlessly and naturally anymore, but, fact is, we don’t. Supplement wisely; get advice if you need it, but give your body what it needs so it can give you what you want.

Not enough fresh food. The items that truly restore your health — and, so, your energy — are vegetables and fruits. In that order. Count them up in a day. Only adding up to a serving or two? Not so good. Find ways to work more in, bit by bit. Truly optimal amount is 5 servings of veggies and 2 of fruit in a day. Yep, that much. (Serving size depends on the item. Usually a half cup of many veggies except leafy greens, which is more like a cup-plus and a small whole item for fruit.) But, start where you are. Up it gradually. It’s easier than you think. Make your own healthy smoothie — a bit of fruit for taste, then sneak in some veggies. Spinach and other greens go almost unnoticed in taste (even if it does look a semi-unappetizing green then), and you get that extra dose of healthy. Use zucchini (spiralized) in place of pasta. Cauliflower in place of other pasta or rice or even pizza crust. Add extra veggies into any dish you can, and that’s a lot when you start being aware.

The coffee shop blues. All that lovely caffeine and sugar. Makes you feel so happy for a time. Then robs you of health, your immune system and energy. Your energy soars … your energy drops. Get off the roller coaster. Of course, you can enjoy a reasonable cup of coffee or so in the a.m. That’s not bad. Where it hurts is if you’re doing that all day. Or adding plenty of sugar or treating yourself to some side sweets with your cuppa.

Move more to get more. Sit on the couch all day, feel like … sitting on the couch all night. Movement begets energy and more movement. Within reason, of course. This doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon. It means you need to get up and get active for part of your day.

Did you water yourself? Wonder why you’re droopy then? Our bodies need water to thrive. There is no getting around it. Nope, not alleged water in coffee, tea, soda and so on. Water. Pure, clean water. Lots of it. Even mild dehydration can make you feel fatigued.

Zip your lips. This may sound crazy, but it isn’t. (Read: Your mind: An integral part of you being well.) Cease and desist talking about being tired. It doesn’t help; it hurts. You talk yourself into feeling worse. If you’re worried and need to check something out, then do so, but don’t simply talk endlessly about feeling awful.

Stress … an energy zapper for sure. Do you know how to navigate it? If not, here are some ideas: Meditate, stay in the present, let go of what you can let go of, breathe, make time for you. Kind of likewise, make time for play and laughter and joy. Those are stress relievers plus they generally help create a healthier you. (Want more ideas? Search for “stress” in the search box at the top right of any page on my site.)

Biggest takeaway: Trust your instincts. If you think something would make a difference or something needs changed or something is wrong, go down that path. Trust it. We know ourselves best. Unfortunately, we don’t know this well enough or don’t believe it as much as we should because we haven’t been told it’s true. And, worse, have been told the opposite — that there is no way we’re smart enough. There are plenty of stories where someone knew something was off — and was right. Or kept thinking about trying something that kept popping up in their awareness. When they finally did, it made magic. Trust that. Always. Also, ask the right questions. Instead of telling everyone you have no energy, try asking your own self: “What could I do to have more energy?” Then trust that thought that just popped into your head.

Final extra one: You either need testing or to do an elimination diet to find out the actual answers to this so it’s a biggie. And that’s finding out if there are foods you are allergic to or intolerant of. Though, honestly, I swear, if you pay keen attention to how you feel after each thing you eat, you can get some darn good indicators of what works for you and what doesn’t. I conquered a major bout of fatigue years ago by getting food allergy (technically food intolerance) testing. Turned out I can’t tolerate eggs and soy. Cut those out, felt tons better. I don’t think much else I would’ve done would’ve had as big of an impact as that did. It was worth it. But I figured out on my own that some foods don’t make a happy me. When I watched more carefully, I could identify them. Eat x, and feel like crap. X isn’t in that last meal? Feel tons better. That made it pretty easy — and pretty motivating — for me to not have them.