I used to be chronically tired. I am not anymore. This was a result of 3-4 years of effort. Here is what worked:
Experiment with your diet: I would try some forms of diet for a month and then make a conclusion. Also observe how you react to certain foods - I found out that simple and refined carbs (bread, pasta, sugars etc.) make me more tired while eating protein and fat rich foods doesn't. A diet that works for me the best is paleo, I don't believe in the reasoning behind it, I just find it a good fit (we all have different metabolism, there is no one diet for all)
It turns out that quality fat is the best source of energy for me. It's steadier and long term (and much healthier - fatty acids, minerals, vitamins), unlike some empty carb meals.
Eliminate coffee: I got some withdrawal effect for first 5 days (headache, energy decrease) and then I started to feel the same but my sleep improved.
Start napping: Instead of coffee I take 15 min nap when I'm tired. It feels like a serious reboot - and it is.
Sleep: Try this app: Sleep Cycle alarm clock period.
Exercise: This is nothing new, but you may want to implement this method: 3 Steps to New Habits to start regular exercise. Basically I was capable of doing 150 pushups but I started to do 10 every morning to make it a routine, rather than force a massive workout right when you wake up. Today I lift, run, box. Workout is as normal as brushing my teeth.
Your natural biorhythm: I tracked my energy, focus and mood on the scale of 1-3 every hour for almost a month. EDIT: I have graded my level of energy, focus and mood by a grade on a scale of 1-3, 1 being the lowest and 3 the highest. E.g when I found it easy to focus or high energy I would grade it 3:
I was surprised to see the numbers added up pretty well:
Thats what I got when I put the numbers in chart. EDIT: I don't eat regularly as my schedule is not fixed so the drops are likely unaffected by lunch/dinner etc.
Things I believe helped:
Meditation: I have meditated for quite a while, I felt I burned a lot of energy on fantasising or being angry or simply thinking too much about irrelevant stuff (after all your brain uses 30% of your energy). Once I learned to observe what's going on in my head I gained ability to stop it.
Cold showers: Better than coffee. I have been doing this for 6 years now, daily. I have not been sick (not even cold) for the entire time. I felt I might be getting cold or flu couple times after running in cold weather/rain but each time it took 1 hour sleep and paracetamol - might be a co-incidence or combination of more things (exercise, diet etc.). Cold showers are very energising, plus if you don't get sick you save a lot of energy.
Zinc: I felt that when I am supplementing Zinc I sleep less and get more out of it. I have no data, just personal feeling but there are some studies that estimate over 70% of men in western world are deficient in zinc (signs include lethargy and tiredness). A study form 2011* also found athletes supplementing zinc had higher testosterone levels than placebo (= more strength, energy, better sleep). Too much zinc can be toxic. EDIT: Also watch your copper when supplementing zinc to avoid deficiency.
Minimize alcohol, porn, masturbation: Let's not beat around the bush, internet statistics show that well over 70% of men watch porn on regular basis - our brains react to it in some serious way as we're designed to react to sex. If you're a normal guy the chances are you jerk-off and watch porn. I believe overindulgence in any of the above results in low energy.
I find real sex energising so I don't do the other stuff and get more of it, or if I get none at all I go to gym instead. There is an ongoing 30 day challenge started by Tim Ferris The 30-Day Challenge: No Booze, No Masturbating (NOBNOM) try it and experience for yourself.
Eliminate mindless browsing: I cut down on using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Feedly and Quora. I now get focused information and don't mindlessly browse questions or newsfeed I don't really care about. Instead I listen to tech/business podcasts while running. My theory is that the way these sites are designed is to lure you into compulsive habit of endless trigger-reward loop that's difficult to stop (infinite scroll, notifications etc.) and it screws with your brain chemistry. There are apps like K9, openDNS, self-control etc. to help you set restrictions.
Like I said this was a result of 3-4 years, I have built these habits slowly one step at a time. I tried much more than the above but most experiments failed. Above is what gave me some measurable or tangible results.
All of this may appear a bit overwhelming to some people but as a result of extra time and energy I managed to increase my productivity, income, learned new things (programming, Spanish), started side projects e.g. Botto Shoes - Coming Soon!, traveled and got in a great shape - so there is some serious ROI.
There are still challenges. One last thing to add, that helped a lot was seeing this as a long-term, never ending effort rather than a one-off hack. It improved my focus and helped to eliminate a feeling of failure that you get with one-off efforts.
Hope that helps.
