I have noticed over the course of this past week that my energy level has been falling in the afternoons once I leave work. I get back to my “house” change into my workout clothes and head out to the yard but my head is begging me to go back home and take a nap. In trying to remedy this situation (because if you know me… you know that I’m not too fond of sitting still. So, this needed to get fixed… immediately) I began going through all of the things that could be causing the fatigue.
Am I getting enough sleep? Yes… I think so… no big change there. Is it my diet? Nope… I am fairly regimented… let’s be honest… I am extremely regimented about what I eat and when I eat it so no change there. Stress? I mean… yes, I am certainly stressed about all the “normal” things that people incarcerated are stressed about but not more than I have been prior to this week. Exercise routine? All good on that front. Nothing glaring stuck out to me so I started thinking about the “not so obvious” possible reasons and I think I found the culprit.
I believe the reason for the daily afternoon slump has been my constant mental activity… basically all day, everyday… from 6:30am – 8:45pm… I am mentally “on”. My brain is constantly stimulated and being ask to fire at a high rate without allowing for any down time to relax and reset before getting into bed at night… quite literally passing out… then waking up to do it all over again the next day.
In self diagnosing the situation… I realized that a lot of us fall into this cycle, both in here and out there, of “needing” to be going constantly because we “have so much to do” without allowing ourselves to take some time alone and recharge the batteries. And when we do finally take a second to ourselves… here comes the little birdie on our shoulder telling us that we could be doing something much more productive with our time and self shaming us into revving the engines right back up.
So, as I try to take my own advise… I am going to head outside… put my headphones in… turn on some country music and walk the track. Allowing myself to reflect on this past week… mentally plan for the week ahead and recharge. I hope you guys find a way to do the same today. Breathe deeply and enjoy the moment…. I will be doing the same.