Have you ever noticed it takes you a couple of days to recover from a stressful event or overexertion?
A 48-hour recovery period is something you commonly hear about from people withfibromyalgiaandchronic fatigue syndrome.
What we do know about this recovery period is that we’re stuck with it.
fizkes / Getty Images
It can be a real problem for people who work or go to school full time.
It’s not pretty.
Who hasn’t been there?
Halfway through the week, you have to deal with some kind of crisis that gets your adrenaline pumping.
Now you have more to recover from.
Symptoms of Post-Exertional Malaise
Any of our symptoms can flare up after a stressful or strenuous event.
For instance, don’t do anything for the two days after a major holiday.
When possible, schedule time off after big events you know are coming.
Taking more breaks may also prevent you from needing as much recovery time.
Order groceries online rather than trying to shop near the end of your workweek.
Can someone else get your kids to soccer?
Can your kids help more around the house?
What jobs can you delegate to someone else?
Call in the reinforcements.
Get Rest Before Events
You may also benefit from getting extra rest before a big event.
Pace Yourself
Life doesn’t always work out how we want.
When that’s your reality, it becomes all aboutpacing yourselfso you might keep moving forward.
Be Patient With Yourself
Also, learn to be patient with yourself.
At times, you’re like a car that runs out of gas but keeps going anyway.
He/she may have ideas about treatments or lifestyle changes that might be able to help you.
You may also benefit, in general, by building better habits when it comes tosleepand yourdiet.
Ibble JJ, McGrath SJ, Ponting CP.Genetic risk factors of ME/CFS: a critical review.Human Molecular Genetics.
2018 Jun;13(6):1-18. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0197811
