Some of us are workaholics, so we do not feel fatigue. There are others who are morning people. They do not feel tired in whatever they do during that time. Then there are many other people who prefer to work at night. You might call them ‘night owls.’
Strangely, there are a few people, like workaholics, who are always ‘on.’ I have my neighbour who jogs in the morning and spends the rest of the day painting his house. There is another neighbour who finishes a load of laundry after returning from work.
As it is, some people know how to fight fatigue while others feel extremely tired after work. Psychologists have come up with certain ways to boost your staying power and fight fatigue effectively. According to them, you have to fit into a work rhythm. For this purpose, you need to get enough sleep every day.
Peak alertness
However, even the well-rested people experience fatigue due to their sleep-wake cycle. It is natural to feel tired at the end of the day. Those who go to bed late at night should expect peak alertness around ten or eleven in the following morning. Most of us feel sleepy in the afternoon. If you feel sleepy, take a short break from your work schedule.
You must be ready for biological lows which are quite common in your life. We feel energetic in the morning mainly because of the bright light coming from the sun. At night, we hit a biological low as there is no natural bright light. If you feel sleepy in office around 2 p.m. you should have a chat with a colleague as you cannot afford to rest in a working place.
The best way to deal with your daily rhythm is to work it into your schedule. Attend to social duties in the afternoon. Social duties include returning phone calls, talking to your children and other family members.
After working for a few hours in the morning, you will feel tired, but energy will pick up after some time. Remember that what you eat matters a lot. Carbohydrates increase production of serotonin, a brain chemical that encourages sleep. That is why you feel drowsy after a heavy meal. Fatty foods take a long time to digest, leaving your brain and muscles underfuelled. To offset the oncoming fatigue, opt for something rich in protein and carbohydrates.
We have always been advised to consume plenty of vegetables and fruits by medical specialists. However, there are some people who do not heed such advice. They eat a lot of junk food and go for fizzy drinks. Recent research shows that if you do not eat enough vegetables and fruits, your vitamin and mineral reserves will drop leading to fatigue. Boron, a little known mineral is found in many vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and fruits like apples, pears, grapes peaches and peanuts.
Most adults take precautions against blood sugar limiting their intake of sweets. Some of us are not aware that sugar is absorbed into the blood stream very rapidly. Even caffeine should be taken in moderation. It is true that caffeine stimulates your mental performance. However, its effectiveness is limited. Therefore, you should avoid taking too much tea or coffee.
In addition to a balanced diet, you need a lot of physical exercises. If you are unable to join a gym, take up walking, jogging or swimming. Such exercises will revitalise your body and brain. Even at your workplace, avoid using lifts as far as possible and use stairs. These exercises are necessary because fatigue mainly affects your body although it is a clear sign of mental distress.
W. Michael Nelson, a psychology professor, says, “Excessive tiredness and feeling run down should be viewed as red flags.” Therefore, you have to be alert to what is bothering you. Some people, especially women, suppress their feelings wasting a lot of energy. Although you cannot change what is happening, you can change how you deal with them. Sportsmen know how to grab energy out of nowhere because they cannot afford to suffer from fatigue.
Compulsive worker
For many people, work is now the spiritual and emotional centre of life. Workaholism and its handmaidens, careerism and materialism have become social and religious issues. Work is god for the compulsive worker and nothing gets in the way of this god. We have to break this vicious cycle. Do not bring office work home. Spend your weekend and other statutory holidays for relaxation. There is no need to sacrifice your family on the altar of your career.
The tragedy of not spending quality time with your family members has been dramatised vividly in the Yiddish song ‘Mayn Yingele’ (My little one), a father sings to his sleeping child:
I have a son, a little son,
A boy completely fine.
Whenever I see him, it seems to me
That all the world is mine.
But seldom, seldom do I see
My child awake and bright.
I only see him when he sleeps,
I’m only home at night.
It’s early when I leave for work;
When I return, it’s late.
Unknown to me is my own flesh,
Unknown is my child’s face.
When I come home so wearily
In the darkness after day,
My pale wife exclaims to me,
“You should have seen our child play.”
I stand beside his little bed;
I look and try to hear,
In his dream he moves his lips:
“Why isn’t Papa here?”
