We’ve all been there, seemingly too tired to continue the work for the day or to be the life of the party that night. Our friends and family seemed to be supercharged, and we are trying to smile through our drained batteries.
I find my best comes out when I find what it takes to help me overcome fatigue. Sitting in front of a panorama of quiet beauty, which, for me, can include waterfalls, snow-covered mountains, and meadows, glaciers… I recharge my batteries so I can keep going till the end of the day!
I've learned what I need to do to recharge my batteries, and if the truth were to be known, I need to do this every single day… and maybe even multiple times per day! I call it R&R in Small Bites! Click To TweetI’ve learned what I need to do to recharge my batteries, and if the truth were to be known, I need to do this every single day… and maybe even multiple times per day! I call it R&R in Small Bites!
What I’ve Learned From Experience
One day, a long time ago in my teens, I was headed home to LaPorte after a night of “whatever”… I was a senior in high school taking my only required 7:30 am class needed to graduate, enrolled in a night college class learning about the principles of banking, and working a full-time banking job. At this age, I have since learned, teens need more hours of sleep than many of them are getting, but as with today, I was living on about 6 hours per night!
Driving home late, on highway 225,
I came awake on the other side of a perfectly driven “S” curve
and remember nothing about the last minute or so of life!
Some say you “zone out,” but it sure felt like a modern-day Power Nap! You know, lean back, close your eyes, and drift into quick REM, and then pop yourself awake in about 10 minutes! Energized! Supercharged! Let’s go!!!
The prior year of schooling found me in Ms. Norwood’s class… English, I think. In those days before A/C, a hot summer day, sitting in a hot classroom right after lunch… Well, let’s say that was a good time to power nap! And then, feeling refreshed, I would head off to the next class – sometimes having slept through the bell…
Over the years, I have driven long distances. Houston to Alaska, swapping off with another driver, and in 4 days, we cover 5,000 miles. That’s 96 hours of straight driving with stops only for fuel – car and body, and that coveted bathroom break. Did you know you can buy a shower for a couple of bucks at KOA Kampgrounds? Even Truck Stops! I learned that I could go a long way with 2-3 hours of sleep and feel totally comfortable. But a full rest is required at the end of the trip.
Power naps I enjoy. But when you sleep past 10-15 minutes, you are not napping – you are taking a siesta! Some countries and cultures shut down their day during the hot afternoon and retire to shade and comfort out of the sun. They are known for their siesta’s, and then business opens again in the evening to conclude their workday. I don’t want an afternoon siesta! I prefer a quick power nap that charges my batteries for the next 8 hours!
Never have I “crammed” all night for a test – so I do not know that feeling. But, along with you, I have felt the fatigue that comes from not living a regular schedule. It makes one “punchy” and “emotionally ill-equipped” to live in the moment.
What’s My Advice?
So. How do you overcome fatigue? I think Power Naps are a daily necessity, but you do need to structure your life to be stronger than the need for sleep!
Let me give you some things I have learned.
- Get Your Rest. Often this is accomplished by a regular sleeping night, following a regular sleeping routine. Comfort includes the bed, covers, and temperature. Regular includes a shutdown period where you slowly let your brain and body relax to the moment of sleep. Since Alaska (all-day sunlight in the summer!), I’ve learned the necessity of blackout curtains, or at least curtailing the brightest light into something I can live with! Think Cave Dark! That’s the best way to sleep!
- Eat Right. I have a friend that used to eat only when he had sufficiently burned calories to justify the food. Then, he would eat only healthy alternatives. No junk food. No binges. And any splurging is done early enough in the day to allow your body time to wash it through your system.
- Drink Water. Too many fill their lives with soda, tea, and coffee. Since I have never been a user or abuser of alcohol, I can only suggest that you need to research its effects before depending on what some think is the greatest nightcap! Water should be our main source of drink.
Consider these salient water facts:
“The human body is more than 60 percent water. Blood is 92 percent water, the brain and muscles are 75 percent water, and bones are about 22 percent water. * A human can survive for a month or more without eating food, but only a week or so without drinking water.” (www.waterinfo.org) - Exercise. No couch potatoes allowed. Even a brisk 30-minute walk counts toward your need to exercise the body. My granddad would get up about 3:30 am, have his coffee and burnt toast, and then walk the miles until the breaking of dawn. I am not like this, but I do know that the body “feels” better after exercise, hence, I think this is a primary thing to make the body rest from the fatigue of the day.
- Work hard. This is not physical labor I am talking about, although I have had these kinds of jobs in my past. There is something to be said for looking back over the day and finding the satisfaction that you have given it your best, and hardest, effort. This makes the downtime in the evening so much more effective, leading to a better rest cycle.
I love Edison’s quote: “We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work” Of course, I would be remiss in not stating his other famous quote: “The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” - Train Your Mind to Find the Good. I realize many always see the glass nearly empty, or the cupboards bare, or the bank account dabbling in the red too often, or even the conditions of the world are too messy. Looking for that nugget of good often allows you to see the possibilities of positiveness. This we all need.
Of all the news sources, Microsoft has one tab they call “Good News”. I go there daily for a taste of something Good in a world so full of Negative! - Turn Off Your Mind. This has become the bain of my life. It’s hard to shut down the mind. When all you think about are the problems of life and the world around you, allowing your mind to relax is key to getting good rest. The one thing that helps me is to read, and I enjoy reading. So, finding something that does not require me to investigate for answers is enjoyable. A good novel. Poems. History. Even “Numbers” in the bible!
- Laugh Often. Charlie Chaplin said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Learn to laugh, even if it is at your own follies. Have you ever laughed so hard you passed out? I have! Have you ever laughed so hard that you fall out of the chair? Yep, that’s me. The best compliment I can receive from someone who does not know me is that they find me to be jovial. I want to look for the light-hearted moment in any situation. This is simply the way my mind works. Of course, I sometimes squelch it so that I am not found to be impertinent!
One person said, in an interview of sorts, “You smile too much.” I had no come-back… I did not say they looked like a swelled up prune who could not even see life past their own wrinkles… Now. That’s funny! - Renew Your Spiritual Person. It is said that we are components of three compartments – body, soul, and spirit. Others might have different words or dimensions, but the concept is that we are comprised of a multiplicity of identity. One is our spiritual person. We often ignore who we are in this “realm” and this makes our lives unbalanced. Finding balance causes me to devotion, meditation, reading scripture, thinking about the bigger picture, and coming to grips with my own frailties.
- Finally, Do Something Good For Someone Else. This takes the attention off of yourself. You are not doing it for a reward or recognition, you are doing kindness as a stranger that takes the attention off of yourself. Something we learned from Bishop Franklin Jones and Pastor Brett Jones, doing the unexpected is a growth experience. Following their example, we will often look for a family that might be struggling, lonely, or just in need of a blessing. We work it out with our server to pay their bill and the tip of their server, and then allow us to leave before knowing anything about it. In our local restaurant haunted by soldiers far from home, young families trying to keep life together, and old folks who are needing a “good deal” in their final years – we are never far from finding someone that can be blessed by one of us simply looking to be an anonymous blessing.
Perhaps you have other things to add to this list. How about sharing your own thoughts?