[Kid Strangelove]

I've been looking for ways to boost my energy levels, and honestly I Have no clue where to start.

When I wake up in the morning and for the first few hours of my day, I feel like a complete mess. Its really starting to feel like my creativity and zest for life are physically drained for me, and I just need to get that back

So here are some questions:

1) What are the best energy and mental alertness foods and supplements out there. What foods should I avoid?

2) What's a good way to improve sleep? How much of it should I be getting? I hear it's better to sleep in a warm room over a cold room, but I haven't done the research.

3) What is some really awesome, inspirational shit to watch and read? A lot of times i feel that I am surrounded by gloom, despair and mediocrity everywhere. Especially when working in the news media.

It's really weird, I've been using girls as a motivation my entire life, and, I don't mean to brag, I got pretty decent at the whole thing, but earlier this year it got to the point that I either went soft or couldn't get it up on two girls i was fucking because I was just.... bored

I feel like im in a lull, and I need to pull myself out of it, and I'm willing to listen to and try almost anything, mental and physical. any ideas?

[ElBorrachoInfamoso]

1) What are the best energy and mental alertness foods and supplements out there. What foods should I avoid?

Apple cider vinegar. Just a teaspoon or two in a liter of water will give you a big boost. Are you currently addicted to caffeine? If so, quit it. You could be experiencing withdrawal.
Check yourself for wheat allergies too. Avoid drinking too much alcohol. Eat less refined carbs and more protein and fat.
Exercise in the mornings.

2) What's a good way to improve sleep? How much of it should I be getting? I hear it's better to sleep in a warm room over a cold room, but I haven't done the research.

Take zinc and magnesium supplements. Try melatonin. Sleep in a dark room. Cold vs. warm depends on the person. My body gets warmer when I sleep, so I prefer a cold room. Some people are the opposite. Stick to a regular sleep schedule. Our bodies are supposed to follow a diurnal rhythm. If your body isn't in sync with a 24 hr cycle, find out why and fix it.
People vary on how much sleep they need. Find out what's ideal for you. When I'm not working out hard, I need 6-7 hours to feel fully rested. When I'm lifting heavy in the gym, I need 8-9.

[Ugg]

Good thread. Thanks for raising this, it's something I've been interested in as well. I wouldn't say I suffer from low energy levels, but my energy does dip semi-regularly. Since I started training and competing in jiu jitsu a year ago I've been observing ways to find and keep a higher-paced rhythm of activity and alertness.

Quote:

1) What are the best energy and mental alertness foods and supplements out there. What foods should I avoid?

This post at Roissy's site is worth reading: http://roissy.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/t...one-guide/

Overall I'm a fan of Mark Sisson's primal approach. I haven't read his book and I don't adhere to his guidance in any strict way, but I do generally aim to put myself in a more primal, caveman-like frame of existence. That mostly fits with the sort of outlook suggested by PUA blogs and forums like this one. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

I find that the major energy-killer is complex, highly-processed carbs, especially in the form of snack foods like cookies and chips and the habit of eating them (on the couch in front of the TV like a goddamn zombie). Terrible. One of your priorities should be to avoid this, and get in the habit of avoiding it. Even if the distraction or alternative seems silly and pointless I just go through with it anyway. If it ends up being dumb, fine, and if it leads to something, great.

Quote:

2) What's a good way to improve sleep? How much of it should I be getting? I hear it's better to sleep in a warm room over a cold room, but I haven't done the research.

I don't have anything scientific for you. My development of better sleep habits has involved smoking more bud, turning off the computer and leaving it out of my room, and being semi-regular with the time that I get up. I suspect you could learn something about REM cycles that would help--I haven't gotten to that point yet.

Quote:

3) What is some really awesome, inspirational shit to watch and read? A lot of times i feel that I am surrounded by gloom, despair and mediocrity everywhere. Especially when working in the news media.

I prefer to focus on worthwhile things to do. Jiu jitsu has been my personal godsend.

Quote:

It's really weird, I've been using girls as a motivation my entire life, and, I don't mean to brag, I got pretty decent at the whole thing, but earlier this year it got to the point that I either went soft or couldn't get it up on two girls i was fucking because I was just.... bored

Girls and the pursuit of them doesn't work for me as a lasting purpose. Can't speak for anyone else.

