Why do I feel so tired in the afternoon?

[ProjectX]

So last night I had decent amount of sleep. Fell asleep around midnight and woke up around 8am. But around 5pm I felt a sudden tiredness. So I decided to take a nap and I ended waking up at 9. This pattern has been happening the past few days. Its as if I just feel exhausted in the afternoon and I ended taking ridiculously long naps. And I don't why. Can it be stress or anxiety? Or does my body need 12hours of sleep?!!!

[mlc82]

This could be related to how you eat during the day, especially if you've changed it recently (and drastically). What do you usually eat and at what times?

[ProjectX]

Originally Posted by mlc82

This could be related to how you eat during the day, especially if you've changed it recently (and drastically). What do you usually eat and at what times?

Today I had cereal at 11am with a banana. During 1 I had a ham subway and at 4 another subway (tuna).

And I did change my eating patterns. I've been having to wake up earlier to goto class and so I've been eating earlier and more often.



EDIT: Could it be possible I have low blood sugar levels?

[Fullcrum]

You're likely not getting enough physical activity.

You're also probably not feeling very positive emotions throughout the day - if I feel bad when I come home, I tend to want to take a nap, and then wake up 2 hrs later. It sucks, I know .

Get more sunlight - sun actually changes brain chemicals and wakes you up. There are various e-books around that tell you all you need to know about sleep.

Try getting more sun, working out, and chatting with friends more than you do now, and see what happens. Concrete steps.

[Jennihul]

Carbs and caffeine.

Jennifer

[ProjectX]

Fullcrum. Regarding physical activity I consider myself an active person. I goto the gym nearly everyday. Infact I was going to go today but the fatigue set in and I needed to sleep. This week I'm gonna try and stay out in the sun more often, study and eat outside. I've been having school and family relations trouble so I guess that has been bearing me down.

Also can you recommend me any of these e-books?

[Fullcrum]

I experienced similar symptoms when I worked out four days a week consistently but wasn't happy with my situation in general, which was totally my fault but I couldn't see it at the time.

Develop a more powerful and positive approach to everyday reality. Make it a consistent habit to feel good within your body and take attention away from your mind once in a while (and more as you become better at it), basically develop real self-esteem for no "reason". Develop super calmness in the midst of anything; this will definitely reduce stress levels.

I can almost guarantee that if you do this, you'll feel less tired, more energized, and more excited. Dominate your mind.

I forget these e-books. It's been a while. They are, however, quite common. Search on Google.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by ProjectX

EDIT: Could it be possible I have low blood sugar levels?

You could absolutely have some very challenging blood sugar levels! All that sugar! No wonder you crash after a day of all that jolting. You might be a little bit addicted.

Try having protein and carb every 2-3 hours (plus lots of vegetables of course) and instead of all that bread and cereal, try a slow carb that will not spike your blood with sugar. Beans, yams, oatmeal, lentils, brown rice.

Good luck -- if you are addicted to sugar, the prospect of giving it all up for beans will not be enticing.

[mlc82]

Originally Posted by Angela

You could absolutely have some very challenging blood sugar levels! All that sugar! No wonder you crash after a day of all that jolting. You might be a little bit addicted.

Try having protein and carb every 2-3 hours (plus lots of vegetables of course) and instead of all that bread and cereal, try a slow carb that will not spike your blood with sugar. Beans, yams, oatmeal, lentils, brown rice.

Good luck -- if you are addicted to sugar, the prospect of giving it all up for beans will not be enticing.

I was going to say the same- add a decent serving of protein (20g or so should help alot) to your breakfast, a protein powder can really help with this if you don't have time to prepare anything else (eggs or whatever). Also, IIRC most Subway sandwiches aren't all that high in protein unless you double or even triple the meat, so it sounds like you're ingesting a LOT of carbs at each meal without enough protein and maybe also fat to keep your blood sugar from shooting up and down drastically throughout the day- a big serving of even many forms of complex carbs without protein or fat to balance it out can do that!

