Feeling tired? Me too.
This is a huge time of mystery for all of us right now. I’ve seen a lot of talk online about new exercise programs to begin during this social distancing period. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but now is not the time to start a rigorous new program! What is happening in our world is stressful. There are a lot of unknowns. If you’re feeling more tired right now too, that is 100% normal. The entire world is stressed out and we have been for weeks. This is chronic stress, and chronic stress makes us tired. Science even says so.
Hear me out.
We have heard time and time again that exercise is good for your immune system. But what does that even mean?
It’s not exactly what you might be thinking. Exercise does not suddenly give you superpowers and virus-smashing T-cells and macrophages— as much as I’d love for that to happen. Exercise can do many great things for you, it’s why I’m in the field! But here’s the catch—a new, vigorous exercise program can dampen your immune response. Studies suggest that exercise is beneficial to your immune response in moderate doses. High-intensity exercise can place our bodies in a state of stress. Good stress, yes, but it could hold the potential to increase our susceptibility for illness.
The Water Glass Theory
The best way I can describe this theory is to have you imagine your energy for each day like a glass of water:
In terms of energy expenditure, it costs us a lot of energy (or calories) each day for our bodies to keep our brains working, our lungs breathing, and our blood circulating. This is called our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). If we do nothing but breathe and think all day, we would expend, on average, 1,400 calories for an adult woman, and 1,800 calories for an adult man. This means that just to survive at the most basic level, we need about 3/4 of our cup of water every day.
Movement then expends more of that energy. Even the simple things like getting up from the couch, preparing a meal, or walking to the mailbox expends extra energy. In regard to exercise, the more vigorous the exercise, the more water gets drained from our glass. An immune response to fight against an illness, such as proliferating more lymphocytes, requires energy from your body. We want to make sure we have enough water in our glass for those things too.
What does this all mean?
Your body is experiencing a stressful situation. You may already feel more tired because of it. Here’s a few simple things you can do to help your body get through this thing:
Mild to Moderate Exercise. Save the vigorous stuff for when this is all over. If you’ve always been a tough trainer, keep up your regular routine but don’t add anything new or extra challenging to it yet.
Feed your body well. Eat nutritionally dense foods. Find a well-balanced diet that works well for you. Give your body the best chance it has at having a full glass of water every day.
Rest when you are tired. If you feel more tired than usual, rest. This is a totally normal response to a stressful situation. There is nothing wrong with that.
Engage in gentle movement. If you’re interested in introducing gentle exercise into your new routine, fill out the form below to join my weekly email with gentle exercises for each week.
I hope you all are saving safe and healthy. Be gentle with yourselves.
xo,
Julie Ann