yes Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 hi everybody! how do you guys make sure you have enough energy to do everything you want to do? I get tired fairly easily - more easily than i'd like to... Tips? =) -yes
Tony T Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 If your energy levels are low after eating well, getting proper rest and exercise, get checked out by a doctor. Undue fatigue can be caused by diabetes, low blood sugar, heart problems, low amounts of iron in the blood, various parasitical infestations, and a number of other reasons. People who have no abnormal problems should be able to get through the day with good energy levels. I think the number one cause of fatigue is living a sedentary lifestyle, with insufficient aerobic exercise.
Nazima Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 Have you seen a doctor to find out if you might have a medical reason for your lack of energy? That aside I've found that exercise actually energizes me, I have more energy after I've worked out than before I started! You might give it a try if you don't exercise much.
Author yes Posted July 16, 2003 Author Posted July 16, 2003 I also find that exercise helps. And thanks for the reminder, I should watch what I eat more carefully. But yeah, my lifestyle is a bit heavy - I work 6 days a week right now, so i guess i shouldn't surprised. I find that I can get through the day OK, but I have little energy for the evening. Thanks for the replies, -yes
freescot Posted July 16, 2003 Posted July 16, 2003 For me there is nothing more energy-sapping than a relationship which is going bad - poor communication, implicit desires, judgements, labelling, and many of the sort of things we accept as "normal" in relationships. So, as a daily exercise, I give back anything I have received from another person which feels bad for me - I only give back what I have received - the words, written large. If it is a violence I write a few words and give it back with something which represents the behaviour of the person I am in the relationship with. -- Invariably this is an energy restoring business.
longlegzs80 Posted July 17, 2003 Posted July 17, 2003 energy is something I lack too. I found that when I used to go to the gym in the early morning hours, that is when I would feel like I was walking on air. I had the best amount of energy. I still ate the way I did, which was school food when I was there, but if you are looking for an energy boost, working out is a great way for you to get the energy needed to complete your everyday kinds of tasks. Other things you can do, is: (1). Take a nap during the day when you get a chance. (2). Go to the gym in the morning like I said. (3). Take your vitamins. There are certain kinds of vitamins that you can buy at those health stores that will enegize you. (4). Try to eat sensible. If you are the kind of person to eat junk food all the time, and stuff that has high amount of salt in it, then you can feel alittle sluggish. Eat veggies, meats, and try eatting tofu. That is all the advice I have to give you on keep up on your energy level. But what I find to be most effective, is going to the gym. But don't wait all day and then go, start off the morning and go to the gym. Hopefully you will consider taking my advice, and it will I garauntee you that it will give you the energy that you need. Take care and good luck.
Author yes Posted July 17, 2003 Author Posted July 17, 2003 thanks for all these tips! i definitely need to pay a lot more attention to what i put in my mouth. I've re-started taking vitamins today. Now I just need to find time for exercise in this madness ... It's sort of a vicious circle - i'm too tired to exercise, but i need exercise to stop being so tired... It's not even 10, and i'm already (still) sleepy... And there's a nice couch 3 meters away from me, which does NOT help! But i gotta do some work *sigh* 24 hours is not enough, ppl! i don't know how people find time to read newspapers.... -yes
Ryan Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 Wow......so many people saying they get energy directly from "exercise." I'll get to that in a bit. Aside from a specific medical problem (which can't and won't be assessed here), there are 3 huge factors that will pretty much determine your energy levels. 1. Sleep. You should be aiming for 7-8 hours a night. Don't tell us that you don't have time to sleep that much...everybody does. 2. Diet. Eat 4-6 times distributed throughout the day. This will ensure a fairly consistent delivery of nutrients. Don't tell us that you don't have time to make/eat that kind of food....everybody does. Try to build your dietary habits around foods without a large amount of processing. That multi-vitamin in the morning is a good insurance policy as well. 3. Exercise. I don't know what these people are doing at the gym that is invigorating them so, but it's not exercise. That which is true exercise NECESSARILY reduces your energy level. Exercise is an inroad to your body's abilities which stimulates adaptation. Nonetheless, the adaptations from proper exercise will improve the quality of your daily life. Everyday tasks will be easier because your strength will be greater. The energy required to perform them will also decrease due to improvements in metabolic efficiency at the muscular level. Furthermore, finding time for exercise is an easy task. 30 minutes twice a week of ACTUAL exercise (a narrow definition) will be sufficient to garner significant improvements in your general fitness...assuming you have your sleeping and dietary habits in order. It is neither necessary nor even DESIRABLE to train every day.
clia Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 You should be aiming for 7-8 hours a night. Is this necessarily true for everyone? I've heard that while this is the standard, some people require less (or more) to function effectively. I've found that I function most effectively on around 5 hours a night. When I get more than that, I get tired during mid-afternoon and actually feel like I could take a nice nap. When I try to get seven hours, I naturally awaken at the five hour point, and once I fall back asleep, it's impossible to stop hitting the snooze button when the alarm goes off two hours later.
Author yes Posted July 18, 2003 Author Posted July 18, 2003 i can relate to what clia said - if i get too much sleep, i get sleepy during the day as well. thanks for the info, Ryan. Trying to get back to a proper diet. I guess the attitude has a lot to do with it as well - my "life sux and then you die" attitude can't be helping... -yes
Ryan Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 Is this necessarily true for everyone? I've heard that while this is the standard, some people require less (or more) to function effectively. I've found that I function most effectively on around 5 hours a night. When I get more than that, I get tired during mid-afternoon and actually feel like I could take a nice nap. When I try to get seven hours, I naturally awaken at the five hour point, and once I fall back asleep, it's impossible to stop hitting the snooze button when the alarm goes off two hours later. First, I'd say there's no such thing as too much sleep. I highly doubt you'd wake up after 5 hours of sleep if you let your body naturally wake. Chances are you wake at the same TIME most days...not necessarily after the same amount of sleep. This is a matter of conditioning and can be untrained. Even you admit that you fall back asleep....if you were truly DONE sleeping, you wouldn't. Most people just don't have (or give themselves) the chance to consistently sleep 7-8 hours. Once you do, you realize how much more alert you are, both physically and mentally. If you yawn at all during the day, then you're not sleeping enough. When was the last time you went an entire month at 7-8 hours a night?