ElBorrachoInfamoso makes sense too.

[amistod]

What about eating almonds before bed? You may be suffering from low blood sugar first thing in the morning.

[JD11]

I went through the same thing awhile back and I ended up taking a few supplements and trying to get better sleep. A few things that worked for me were, first finding out if your deficient in vitamins or minerals. I got tested for deficiencies and ended up I was deficient in 2 types of vitamin b. I now take a liquid vitamin b complex, as well as melatonin and ZMA before bed. Another thing I try to do to keep my energy up is to not get drunk off beer alone, I try to drink vodka sodas when I drink because I feel more energized the next day if I do that than drink just beer.

[Roosh]

How much caffeine do you have a day?

How many hours of sleep do you get a day? Do you nap?

Are you sure you don't have anemia?

[Hairyballs]

Rilatin

[UgSlayer]

I find that lifting regularly and doing projects you are passionate about increase energy levels sufficiently. That is more of a mental thing.

Another way is supplements, but I prefer vegetable juicing. The latter can get quite expensive, though so I only do it a couple times a week right when I wake up.

Girls were also the prime motivation of my life before I learned game. Then when I got good, I also had a long nihilist, existential-like period where I was like wtf am I gonna do now? Then I found something that gave me a reason to get out of bed in the morning (long-term goal and short term projects).

I agree with the guy above saying to avoid processed foods. Start eating clean and limit pastas breads etc and you will feel the difference almost in the next day if you combine it with exercise.

[stein]

Do you do any of these things?
- Going to bed really late most nights
- Staring at a Computer/TV screen right before bedtime
- Sleeping too much
- Not enough time in the Sun
- Not enough water intake
- Eating too close to bedtime
- Sitting all day or not getting much exercise

Some of these habits can be difficult to break, but they're common sense solutions for improving your health, mood and energy levels.

[Kid Strangelove]

wow guys, first of all thank you for the incredible response, I have so much stuff to pour over


@ ElBorrachoInfamoso - The caffeine withdrawal could be part of the issue. I'm the type of person that likes to sip on something pretty much the entire day, and I used to have the coffee machine close to me and I was drinking way too much of that shit, as well as diet soda when I was at home. I switched it up and now I usually have 2 cups of tea during the day and try to have water instead of the soda, but I guess my body was just too used to that shit.
I heard about ZMA in the bodybuilding circles, but after i get full bloodwork done I'll see what Im lacking and where


@Ugg I guess now is as good a time as ever to finally check out the primal blueprint I usually avoid stuff like potato chips and most other processed foods, but my love of drinking will be my undoing, i just fucking know it.
.... almost ironic that I'm typing this out with the remains of a wicked hangover.

@amistod - I'll try the almonds thing

@Roosh - I usually get anywhere from 6-8 hours of sleep per night and I don't nap during the day. The Anemia thing sounds super scary, so I'll be sure to ask my doctor about it, thank you for the heads up

@stein - let's see, I do stare a lot at the computer screen, at home and at work. I'm a software developer so sitting around is pretty much my job. I try to take breaks during the day to walk around a bit but in the working environment im an office person


Fuck man, typing all of this out is really making me take a long hard look at myself and my life. I've been at this job so long and half assing it so success to such a degree that I don't even know if I'm good at what I was educated to do anymore. I am completely petrified of the job market because it might thoroughly rape me, so I've been hesitant to update my resume and send it around. If anyone has ever seen the last episode of south park, where stan starts seeing everything as pieces of shit - that is how I feel right now. All my older hobbies seem dull and childish. Other new potential hobbies seem kinda cool, but I don't really see something that I can completely sink my teeth into. I've actually started doing standup comedy, hitting up open mics and trying to tell jokes and shit, and DAMN is that ever a humbling experience, especially when you see yourself on video. That's probably the closest thing I have to a new hobby at the moment. I've been asking friends and family to recommend books, or something new to try. I cant focus. While writing this simple reply to a simple forum post, I've probably opened 25 different firefox tabs, checked reddit, checked twitter, checked facebook. Fuck. I work out and i work out HARD. Like underwear gets fully soaked from sweat hard. but the scale just fucking refuses to move. I'm not an ugly guy or anything, but its fucking tiring being average, my body seems to just straight up refuses to change. I'm turning 27 tomorrow, and year after year I've always planned the shit out of my birthday! It was always awesome and spectacular and cool. this year was the first year that I went "men... there's nothing really THAT great out there". And I live in NYC, the greatest city in the world, and im going "meh" on my birthday. thats just wrong. There i go, 7 more tabs. fuck this is frustrating. fuck. It's time to change my life but i have no fucking clue where to start. fuck