[MisterEThoughts]

How is your diet?

[viscapes]

Hi ProjectX,

If you do indeed try eating more sugar then the best source of course is fruit. Banana's are great because they release energy slowly over a longer period of time so they give you some stamina (that's why you see tennis players eating them between sets). Blueberries are also very good although they tend to be more expensive that your standard fruits (apples, grapes etc.).

There's also a line of study that has identified 14:19 as the most unproductive part of the day. It's just after lunch but not late enough in the working day to spur us on until home time. Studies have shown that a 20 minute nap from 14:15 to 14:35 improves productivity for the rest of the afternoon. Maybe you could try that? Set your alarm clock to give you a 20 minute nap. If you still feel tired, get up anyway, and once you're awake you should feel better (in theory at least).

Hope this helps.

[escapee]

A few common nutritional factors i know which will affect your energy level .

- Imbalance nutrients ( usually caused by excessive intake of vitamin pills or "food pollution" caused by processed food)

- Lacking Iron, Copper and Zinc in diet.
- Lacking essential fatty acids in diet
- High or Low blood sugar caused by bad diet, commonly referred as metabolic disorder.
- Malnutrition, lacking any of the essential nutrients, same as above.

Ham is not "real food", it's processed meat rich in unusable chemicals that will wreck havoc on your enzymatic system like most heavy metals. Try to avoid all processed food as much as you can when eating out.

Shocking News About Processed Meat

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer. Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption. Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.

[ProjectX]

Originally Posted by Angela

You could absolutely have some very challenging blood sugar levels! All that sugar! No wonder you crash after a day of all that jolting. You might be a little bit addicted.

Try having protein and carb every 2-3 hours (plus lots of vegetables of course) and instead of all that bread and cereal, try a slow carb that will not spike your blood with sugar. Beans, yams, oatmeal, lentils, brown rice.

Good luck -- if you are addicted to sugar, the prospect of giving it all up for beans will not be enticing.

Really. I don't consume that much sugar per day. I like to drink juice but their fruit juices like orange juice.
I can say though I have a weak stomach in the morning, so solid foods are kinda bad. I'm thinking of buying a blender and then putting fruits ,beans, oatmeal and protein powder every morning to drink. Beans as a protein substitute cause I don't really like eggs all that much. Something about the smell that turns me off. What kind of beans do you recommend? Kidney beans?

Originally Posted by escapee

A few common nutritional factors i know which will affect your energy level .

- Imbalance nutrients ( usually caused by excessive intake of vitamin pills or "food pollution" caused by processed food)

- Lacking Iron, Copper and Zinc in diet.
- Lacking essential fatty acids in diet
- High or Low blood sugar caused by bad diet, commonly referred as metabolic disorder.
- Malnutrition, lacking any of the essential nutrients, same as above.

Ham is not "real food", it's processed meat rich in unusable chemicals that will wreck havoc on your enzymatic system like most heavy metals. Try to avoid all processed food as much as you can when eating out.

Shocking News About Processed Meat

yikes. That is scary. Its tough sometimes when you're in college and avoiding processed food. Also would it be good if I take zinc magnesium supplements?

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by ProjectX

Really. I don't consume that much sugar per day.

It's in the bread you are eating on your subs. Carbs that are not whole grain are just like eating white sugar. It will have an effect on your blood sugar.

Well, that's an assumption. Are you talking about sub sandwhiches from Subway? Or are you making these at home?

[ProjectX]

Originally Posted by {aspiring_to_clarity}

It's in the bread you are eating on your subs. Carbs that are not whole grain are just like eating white sugar. It will have an effect on your blood sugar.

Well, that's an assumption. Are you talking about sub sandwhiches from Subway? Or are you making these at home?

I don't eat subs everyday, and when I do I only eat the whole wheat bread.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by ProjectX

I don't eat subs everyday, and when I do I only eat the whole wheat bread.

Hmmm. I see. That's good. Well, still if you are talking about Subway I don't think their wheat bread is whole wheat, but I'm not sure.

