Energy Balance: Don’t Run On Empty
Sleep, exercise, micro-breaks, nutrition, boundaries
Human beings run on finite but renewable energy. Every decision we make, including small decisions like what to eat or what to wear uses up energy. If we are not paying attention to our energy system, we can run out of energy too quickly.
Additionally, if we do so too often we can have a larger detrimental impact on our system that can range from emotional burnout to physical health consequences. So let’s look at what we can do about it.
Sleep
Sleep deprivation has significant negative effects on our health and impacts both cognitive and physical performance. Sleep deprivation can be a safety concern in professions where reaction times and decision-making is critical (e.g., drivers, medical personnel). Maintaining good sleep hygiene is important for sustaining a healthy and regular sleep schedule. In general, adults need 7–8 hours of sleep per night whereas teenagers require 9 hours and infants up to 16 hours of sleep. For difficulties falling asleep, Simon Fraser University researcher Luc Beaudoin has developed the “cognitive shuffle” technique that appears to be effective in helping shut off an overactive mind. The technique involves prompting users to imagine various objects or scenes in rapid succession thus simulating the process of falling asleep.
Exercise
We also know that regular physical exercise is one of the best ways to boost our energy levels. Energy creates more energy. Many experts recommend about 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. Children and youth require a greater amount of daily activity. Exercise also helps us sleep better and improves our mood. Please consult your doctor before beginning an exercise program, especially if you have a medical condition.
Micro-Breaks and Brain Training
To make things more complicated our brain assesses energy on a relative level, not on an absolute level. Our brain looks for the trend in our energy and if it reads consistent downward trends it will start down-regulating high consumption systems like the frontal cortex (so the more tired we feel the dumber we become).
Research, however, shows that small breaks throughout the day will boost our energy levels and consequently improve our creativity and productivity. These micro-breaks prevent the brain from hitting the red alert and shutting down our executive functioning. Even five minutes of meditation or time in nature acts as an energy balancer. It is therefore important to incorporate activities that will give us small boosts throughout the day.
We can also strengthen our energy system with training so as to make it more resilient. Athletes push their capacities by challenging their bodies but not overwhelming them. For example, if you want to be stronger through weight training, you begin to train with weights that will work your muscle but that are not so heavy that you injure yourself. In the same way, we can strengthen our frontal cortex by training our attention.
A simple technique involves using your non-dominant hand for two weeks for opening doors, brushing your teeth, and drinking water. Researchers have found that this simple exercise can improve self-control for eating and managing behaviour. This task requires us to use some but not a lot of energy to focus. So, like proper weight training, it helps improve our capacity to focus long-term without overwhelming us.
Furthermore, we can train by using our imagination. Your brain treats imagination like reality. So, you can visualize being in a calm relaxed space and you will relax and re-charge. You can also visualize accomplishing your goals and your brain will activate your prefrontal cortex to help you stay focused.
Nutrition
Fueling with nutrition is also critically important. We need to remember to eat when we are hungry, with healthy energy-dense food so that we are not “running on fumes.” Research shows that the brain uses blood glucose levels as indicator of energy in the body. If blood glucose levels are consistently dropping our brain will go into conservation mode. A low glycemic index diet appears to be appropriate from an energy perspective because it focuses on how foods affect our blood sugar levels.
Boundaries
The final lesson on energy balance involves understanding how to preserve energy[1] through boundaries. Adam Grant in his book Give and Take discusses research on three types of people: Givers, Takers and Matchers. Givers, are the generous compassionate individuals who try to help others with no strings attached. Takers, are the type of people who give very little but try to take as much as possible for themselves. I refer to them as psychological vampires. They will suck your energy dry if you let them. Finally, there are the Matchers. They operate under the principle of reciprocity. They believe in fairness and equality in giving and taking. You can refer to this style as the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back” attitude to life.
When looking at who were the top and bottom performers in a variety of occupations and industries (e.g., medicine, sales, engineering) the results were the same. Which group do you think ended up at the bottom? What about the top?
It turns out that Givers represented the majority of both the worst performers and the best performers. So, nice people finish last but they also finish first. The question then becomes what distinguishes successful givers from failed givers? The answer, in my reading of the research, is simple. Successful givers also had boundaries. They saw themselves in the circle of care and, therefore, they did not give to the point of exhaustion and burnout. Failed givers would not say no and eventually would get burned out. Takers love these kinds of no boundary givers and will frequently take advantage of them.
In my experience, these results carry over to all areas of our lives. Givers without boundaries get taken advantage of by others in their personal lives as well as their professional lives. They consequently suffer both physical and emotional breakdowns.
One of my clients was in an abusive relationship. Without clear boundaries, she had a hard time identifying the emotional abuse she was experiencing.[2] Even after leaving the abusive relationship she had a difficult time saying no to others. This frequently left her feeling overwhelmed and exhausted with little time for her own recovery or goals. Initially, she even spent a great deal of time and energy worrying about and trying to help her abusive ex-partner. Eventually, she learned that it was easier if she started saying yes to herself first. She would then say yes to others only when she had time and energy left over. Re-balancing her energy by including herself in the equation of need allowed her to be healthier and more effective in her life and work. She began to find and take on wonderful opportunities that helped her grow as an individual even as she contributed to the betterment of her community. She is now on her way to becoming a successful giver.
[1] We can also leak energy through anxiety created by focusing on things we cannot change or consuming the wrong things. We can create boundaries on what we consume and we can gently re-orient our attention to where our energy is most useful. I have written articles on these topics previously entitled You Are What You Consume and Steering the Mind.
[2] Regardless of boundary issues, a person victimized in a relationship is not responsible for the abuse they experience. Only the person engaging in the abusive acts is responsible for those acts. Additionally, there are many complex reasons women stay in abusive relationship including the fact that the risk of more severe abuse and physical violence increases when they attempt to leave an abusive relationship. There are many useful resources in communities where you can find information and support to understand and exit abusive relationships. There are also programs and services for offenders to help them take responsibility for their lives and end the cycle of violence.
This is a follow-up to:
