Is my watch draining my energy?

January 13th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

This might seem a bit strange but I have noticed over the last few months that when I wear my quartz watch I notice a discernable difference in my energy.

A few months ago, the battery on my watch went dead and I kept meaning to get the battery replaced but kept on forgetting. What I noticed, when I didn’t have the watch, was that I had more energy. I woke up more refreshed in the morning and seemed to have more energy throughout the day. As I said, I put this down to coincidence and threw it to the back of my mind. Then my wife eventually bought a battery, trust my wife to put me to shame, and I started wearing the watch again.

Within a few days my energy levels seemed to drop, I was tired and weary in the morning, I struggled to get out of bed and felt sleepier during the day. Again, the thought that the watch was causing this lethargy was dismissed as nonsense. Of course, I didn’t tell anybody about this.

Therefore, to get the thought out of my head and dismiss it altogether I decided I would try a little experiment.

For two weeks, I would record my energy levels in the morning (6am) Afternoon (1pm) and Night (9pm). The first week was when I was wearing a watch and the second week was when I wasn’t wearing a watch.

The results surprised me.

Energy levels wearing a watch

energy levels wearing a watch

Nothing much wrong with that, except looking at it now my energy levels seem pretty low. I may have been too harsh when scoring. I judged my energy levels: lethargy (how tired I was feeling), enthusiasm (how eager I was to keep working), and sharpness of mind (was I foggy or was my mind still thinking clearly).

Energy levels without wearing a watch

energy levels without wearing a watch

I was a bit shocked by this. An overall drop in energy levels over the week by about 8%. I definitely felt a difference in my energy levels.

The difference

energy levels and watches

I thought about this and thought I might have skewed the results in a number of ways;

By already noticing in the past that my energy levels were low, thereby I had sort of formed a hypothesis already in my mind. So I could have inadvertently been more energetic when I was not wearing my watch, it’s a possibility.

In the second week not wearing my watch I thought about my energy a lot more. I could have boosted my energy by simply thinking about it.

Nonetheless, it was interesting to carry out this experiment. I wonder if anybody else has seen this as well and if it might just be quartz watches. I wonder if it would be the same with a digital watch or a mechanical watch. Let me know your thoughts.

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There Are 13 Responses So Far. »

Comment by Tammy Lenski on 13 January 2008:

Hmmmm…As I read your post, I found myself wondering if it’s the watch itself or your relationship with time when you’re wearing it. Or with whatever you associate your watch…work, productivity, etc.

I know that’s true for me. When I’m not working, I choose not to wear a watch and that choice helps me feel completely free. I’m passionate about my work, and I’ve come to equally treasure my leisure time.

If you could change your thoughts about your watch, what would you change them to?

Comment by Life Reflection on 14 January 2008:

I kind of agree with Tammy on her view. When I decided not to wear a watch I realised I feel more freedom, less anxiety. Maybe watch-free means free of time limit and you can fully be in the moment.

Comment by Etavitom on 14 January 2008:

Lose the Watch! Thanks so much for the wisdom…. Brad

Comment by Matt B on 14 January 2008:

As a person with a background in both analysis ans statistics I see two potential faults that might give a false positive. First your expectations were already set. This can influence you unconsciouses thought patterns and alter your experienced levels of energy. The second problem is that the time span was very short and local factors might have gotten in the way.

All the same the result is something worth thinking about.

You can overcome these issues I raise by adding extra eliments to the test. Go a month or more with and then without and then with and then without. Over a much longer time scale expectation effects might lessen. Over the same period ask the wife to secretly keep score of her perception of your energy levels.

The two sets of data will highlight any bias and make you results very hard to dispute.

On the other hand this is a lot of fuss.

Comment by Goal Setting College on 14 January 2008:

Wow. I never knew wearing a watch had that kind of impact. Looks like I was “right” not wearing a watch since my college days.

Cheers,
Ellesse

Comment by karl Staib l Your Happiness Matters on 16 January 2008:

The level of energy that was drained from wearing a watch was probably mental. I agree with Matt’s comment. Some people might get energized from wearing a watch because they like the stress of getting on time to a meeting.

Perspective has such a huge influence on us that we sometimes get confused with what else that could be causing our energy drain.

Try switching to a fun watch like pink panther or something embarrassing like a huge calculator watch to see what happens.

Comment by Steven Aitchison on 16 January 2008:

Thanks everyone for your comments on this. As I mentioned I thought the fact that I was starting to believe. the watch was draining my energy skewed the results. you’re also right that if I think it is just keep the watch off.

I just thought it was an interesting observation to let you know about. Glad it provoked some reaction.

Comment by Matt B on 17 January 2008:

Glad to have been provoked. It was an interesting post. You never know there could be the seeds of a “scientific study” that in years to come people will point back to and say - “that blogger started it all”.

Don’t stop.

Comment by Titania on 18 January 2008:

This was a very interesting article. I have an issue with watches but it is quite strange. I cannot wear them. They break after a week or so. Just stop for no apparent reason. The longest a watch has lasted was a cheap Walmart watch. It lasted for about two months. A record.

Someone said once that it was my strong electromagnetic field. Sounds good to me. I gave up on buying watches and just ask what time it is.

Comment by Mark Anastasi on 18 January 2008:

I was amazed with the results that you’ve shown! I didn’t know that wearing watch can lower the energy level. Thanks for this great information that you share.

Comment by chiz on 8 April 2008:

Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.

“A few months ago, the battery on my watch went dead and I kept meaning to get the battery replaced but kept on forgetting. What I noticed, when I didn’t have the watch, was that I had more energy. I woke up more refreshed in the morning and seemed to have more energy throughout the day. As I said, I put this down to coincidence and threw it to the back of my mind. Then my wife eventually bought a battery, trust my wife to put me to shame, and I started wearing the watch again.”

I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.

Comment by Los Angeles Auto Insurance on 14 May 2008:

It’s really unbelievable. I personally don’t think your energy level have anything to do with the watch.

It is more likely that when you put on a watch, you will frequently look at the time and lost your concentration, hence lower your energy level.

Just my thought.