Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health

We’re coming to the end of the 31 Days to Better Energy. On the second to last day your task is to do an energy audit.

How will an energy audit help?

We’ve spent a month talking about boosting your energy levels. My posts have talked about how to get more, the things that affect your energy, plus strategies for managing energy lulls.

While it can be tempting to think energy levels should remain static during the day, it’s actually completely normal for them to fluctuate. As Robert Thayer from California State University points out:

Everyone has an energy body clock. Our energy is low immediately after waking (even after sleeping well), peaks in the late morning to early afternoon (usually 11am to 1pm), drops in the late afternoon (3 – 5pm), rises again in the early evening (6 or 7pm) and plummets to its lowest point just before bed (around 11pm).

I’m hoping that by now you’ll have more of an idea of your daily energy ups and downs. Keeping a note of when you’re feeling good and when you’re in a slump means you can predict your patterns for the day. You can take advantage of the energy high points and use these to get lots done. If you know you always have a lull mid afternoon, then you can plan your day and activities around this.

Today’s task

Today’s task in the 31 Days to Better Energy is therefore about using and making allowances for your body’s natural rhythms. Spend today monitoring your energy levels and keep an energy audit. Does your body clock fit in with the typical pattern outlined above, or does it vary in some way?

Set the timer on your phone or a reminder on your computer for every hour and at that time, check in with yourself about how you’re feeling. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your energy at that point? Do this for the whole day and you should get an idea of your own personal energy rhythm.

Knowing this will mean you can plan your day around your energy fluctuations and are less likely to get frustrated and angry with yourself.

August is 31 Days to Better Energy month here at Limes & Lycopene. If you’d like to know more or view the full range of tasks so far, then take a look at the introductory post.

30 August, 2007