[PompeyChris]

Any tips on staying awake/alert all day and into the evening?

I'm talking about afternoon/evenings that your committed to working into.

At the moment i'm working hard on my startup, personal development and other aspects of my life.

What are you currently doing for this?

Mid afternoon naps?
Diet?


As a side note, i'm a young male, workout 5x a week, get 8+ hours sleep a night.

[Katatonic]

Kale shakes and Bulletproof coffee. Drinking coconut oil and butter in my coffee has definitely helped me stay alert a lot longer than I did before.

You can also go on a coke binge, but that does get pricey.

[RichieP]

Can't stay alert all day mate. We have natural biological rhythms. I find for me, 6pm to 8.30 I cant do anything brain-intensive, its almost comical. Totally natural.

That said...

-paleo diet
-30 min afternoon nap
-copious spoonfuls of coconut oil after meals, as much as you can stomach (the MCFAs are pure brain fuel)

I personally dont like too much caffeine - the net effect seems to be negative as the slumps outweigh the ups, in terms of my own productivity. So I avoid coffee. That said, green tea seems to keep me pretty level and alert (the thianine supposedly regulates the caffeine stimulation).

It might be better to cut your hours back and accept no man can be productive all his waking hours. Incorporate some rest, play, socializing, relaxed reading etc and you'll probably be more productive long-term anyway.

[Parlay44]

Exercise. You have to build up your endurance by doing cardio, running etc.
Weights are fine but you need low impact, long durations type of exercise.

I'm a lazy fuck right now because I hate the cold. But when I used to wake up
at 5am and run for an hour I felt much better and alert the rest of the day.

[HiFlo]

go pills

[RoScience]

Intermittent Fasting. The biggest surprise has been the ability to wake up without an alarm clock at 5:30am. It's crazy. And I'm not tired. I think it may be that my eating window closes at 5pm, so I have ~5-6 hours between my last meal and sleep. I noticed the closer I eat near bedtime, the easier it is to sleep in and the groggier I feel when I wake.

[thegmanifesto]

(12-27-2012 03:42 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

-copious spoonfuls of coconut oil after meals, as much as you can stomach (the MCFAs are pure brain fuel)

How many do you take per day?

[Fujiwara]

Katatonic, are you just adding those things to coffee or have you gone and gotten the Bulletproof brand coffee?

[Parlay44]

(12-27-2012 04:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(12-27-2012 03:42 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

-copious spoonfuls of coconut oil after meals, as much as you can stomach (the MCFAs are pure brain fuel)

How many do you take per day?

I had to google that.

Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_triglycerides

Quote:

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are medium-chain (6 to 12 carbons) fatty acid esters of glycerol.

MCTs passively diffuse from the GI tract to the portal system (longer fatty acids are absorbed into the lymphatic system) without requirement for modification like long-chain fatty acids or very-long-chain fatty acids. In addition, MCTs do not require bile salts for digestion. Patients that have malnutrition or malabsorption syndromes are treated with MCTs because they do not require energy for absorption, utilization, or storage. Coconut oil is composed of approximately 66% medium-chain triglycerides.

[Joga Bonito]

Green Tea and a cleaner diet. Cutting out dairy, sugar, and wheat did it for me. Coconut oil(2 tbsp) and ACV are also good energy boosters.

[RichieP]

Im probably taking about 3 tablespoons of CO a day. I try and take more on days I've got a heavy workload... really gives me a good clean mental energy level, and keeps my head as clear as it gets.

Saying that, lack of sleep and stress seem to overshadow pretty much any diet/exercise type tweaks, personally. Still I'll take any edge I can get

[philly22]

5 hour energy really works for me. Those recent things that came out about it being dangerous were with people who drank wayyy too much. I drank about 1/3 of the little bottle per day and im good.

[Parlay44]

(12-27-2012 05:47 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

Im probably taking about 3 tablespoons of CO a day. I try and take more on days I've got a heavy workload... really gives me a good clean mental energy level, and keeps my head as clear as it gets.

Saying that, lack of sleep and stress seem to overshadow pretty much any diet/exercise type tweaks, personally. Still I'll take any edge I can get

How do you take it?

[TheCaptainPower]

Naps when you can, and get used to less sleep...8 hours is for infants.

But seriously I average 5-6 during the work week, and I'll crash for 8 or 9 on the weekends....

[bacon]

eating low carb helps

also if you feel like your going to pass out do some body weight squats it get the blood flowing and keeps you awake

naps are really effective but so is drinking hard liquor(at least for me)

[Sanblz33]

ACV & 3 squirts of mio keeps me wired when working.

[RichieP]

(12-27-2012 08:50 PM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

(12-27-2012 05:47 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

Im probably taking about 3 tablespoons of CO a day. I try and take more on days I've got a heavy workload... really gives me a good clean mental energy level, and keeps my head as clear as it gets.

