FINDING COMFORT & PURPOSE ON LOW-ENERGY DAYS

November 17, 2025
|In Lifestyle & Coping, Living with Aspergillosis
|By GAtherton

A Gentle, Resource-Rich Handbook for Aspergillosis, Asthma, Bronchiectasis & COPD Patients

Many people living with aspergillosis (ABPA/CPA), asthma, bronchiectasis and COPD experience unpredictable energy levels, breathlessness, coughing, pain, flare-ups, treatment effects and fatigue.
On these days, large tasks feel impossible — but gentle activities can still offer comfort, focus, pleasure and calm.

This handbook brings together low-energy, low-breathing-demand hobbies and micro-activities, with recommended resources for every ability and symptom level.

Table of Contents

1. Understanding Fluctuating Energy & Breathlessness

Living with lung disease means your available energy changes daily. You may move between:

  • Good days (stable breathing, clearer head)

  • Medium days (ok but fragile)

  • Bad days (breathless, fatigued, flaring, coughing)

This is normal.

Helpful Resources

  • The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino

  • The Energy Envelope approach – ME Association

  • NHS Lothian – “Managing Breathlessness”

  • NAC Facebook Community – patient-to-patient pacing strategies

2. Creative Hobbies (All low-energy & breath-friendly)

Creativity calms the mind without increasing breathlessness. Most activities below can be done sitting or reclining.

🎨 Watercolour Painting

Why it helps: slow movements, calming colours, short bursts (5–10 min), easy to pause.

Beginner Tutorials (YouTube)

  • Sarah Burns Studio – gentle landscapes

  • Steven Cronin – skies & mist

  • Watercolor Misfit – textures, blending

  • Liron Yanconsky – excellent for beginners

Materials

  • 100% cotton paper: Etchr, Saunders Waterford, Arches

  • Paints: Winsor & Newton Cotman, Daniel Smith

  • Brushes: Da Vinci / Escoda size 6–8 round + 1″ flat

✏️ Drawing & Colouring

Resources

  • Colouring apps: Lake, Pigment, Happy Color

  • Colouring books: Johanna Basford, Millie Marotta

  • Drawing tutorials: Draw With Shiba, Art for Kids Hub

Materials

  • Staedtler Noris pencils

  • Faber-Castell Polychromos

  • Smooth sketchpad

  • Sakura Micron pens

💻 Digital Art

Apps

  • Procreate / Procreate Pocket

  • Ibis Paint X

  • Sketchbook (free)

Tutorials

  • Bardot Brush (digital watercolour)

  • Stayf Draws

  • Genevieve’s Design Studio

🧵 Crafts (very low breath demand)

Knitting, crochet, loom bands, origami, scrapbooking.

Tutorials

  • Bella Coco Crochet

  • VeryPink Knits

  • Jo Nakashima (origami)

Beginner Kits

  • Hobbycraft

  • Etsy

  • The Works

📝 Writing, Journalling, Story Snippets

Apps

  • Day One

  • Penzu

  • Bear Notes

  • Gratitude App

Prompt Sources

  • Pinterest: “Journal prompts chronic illness”

  • Reddit r/Journaling

3. Music, Singing & Breath-Friendly Voice Work

Music is deeply calming and very compatible with breathlessness.

🎧 Listening to Music

Playlists (Spotify)

  • Peaceful Piano

  • Lo-Fi Beats

  • Deep Focus

  • Calming Acoustic

  • Rain Sounds / Ocean Waves

YouTube Channels

  • Ambient World

  • Nature Healing Society

  • Lofi Girl

🎤 Gentle Singing (VERY breath-friendly)

Guided Sessions

  • Singing for Lung Health – British Lung Foundation

  • Sidcot Singing for Breathing (YouTube)

  • Breath-Supported Vocal Warmups – Carolyn Grace Music

Why it’s helpful

  • controls exhale

  • relaxes throat

  • reduces panic around breathlessness

😌 Humming

One of the most effective breathing tools:

  • lengthens exhale

  • improves nasal airflow

  • calms upper airway

  • reduces anxiety

🎶 Breathing With Music

Apps:

  • Calm

  • Breathing Zone

  • Insight Timer: “Breathing With Music” tracks

🎹 Easy Instruments

  • Kalimba

  • Tongue/Handpan drum

  • Small keyboard

  • Tablet piano apps: FlowKey, Simply Piano, Yousician

🫁 Singing for Lung Health Groups

Available through:

  • British Lung Foundation

  • Local NHS respiratory teams

  • Online Zoom groups (search “singing for breathing UK”)

