Constantly low energy levels - Any ideas?

[Tina McLeman]

I'm 24 years old and work from home. I have a huge problem with my energy levels. I try to eat well, exercise when I can (I walk everywhere - sometimes miles and miles at a time), I drink plenty of water (it's like all I drink), and a few weeks ago I changed my sleeping routine to get up at 7am (I used to get up at 9am and my days were highly unproductive - getting up at 7am allows me to be much more productive). I am also taking steps to improve my mental health by thinking positve all the time (I used to be a very negative person), and I am learning how to meditate.

I feel like I am running on autopilot. I have no problems with motivation to do things - like starting work. In fact I enjoy my work a lot. If I need to go out, or make dinner, or clean the flat, I have no problem just getting on and doing it. But all the time I have no energy. It's not like I'm tired, I just feel like I am a machine - just doing things. I feel empty. My brain and eyes feel very heavy. I have this feeling constantly, all day every day. It's a steady feeling - it never changes. I have no peaks or dips in my energy. It's just always like this.

At first I thought maybe I'm just fed up with life the way it is. But I've been taking steps to improve myself and my life, and I'm happy, just not got any energy. I also thought that maybe it's due to the lack of sunshine. I live in Milan, Italy. This time of year is supposed to be very sunny and warm, but we've had nothing but clouds and rain for almost 2 months now. I also thought that maybe I am sleeping too much? I get about 7-8 hours a night. People say that's standard, but maybe it's too much for me?

Does anyone else have this problem? Or has anyone had this problem and overcome it? I'd love to know what you did.

Any tips will be appreciated!
Tina

[mike1989]

Go out and do something fun. When was the last time you went out to see a funny movie or a concert?

Maybe you need to get a vacation, move away from the daily routine for a while.

Right now, I feel just the same way, and what I'm about to do is buy myself a violin and start learning how to play.(poor neighbours ) Maybe that's what you need too - find a way to express yourself, do something for your soul.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by mike1989

Go out and do something fun. When was the last time you went out to see a funny movie or a concert?

Maybe you need to get a vacation, move away from the daily routine for a while.

Right now, I feel just the same way, and what I'm about to do is buy myself a violin and start learning how to play.(poor neighbours ) Maybe that's what you need too - find a way to express yourself, do something for your soul.

Fun, whats that again? I actually went to the cinema last night to see "Be Kind, Rewind" which made me laugh. But that was the first cinema trip I've had in a few months. And I do enjoy going to concerts (going to one next week actually) but again, I don't go to them that often.

I don't go out as much as I used to. Money is pretty tight just now. My work is being a student - full-time distance learning with the Open University. I love it, but it brings in no cash! My boyfriend works full time for an oil company and supports both of us. He's just on a graduate contract though, so he only gets paid pennies. I find living in Italy quite restrictive. I love the culture but because I don't speak much Italian (only been here a few months) there's only so much I can do here and there's even less to do when you have no money! But the situation is temporary - my boyfriend should be getting relocated next year (fingers crossed it's to Houston - I've been there a few times and I know there's a lot to do! Plus, everything is so much cheaper! ).

Because of the whole money thing, vacations are not really possible right now. Just the odd trip back to Scotland to see the folks.

I like your idea of finding a way to express myself though. That's something I could do in my current circumstances. I used to play electric guitar when I was in school. I got pretty good at it, but gave it up several years ago when my workload went through the roof. I still have it stashed away somewhere, so I could dig it out and learn again. I'd love to be more creative, like learning how to draw/paint etc... I used to write songs/poetry as well which made me happy. Maybe I just have to get back into all my old hobbies?!

[mike1989]

Well, I don't think money's the real issue here. After all, as they say, the best things in life are free.

Have you ever considered trying yourself in computer graphics? This will fulfill the need for self-expression and, after a certain period of time, you'll be able to turn this hobby into a source of income too, because you will have the skills and the experience. There are quite a lot of opportunities for free-lance CG-artists on the Internet. The best thing is, you don't need to be Leonardo DaVinci to achieve certain hights in this field. Everyone can do it, it just takes patience and a lot practice.