Saying that, lack of sleep and stress seem to overshadow pretty much any diet/exercise type tweaks, personally. Still I'll take any edge I can get

How do you take it?

If it's solid, I'll eat a tablespoon. I usually just swill it around in my mouth until it melts then gulp it.

If it's liquid (it melts at about room temp, so on warm days it's liquid lol), I'll pour out about a tblespoons worth into a shot glass.

It took me about 5 days to being able to take it this way without repulsion. Funny what you can get used to...

[reino341]

Try abstaining from fapping for a few weeks and see how it affects your energy levels.

[PompeyChris]

(12-27-2012 03:42 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

Can't stay alert all day mate. We have natural biological rhythms. I find for me, 6pm to 8.30 I cant do anything brain-intensive, its almost comical. Totally natural.

That said...

-paleo diet
-30 min afternoon nap
-copious spoonfuls of coconut oil after meals, as much as you can stomach (the MCFAs are pure brain fuel)

I personally dont like too much caffeine - the net effect seems to be negative as the slumps outweigh the ups, in terms of my own productivity. So I avoid coffee. That said, green tea seems to keep me pretty level and alert (the thianine supposedly regulates the caffeine stimulation).

It might be better to cut your hours back and accept no man can be productive all his waking hours. Incorporate some rest, play, socializing, relaxed reading etc and you'll probably be more productive long-term anyway.

It bugs me that I can't be awake/aware as long as I like. I can't imagine the cavemen struggled with this... having to always be aware meant survival. I suppose I am sitting around all the time apart from when i'm out or working out.

I do tend to find that I can work hard the first part of the day 8-3 and then I struggle. I do tend to plan my day this way and chill out for the final part.

The main reason I work out was the awake and alive feeling i got during and post workout. Now i'm addicted.

Has anyone ever used REM cycles to increase productivity (get more hours during the day?)

Chris

[TheIndifferent]

*cough* modafinil *cough*

[iknowexactly]

alcohol messes up your sleep, so does cigs, sometimes it's what you DON'T do. Less carbs helped me, especially grains, fruit seemed more vitalizing. Get a medical workup, I had low testosterone (I'm over 50) was fat, and had vitamin d deficiency, as well as high blood pressure.

[MidniteSpecial]

Green tea elixir from Ivl products. That and not eating heavy meals. Or not eating at all. The body will focus rather than digest.

[Giovonny]

(12-27-2012 02:33 PM)PompeyChris Wrote:  

Mid afternoon naps?
Diet?

Yes and yes!

Sleep as much as you can and Eat as clean as you can. (especially if you are working hard all day and lifting heavy weights at night!)

Everything else is a "supplement" -- which means an extra, an addition to, or a complement to.

A "supplement" is not a substitute for the real thing.

You wanna feel rested and energetic. You gotta rest!

Anything thing else is a temporary fix.

(12-27-2012 03:42 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

We have natural biological rhythms. I find for me, 6pm to 8.30 I cant do anything brain-intensive, its almost comical. Totally natural.

Good advice. Work when its time to work, rest when its time to rest.

(12-28-2012 06:04 AM)PompeyChris Wrote:  

Has anyone ever used REM cycles to increase productivity (get more hours during the day?)

I have. Going to bed at 10pm vs going to bed at 1am has a big effect on next day energy levels. Generally, before midnight is alot better then after midnight.

10pm-3am is supposed to be the best time to be asleep. This is when the body heals, restores, grows, etc.

It sounds like you want to work all day long and into the evening, then workout hard, and feel great the whole time, with tons of energy and focus.

I wish it was that easy! It's not always like that. Sometimes, you gotta grind! You gotta find motivation and energy, you gotta search for inspiration. You could sleep all night and eat all organic and you still won't be feeling 100%.

Life is a battle, you just have to keep fighting sometimes.

It is possible to feel good 99% of the time, but, I think that's mostly psychological.

Little by little you create the formula that works for you --when to sleep, what to eat, when to work, when to play, how to think, etc.

[MidniteSpecial]

I've taken up to 8 tbs of coconut oil a day for weeks at a time. Also used to swish it in my mouth for five minutes every morning and than spit it out. (No homo) It draws toxins out of Your body. Some people have claimed it healed all types of ailments.

Green tea elixir worked better for me as far of all day focus and clean energy. Shit is the truth.

[sixsix]

I don't like giving hearsay advice, but I am trying to bulk so I haven't tried it yet.

Stop eating easily digested carbohydrates.

You become sleepy after such a meal, your insuline spikes and you want to rest.

Instead, eat meat, nuts and veggies. Lots of protein and fats.

You wondered how cavemen stayed alert all day. Cavemen didn't eat cakes, bread and potatoes.