Calm Energy

Today's blog post is based on the book Calm Energy by Robert E. Thayer. I read it several years ago but have been re-reading it the past few days. I'd been thinking recently about why it's so hard to sleep when we may be totally exhausted, so I turned to this book again to see if it shed some light on the subject.

In the chart below, we want to keep to the left side of the diagram. Ideally we'd like to have Calm-Energy during the day and Calm-Tiredness when we sleep, but most of us are in the lower right quadrant...we are tired but too stressed to sleep. Occasional Tense-Energy is ok...when we are excited about something or maybe a bit nervous for a test or a competition of some kind. But in general, we want to be on the Calm side.

The primary mood effect of moderate exercise is increased energy, and the primary mood effect of intense exercise is reduced tension.

One of the best ways to boost energy and relieve stress is through exercise. But there are other ways, such as meditation and yoga. I need to start doing yoga again...it's a great way to relax and to keep the old body limber!

When your energy is low and/or your tension is high, this is often a time that you'll self medicate to make yourself feel better. This may include drugs or alcohol, but another very common way is to eat...usually something that contains a lot of fat or sugar!

If you find yourself craving something sweet, try drinking some water. A lot of times you may mistake thirst for hunger. If you're still hungry try taking a brisk, 10 minute walk. And if you're still hungry, try eating a healthy snack such as fruit or raw nuts.

There are many ideas for how to combat tense tiredness in the book. Be sure to check it out. I'm going to refer to some other books I have to see if we can come up with more info on how to decrease your appetite by decreasing your stress and increasing your energy.

Interesting days

Today - Snowman Burning Day, International Day of Happiness, Won't You Be My Neighbor Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day and Kiss Your Fiance Day

Tomorrow -  International Fragrance Day, International Day of Forests, Common Courtesy Day, Single Parent's Day, World Poetry Day, World Down Syndrome Day, Memory Day and French Bread Day It's kind of a bummer that they don't have French Bread Day and Ravioli Day on the same day because some garlic bread would really go good with raviolis. But I will do my best to celebrate both of them

Next Monday - Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

April 20 - Volunteer Recognition Day, 中国语言日 (Chinese Language Day) and High Five Day