Which Routine is Best For You?

Hi there and welcome back!

Hooray for August, the height of summer! Now is the time for relaxing and taking it easy, getting outside and perhaps going on holiday. 

Because of the relative freedom from your usual routines, it’s also the perfect time to take stock of your natural cycles of mental and physical energy—when you’re most alert and when you’re sleepiest, when you’re most energetic and when you feel like taking it easier.

Because humans are so adaptable, we can fit into whatever schedule is required of us. However, if our routine doesn’t match our natural sleep/wake cycles, this can be stressful, so it’s worth taking the time to consider how you’re feeling at different times of day. You’ll be tuning into what researchers variously call your ‘circadian rhythm’ or your ‘chronotype’, and doing so will help you maximise efficiency when autumn arrives and most of us have to take on a schedule that’s regulated more by others (work hours, school run times, etc.) than by ourselves. 

For some it will be fairly obvious whether you’re a morning or an evening person. But if you’re not sure, there are a number of quizzes you can take online. You may be classified as a lark (morning person), owl (better later in the day) or hummingbird (a mixture of the two); or even a lion (morning person), wolf (evening person), bear (best during the late morning/early afternoon), or dolphin (very sensitive and easily wakeful, with less predictable energy levels). My favourite is the Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire on www.sleepsurge.com because it’s easy but thorough, and you will be told straight away whether you’re at your best during the early or the latter part of the day. Furthermore, the questions suggest the best times for you to engage in mental vs. physical challenges. 

Although you may not be able to change some of your commitment times—when you need to be in the office, for example—knowing when your energy peaks and ebbs means you’ll know the best times to schedule your workouts, take on mental challenges, and go to bed and get up each day.

In my next post I’ll help you use what you’ve learned to frame your day to your best advantage once we all head back to work and/or education. Until then, enjoy the sunshine!

Linda