12 Oct Energy Management Is Essential To Your Health
What is one of the most single important resources critical to a person’s day? Most people would respond with the answer “ more time”. However, I am suggesting it is ENERGY. Energy is the key component that drives our relationships, work performance, hobbies and quality of life. If our energy source is plentiful and replenished then we can be fully engaged in every area of our life. This translates into better work performance; enriching relationships and more spent time doing the things that feed our soul and spirit. More time will not improve the quality of the things I just mentioned because without energy time will still exist without improving our internal energy system. If our energy reserves are depleted it dulls our day and duties. We simply exist and get through the task at hand.
So why is energy management essential to our health? Energy management is essential to our health because health is multidimensional and involves physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components. If one of these areas of our lives is not fueled by energy then we become out of balance and we struggle for balance. Struggling and straining taxes our energy system like a never-ending game of “tug of war” and emotional struggle is just as hard on our energy systems as a physical struggle. So what can neutralize the struggle while tapping into our energy reserves? It is called practicing energy recovery. I learned about this principle in the book titled The Corporate Athlete Advantage written by Jim Loehr and Jack Groppel, which highlight the importance of managing our energy for optimum engagement in every area of our life.
Recovery Systems That Facilitate Energy Output – Starting with Physical Energy
Applying energy management principles in order to improve our health starts with the building blocks of nutrition and movement within the ebb and flow of our body’s natural cycle. To start with, sleep is integral to our energy recovery. Routine sleep habits optimize our energy that is why going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time is important. More time and less sleep will not make you more effective or engaged. Also, movement and non-movement should be balanced throughout the day – small movements every 30 to 40 minutes and large muscle movement every 90 minutes throughout the day facilitates oxygen transport to our cells. As far as nutrition is concerned, it is important to stabilize our glucose by eating a small snack every 3 to 4 hours and drinking water throughout the day. Lastly, deliberate cardiovascular and muscle strength exercises should be added to our week in the prescribed amounts according to the American Council of Sports Medicine.
As you probably guessed by now, I did not give you health principles that you haven’t heard before but what I did is frame this information into an energy management principle that should stimulate your thinking by looking at energy recovery as a tool for full life engagement. So stop playing tug of war with your body and mind and instead optimize your energy by applying strategic health energy recovery principles. You are worth the energy!