I'm tired

Your Mom · #1 04-11-2007, 03:51 PM

24 years old, sleep around 6-7 hours a night, work a regular 8 hour a day job that isn't too strenuous. Been playing basketball or lifting 2-3 times per week the last few months which I thought would give me some more energy. It seems the opposite has been true. I'm very sleepy, especially so in the mornings an hour or so after I wake up and again after lunch between 1:30 - 3:00. I've also been having a lot of headaches. I went to the doctor. Blood tests and urine tests are totally normal. Any thoughts or suggestions? More sleep? That's very hard for me because I have trouble going to bed any time before 11:30 PM and I have to wake up at 6:30 AM.

skunkworks · #2 04-11-2007, 04:06 PM

What's your nutrition looking like? I get sleepy after lunch if I eat lots of red meat and/or processed carbs, and I tend to get tired in the morning if I neglect to eat something.

kylephilly · #3 04-11-2007, 04:10 PM

It's called work and life dude.

MAke sure your sleep is good sleep. Eat healthy. Everyone gets tired after lunch. Keep going to the gym that's not doing it

skunkworks · #4 04-11-2007, 04:46 PM

FWIW I no longer get tired after lunch since I've been watching what I eat and practicing better portion control. My energy does flag around 5:00-6:00 when I get off work. If I need to go work out, I usually eat something small, slam half a can of Monster, and I'm good to go.

Didactic message of the day: The junk you put in your body really affects your energy levels.

Genesis · #5 04-11-2007, 04:49 PM

I have/had both of these same issues.

Headaches - Do you work in front of a computer all day? Look away frequently. Constantly focusing on a monitor will cause eye strain and in turn can cause headaches. Also, being tired seems to exacerbate this problem.

Tired all the time - I really think you aren't getting enough sleep. What is your routine as it gets late into the night? If you're watching movies, playing poker or other games then that is probably the reason. Determine when you should go to bed to get closer to 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep per night. About an hour before this time start to wind things down and just read a book or something. Doing things that constantly stimulate your mind will keep you awake much longer.

Edit: More on the sleep thing. A while ago I was looking around for info on sleep and came across two things that seem to apply to you.

First, it is normal for you to get tired about 6 hours after you wake up. So 6am wakeup, around 12pm or so you will probably feel tired as many people do. Thus the reason there are afternoon siestas in some countries. Look up biphasic sleeping, that's basically what it is, longer sleep at night, nap in the afternoon.

Second, the 1 hour sluggish period after waking is also normal if you wake to an alarm. We all go through several sleep cycles per night, each cycle lasting about 90 minutes. When you wake up to an alarm you are possibly breaking in the middle of a deep portion of sleep, REM. It takes a little while to snap out of this and get into normal running mode. I've started setting my alarm at night so that I always sleep in increments of 90 minutes, usually 6, 7.5 or 9 hours and I feel much better when waking up.

I am not an expert on sleep so you might want to do some research on your own.

Your Mom · #6 04-11-2007, 04:52 PM

[ QUOTE ]
What's your nutrition looking like? I get sleepy after lunch if I eat lots of red meat and/or processed carbs, and I tend to get tired in the morning if I neglect to eat something.

[/ QUOTE ]

I usually have a ham, egg, and cheese on a bagel with an apple juice for breakfast around 9 or so. For lunch, usually a sandwich or possible a few tacos. Usually water or tea to drink, but sometimes I have a can of coke. For dinner, normal entrees usually with some veggies- I eat until I'm full but I don't stuff myself. Then usually a snack later - like grapes, apples, or applesauce.

Also, I'm 5'10", 185 lbs, so I've got a little, but not too much, extra weight that I could stand to lose.

Your Mom · #7 04-11-2007, 04:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I have/had both of these same issues.

Headaches - Do you work in front of a computer all day? Look away frequently. Constantly focusing on a monitor will cause eye strain and in turn can cause headaches. Also, being tired seems to exacerbate this problem.

Tired all the time - I really think you aren't getting enough sleep. What is your routine as it gets late into the night? If you're watching movies, playing poker or other games then that is probably the reason. Determine when you should go to bed to get closer to 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep per night. About an hour before this time start to wind things down and just read a book or something. Doing things that constantly stimulate your mind will keep you awake much longer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, I'm in front of the computer all day and most of the time at night. My poker time is usually late at night for an hour or two right before I go to bed. I'm married and just bought a new house, so that seems to be the only time for poker because I like to spend time with my wife when I get home and then we go to the gym or do whatever else we need to do.

I'm meeting again with my doctor tomorrow, so I'll see what he thinks. Maybe I'm just getting old and need more sleep than I used to. I just really hate going to bed so early. It seems like such a waste of time, even though it obviously isn't.

Genesis · #8 04-11-2007, 05:06 PM

Your schedule seems eerily similar to mine from about 1 month ago. I cut out a lot of the poker time and now get more sleep and read a little before bed. I feel much better during the days (I function sooo much better fully rested), but I do miss poker.

mattnxtc · #9 04-11-2007, 05:15 PM

Watch what you are eating at lunch..try to make sure your meals are "light" meals and not extremely fatty as your body will have to exert that much more energy to break it down and leaves you tired while it digests

SmileyEH · #10 04-11-2007, 06:13 PM

Try drinking a ton of water, just force it into you. Carry a waterbottle everywhere and make sure it needs filling several times a day. My energy always flags if I don't drink enough.

Also, playing poker before bed is a bad idea-you'll get wired because you are concentrating, addrenaline might go up a bit, all in all it is harder to fall asleep and to sleep soundly in my experience.