Wood, C, Magnello, M E, Sharpe, M C · Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 1992 · DOI
This study looked at how energy and mood change throughout the day in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people. Patients with active ME/CFS had lower energy levels overall, though their energy peaked mid-morning (10 AM-12 PM) similar to healthy controls. People who had recovered from ME/CFS showed energy levels between the sick and healthy groups, and depression scores were higher in those still ill.
Understanding the daily rhythm of energy fluctuations in ME/CFS can help patients anticipate and manage their best and worst times of day, potentially improving quality of life. The findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral approaches may help patients work with their natural energy patterns, and the correlation between energy and positive mood indicates that mood interventions might have secondary benefits.
This study does not establish causation or explain the biological mechanisms underlying energy fluctuations in ME/CFS. The cross-sectional design cannot determine whether low energy causes depression or vice versa, and the findings cannot be generalized to all ME/CFS patients since participation was voluntary and the sample characteristics are not fully described. The study also does not account for post-exertional malaise or activity-triggered symptom worsening.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Wood, C, Magnello, M E, & Sharpe, M C (1992). Fluctuations in perceived energy and mood among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/014107689208500405
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-wood-1992-fluctuations-perceived-2,
author = {Wood, C and Magnello, M E and Sharpe, M C},
title = {Fluctuations in perceived energy and mood among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine},
year = {1992},
doi = {10.1177/014107689208500405},
note = {PubMed: 1290537},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wood-1992-fluctuations-perceived-2},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/wood-1992-fluctuations-perceived-2
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.