For someone who experiences shift work fatigue, I have been anticipating this day - the first day of my holidays, for quite a while.
Fabulous - I can throw away my alarm clock for 2 whole weeks (actually very tempted to throw it in the trash can for good...
), but instead of bouncing out of my bed this morning - I actually woke up feeling a bit like a deflated balloon.
Now you would think that I would be bounding with energy, ready to take on the world, but alas this was not the case.
My body ached all over and I got absolutely nothing done - zip! Kaput! But rather than feeling sorry for myself about how bad I felt, and how little I achieved today, I had to remind myself that I was indeed on holidays.
(Are you a tad bit jealous??!!) However that being said, I still wanted to know why I felt like a deflated balloon, and the most obvious one that I could think of was that as a shift worker I have been very sleep deprived over the last few months (OK lets be serious here - the last few years...
), and it is no wonder my body is saying - "finally" - you're giving me some much deserved rest.
And we can't dismiss the fact that we all have our days when we feel low in energy- especially shift workers.
Some days are better then others, but it is not surprising given the fact that we all lead such busy lives.
So how can I ensure that I don't "write off" another day? Well a little habit that I have started to do this year (but failed to do last night), is that before I go to bed, I write down five things (no more) that I intend to achieve the following day.
When I go to bed, those things are on my mind so that when I wake up, more often than not, I have worked out exactly "how" I'm going to do all of these things.
The next thing that contributed to my flat day today was that I didn't get up and do any exercise, so for the rest of the day, I really did feel like a deflated balloon.
Considering that exercise invigorates you and gives you more energy - it's no wonder that I felt tired for the rest of the day.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that we should all be going about our lives like robots, with every spare minute accounted for, leaving no room for spontaneity.
There's no fun it that.
But what I do want to emphasise is that you cannot function at 100% - all of the time.
No-one can.
And it would be a little unrealistic to think otherwise (especially if you're a shift worker).
So when it becomes apparent that you are having a low energy or 'flat day' as I call it, don't be too hard on yourself.
If you find yourself having a day like this, be kind to yourself, plan to make the following day a more organized one, and give yourself a little break, it may be all you need to re-focus your energy for the next day.
So make sure you start writing those 5 things down the night before - you'll get so much more done and your stress levels will plummet!
Fabulous - I can throw away my alarm clock for 2 whole weeks (actually very tempted to throw it in the trash can for good...
), but instead of bouncing out of my bed this morning - I actually woke up feeling a bit like a deflated balloon.
Now you would think that I would be bounding with energy, ready to take on the world, but alas this was not the case.
My body ached all over and I got absolutely nothing done - zip! Kaput! But rather than feeling sorry for myself about how bad I felt, and how little I achieved today, I had to remind myself that I was indeed on holidays.
(Are you a tad bit jealous??!!) However that being said, I still wanted to know why I felt like a deflated balloon, and the most obvious one that I could think of was that as a shift worker I have been very sleep deprived over the last few months (OK lets be serious here - the last few years...
), and it is no wonder my body is saying - "finally" - you're giving me some much deserved rest.
And we can't dismiss the fact that we all have our days when we feel low in energy- especially shift workers.
Some days are better then others, but it is not surprising given the fact that we all lead such busy lives.
So how can I ensure that I don't "write off" another day? Well a little habit that I have started to do this year (but failed to do last night), is that before I go to bed, I write down five things (no more) that I intend to achieve the following day.
When I go to bed, those things are on my mind so that when I wake up, more often than not, I have worked out exactly "how" I'm going to do all of these things.
The next thing that contributed to my flat day today was that I didn't get up and do any exercise, so for the rest of the day, I really did feel like a deflated balloon.
Considering that exercise invigorates you and gives you more energy - it's no wonder that I felt tired for the rest of the day.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that we should all be going about our lives like robots, with every spare minute accounted for, leaving no room for spontaneity.
There's no fun it that.
But what I do want to emphasise is that you cannot function at 100% - all of the time.
No-one can.
And it would be a little unrealistic to think otherwise (especially if you're a shift worker).
So when it becomes apparent that you are having a low energy or 'flat day' as I call it, don't be too hard on yourself.
If you find yourself having a day like this, be kind to yourself, plan to make the following day a more organized one, and give yourself a little break, it may be all you need to re-focus your energy for the next day.
So make sure you start writing those 5 things down the night before - you'll get so much more done and your stress levels will plummet!
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