5 Invaluable Ways to Protect Your Energy

Modern life is extremely busy. Never before has the full weight of the world—its people, problems, and pressures—been so acutely felt by the individual. Everything seems to be vying for your energy and time. In fact, it's so normalized you might not always know why you feel mentally drained or fatigued. But "energy" is a broad spectrum.

Though crucial for health, quality sleep and healthy food aren’t always enough. Here at Envol, we believe your energy is precious and worth protecting, so we've provided you with 5 useful ways to keep those energy reserves stocked up.

How to Protect your Energy

1. Establish clear boundaries

2. Manage your screen time

3. Limit your social media use

4. Use RAIN to respond rather than react

5. Ensure you get enough mental rest

1. Establish clear boundaries

If you’re naturally empathetic and often find yourself in a caregiving role, people may end up asking too much of you. Do friends and family flock to you whenever they need help or advice? Perhaps you feel obligated to answer your mobile phone whenever it rings?

Your needs are just as important as the people seeking your help and friendship. “Compassion Fatigue” is very common among those who have difficulty resisting the urge to help others, even when it can be detrimental to their own wellbeing.

Though it may be difficult at first, it's important you set boundaries. Be honest—calmly communicate that you need time to rest and recharge. Sometimes you may need to explain that they need to learn to take better care of themselves rather than constantly relying on you. There is a possibility not everyone will take this well, but rest assured you are doing the right thing for yourself.

It's extremely important, especially if you've have been through a lot and your energy is precious, to be mindful of who you allow into your space. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup.

2. Manage your screen time

The light your phone and laptop screens emit is called “blue light”. Exposure to too much blue light is associated with a host of health issues, most notably how it affects your circadian rhythm (the natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle). The reason for this is that blue light signals your body to wake up when it should be winding down. This can result in difficulty getting to sleep, and even contribute to insomnia.

Getting good sleep is essential for regulating your energy levels, so we recommend abstaining from phone use after it begins to get dark. If you have to use screens, you can wear some blue-light blocking glasses or download software like f.lux that adjusts your computer screen to match the light of the room you're in. Ensuring you avoid blue light after-dark can dramatically improve your sleep, and keep those energy levels high.

3. Limit your social media use

When it comes to technology, it’s not just blue light that can negatively impact your energy—social media can too. A 2020 study revealed that social media fatigue correlated with lower academic performance in students.

What’s more, being addicted to social media can get you caught in the “dopamine loop”: a cycle of motivation, reward, and reinforcement that gets you seeking, looking, and craving that feeling of reward. This can negatively affect how motivated you feel to do other things, and result in feelings of low mood and energy.

It’s unrealistic to advise you never to use social media, but try to limit your usage. When you notice yourself mindlessly scrolling, or checking it every 10 minutes, it’s probably time to take a much-needed break.

4. Use RAIN to respond rather than react

Stressful, high-pressure situations can be overwhelming and result in us being reactive. How often have we said things we’ve regretted in the middle of a heated argument? Reactivity can end up draining our energy and cause more stress.

This is where RAIN can help.

Description of mindfulness practice, RAIN

First coined roughly 20 years ago by Michele McDonald, the acronym RAIN is an easy-to-remember mindfulness tool that will help you protect your energy. The four steps are:

R. Recognize what is going on.

Consciously acknowledge the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affecting you in any given moment.

A. Allow the experience to be there, just as it is.

Rather than judging, or focusing your attention elsewhere, let the thoughts, feelings, emotions, or sensations simply be there.

I. Investigate with kindness.

Your unconscious beliefs may mask the truth of what you feel, but by investigating your present experience with kindness you can attempt to understand what led to how you’re feeling. You can simply ask, “what is happening inside of me? What needs my attention?”

N. Natural loving awareness.

By not identifying with the conditioned beliefs or feelings that arise within you, you can intuit from a place of openness and love. This is where you can rest in natural awareness. As Tara Brach says, the last part of RAIN is “a liberating homecoming to our true nature.”

Like learning to embrace the droplets of water falling on your head, RAIN can help you not wear yourself out by pushing against the natural flow of feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Remembering to practice RAIN in tough situations can help prevent reactivity from snowballing, improve your ability to handle stress, and keep your energy protected.

5. Ensure you get enough mental rest

There's a good reason mental rest is one of Envol's core nourishments. While we often hear a lot about how essential a good night's sleep is, the importance of mental rest is often underappreciated. Today, more than any other time in history, our minds are subjected to constant stimulation. The issue is that we've become so used to our technologically-infused lives, people confuse proper mental rest with scrolling on their phones.

As we've already pointed out, the science is more than clear that this is far from case. Recommending more research be conducted on waking rest, the authors of this 2019 study put it succinctly:

"In our fast-paced society, there is always something keeping us perpetually in “go” mode. This constant state of activity may be playing a major role in the mental health and sleep problems within our country."

Along with sleep, exercise, and nutrition, mental rest may be the fourth piece in the puzzle behind good health and energy levels. Mental rest, or "waking rest" is initiated by relaxing and letting thoughts arise without forcing any idea or direction. You should either be inactive or perform a low-energy or repetitive activity that doesn't require focused thought to perform (e.g. doing the dishes, walking the dog, or folding laundry).

Innumerable studies have revealed the many health benefits of mental rest. Psychologist K. Anders Ericsson has spent over 30 years studying how people reach the highest levels of expertise. He concluded that most can push themselves beyond their current limits for only an hour without rest; that high achievers from multiple disciplines—sports, music, writing—rarely practice over four hours per day on average. Ericsson found that proper rest is an essential component of self-improvement and protecting your energy:

"Unless the daily levels of practice are restricted, such that subsequent rest and nighttime sleep allow the individuals to restore their equilibrium individuals often encounter overtraining injuries and, eventually, incapacitating 'burnout'."

So, no matter how pressing something may seem, always ensure you take some time out for yourself. Whether that's sitting in the garden, going for a walk in nature, or doing a low-energy chore. And if you feel bored don't fret—this Ted Talk shows, boredom can actually be an effective catalyst for creativity! So not only is mental rest a great way to protect your energy, it could lead to some of your most awe-inspiring ideas.

Closing Thoughts

Your energy is invaluable, which is why we're committed to helping you preserve and care for it. From goal-specific recommendations, to filling in your daily nourishments, to our amazing 3D Sound Journey's and Meditations, the Envol app has the perfect tools to help you protect your energy. What's more, the four-week study we conducted saw users experience a significant increase in energy levels.

We're confident that by using the app, as well as the above methods, you can help engender a more centred, energetic, and happier you. Ultimately, we believe that safeguarding your energy will give you the power to move mountains!