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4 Ways to Help Your Cells Make More Energy

October 4, 2026

Ever feel like, no matter what you do, you still don't have the energy you used to?

You wake up tired even after a full night in bed. Your brain feels foggy by midafternoon. Workouts take more out of you than they used to. Stress seems to hit harder, and you don’t bounce back as quickly.

You might think it’s an issue with your muscles, your brain, or even your hormones.

But there’s another often-overlooked piece of your energy system—and it’s much, much smaller.

I’m talking about the tiny energy factories inside your cells.

How you eat, move, sleep, and handle stress can all influence how efficiently they produce the energy your body needs.

Learn which everyday habits can interfere with cellular energy production—and the four things you can start doing today to make more energy.

Mitochondria and Energy Production

Mitochondria are tiny structures that exist inside nearly every cell in your body, and they’re constantly hustling to generate energy. 

They form a living, communicating network—one that helps you think, feel, adapt, and recover. 

Their primary job is to take the food you eat and oxygen you breathe and turn it into ATP—the form of energy your cells can actually use.¹ This energy currency runs everything from keeping your heart beating to your brain firing. 

Mitochondria also support your immune system, help regulate your cellular lifecycle, and help your cells communicate so they can share resources, adapt to stress, and decide what needs repair.^2–4

If your mitochondria aren’t getting enough nutrients or are under a lot of strain—for example, from poor diet, chronic stress, sedentary lifestyle, certain medication use, toxin exposure, or poor sleep—they may produce less ATP and these functions may start to falter. Energy-demanding tasks, from thinking and focusing to movement and recovery, can become harder.

And, if your mitochondria are under strain, it’s often at the same time that other systems are under strain too—which is the exact moment you need them to work harder than ever to regain balance. The cycle starts to feed itself, and you start to feel it. 

4 Strategies to Support Cellular Energy 

Luckily, most of the things that keep your mitochondria healthy are the same things that keep you healthy. Here are four simple strategies to support your energy systems. 

Strategy #1: Move Enough to Make Your Cells Adapt

Exercise may be one of the most powerful tools you have for mitochondrial health.

When you challenge your body with aerobic exercise, your cells respond in part by making more mitochondria.⁵ With more mitochondria, your muscles can become better equipped to use oxygen and generate ATP when demand rises.

Additionally, this can help improve your maximum aerobic capacity, or VO2 max. VO2 max is the gold-standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness and strongly correlated with a lower risk of death from any cause.⁶ 

▶ Get some aerobic activity most days of the week. Move at an intensity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe a little harder.

Focus on movement that you enjoy and can do consistently. For example, go on a brisk walk, ride your bike, go for a swim, and/or add intervals as your fitness improves. And if you can, strength train a few times a week to preserve muscle and support metabolic health.

Strategy #2: Give Your Mitochondria Better Fuel

Your mitochondria turn nutrients into energy, so food quality matters. 

▶ Build most of your meals around minimally processed whole foods. That includes high-quality protein, healthy fats, fiber-rich plants, colorful vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, and berries. These foods provide vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other raw materials your cells need for energy production and repair. 

Make sure to drink enough water, too—and add electrolytes as needed. Cellular hydration is critical for overall mitochondrial function and ATP production. 

At the same time, minimize ultra-processed foods, excess added sugar, alcohol, and unhealthy fats that can damage mitochondria, crowd out nutrient-dense foods, and contribute to inflammation (another mitochondrial stressor).

Strategy #3: Take Recovery as Seriously as Effort

Your cells are constantly responding to stress. A little challenge can be beneficial. Exercise, for example, works partly because it gives your body a manageable stress signal, then allows it to adapt. (You can learn more in The Kind of Stress That Helps You Live Longer.) 

But stress without recovery is different.

Factors like poor sleep, chronic psychological stress, illness, excessive exercise, smoking, poor diet, toxin exposure, and alcohol can all increase the burden your cells have to manage. 

Unfortunately, you can’t necessarily control whether you’re exposed to pollution or catch a cold. So it becomes even more important to reduce the sources of strain you can control and give your body enough opportunity to recover.

▶ Build—and regularly practice—a true recovery routine. Aim for a consistent sleep schedule and 7–9 hours per night (these sleep tips can help). Give yourself easier days between demanding workouts. Take walks outside. Breathe deeply. Spend time with people you love. Build moments into your day that allow your nervous system to return to baseline.

These same habits also support your cells’ built-in maintenance systems, including mitophagy—the process of clearing out old or damaged mitochondria so healthier ones can keep doing their job.

Strategy #4: Consider Targeted Support When It Makes Sense

Lifestyle behaviors come first. But four supplements may provide additional support for cellular energy: creatine, urolithin A, NAD+ precursors, and coenzyme Q10. 

Creatine

Creatine is a natural compound your body makes from amino acids and gets from foods like red meat and fish. While it’s best known for supporting strength and exercise performance, it helps your cells rapidly regenerate ATP.^7–9 I particularly like Thorne Creatine. 