[CrackerJack]

Carbs and plain sugars definitely affect your alertness and tiredness. Eating to much carbs will spike your blood sugar level and a couple of hours later you will experience a 'crash.'

Also, check your liver if you feel tired all the time.

[babelfish669]

It looks to me like ElBorracho and Ugg covered some of the big points here already. You really need to tackle multiple issues to solve sleep problems.

I had major sleep and low energy problems pretty much since I was a kid. When I dropped out of college to run my own business everything got went to hell. I didn't have a normal normal for a good 3 years. Within the past year I have gotten rid of all of my sleeping and low energy problems, end of story. If I stay up all night its screwed up again but that can be fixed in a few days.

It all comes down to two things -- sleeping naturally and controlling your blood sugar.

Sleeping naturally means that at least two hours before going to sleep you stop doing anything strenuous and dim/turn off your light sources. Make sure your bedroom is as close to pitch black as possible while you sleep. Ideally sunrise wakes you up in the morning but that isn't happening with this lifestyle.

The second part of sleeping naturally means you have to stay away from stimulant based drugs. If you have a problem, prescription or otherwise none of this stuff is going to help, sorry.

Controlling your blood sugar is how you keep at peak energy all day long. Even after fixing my sleep cycle I would still feel tired after lunch. It took me a while to figure out why.

If your on a blood sugar roller coaster all day long your going to be very tired multiple times a day and may even need to take naps. Whole foods -- meat (including super high fat kind), vegetables, fruits, its all fine. Giant sub sandwiches, pasta, french fries, donuts, things with refined sugar in them which is just about everything, candy, soda, etc, is not.

When I follow those things, I'm doing great. Unfortunately it doesn't really fit in well with meeting and picking up girls unless you can consistently sleep a good chunk of the morning in a pitch black room.

[dk902]

The guys here have given some great, solid advice.

My suggestions:

-Lift weights regularly at least 2-3 times a week if possible

- Eat healthily and with routine, including plenty of protein, fruit and fibre.

- Go to sleep at the same time where possible, this might always be manageable with stressful lifestyles and other factors. But sleep needs to be made a priority, your body will thank you for it and you'll be more productive as a result.

- Drink plenty of water.

- Take cod-liver oil and Omega 3 supplements

- Last but not least, don't sweat the small things in life.

[CupCake]

I've had difficulty with this too. Here are some things I've picked up:

-Don't sit in bed if you're not tired. You need to have your brain associate your bed with sleep. If you're rolling around trying to sleep you'll never form this association. If you're sleepy, hit the bed. If you're awake, get out of it.

-Be active as much as you can. I'm currently trying to form active habits. In the past, I'd always lounge around when I had long periods of time off. Now I try to do lots of day trips. I feel energetic and accomplished when I get back.

-Try to read more. Exercising your brain is as important as exercising your body. I've found that I often feel the need to sleep after reading for a while. I've begun using this to my advantage.

-Also, try to develop a calmer mind. A lot of people like me obsessively think about things and this really stresses you out. It can disrupt your sleep and make you feel exhausted even though it feels like you haven't been doing anything. Try to read some philosophy/self-development books that give you a more refreshing look at life. You'll feel better during the day and sleep better at night.

[Ellroy]

Naps. When you're sleepy in the afternoon, don't fight it feel it.

Winston Churchill took naps. Hitler took methedrine. And who came out on top?

Of course naps are for marathon energy, not sprint energy.