Workplace fatigue busters: don't let your job drain your energy—or diminish your workouts

Lisa Alcalay Klug

Here's the first truth about your job: It's work. Love it or hate it, it's work. Write with a pen or pound with a hammer, it's work. Get paid a lot or get paid a little, it's still work.

Which brings up the second truth about your job: It's tiring. Spend eight hours or more doing anything, and it's bound to exhaust you. You're concentrating, managing conflict. And you're away from hearth and home.

All work and no play makes you more than a dull boy. Work exhaustion, in fact, causes serious damage when continued unchecked. "Some men pursue the almighty dollar at all costs, spending their health to gain wealth," says clinical psychologist Dan Baker, Ph.D., director of Canyon Ranch Life Enhancement Center in Tucson, Ariz. "Then they try to use their wealth to regain their health. That's a much tougher proposition."

In addition to draining your health, job fatigue taxes your workouts--keeping you from performing at your best whether you're lifting weights or running your favorite trail.

One way to fight back is to drink plenty of water, eat a well-balanced diet and get sufficient sleep. But it takes a lot more to put the oompf back into your day. To tackle this challenge, we've put together a holistic plan, addressing everything from head to heart. Within a number of weeks--if not hours--you should notice huge energy gains.

SCHEDULE A MENTAL TUNE-UP

The greatest influence on workday fatigue is your mental attitude. "The mind itself can create a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven," Baker says. Deadlines, performance pressure, competition for promotion, even the economy, get "into our heads and ultimately affect our bodies. The body never questions the brain: `Could you be exaggerating?' If the brain says you're in a combat zone, that's exactly how the body reacts." When the body senses danger, it releases great amounts of the opposing fight and flight hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which play havoc on muscle tension and mental concentration, and can even cause fat deposition. "When you're overdosed with these two hormones, you're assaulting your body," Baker explains.

If you often feel under siege at work, imagine your dream job and devise ways to actualize it. In the meantime, undergo a mental tune-up. "Focus on what's right about your work and try to build from there," says Baker. And watch the language you use. Does it create energy or take it away? Do you tend to say "I must" or "I can't" instead of "I choose" or "I get to"? "With constructive language, you can take on difficult opposition and become more resilient," Baker says.

DO YOUR BODY GOOD

If you experience severe slumps, ask your physician to test for low blood sugar or adrenal or thyroid insufficiency. Continued stress on your adrenals--from job pressures and a diet low in protein and high in caffeine, sugar and carbs--leads to a biochemical cascade that, when triggered many times a day for several years, can worsen a variety of conditions. According to The Canyon Ranch Guide to Living Younger Longer, written by the staff of Canyon Ranch Health Resorts (www.canyonranch.com), these include depression, headaches, musculoskeletal problems, anxiety, skin disorders, poor concentration, digestive troubles, infertility and a diminished sex drive.

A traditional M.D. would typically prescribe pharmaceuticals, something like hydrocortisone, but these carry the risk of side effects that may be more severe than the original afflictions. To rebalance adrenal levels, holistic practitioners (who emphasize natural remedies) prescribe capsules containing actual hormones, glandular extracts or a combination of vitamin C, pantothenic acid ([B.sub.5]), zinc, licorice root and ginseng. But supplements are only a quick fix, says Richard Kitaeff, N.D., L.Ac., a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist in Edmonds, Wash. A lasting solution requires a commitment to wellness.

PLAN FOR FUN

You can cultivate creativity, motivation and sustained energy by "planning your fun and relaxation when planning your work," says Ann McGee-Cooper, Ed.D., author of You Don't Have to Go Home From Work Exhausted. "It's just as important to have a well-thought-out plan to reenergize as it is to fulfill your work commitments."

McGee-Cooper's strategy, which has been tested by NASCAR drivers, includes these precepts:

* Exercise both sides of your brain by regularly switching gears. After performing a task that demands concentration and accuracy, read a humor column or jump rope (or toss around a football, as some MEN'S FITNESS staffers are prone to do). After brainstorming, illustrating, writing, teaching or performing similar creative activities, switch to filing, unpacking your briefcase or other zoning-out tasks.

* Take five- to 15-minute breaks to plan a new workout, schedule a date or plan a getaway.

* After long meetings, take 10 minutes to center yourself and relieve stress through "imaging." Picture yourself succeeding at a challenging task or at your ideal job. Shed the negative self-talk and self-criticism. Instead, focus on how you contributed new ideas to the meeting, took informative notes or listened well.

* After working alone, talk, laugh and interact with others for an instant lift.

* Stake out a minimum 30-minute mini-vacation each evening and a few hours on weekends.

* Recapture the thrill of an engrossing hobby--perhaps a childhood favorite--in which you lose track of time. Research shows this boosts immune-building endorphins that raise your mood.

JAZZ UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT

If your job causes back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome or any other physical ailment, correct the situation ASAP. Good lighting and functional work furniture are energy essentials. "Environment has a major impact on personal and team energy," McGee-Cooper says. "A well-designed workspace can increase energy and productivity as much as 20 to 45 percent."

Research shows that when factories introduce color and artwork, a significant increase in morale, productivity and teamwork follow. McGee-Cooper designed her Dallas headquarters as a three-story treehouse perched over four fishponds and three waterfalls as a way to inspire staff and clients. You may not be able (or want) to duplicate a scene from The Swiss Family Robinson, but you can add imagination to your work environment. Extroverts often prefer red and bright colors, while introverts opt for muted hues, such as blues and violets. "It's important to tune into which colors energize and soothe you and find ways to bring these into your work and living space," McGee-Cooper says.

REJUVENATE WITH A MINI-ESCAPE

Recharge your energy stores with brief on-the-job rejuvenation sessions.

* Relieve muscle tension and pain with standing stretches. (1) Clasp hands and reach your arms straight ahead with palms facing away from each other. Then reach above. Bend your elbows and hold your clasped hands behind your head. (2) In a lunge position, rest your forehead on crossed forearms against a wall. For more ideas as well as instructive software, visit www.shelterpub.com.

* Escape your computer screen, says retired optometrist Harold Friedman, O.D., former chief of the Visual Rehabilitation Service at the State University of New York's College of Optometry. Every hour, look out the window or simply glance across the room for a minute or two. Then close your eyes and relax.

* Inhale, imagining filling your body with air from your belly on up, says internist and holistic physician Carrie Demers, M.D., of the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Penn. Let your belly rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.

* Meditate for seven minutes. Sit comfortably with your feet solidly on the ground. Count each inhalation and exhalation as one cycle: one ... two ... three. Then repeat. Don't worry about achieving deep relaxation, writes Herbert Benson, president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and author of the classic Relaxation Response. "When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling on them, and return to saying `One.'"

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group