With the stress of daily life, many people find it difficult to simply get out of bed and face the challenges of home and work life. The vigor to face the day with anticipation and accomplishment fades as the early morning aches and pains begin to strike. Staying in bed is not an option if you want to pay off your mortgage. Unfortunately, that perpetual brain fog won't dissipate until after a few cups of strong coffee.

What can you do to insure that you have some pep to last your day? How can you make sure that you won't drag your feet through another boring day at the office? And how can you be sure to accomplish all those household tasks you've been putting off for tomorrow? Here are five simple things you can do to improve your alertness and get into shape:

Step One: Get Active. It sounds simple, but a sedentary lifestyle doesn't translate into improved blood flow unless your body, including those old bones get a chance to be used. Most people simply don't get enough exercise beyond fingering the remote. Make it a point to walk more. During holidays and weekends, you can afford to take a fifteen minute walk with the family or the dog. During the work week, you can park your car furthest from your place of work or, if you're going shopping, somewhere far enough from the mall. Climb up and down stairs, rather than the elevator if you need to deliver a memo to a different floor. Don't just sit in your cubicle until lunch. Take a break every hour to stretch and kick your legs up and down while seated in your office chair. A few minutes is all you need to get the blood flowing and it will help sharpen your concentration and memory.

Step Two: Eat a Good Breakfast. Many people skip this most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast leads to poor concentration and memory ability. It leaves you hungry the rest of the morning and you are likely to overeat and eat the wrong food like those sugar-coated donuts. Both body and mind require the right balance of protein and carbohydrates. If they don't get it, their functioning is impaired. It's been shown that a lack of protein is an essential element to protect against headaches.

Step Three: Eat a Light Lunch: A heavy lunch leave you sluggish the rest of the day. Your lunch should supply enough fuel to give you energy until supper. A light lunch doesn't mean an extended smoke break. Use the time to get in an extra walk. Combine a short "thinking nap" during your lunch hour to review the assignments you need to tackle for the afternoon. Close your eyes for a few minutes to relax.

Step Four: Take a supplement: They're not just for athletes. There's a good chance that you're deficient in many essential vitamins and minerals and will need to take what your typical food doesn't provide. Gingko Biloba is especially useful for memory enhancement and alertness. It helps improve your concentration skills. Take gingko instead of a pep pill or that extra cup of coffee to help you stay awake

Step Five: Meditation and Prayer. Stress and depression are common in the workplace. Trying to meet deadlines and worrying about family problems are difficult enough against neck and shoulder pains that usually result from stressful activities. Learn to meditate. You are not chained to your desk, so you can take a quick break to simply close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm your mind and help your concentration. That applies equally at home. You've got more time so turn off the TV and relax in the easy chair. The daily diet of violence and negative news only help to add to your existing stress level and blood pressure. When it comes to any kind of negative programming, you should take an impartial stance to what you see and hear.

Step Six: Your Diet has a lot to do with how you feel in the morning and during your day. Refined foods simply don't have the nutrients for your body to stay healthy. They leave you sleepy and sap your energy well before the end of your day. The food industry regularly adds chemicals which are not listed on the labels but are designed to entice you to eat more and thus, gain weight so they can realize larger profits.

These simple steps are far from complete, but they will set you on a better course for health, longevity and give you the energy to make it through your day.