Measuring fatigue and intensity

Making your day measurable with the 0-10 scale

Why is objective measurement important?

With chronic conditions like long covid, COPD, asthma, or fibromyalgia, it’s difficult to explain how you feel. “I’m tired” could mean anything – a 3 on a bad day or an 8 on a good day? “It was a heavy day” – but how heavy exactly?

Without a way to measure consistently, it’s hard to:

Recognize patterns in your symptoms
Communicate with healthcare providers about your condition
Track progress or decline objectively
Identify triggers that make your day harder

That’s why we use a simple but effective method in Crono Care Coach: the 0-10 scale for fatigue and intensity.

What is the 0-10 scale?

The 0-10 scale is a scientifically recognized method to measure your own experience of exertion and fatigue. The principle is simple: you assign a number between 0 and 10 to how you feel. This approach was developed in the 1960s through research into how people perceive their own bodies. It turns out that people are surprisingly good at assessing how heavy something feels to them, provided they have a clear scale.

Why does 0-10 work so well?

• People understand numbers from 0-10 intuitively
• It provides enough nuance to see differences
• It’s not too complicated to use quickly
• Healthcare providers know this system universally

The two scales in Crono Care Coach

The app uses two scales to score your day.

Scale 0-10 for fatigue

0 – No fatigue at all
1 – Very light fatigue
2 – Light fatigue
3 – Moderate fatigue
4 – Somewhat heavy fatigue
5 – Heavy fatigue
6 – Heavy fatigue (but still manageable)
7 – Very heavy fatigue
8 – Very heavy fatigue (almost exhausted)
9 – Extremely heavy (near maximum fatigue)
10 – Maximum fatigue (completely exhausted)

Scale 0-10 for intensity

0 – Not perceptible
1 – Very very light
2 – Very light
3 – Fairly light
4 – Doable
5 – Somewhat severe
6 – Severe
7 – Very severe
8 – Very very severe
9 – Extremely severe
10 – Maximal

The difference between the two scales

These are two different measurements, and that’s important:

Fatigue = how you feel
Example: You feel exhausted (fatigue 8)
Intensity = what you did
Example: Your day wasn’t objectively busy (intensity 3)

Why measure both?
You can have an intensive day (score 8) but not be very tired yet (score 4) – that’s actually a good day!
Or conversely: a quiet day (intensity 2) but still exhausted (fatigue 8) – that signals something else is going on (poor sleep, getting sick, emotional stress).

By measuring both you see:

Whether you’re distributing energy well across activities
Whether other factors are at play besides just your activities
Whether your recovery is going well after rest

Practical examples

A few scenarios for how you might score a day and what it means.

Scenario 1: A good day
Intensity: 6 (busy workday, groceries, cooking)
Fatigue: 5 (quite tired but normal for such a day)
Conclusion: Good distribution, body is keeping up

Scenario 2: Warning signal

Intensity: 2 (quiet day, just some reading and TV)
Fatigue: 8 (completely exhausted)
Conclusion: Something else is going on – possibly getting sick, emotional stress, or consequence of yesterday

Scenario 3: Did too much
Intensity: 9 (very busy day with many activities)
Fatigue: 9 (completely exhausted)
Conclusion: Overdone it, need extra rest tomorrow

Scenario 4: Good recovery
Intensity: 4 (normal day)
Fatigue: 3 (slightly tired)
Conclusion: Body is recovering well, energy is there

Why this works for chronic conditions

For people with chronic conditions, objective measurement is extra valuable because:

For Long Covid:

Fatigue can increase suddenly and severely
The relationship between exertion and fatigue is disrupted (PEM)
Patterns are hard to see without consistent measurement
You learn your energy limits

For asthma/COPD:

Respiratory symptoms affect how heavy activities feel
Medication effects are measurable by comparing scores
Triggers can be identified
Communication with pulmonologist becomes more concrete

Voor fibromyalgie/NAH:

Pain and fatigue vary daily
Stress and sleep quality directly affect scores
Cognitive load becomes visible in intensity scores
Patterns are barely recognizable without measurement

From measurement to insight: Crono Care Coach

A scale is only useful if you use it consistently. Crono Care Coach makes this practical with the Score Your Day feature.

How does it work?

Every day you give two numbers:

Fatigue: How tired do you feel? (0-10)

Intensity: How heavy was your day? (0-10)

This literally takes 10 seconds, but provides valuable insights over time.

What do you discover by scoring daily?

See patterns

“I’m always extra tired on Wednesday” – perhaps because Tuesday is your busiest day?
Identify triggers
“In bad weather I consistently score higher on fatigue, even when my intensity was low”
Track recovery
“After a heavy day (intensity 8) it takes 2 days before my fatigue is normal again”
Measure medication effect
“Since new medication: same intensity, lower fatigue”
Communicate with numbers
“Last week average fatigue 7, this week 4 – things are improving”

Tips for accurate scoring

Be honest with yourself

Score how you really feel, not how you think it should be
Don’t compare with others, only with yourself
A “bad” score isn’t bad – it’s information

Use reference points

Remember what a 5 is for you, and use that as an anchor point
Score 10 is really the worst you’ve ever felt
Score 0 is rare – completely without symptoms

Score at fixed times

For example, every evening at 8:00 PM
Or just before you go to sleep
Consistency is more important than perfection

Think about the whole day

Not just how you feel now
What was your average level today?
Peaks and valleys usually average out

Score both independently

Think first: how heavy was my day? (intensity)
Then think: how tired do I feel? (fatigue)
Try not to link the scores – the difference is what’s interesting

For healthcare providers and family

The scale helps enormously with communication:

“I’m tired” → “My fatigue is a 7”
“I’m breathless” → “My breathlessness is a 6”
Show trends: “Last week average 6, this week 4”

Limitations to remember

Important to know:

It’s subjective – your 5 is different from someone else’s
It requires practice to become consistent
Daily condition can influence your perception
It’s a tool, not a diagnosis

The goal is not perfection, but insight into your own patterns.

Scientific basis

This 0-10 measurement method is based on scientifically recognized principles of subjective perception measurement, as developed by Dr. Gunnar Borg in the 1960s. The original Borg RPE® (Rate of Perceived Exertion) scale is a registered trademark of BorgPerception AB and can be found at borgperception.se.

Crono Care Coach uses an adapted 0-10 scale for fatigue and intensity, inspired by this proven methodology but not identical to the standardized Borg scales. The descriptions in this article are interpreted based on general scientific principles and practical experience.

For medical advice, always contact a healthcare provider

Measuring Fatigue and Intensity