It probably depends on the character, but I find music very effective in terms of self-expression. I envy(in a good way) people who, at my age, can freely play a musical instrument. It's a pity I didn't grow up in a "musical" family, I realised the fact that I'd give up everything just to be able to play an instrument when I was 14-15. I can only imagine what pleasure and satisfaction people get when playing an instrument.

[bdp]

Describe your diet.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by mike1989

Well, I don't think money's the real issue here. After all, as they say, the best things in life are free.

Have you ever considered trying yourself in computer graphics? This will fulfill the need for self-expression and, after a certain period of time, you'll be able to turn this hobby into a source of income too, because you will have the skills and the experience. There are quite a lot of opportunities for free-lance CG-artists on the Internet. The best thing is, you don't need to be Leonardo DaVinci to achieve certain hights in this field. Everyone can do it, it just takes patience and a lot practice.

It probably depends on the character, but I find music very effective in terms of self-expression. I envy(in a good way) people who, at my age, can freely play a musical instrument. It's a pity I didn't grow up in a "musical" family, I realised the fact that I'd give up everything just to be able to play an instrument when I was 14-15. I can only imagine what pleasure and satisfaction people get when playing an instrument.

Mike1989, thats not a bad idea about the computer graphics. I tried to teach myself computer programming/website building, a few years back but got terribly confused and gave up. Maybe I could give it another whirl from a different perspective. Before I was just learning it for fun, but if I have an objective - maybe I'll be able to stick with it. I'll have a look into it to see if it's something I'd be interested in and could do alongside my uni work.

And you are right, the best things in life are free. And I didn't grow up in a musical family either, but I've always had a passion for music. I loved playing my guitar, in a way it was a form of meditation for me. I would never ever play in front of anyone though, I was always much too scared (I'd never make a good rock star then )

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by bdp

Describe your diet.

Typically my diet consists of toast or cereal for breakfast.

Always have cottage cheese on toast for a morning snack.

Lunch is usually pasta (sometimes a sandwich or some cous cous, but usually always pasta).

Afternoon snack, usually something sweet, like a bit of chocolate.

Dinner usually consists of Pasta or if I can be bothered I may make a pizza, omlette or stir fry.

Sometimes I have some toast, or other snack before I go to bed if I am still hungry. Otherwise I have nothing. Being in Italy, I've gotten into the habit of having my dinner quite late (8/9pm), so I usually don't have an evening snack.

I always eat wholemeal bread and pasta. I never eat ready meals - always make my own. I'm vegetarian as well. I have been since I was 9 years old. I also take vitamins and omega 3 capsules.

I'm not overweight (I've always been underweight for my height -5ft 10).

[bdp]

It looks like most of your calories come from grains, especially grain flour. Some people do well on grains and some people don't. You could cut out the grains for a week and see how you feel.

Additionally, if we're talking energy levels, we have to talk raw food. I have, by far, the most energy when I manage to eat at least 80% raw food. My wife has the same experience. Our moods are elevated and our energy is far above normal. Our diet is vegan and already very high in vegetables and fruits, so it's impressive to see such marked improvement.

[coLLege kid07]

Originally Posted by Tina McLeman

I'm 24 years old and work from home. I have a huge problem with my energy levels. I try to eat well, exercise when I can (I walk everywhere - sometimes miles and miles at a time), I drink plenty of water (it's like all I drink), and a few weeks ago I changed my sleeping routine to get up at 7am (I used to get up at 9am and my days were highly unproductive - getting up at 7am allows me to be much more productive). I am also taking steps to improve my mental health by thinking positve all the time (I used to be a very negative person), and I am learning how to meditate.

I feel like I am running on autopilot. I have no problems with motivation to do things - like starting work. In fact I enjoy my work a lot. If I need to go out, or make dinner, or clean the flat, I have no problem just getting on and doing it. But all the time I have no energy. It's not like I'm tired, I just feel like I am a machine - just doing things. I feel empty. My brain and eyes feel very heavy. I have this feeling constantly, all day every day. It's a steady feeling - it never changes. I have no peaks or dips in my energy. It's just always like this.

