[Phoenix]

I'm looking to collect some advice on increasing general energy levels.

As a specific example, I had a boss once who was a complete machine. I never saw him tired once, he said that every morning he wakes up he is 'quite sprighty', he always walked with perfect posture and was always unrelenting, assertive, and tireless. Unfortunately there was no net benefit to the team, because his energy allowed him to run roughshod over correct advice from wiser heads, but I was truly envious of his energy.

Contrast this with myself, who never wakes up 'sprightly' ever, never has high energy levels, has significantly less work stamina, gets tired more easily etc. And I'm younger than him by quite a bit. My dad, in his 60s, is another good example. I'm in my 20s and he has twice the energy I do.

So does anyone have some good ideas on increasing ones energy levels?
I found that weight training does not help (decreases energy levels by wearing you out).

[Chaos]

Nutrition,exercise,sleep,mindset and motivation.
Don't smoke weed or anything else that makes you lazy.

Anyhow, it's sounds like your boss was a go getter and had a burning desire for something, those people always seem tireless.

[Phoenix]

Well this is the thing, he wasn't a go getter of anything in particular, and the company really didn't offer any reward for performance. It was like he had X energy, and had to spend it somewhere.

Any specific nutrition, exercise, or sleep...

No weed, but I was using cyproheptadine for a while to try and boost appetite, and had to drop it because it's like a damn sleeping pill.

[Ensam]

All kidding aside you nail it with:

Quote:

Unfortunately there was no net benefit to the team, because his energy allowed him to run roughshod over correct advice from wiser heads, but I was truly envious of his energy.

Sounds more like he's manic than high energy. If you're not able to focus your energy what good is it? Take good care of your body and work within your limits. Don't worry about other people - they might just have a drug problem.

[rottenapple]

Things that help for me as a genetically low energy person:

-cutting processed foods and white carbohydrates
-drink more water
-coffee for working
-eating fruits, mandarines/oranges work magic for me
-take multivitames/minerales
-dont jerk off or better dont reach orgasm
-be more outdoors, it also improves sleep
-reduce stress, hard to do but you got to reach a level of mentality where you get things done, yet dont care too much if things fail. Basically always be optimistic.

Sports for me is difficult. I'm sure it can help energy a lot but for me personally, I'm too competitive and will go too deep in my energy levels leaving my body destroyed for days at times.

And oh the envy of those naturally gifted energetical people, the people who need only 4 hours sleep, etc.

[Isaac Jordan]

There are quite a few things that could contribute to overall energy levels, and they can be split into two categories: physical (sleep, exercise, and nutrition) and mental.

Physical

Sleep:

Get plenty of quality, uninterrupted sleep.

You want a comfortable bed in a cool, quiet, pitch-black environment.

White noise, like a fan or rainfall audio loop, can help block out miscellaneous sounds.

Sleep cycles run in 90-minute segments, so aim to wake up either 7.5 or 9 hours after you go to sleep.

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

If you have trouble falling asleep, take 3 mg melatonin one hour prior to bed.

Limit alcohol use in the hours before bed, as the chemical prevents you from reaching a deep state of sleep. Caffeine has a 6-hour half life, so don't ingest any within 10-12 hours of bed time.

Caffeine is addictive and repeated use will raise your tolerance. Consider alternating with modafinil in order to prevent tolerance to either drug from forming.

Get some sunlight every day. Your body's circadian rhythm uses it to determine regulatory hormone levels, and getting some midday sun can help your body slow down once night falls.

Don't exercise within several hours of bedtime. You want to slow down both mentally and physically in preparation of sleep.

Turn off fluorescent lights and anything with a screen at least an hour prior to bed, as the blue light will trick your body into thinking it's day time. Alternatively, grab a pair of blue-blocking shades.

Exercise and Nutrition:

Try to get some exercise every day. I like to start my day with a dynamic stretching routine to help get the blood flowing. I lift 3 days/week, and will either take a long walk or swim some laps the other days.

If you're fat, lose weight. The excess adipose tissue increases your estrogen, lowering your testosterone and energy levels.

Look into the paleo diet: meat, fish, fowl, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. Cut out processed foods, grains, vegetable oils, and anything you might even remotely be allergic to, even on a cellular level (wheat, soy, dairy, legumes). The bulk of your diet should consist of quality protein surrounded by healthy fat and vegetables, with fruit and special exceptions like dark chocolate and red wine making minor appearances every now and then.

Cut your sugar intake as much as possible.

Drink water, tea or coffee. Eliminate soda and other processed drinks. If you drink alcohol, try to make it wine or something clean like vodka soda with lime. Ditch the beer.

Try caffeine naps by drinking a cup of tea or coffee and then taking a twenty-minute nap immediately after. The nap will refresh you but won't be long enough for deep sleep to take over; it will also clear out adenosine (which competes for caffeine at the molecular level) from the brain, providing more room for the stimulant.

Get some blood work done and pinpoint weak spots for supplementation. Almost everyone could use daily doses of fish oil (or some other source of omega-3s like liver or krill), as well as vitamin D in the winter months. A multivitamin probably couldn't hurt, although if your diet is on point this would be unnecessary.

Quit watching porn. Quit jerking off. Personally I find sex to be energizing, although some would dispute that and say it makes them tired. YMMV.

Don't sit or stand for extended periods of time. Move, frequently, as much as possible.

Mental

Work on your intrinsic motivation. You need a reason to get out of bed every day. Pick several worthwhile, achievable goals and commit to working on them every single day.

Read Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly and structure your life so that you can enter flow as much as possible.

Read Drive by Daniel Pink. The building blocks of internal motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Find something you believe in, work towards becoming an expert in that field, and find a way to achieve independence.

Watch your negative self talk. Don't let your intrinsic negativity bias take over. Find an affirmation, motivational quote or the like and hang it up where you'll see it every day.

Success breeds success. Instead of focusing on big wins in the distant future ("I will lose 20 pounds by next year") focus on little wins today ("I will walk 20 minutes after lunch").

Don't let a lack of organization and clutter (both mental and physical) detract from your energy levels. Clean and organize your office/workspace. Create a productivity system that you trust completely and outsource all your to-do's to it. Don't let mental notes and reminders drag you down; get them on paper or into the system so you can focus on other things.

Don't multitask. Focus on one task at a time before moving to the next.

Keep stress levels low. Find time for the important relationships in your life and invest in them. Get off facebook and social media and spend time with friends and family in person. Find an LTR-worthy girl who supports you and date her while investing your energy in personal endeavors. Look into meditation or other techniques for calming the mind.