A Healthy Look At Sex & Romance ಮಾದರಿ

ENERGY 

If you consider yourself to be a product of Western culture, you live, breathe, and work in the fast lane. Hurry, impatience, and tenseness throughout the day results in couples who end their evenings with unfulfilled intimate moments. “Not tonight,” isn’t just coming from wives; I increasingly see men in my practice whose exhaustion creates a void in their physical and emotional issues that thwart any inkling of connection. We hold monthly health workshops and attendance always is at capacity when the topic includes fatigue, sleep, or energy. Who is in the mood to spend your life with someone who always responds, “I’m tired.”? 

To begin each day, it’s common to ask God for strength, and that might be the “strength” of energy. In Philippians, we often hear and believe in the Scripture that says, “We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.” But, should we be doing all things? 

I am acutely aware when my body is at the point of exhaustion, but sometimes Deb and I aren’t immune either. Recently I arrived home from work tired and all I wanted to do was sit. Deb gave me a look and said, “Are you up for it?” I honestly didn’t hear her but continued the conversation about how tired I was. Later on, after a short bike ride together, I got a second wind and was feeling a little frisky, but now she was beginning her bedtime routine. She said, “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I wanted to, but you were tired.” Gentlemen, when your wife asks you the first time, engage her!

There are several causes of fatigue and one of the most common today is overcommitment to people, projects, and other unimportant activities. As life goes on, you realize there’s only so much one person can accomplish, and giving yourself an unrealistic “To-Do List” or “Honey-Do” (we know those exist!), is not only physically tiring, it’s also emotionally exhausting. 

I wholeheartedly do my best to live out daily when Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” I want to live out that abundant life, and this is what I have committed to; and what I want you to commit to as well: 

Move: I’m sure you have heard the first two letters when you spell God is “Go.” Exercise increases blood flow, strengthens the heart muscle, and promotes peaceful sleep. It also supports lymphatic flow by moving lymph fluid. This system doesn’t have a pump like the circulatory system, rather, it relies on normal movement of daily activities to push the lymph around. Increased movement during exercise pushes lymph fluid through the body more rapidly, which keeps this disease-fighting system working at peak performance by eliminating toxins.

Rest: The opposite of “Go” would be to STOP. And God mandates one day of rest from us each week. Proper sleep habits are also mandatory to maintain high energy levels. Most people need an average of eight hours of restful sleep each night. Of course, this number varies from person to person. A wholly-rested person can go to bed when they begin to feel tired and then sleep without waking through the night, capped off by waking up without the aid of an alarm clock. You should allow your body to set your bed and wake time (as your job and family allow, of course). Cortisol, which is secreted by your adrenal glands, tend to have their highest levels in the morning and are responsible for waking you up. They continue to drop during the day, eventually signaling you to go to sleep. You should rely on these hormonal cues to determine your sleep and waking times. For more people, this translates to a bedtime around 10 pm. Plan your children’s bedtimes early enough that you will still have some quiet time for “connecting” before the two of you get to bed.

Taking these steps to increase your energy will make you and your spouse happier - and will bring renewed joy in your relationship with God!