At first I thought maybe I'm just fed up with life the way it is. But I've been taking steps to improve myself and my life, and I'm happy, just not got any energy. I also thought that maybe it's due to the lack of sunshine. I live in Milan, Italy. This time of year is supposed to be very sunny and warm, but we've had nothing but clouds and rain for almost 2 months now. I also thought that maybe I am sleeping too much? I get about 7-8 hours a night. People say that's standard, but maybe it's too much for me?

Does anyone else have this problem? Or has anyone had this problem and overcome it? I'd love to know what you did.

Any tips will be appreciated!
Tina

What I've found that helps with my life is balance. Having an even balance between work, enjoyment, family, school, and relationships is very important to me. Its helps maintain my motivation and also keeps my well being very high. I hope you find what you're looking for.

[Captain Cloudchaser]

Do you get enough iron from your diet, do you think?

I was told by my doc that even a small dip in iron levels can result in low energy and fatigue. Not that I'm trying to worry you there or anything, iron supplements can be very bad for health, but stocking up on leafy green vegetables might give you a boost ^^

[Vantage72]

Vitamin D and your Omega 3 levels are two other things to watch.

[Tigerlilly]

I second no grains and check your iron level. It might very well be your diet that's causing the problem, since you walk a lot out in the fresh air and get enough daylight.

Getting back to your old hobbies is a good idea if it's not your diet. Anything that's fun to do. And then another great thing is to integrate something daring or unknown into each day. You know Breakfast at Tiffany's when they play "Today let's do only things that we never did before"? That's the kind of thing that even in small portions gets you wide awake and feel very alive straight away.

[mlc82]

On the sleep part, I actually feel better sleeping biphasically, 3 or 4.5 hrs at night with a 1.5 hr nap during the day, than I do getting a full 7-8 hrs all at once. Sleeping for more than 6 hrs or so generally makes me feel groggy, unmotivated, and kind of depressed for most of the day, even if I chug down half a pot of coffee the grogginess doesn't go away. I just don't get this problem with periods of less sleep scheduled 2-3 times a day. Waking up and actually forcing myself out of bed still sucks though

I do tend to feel more vibrant throughout the day with that sleeping schedule (although I definitely oversleep quite a bit on the weekend, but don't really care on those two days as I'm lazy on the weekends anyhow), but if I skimp out on napping for miss more than a little sleep, I'll get really worn out really quickly. Kind of a double-edged sword I suppose.

[MariaG]

Typically my diet consists of toast or cereal for breakfast.

Always have cottage cheese on toast for a morning snack.

Lunch is usually pasta (sometimes a sandwich or some cous cous, but usually always pasta).

Afternoon snack, usually something sweet, like a bit of chocolate.

Dinner usually consists of Pasta or if I can be bothered I may make a pizza, omlette or stir fry.

I, too, suspect your diet is less than ideal. Even though you're in Italy, it's probably not a good choice to load up on pasta twice a day - that's a lot of carbs and it can tax your system. Try to change your macronutrient ratios for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.

As a vegetarian, you can stick with veggies, good fats like nuts & olive oil, and proteins such as eggs (you mentioned omlettes, so I'm guessing you're not vegan.) See if that helps at all and continue to tweak.

[martin]

Do something that gets you excited. Not something you think you should do but something you genuinely want to do.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by bdp

It looks like most of your calories come from grains, especially grain flour. Some people do well on grains and some people don't. You could cut out the grains for a week and see how you feel.

Additionally, if we're talking energy levels, we have to talk raw food. I have, by far, the most energy when I manage to eat at least 80% raw food. My wife has the same experience. Our moods are elevated and our energy is far above normal. Our diet is vegan and already very high in vegetables and fruits, so it's impressive to see such marked improvement.

