Conserving your energy: Overview
Conserving, or saving, your energy means finding ways of doing daily activities with as little effort as possible. It involves planning tasks, choosing which ones to do first, taking your time, and resting. Saving your energy may help when you've had an illness, a surgery, or an injury. It can also help if you have a long-term (chronic) condition that makes you tired, such as COPD or heart failure.
An occupational or physical therapist can give you tips for how to position your body and move with less effort. You'll learn about using tools that make it easier to reach things or move around. Depending on your needs, your doctor may suggest other things that may help you. Pulmonary rehabilitation can teach you ways to breathe easier. And cardiac rehabilitation can help reduce your symptoms.
With some small changes in the way you do things, you might feel less tired and have more energy to do things you enjoy.
Helping someone conserve energy
Cooking dinner, putting away laundry, or even just walking across the living room can be exhausting for a person who has COPD, heart failure, or another long-term (chronic) condition.
When helping someone, be patient. And let them do as much on their own as possible.
To help someone get tasks done more easily and with as little effort as possible, encourage them to:
- Make a list of what chores to get done every day.
Group the tasks by location. This way the person can do all the chores in one part of their home at around the same time.
- Take rest breaks often.
- Sit down whenever possible while doing household tasks.
Encourage the person to sit down when bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, shaving, or putting on makeup.
Conserving energy when reaching for and grabbing items
Plan some ways to conserve your energy when you need to reach or grab something. Here are some ideas.
- Put the things you use the most onto shelves or counters that are easy to get to without bending down or reaching up.
Bending and reaching can make you tired quickly.
- Use long-handled grabbers or other tools to reach items on a high shelf or to pick up things off the floor.
- Use long-handled dusters when you clean.
©2011-2024 Healthwise, Incorporated