Strategic rest tips for an active MG life

My craziest move with myasthenia gravis (MG) was becoming an entrepreneur. I thought working for myself meant freedom with my schedule, workload, and time. Little did I know I was running away from a 9-to-5 into a 24-hour, nonstop work schedule. My MG definitely did not like the result, simply because I had no more access to rest, and I just got exhausted 24/7.

Over time, I developed a whole pack of life hacks — my own strategic rest tips for MG  — to stay active without constantly paying for it with exhaustion. The biggest one? I stopped waiting until I needed to rest and started resting strategically.

Why strategic rest is essential

Amid a flare-up, working is simply not an option when you feel wiped out. That’s why managing myasthenia gravis fatigue matters so much to me: Exhaustion doesn’t only affect my body. It affects my mental health, relationships, and ability to make good decisions.

I care about staying active with myasthenia gravis, and I am still a huge fan of pushing my limits and gently challenging my body, but I have learned that anticipating fatigue is one of the best ways to live actively with MG.

Energy conservation in MG isn’t just about having more energy available. It is also about lowering the cost of doing something. Cooking a meal when exhausted takes significantly more out of me than cooking the same meal when my energy is good. The task hasn’t changed — the energy cost my body has to pay is higher.

Planning proactive rest breaks

When you rest changes how you recover.

Resting before you reach your limit can be a short pause. Resting after you’ve completely crashed can mean losing an entire day, or, in my case, sometimes an entire week.

I learned this the hard way after a crazy night hike. I pushed myself too far and barely enjoyed the experience because I was already exhausted. Then I spent the following week mostly in bed. I ate, slept, dealt with soreness and pain, and had almost no capacity for work or anything else.

Looking back, I could have used that same time to rest before the hike, and still have had the energy to enjoy my life afterward.

That is what strategic rest means to me: resting while I still have a choice, instead of resting because my body has taken the choice away from me.

Aligning high-priority tasks with rest

Pacing daily activities with MG starts with timing. I stopped treating every hour of my day as equally valuable. Mornings are usually when I have the most control and least fatigue, so I now:

• Book demanding tasks in the morning. Driving, traveling, reaching overhead, a meal that takes real chewing, teaching, or anything requiring sustained effort gets priority early. When my schedule allows, I try to get these things done before 11 a.m.
• Choose one priority per day. I try not to schedule two demanding clients on the same day. And if I want to work out later, I avoid adding unnecessary physical activities before getting to the gym.
• Protect the days around big events. If I’ll be standing all day at an event, I won’t schedule a course to teach the next day. The same applies to the day before: I don’t want to arrive already exhausted.
• Keep my premenstrual week lighter. When my energy is likely to be lower, I leave more downtime in my schedule.
• Keep one low-activity day each week. In addition to my weekend, I try to have a day where I move very little, especially after a demanding gym day.

Most importantly, I allow myself to ask for what I need without turning it into a negotiation.

Sometimes that means moving a recurring meeting to the morning. Sometimes it means saying no to a second event in one day. Sometimes it means teaching while sitting down.

None of these things mean I am less capable. They mean I am planning around the body I actually have.

Micro-resting techniques for daily life

Strategic rest doesn’t always mean taking an afternoon off. Sometimes it means changing what you do in as little as 90 seconds.

The 90-second reset

I take a short, timed break before symptoms hit. I support my head, close my eyes, and rest for 90 seconds. Then I switch to a task that uses different muscles. The goal isn’t to disappear from my day; it’s to prevent my body from reaching the point where it forces me to disappear.

Rotating instead of stopping

I think of each muscle group as having its own battery. When one gets tired, I switch to something that uses another part of my body. If I’ve been walking for 30 minutes, I might sit down and work on my laptop while letting my legs recover. If I’ve been standing while cooking, I’ll sit down to answer emails. After a long phone call, I might switch to something that doesn’t require me to hold my head or arms in the same position.

Cooling down

Heat can make MG weakness worse, so cooling during a break can sometimes make the break more useful. I like instant cold packs — the kind athletes use that don’t need to be frozen — and a gel eye mask when my eyes are the limiting factor. I also try to avoid hot baths or sitting in a hot car before doing something demanding. The effect is temporary, so I see cooling as a tool to help me through a demanding moment, not as a way to erase fatigue. Never put ice directly on your skin; you can wrap the ice pack with a towel or apply it over your clothes, and if you have Raynaud’s or reduced sensation, check with your medical team before using cold therapy.

Real time off

Sometimes I need a break from stimulation too. Scrolling on my phone or watching TV while holding my head, arm, and neck in an uncomfortable position doesn’t always feel like real rest. When I can, I put everything down and spend some time doing absolutely nothing. No scrolling, no multitasking — just letting my body and mind reset.

Communicating your rest boundaries

One of the things I am grateful I learned early on is that I don’t need permission to rest. I just need to communicate what I am doing.

With friends, family, and clients, I have explained that sometimes my body is simply unavailable. That doesn’t mean I won’t deliver. It means I may need to change how I do something.

I use simple language:

• To a manager: “I’m going to step out for a few minutes so I can come back and stay productive.”
• To a host: “Is there somewhere I can sit for a little while? I’ll enjoy the event much more if I can give my body a break.”
• To a partner: “I’m not withdrawing from you. I need to rest my body right now, and I’ll reconnect with you afterward.”
• To a friend: “I know I seemed fine an hour ago. That’s the thing with MG: my energy can change quickly, so I need to listen to my body before it gets worse.”

And when I know an event might be difficult, I sometimes send a message beforehand:

“FYI, my MG is acting up today, so I might need to sit down or leave earlier than planned. It doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying myself. I just need to manage my energy.”

Explaining this before you are exhausted saves you from having to defend yourself when you’re already struggling because MG is exhausting enough as is!