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Things you do to boost your daily energy?

#21
Hi.

As I see it, first You have to determine if this is a condition (apnea, sure sounds like it) or if it's a habit You've picked up while studying.

Conditions can be cured after a positive medical diagnose, habits are far worse, IME.

When I studied back in the day and while in armed services I used to nap whenever it was possible. As a matter of a fact I also taught that technique to some of the men who were serving in the military with me. It was really good for preserving and replenishing energy during the daily routines. I did the same when working sound, as there was usually anything between 15 to 45 minutes "idle" time between all sorts of stuff.

The sort of a problem is that it stuck. If I feel that something is not that important, and I know that I have to keep on going without much sleep during the next day or a two, I nap (shut off if You like) whenever possible. Sometimes it comes naturally, sometimes I need to push it a little bit.

Napping isn't a substitute for REM sleep, but it can get You going for several days providing the correct nourishment. If Your energy level is low for some reason, you'll fall to sleep no matter what. By correct nourishment I don't mean all these half assed "power drinks" and "power bars", which are just normal corn syrup crap with an added foul taste, but real food.

If You're sharing your food with rabbits, you're probably doing it wrong. I should know, a good friend of mine is going through hell because the "healthy vegetarian diet" he's been on for years. He doesn't have any energy either and is falling asleep all the time. He's seen several doctors and all sorts of quacks, but refuses to eat correctly.

Take care of Your body and you'll be fine.

Regards
Sam
 
#23
mike_v_s said:
Not to derail, but I can't go on a 10 minute car ride without passing out. My wife calls it car-colepsy (she's witty like that). I have intermitent issues when I drive, but I'll pull over and knock out for a few minutes if it gets bad. I've never thought this was an issue, but actually typing it makes me look like a fruitcake.
Click to expand...

It's definitely an issue. What if you get so drowsy while driving you can't pull over and have an accident.

Another good test is that when you wake up after 6-8-10 hours of sleep and still fill tired? Or after only 4 hours of sleep you feel the same as after getting 10 hours of sleep.

How about snoozing during a movie? or anywhere where you are not moving?

There are medical conditions (thyroid, diabetes, etc) and physical conditions (sleep apnea, allergies, sinusitis, etc) that may be the cause of many sleep related issues.

Long-term disturbs sleep has many serious consequences: over eating, heart problems, short-term memory loss, loss of concentration, impaired immune systems. Psychological type symptoms-panic attacks, depression and a whole bunch more bad stuff.

It may be "normal" to you but it's not acceptable due to the risks.

See the Doc as soon as possible. There are treatments.

Note: I am not a doctor, I just play one on TB. YMMV.
 
#26
I used to trip massively on energy drinks daily but still struggled to not fall asleep in class. Then I quit and started feeling better. Nowadays I still got problems with sleepiness at school but it's probably more to do with me getting around 4-5 hours of sleep every schoolnight. But I still get about 12 hours at weekends.

I need something new to keep me up. Something less damaging than energy drinks and something that isn't coffee.
 
#27
6-9 hours of sleep, good breakfast... usually eggs, toast, and some fruit. actually, lots of fruit.



around 1 pm, i usually pound a redline 7-hour power shot.


Lunch is usually around 12, i get a $5 footlong black forest ham usually... spinach, cucumbers, tomatos, bell peppers, olives, onions, and just a little bit of ranch dressing. bag of corn chips and an iced tea.


for dinner, either a can of tuna and some home made baked potato fries or the other half of the subway.



im pretty much up and ready till about 8:30, and i'll go to sleep about 10... start all over again at 6 am.
 
#28
Nolifer said:
I used to trip massively on energy drinks daily but still struggled to not fall asleep in class. Then I quit and started feeling better. Nowadays I still got problems with sleepiness at school but it's probably more to do with me getting around 4-5 hours of sleep every schoolnight. But I still get about 12 hours at weekends.

I need something new to keep me up. Something less damaging than energy drinks and something that isn't coffee.
Click to expand...

tea?
 
#29
You need a positive information field. Write "I want to believe this -> O.K." on a piece of small paper with a black pen, put it in a CD case and get a good night's sleep with the case nearby - I bet you'll feel better in the morning.
 
#32
I've always been kind of lethargic. I can drink five cups of coffee and lay down and take a nap. I've been working a lot for the past few months and pretty much been running on adrenaline, I guess. I had a lot to do today so yesterday I bought one of those five hour energy shots from Walgreens. 8333% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin B12! It didn't do squat to me. I was sleepy all day. I've never been one who responds to stimulants. Some how I manage to get done what I need to get done.
 
#36
scorpionldr said:
Understandable. I fall asleep at the drop of a hat sometimes too.
Click to expand...

sprint_car_braking.jpg


Here are some things to think about. These are, of course, personal medical questions - there is no need to answer them to me or to anyone else (though perhaps you should talk to your doctor). But they are something to think about, and I can tell you the significance of any of these questions either via PM or in this thread. Not all of these questions point to a single medical condition, and the order is a bit jumbled up. Also, before you get worried, answering yes to several of these questions is normal and does not indicate you have a horrible illness!

Do you or have you:

- Fall asleep very quickly at night?

- Ever fainted? Especially if caused by: anger, laughter, sexual stimulation, or surprise. For example, your friend jumps in the room to surprise you, and you drop to the floor.

- Ever experienced muscle weakness due to the above factors (something that made you angry, surprised, or in some way strongly affected you emotionally)? For example, after being embarassed, you briefly had slurred speach, blurred vision, or some other physical problem.

- Had sleep paralysis (the brief inability to move just before falling asleep, or just after waking up)

- Do you take naps in the daytime?
If so, do you feel refreshed by a 15 minute nap?
Do you feel refreshed by an hour+ long nap?
Or do find that naps are not helpful?