  • NAC Facebook events

4. Gentle Movement (Breath-aware & low strain)

🪑 Chair-Based Stretching

Videos

  • NHS Sitting Exercises

  • BLF Chair Exercises

  • Jenny Wren Chair Yoga

  • HasFit Senior Chair Workouts

🛏️ Bed-Based Mini Yoga

Videos

  • Yoga With Adriene (Gentle series, Bedtime)

  • Gentle Yoga for Chronic Illness

  • Sleepy Slow Stretching

🏥 Pulmonary Rehab Mini Exercises

  • NHS PR worksheets

  • BLF Pulmonary Rehab Home Sessions

  • “Living Well With Breathlessness” (NHS Ayrshire)

🥋 Seated Tai Chi / Qigong

Videos

  • Dr Paul Lam – Tai Chi for Health

  • Qigong With Mimi Kuo-Deemer

  • Tai Chi for Seniors (seated)

5. Quiet Mind–Body Practices

🫁 Breathing Techniques

Resources

  • NHS Breathlessness Support

  • BLF Breathing Control

  • 4-7-8 Breathing (guided)

  • Apps: Breathe2Relax, Breathing Zone, Oak

🧘 Guided Relaxation

Apps

  • Calm

  • Headspace

  • Insight Timer

  • Aura

YouTube

  • Michael Sealey

  • The Honest Guys

  • Guided Sleep Meditation channels

🌿 Sensory Grounding

Tools:

  • lavender/chamomile inhaler stick

  • warm mug

  • textured blanket

  • grounding cards (“5-4-3-2-1”)

**6. Low-Effort Cognitive Hobbies

(DAILY PUZZLES, JIGSAWS & BRAIN GAMES)**

Cognitive activities are perfect for breathless or fatigued days because they require almost no physical energy.

🧩 Daily Puzzle Sites

New York Times Games

  • Wordle

  • Connections

  • Mini Crossword

  • Spelling Bee

  • Letter Boxed

Others

  • Guardian Puzzles

  • Telegraph Puzzles

  • BBC Puzzle Hub

  • Washington Post Crosswords

  • AARP Games (gentle)

📱 Puzzle Apps (by energy level)

Very Low Energy

  • Zen Match

  • Tiles

  • Color Sort

  • Simple digital jigsaws

  • Solitaire

Medium Energy

  • Flow Free

  • Nonograms (easy mode)

  • Wordscapes

  • Easy Sudoku

  • NYT Mini Crossword

High Energy

  • NYT Crossword

  • Good Sudoku

  • Lumosity

  • Elevate

  • Brilliant.org

🧠 Tiny “Brain Snacks” (1–2 minutes)

  • Brainful

  • Left vs Right

  • Peak (1-minute games)

  • Picture matching

  • Memory card apps

🧩 Jigsaws

Digital Jigsaws

  • Ravensburger Puzzle App

  • Microsoft Jigsaw

  • Magic Jigsaw

  • Jigidy

Physical Jigsaws

  • 100–500 pieces (fatigue-friendly)

  • 1000+ pieces for long-term projects

  • Use a puzzle roll mat

⭐ Puzzle Difficulty Ladder

(To match breathing & fatigue level)

Level 1 — very low energy / flare

Matching games, colour sort, easy jigsaws, Wordle

Level 2 — low energy, stable

Word searches, Flow Free, easy Sudoku, Mini Crossword

Level 3 — medium

Connections, Spelling Bee, medium Sudoku, trivia

Level 4 — good day

Cryptic crosswords, hard Sudoku, logic puzzles, Brilliant.org

7. Social Connection (without exhaustion)

Low-Effort Options

  • WhatsApp voice notes

  • NAC Facebook & Telegram groups

  • “Photo-a-day” messages

  • 5-minute video chats

  • Online craft or puzzle groups

Apps

  • Telegram

  • WhatsApp

  • Discord “chill lounge” servers

  • Facebook Messenger Lite

8. Good / Medium / Bad Day Plans

Good Day

  • 1 creative hobby

  • 1 gentle movement

  • some music

  • small social contact

Medium Day

  • 1 light creative or cognitive activity

  • breathing practice

  • sensory grounding

Bad Day

  • full rest

  • breathing support

  • soft music

  • low-sensory comfort

9. When Rest Is the Right Choice

Good rest-day resources

  • Calm Sleep Stories

  • BBC Sounds (audiobooks, drama)

  • Bob Ross – The Joy of Painting

  • Nature documentaries (slow paced)

  • Gentle ASMR channels

  • Ambient rain / ocean playlists

10. Final Thoughts

Your worth is not measured by productivity.
On low-energy days, you deserve calm, comfort, connection and kindness toward yourself.

This handbook gives you choices — not obligations.
Pick whatever feels gentle today, and leave the rest for tomorrow.

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