I would still look into eating every two to three hours and having a good mix of good carbs and protein each time like Angela said. Hmm, maybe you have a wheat allergy. On the days when you don't eat subs do you still eat a good deal of wheat?

I'm having the same issue at the moment actually, but I know that mine is due to my poor diet and soda.

ETA: In reading my last post I found it sounded kind of condescending. That was not my intention. I apologize.

[Angela]

Yes, the cereal and the bread. It doesn't look like sugar, but it's sugar alright! Cereal and bread (even whole wheat) shoot sugar quickly into you bloodstream and then are quickly depleted, leaving you feeling depleted. You might want to reduce the amount of those kind of carbohydrates and replace them with the slower-burning kind (and eat them with protein, which increases their staying power) so that your blood sugar remains more constant and steady throughout the day.

What kind of beans do you recommend? Kidney beans?

I like black beans or lentils, especially mixed with a little brown rice. This will be my Bean Summer and I'll be experimenting with some different types. I've already declared myself to be the Bean Dominatrix.

[robc]

- I have noticed personally from friends that were having issue with sleep, energy, crashing, etc. that it could be due to low iron and lack of enough b-complex vitamins.

If you're getting plenty of sleep, 8 hours is probably plenty and you still find that you have no energy and sometimes require additional naps throughout the day to get by, it could be that your anemic (low iron) and some other issues. Is it possible your diabetic or borderline diabetic and your experiencing some insulin sensitivity problems due to your high carb diet (and yes I would classify your diet as high carb, the only clean carbs in your diet are your raw fruits & veggies, everything else like bread & sugar, processed foods, etc. are not clean carbs). Regardless of the kinds of carbs, too many carbs in your diet is keeping your blood sugar high, your pancreas is working overtime to produce enough insulin to deal with the high blood sugar levels and your sleeping alot which may be indicative of blood sugar levels spiking high and then dropping off low really quickly taking your body's energy levels down with it.

Don't take it lightly, see your doctor, a quick physical with blood & urine tests along with mentioning your problems with your doctor will help you find out what the problem is.

Add some more protein to your diet definitely, lean red meat, eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, pork, etc.

[Vantage72]

It could be a number of things but bread can definetly be an energy drain.

Try eating brown rice instead of bread and see how you feel. See if it changes anything.

If you really want to eat bread, don't go for the whole wheat at Subway but go to a health food store where they sell sourdough for example.

Eating more protein instead of carbs is also something you might want to try out.

One more thing I recommend you to try out is to eat more frequent and smaller portions during the day.

Another thing, do you like what you do during the day? Do you like your study?

[escapee]

if I take zinc magnesium supplements?

Take the real food before considering supplements

Seafood/fish is rich in Zinc, iron and copper

Vegetable, nuts and whole grains ( organic is better and richer ) are rich in Magnesium .

[jbsmith]

There are two forces that each gang up on most people to kill their energy by the afternoon...and both have to do with the pancreas.

First, sugar (doesn't need to be large amount) without offsetting protein and vegetable intake will give you a short term high, stress your pancreas and then send you down toward a crash landing.

Second, the stress as you progress through the day is deadly on your pancreas - it increases the load as does nitrates from the meat on your subway sandwitches.

Try this for a few days...

1. Load up on vegetables in the early afternoon - salad bar, vegetable sandwich, a V8 (low sodium)

2. Try meditating early in the afternoon - try and achieve total relaxation for at least 15-minutes

3. Try deep breathing, hold your breath for 20-seconds and exhale 10 times twice a day

These 3 things should make a big difference to your afternoon dips...

Jeff

[ProjectX]

It happened again yesterday and today. Yesterday I fought off the temptation to sleep and went to the gym. Today I felt totally exhausted so I slept for 3 hours. I really don't think its my diet. I eat quite healthy. I really think I could be having sleep problems at night. Tossing and turning alot I reckon. I'm gonna try some sleep Md and get a new pillow.
But I definately will be eating more veggies.