- Do you currently eat more than you normally would?

- Are you very overweight?

- Frequently wake up at night?

- Wake up earlier than you plan to?

- Ever had any sort of hallucination immediately before falling asleep, or upon waking? This may take the form of a dreamlike state, hearing voices, seeing people that aren't there, or something less severe such as hearing sounds, hearing nonsensical words, seeing little spots or flashes of light or other visual disturbances, even strange smells and physical feelings like pins and needles.

-Family members with sleep problems?

-Take antidepressents, or recently stop taking antidepressents?

- Feel depressed? (This can be asked in a million different ways but you probably know what depression is about, so it's just something to think about)

- Find yourself doing something (such as washing dishes, driving, checking email) without any recollection of starting the activity in the first place?

- Sleepwalk?

- Wet the bed?

- If you sleep with a partner: Have you ever hit him/her in your sleep, and do you do it frequently? If you sleep alone, have you ever injured yourself while sleeping?

- Do you dream when you fall asleep at work, even if it's only for a few seconds?

- Do you tend to remember those dreams?

- During the day, do you have trouble with memory?

- Have, or ever had insomnia?
 
#37
One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned directly (but it has been alluded to)... do you snore? I do.... like a V8 powered chainsaw. I finally got tested for sleep disorders some years ago, and was told I have sleep apnea.... They gave me what's called a CPAP machine to keep me breathing right at night. Looks funny. Can feel annoying until you're used to it. Works like a charm. After the first night I had mine, I woke up and couldn't stop smiling. Totally couldn't stop. My wife was laughing at me saying I looked like the Cheshire Cat. It was the first night in years upon years that I had really SLEPT.

Worked for me.... its worth thinking about.
 
#38
artistanbul said:
tea?
Click to expand...

Green tea?

Ericman197 said:
sprint_car_braking.jpg


Do you or have you:

- Fall asleep very quickly at night?

- Ever fainted? Especially if caused by: anger, laughter, sexual stimulation, or surprise. For example, your friend jumps in the room to surprise you, and you drop to the floor.

- Ever experienced muscle weakness due to the above factors (something that made you angry, surprised, or in some way strongly affected you emotionally)? For example, after being embarassed, you briefly had slurred speach, blurred vision, or some other physical problem.

- Had sleep paralysis (the brief inability to move just before falling asleep, or just after waking up)

- Do you take naps in the daytime?
If so, do you feel refreshed by a 15 minute nap?
Do you feel refreshed by an hour+ long nap?
Or do find that naps are not helpful?

- Do you currently eat more than you normally would?

- Are you very overweight?

- Frequently wake up at night?

- Wake up earlier than you plan to?

- Ever had any sort of hallucination immediately before falling asleep, or upon waking? This may take the form of a dreamlike state, hearing voices, seeing people that aren't there, or something less severe such as hearing sounds, hearing nonsensical words, seeing little spots or flashes of light or other visual disturbances, even strange smells and physical feelings like pins and needles.

-Family members with sleep problems?

-Take antidepressents, or recently stop taking antidepressents?

- Feel depressed? (This can be asked in a million different ways but you probably know what depression is about, so it's just something to think about)

- Find yourself doing something (such as washing dishes, driving, checking email) without any recollection of starting the activity in the first place?

- Sleepwalk?

- Wet the bed?

- If you sleep with a partner: Have you ever hit him/her in your sleep, and do you do it frequently? If you sleep alone, have you ever injured yourself while sleeping?

- Do you dream when you fall asleep at work, even if it's only for a few seconds?

- Do you tend to remember those dreams?

- During the day, do you have trouble with memory?

- Have, or ever had insomnia?
Click to expand...

  • No
  • No
  • no
  • no
  • Yes and no and no and pretty much
  • Nope, same as usual
  • Not at all
  • No, at least not at this time
  • No
  • No
  • Not that I'm aware of
    No
  • Definitely
  • Some times
  • No
  • No
  • N/A
  • Not usually
  • No
  • Yup
  • Dunno..
 
#39
Try some yerba mate (pronounced "mahtay"). Its totally healthy for you, contains vitamins/minerals and never causes me to crash. In fact I don't get the coffee buzz but just a sense of alertness. But be warned, it tastes horrible at first.
 
#40
mate.. ew. haha.

sleep apnea might be the problem here. might just have a lot going on behind the scenes and stress is causing you to not sleep well.

i tend to just keep my sugar WAY up all day. im hypoglycemic.. so i HAVE to or ill black out.. so its normally a steady regiment of carbs, peanut butter and soda. ive fallen asleep driving from sleep deprivation AND a sugar crash at once. terrifying drive home.

college was like boot camp for me. 24 hour schedule.. arbitrary classes, often 8-12 hours straight, and i could eat as frequently as i needed to. it was tough, but i made it out alive. not without a few near black-outs, 36 hour no-sleep periods, giant credit card statements with 2-5 dollar charges, and a wicked soldering iron burn to the hand. that was a blast.. never solder impaired by a sugar crash.

ive always had trouble sleeping, but i dont have mid day crashes (might have something to do with me flying on sugar all day). i DO drag ass if i dont eat every 3 hours, especially breakfast.

i cant say much for the exercise, since i rarely do more than throw a football around or play guitar.. but if i get out of bed and get moving (which i find hard) i get through the day a little faster.

i try to keep off caffeine as much as possible. i went on a 3 year mt dew binge and havent been the same since. normally just sprite, orange soda or juice now. i love redbull and moster, but i try to stay away. good thing i cant find mr pibb that easily in the north, or id drink a lot more of it.
 

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