*Chang, C., Choi, J., Kim, H., Park, S. Correlation Between Serum Testosterone Level and Concentrations of Copper and Zinc in Hair Tissue. Biological Trace Element Research. 14 June 2011.
Experiment with your diet: I would try some forms of diet for a month and then make a conclusion. Also observe how you react to certain foods - I found out that simple and refined carbs (bread, pasta, sugars etc.) make me more tired while eating protein and fat rich foods doesn't. A diet that works for me the best is paleo, I don't believe in the reasoning behind it, I just find it a good fit (we all have different metabolism, there is no one diet for all)
It turns out that quality fat is the best source of energy for me. It's steadier and long term (and much healthier - fatty acids, minerals, vitamins), unlike some empty carb meals.
Eliminate coffee: I got some withdrawal effect for first 5 days (headache, energy decrease) and then I started to feel the same but my sleep improved.
Start napping: Instead of coffee I take 15 min nap when I'm tired. It feels like a serious reboot - and it is.
Sleep: Try this app: Sleep Cycle alarm clock period.
Exercise: This is nothing new, but you may want to implement this method: 3 Steps to New Habits to start regular exercise. Basically I was capable of doing 150 pushups but I started to do 10 every morning to make it a routine, rather than force a massive workout right when you wake up. Today I lift, run, box. Workout is as normal as brushing my teeth.
Your natural biorhythm: I tracked my energy, focus and mood on the scale of 1-3 every hour for almost a month. EDIT: I have graded my level of energy, focus and mood by a grade on a scale of 1-3, 1 being the lowest and 3 the highest. E.g when I found it easy to focus or high energy I would grade it 3:
I was surprised to see the numbers added up pretty well:
Things I believe helped:
Meditation: I have meditated for quite a while, I felt I burned a lot of energy on fantasising or being angry or simply thinking too much about irrelevant stuff (after all your brain uses 30% of your energy). Once I learned to observe what's going on in my head I gained ability to stop it.
Cold showers: Better than coffee. I have been doing this for 6 years now, daily. I have not been sick (not even cold) for the entire time. I felt I might be getting cold or flu couple times after running in cold weather/rain but each time it took 1 hour sleep and paracetamol - might be a co-incidence or combination of more things (exercise, diet etc.). Cold showers are very energising, plus if you don't get sick you save a lot of energy.
Zinc: I felt that when I am supplementing Zinc I sleep less and get more out of it. I have no data, just personal feeling but there are some studies that estimate over 70% of men in western world are deficient in zinc (signs include lethargy and tiredness). A study form 2011* also found athletes supplementing zinc had higher testosterone levels than placebo (= more strength, energy, better sleep). Too much zinc can be toxic. EDIT: Also watch your copper when supplementing zinc to avoid deficiency.
Minimize alcohol, porn, masturbation: Let's not beat around the bush, internet statistics show that well over 70% of men watch porn on regular basis - our brains react to it in some serious way as we're designed to react to sex. If you're a normal guy the chances are you jerk-off and watch porn. I believe overindulgence in any of the above results in low energy.
I find real sex energising so I don't do the other stuff and get more of it, or if I get none at all I go to gym instead. There is an ongoing 30 day challenge started by Tim Ferris The 30-Day Challenge: No Booze, No Masturbating (NOBNOM) try it and experience for yourself.
Eliminate mindless browsing: I cut down on using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Feedly and Quora. I now get focused information and don't mindlessly browse questions or newsfeed I don't really care about. Instead I listen to tech/business podcasts while running. My theory is that the way these sites are designed is to lure you into compulsive habit of endless trigger-reward loop that's difficult to stop (infinite scroll, notifications etc.) and it screws with your brain chemistry. There are apps like K9, openDNS, self-control etc. to help you set restrictions.
Like I said this was a result of 3-4 years, I have built these habits slowly one step at a time. I tried much more than the above but most experiments failed. Above is what gave me some measurable or tangible results.
All of this may appear a bit overwhelming to some people but as a result of extra time and energy I managed to increase my productivity, income, learned new things (programming, Spanish), started side projects e.g. Botto Shoes - Coming Soon!, traveled and got in a great shape - so there is some serious ROI.
There are still challenges. One last thing to add, that helped a lot was seeing this as a long-term, never ending effort rather than a one-off hack. It improved my focus and helped to eliminate a feeling of failure that you get with one-off efforts.
Hope that helps.
*Chang, C., Choi, J., Kim, H., Park, S. Correlation Between Serum Testosterone Level and Concentrations of Copper and Zinc in Hair Tissue. Biological Trace Element Research. 14 June 2011.
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