Ryan Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 I guess the attitude has a lot to do with it as well - my "life sux and then you die" attitude can't be helping... What? This is a revelation.
clia Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 I highly doubt you'd wake up after 5 hours of sleep if you let your body naturally wake. Chances are you wake at the same TIME most days...not necessarily after the same amount of sleep. This is a matter of conditioning and can be untrained. Even you admit that you fall back asleep....if you were truly DONE sleeping, you wouldn't. I do, though. If I go to bed at midnight, I wake naturally at five. I feel rested, and I'll be laying there thinking it must be time to get up, then I look at the clock and realize I have two more hours until my alarm goes off. So I lay there, lay there, lay there, eventually sort of fall back to sleep, then I hit REM about the time my alarm goes off, so I can't get up at all. If I get up when I naturally wake, at five, I'm not tired at all during the day. If I push it until seven, when my alarm goes off, I'm exhausted throughout the day. It all depends on what time I go to bed. If I've done the "sleep until seven a.m." thing, I'm tired all day, and end up going to bed earlier, say, ten, and then I wake up at three. And I know three is way too early to get up--five is manageable--so I force myself back to sleep (which sometimes takes an hour or two), and then the same thing--alarm goes off and I'm out and exhausted. When was the last time you went an entire month at 7-8 hours a night? Never. But if I get that much sleep I'm tired. And if I get less I'm not tired and not yawning throughout the day. Both of my parents require little sleep. Isn't this a genetic kind of thing? I know 8 hours is the norm for most people, but surely there are exceptions to the rule.
clia Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 I guess the attitude has a lot to do with it as well - my "life sux and then you die" attitude can't be helping... Yes, are you okay? PM me if you need/want to chat.
Author yes Posted July 18, 2003 Author Posted July 18, 2003 it's also a matter of what time you wake up, i find. getting up at 5 is much easier than at 7, because it seems that around 6 am, my body enters the enjoyable sleep mode, and that one's really hard to give up, and it lasts until 9 am or so. *shrug*! -yes PS Thanks for asking Clia - I am allright, but I may take up PMing you sometime soon =)
Ryan Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 Never. But if I get that much sleep I'm tired. And if I get less I'm not tired and not yawning throughout the day. Both of my parents require little sleep. Isn't this a genetic kind of thing? I know 8 hours is the norm for most people, but surely there are exceptions to the rule. I imagine there is some variance, but I doubt it's so far as to be all the way down to 5. It's possible, but I am skeptical. I don't see it as how much I require...but how much is optimal. It's hard to compare the difference if you've never experienced it. That almost sounds like a bad line....c'mon baby, just let me get you in bed for a few hours. I don't know all the details of your lifestyle (saving that for dates 1-3), but if you aren't particularly physically active, that will reduce recovery that is necessary. Furthermore, if you aren't in a serious exercise program, you can knock off some requirements there. It also helps being young. I have heard the theories that people require less than "previously thought." I think it's hard to apply that to people today as compared to just 30 years ago when people were far more active.
jessicakicksbut Posted July 18, 2003 Posted July 18, 2003 Besides not getting enough sleep, stress can also drain one's energy. It depends on the person, sometimes a great deal of stress in one's life can cause one to be very "wired", while some it causes them to have lack of energy. If this pertains to you, maybe evaluate any stresses in your life, and reduce or remove them from your life.
Bonzai007 Posted July 30, 2003 Posted July 30, 2003 [[font=courier new][/font][color=green][/color]THIS IS EASY GET ABOUT 8 HOURS OF SLEEP AT LEAST AND DRINK "Club:Rock Shandy" YOU CAN FIND IT AT AN LOCAL IRISH STORE IS A SODA AND DRINK ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE ACTIVITES. IT GIVES ME A BOOST OF ENERGY! ;-) BoNzAi
moimeme Posted July 30, 2003 Posted July 30, 2003 I didn't see this mentioned but eat breakfast! Make sure there's some protein and carbs in your breakfast, too; none of this doughnut and coffee stuff. It will make a huge difference in your whole system; after a night of fasting, your body needs fuel. Starting a day by missing breakfast is setting yourself up for fatigue and overeating later in the day. Also, be sure you get lots of water. Often fatigue is caused by dehydration. I run water through my Brita (yes the trademarked version of the jug ) and then put it in a 40-oz (2 litre) bottle in the fridge and I try to use up all the water in the bottle each day. It definitely has made a difference in my energy levels. As for sleep, I have been on my own sleep-wake cycle for over a year. Most consistently, I sleep 6 hours a night. Sometimes, I can get up well rested after 4 1/2 hours and other times it's 7 or 71/2 hours. These numbers make sense because the REM cycle is supposed to last 90 minutes - not sure why they say 8 hours is optimal. People do vary in their sleep needs. I still think we would all be much better off if we adopted afternoon naps since our bodies are designed to do just that. I sometimes nap, and it is VERY enjoyable. I can have a ten-minute nap in the afternoon and wake up feeling as refreshed as though I'd had several hours' sleep.
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