Energy and Pacing : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

It’s important to get the right balance between school or college, socialising and resting. Your nurse, therapist or doctor may refer to this as pacing.

Make a list of the things you want to complete during the day or over the week and planning will help you to achieve these.

Forget about non-essential activities and concentrate on the most important ones to ensure that you have enough energy left for activities you enjoy.

Choose the activities that are important to you e.g. friends, school, work, exercise, hobbies & interests
Find your baseline and make it your starting point. For most people a baseline is what they can do comfortably on most days
Prioritise which activity you want to work on first
Break the activity into mini steps – How long might each step take? What does it involve? (e.g. concentration, physical exertion etc.)
Plan the steps—who is involved, who can help, what do I need, when do I need to do it, who can I talk to?
Plan how you build in regular rest breaks so you don’t feel tired or experience more pain
Don’t race - even if it means stopping in the middle of a task
Mix it up e.g. change between other activities like handwriting and typing or standing and sitting

Find a routine that works for you
Pacing is something that you should do on both good and bad days
Allow yourself plenty of time to do activities
Take regular breaks
If it’s not working, change it – try new ways of doings things
Try to avoid added stress and deal with any worries
Plan your sleep routine around school and daily life
Relax, breathe deeply
Avoid big bursts of activity
It’s ok to ask for help

“Having arthritis has meant that there are times when I can't keep up with what everyone else seems to be doing or can't do some of the things I want to do. But I try not to let this get me down and instead work on different ways of doing the things I want to do - it might take me more time than others and I may need to pace myself but it’s made me so much more adaptable and taught me to listen to my body and the way it wants to do things. Everyone does things differently and it's so important to decide what works for you.”

Ellen, diagnosed with JIA aged 18 months

Direct tel: 020 3447 9215

Switchboard: 020 3456 7890

University College London Hospital Adolescent Rheumatology Clinic Rheumatology Department
3rd Floor, 250 Euston Road London NW1 2PQ

Email: uclh.rheumatology@nhs.net

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