Urolithin A

Urolithin A is a compound your gut bacteria can make from plant compounds found in foods like pomegranates, walnuts, and berries.¹⁰ Its main benefit is that it supports mitophagy.^10,11 Healthier mitochondria can support better energy production, lower inflammatory stress, muscle function, and healthy aging. Timeline Mitopure is the form of urolithin A used in multiple peer-reviewed human clinical trials. 

NAD+ Precursors

NAD+ is a molecule your cells need to turn food into energy, repair damage, and support healthy mitochondrial function.¹² But instead of taking NAD+ itself, the better-supported approach is to take a precursor your body can use to make NAD+. Nicotinamide riboside (NR) is one of the best-studied NAD+ precursors, and it’s been shown in human studies to raise NAD+ levels.^13,14 Tru Niagen contains Niagen, a patented form of NR.

Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a compound your body makes naturally and uses inside mitochondria to help produce ATP. Research suggests supplementation may help reduce fatigue, although benefits can vary depending on the individual and underlying cause of low energy.¹⁵ Integrative Therapeutics CoQ10 is a good option. 

▶ Talk with your healthcare provider before adding any new supplement, especially if you take medications or have existing health conditions. Not everyone needs them, they’re not all appropriate for everyone, and you definitely shouldn’t start all four supplements at once. 

Don’t Overlook the Power of the Basics 

We tend to think of energy as something we either have or don’t have. But your body is constantly producing and using energy—and repairing and adapting the cellular machinery responsible for making it. The strategies outlined here can go a long way in supporting those systems. 

Another promising tip to keep in mind? Your mitochondria may even respond to a good day.

A 2018 study found that positive feelings one day were associated with better mitochondrial function the next day.¹⁶ It’s one more reason to take joy, connection, and recovery seriously—because your mitochondria will thank you for it.

References

1. Johannsen DL, Ravussin E. The role of mitochondria in health and disease. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2009 Dec;9(6):780–6.

2. Mishra NC, Kumar S. Apoptosis: a mitochondrial perspective on cell death. Indian J Exp Biol. 2005 Jan;43(1):25–34.

3. Poltorak A. Cell death: All roads lead to mitochondria. Curr Biol. 2022 Aug 22;32(16):R891–4.

4. Picard M, Sandi C. The social nature of mitochondria: Implications for human health. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Jan;120:595–610.

5. Musci RV, Hamilton KL, Linden MA. Exercise-induced mitohormesis for the maintenance of skeletal muscle and healthspan extension. Sports (Basel). 2019 July 11;7(7):E170.

6. Mandsager K, Harb S, Cremer P, Phelan D, Nissen SE, Jaber W. Association of cardiorespiratory fitness with long-term mortality among adults undergoing exercise treadmill testing. JAMA Netw Open. 2018 Oct 5;1(6):e183605.

7. Kreider RB, Kalman DS, Antonio J, Ziegenfuss TN, Wildman R, Collins R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017 June 13;14(1):18.

8. Antonio J, Candow DG, Forbes SC, Gualano B, Jagim AR, Kreider RB, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021 Feb 8;18(1):13.

9. Antonio J, Brown AF, Candow DG, Chilibeck PD, Ellery SJ, Forbes SC, et al. Part II. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2025 Dec;22(1):2441760.

10. Kuerec AH, Lim XK, Khoo AL, Sandalova E, Guan L, Feng L, et al. Targeting aging with urolithin A in humans: A systematic review. Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Sept;100(102406):102406.

11. Denk D, Singh A, Kasler HG, D’Amico D, Rey J, Alcober-Boquet L, et al. Author Correction: Effect of the mitophagy inducer urolithin A on age-related immune decline: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nat Aging. 2026 Feb;6(2):463.

12. Gilmour BC, Gudmundsrud R, Frank J, Hov A, Lautrup S, Aman Y, et al. Targeting NAD+ in translational research to relieve diseases and conditions of metabolic stress and ageing. Mech Ageing Dev. 2020 Mar;186(111208):111208.

13. Orr ME, Kotkowski E, Ramirez P, Bair-Kelps D, Liu Q, Brenner C, et al. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of nicotinamide riboside in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. GeroScience. 2024 Feb;46(1):665–82.

14. Wu CY, Reynolds WC, Abril I, McManus AJ, Brenner C, González-Irizarry G, et al. Effects of nicotinamide riboside on NAD+ levels, cognition, and symptom recovery in long-COVID: a randomized controlled trial. EClinicalMedicine. 2025 Nov;89(103633):103633.

15. Tsai IC, Hsu CW, Chang CH, Tseng PT, Chang KV. Effectiveness of coenzyme Q10 supplementation for reducing fatigue: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Aug 24;13:883251.

16. Picard M, Prather AA, Puterman E, Cuillerier A, Coccia M, Aschbacher K, et al. A mitochondrial health index sensitive to mood and caregiving stress. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 July 1;84(1):9–17.