Energy Management
By: Joseph Gibbons and Jamie Bussin
Are you tired? More tired than you think you should be? You’re probably like most other Canadians, struggling to maintain their energy levels, according to Joseph Gibbons. He’s an Ontario-based professor, exercise physiologist, health and lifestyle coach and mental health first aid instructor with twenty years of experience. On Episode #293 of The Tonic Talk Show/Podcast we explored the tiredness phenomenon and ways to break our patterns and get some blessed rest.
Joseph noted that his health was deteriorating, which was confusing to him, as he’d been working in the health and wellness industry for years, and following best practices with respect to diet, exercise and even sleep. As a researcher at Humber College he decided to look into the causes of his fatigue and brain fog. “It took me years to figure out the one thing that I was missing,” says Joseph, “and that was rest.”
He viewed his body as “an endless well” that could be drawn upon. But he came to understand that his ‘Achilles Heel’ was his addiction to work. And so his research focused on how to continue to support his overworking lifestyle. However, it wasn’t until he focused on rest that all the other things that he was doing (nutrition, exercise, sleep etc.) improved his condition towards optimal health.
What rest entails is different for everybody. It could mean proper sleep hygiene, or attempting to reduce inflammation. But it might also mean taking a rest/mental health day every now and then. The ultimate goal is sustainability. However, the primary issue of fatigue, according to Joseph, is complex: interrelated to many aspects of our daily lives and impacting our ability to take in proper nutrition, exercise, and ironically, even to sleep.
Everyone’s optimal health is different, edified by one’s goals, which is where Joseph’s new book, Discovering Optimal, starts. Together with optimizing energy, determining what you want from your life, is a crucial first step. But despite our differences there are impediments that impact all our respective abilities to energize. In terms of a starting point, Joseph suggests starting with the basics. “I would first look at what you’re eating — the fuel that people are putting in their bodies.I would also look at your sleep. And when I work with people, one on one, I have them go to their doctor and get a blood count to determine if there are any deficiencies and the source of their lack of energy.”
The key takeaway he hopes people take from his book? Progress equals happiness. There is a path to more happiness, more energy and more fulfillment in life. There is a systemic approach to attaining more energy.
For more information about Joseph Gibbons and his new book Discovering Optimal please visit www.discoveringoptimal.com