After posting the list of my typical diet, I did look at it and think that it was awfully full of grains and carbs. I don't choose necessarily to eat those things, they are just the things that are most convenient for me. When I turned vegetarian, I was only a kid and I was the only person in my family doing it. My folks new nothing about what I was supposed to eat, so I was just left to get my own food. And since at that point I hated fruit and veg (I was a kid after all ) I fell into the habit of pasta and bread, and have never been able to break it. It never used to affect me before, but I think thats because I did a lot more exercise than I do now, since I now work from home.

I have started to cut out some pasta and grains and incorporate more fruit and veg. Well, I started today I had a small bowl of special K topped with heaps of berries for my breakfast. Here's hoping I can stick with it for the next 7 days, and longer if it goes well! I will let you know how it goes. I'm also considering trying to get up a little earlier in the morning and maybe go out for a short run to see if that helps any.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by Captain Cloudchaser

Do you get enough iron from your diet, do you think?

I was told by my doc that even a small dip in iron levels can result in low energy and fatigue. Not that I'm trying to worry you there or anything, iron supplements can be very bad for health, but stocking up on leafy green vegetables might give you a boost ^^

Captain Cloudchaser, thanks for your reply. I used to be quite anemic when I was a teenager. I think that came from a lack of a varied diet, such as no fruit, veg, nuts, seeds etc... As I said in my last post, I turned veggie at a young age and my parents weren't knowledgable about vegetarianism, so they left me to feed myself. I didn't know much about eating well either at that time but now I know better, even if I don't act better sometimes. I'm hoping that more fruit and veg will help, I've bought some spinach which I will work my way through. I'm not sure how much a portion of spinach is though - I'll have to research.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by mlc82

On the sleep part, I actually feel better sleeping biphasically, 3 or 4.5 hrs at night with a 1.5 hr nap during the day, than I do getting a full 7-8 hrs all at once. Sleeping for more than 6 hrs or so generally makes me feel groggy, unmotivated, and kind of depressed for most of the day, even if I chug down half a pot of coffee the grogginess doesn't go away. I just don't get this problem with periods of less sleep scheduled 2-3 times a day. Waking up and actually forcing myself out of bed still sucks though

I do tend to feel more vibrant throughout the day with that sleeping schedule (although I definitely oversleep quite a bit on the weekend, but don't really care on those two days as I'm lazy on the weekends anyhow), but if I skimp out on napping for miss more than a little sleep, I'll get really worn out really quickly. Kind of a double-edged sword I suppose.

I've been hearing quite a lot about biphasic sleep recently (mostly from this website) but I'm not sure it's for me. At least not right now with my current lifestyle and accommodation.

However, your point about sleeping more than 6 hours makes sense to me. I usually sleep 7-8 hours a night. I go to bed between 10 and 11pm and get up everyday at 7am (even at weekends - unless, of course, I've been out till 5am in the morning - then I don't get up till mid afternoon ). However, most days I am waking up at about 6am, and I feel like I could get up, but I force myself to stay in bed till 7am when my alarm goes off. Maybe I am sleeping too much? Maybe I should start getting up at 6am? I've been thinking about doing this anyways because I want to start exercising in the morning before I start getting caught up in my work.

[Tina McLeman]

Originally Posted by Tigerlilly

Getting back to your old hobbies is a good idea if it's not your diet. Anything that's fun to do. And then another great thing is to integrate something daring or unknown into each day. You know Breakfast at Tiffany's when they play "Today let's do only things that we never did before"? That's the kind of thing that even in small portions gets you wide awake and feel very alive straight away.

Originally Posted by martin

Do something that gets you excited. Not something you think you should do but something you genuinely want to do.

I like both of these ideas. I'm quite keen to try doing things that I've never done before. Even just the thought of doing something new makes me excited . I've also made a few changes that will allow me to get back to my old hobbies such as songwriting. I wrote some lyrics yesterday. It's been 5+ years since I wrote anything, and it felt great to do it again. Ok, it was a very rubbish song, my skills are more than just a bit rusty . Some of my old work, I feel, was very good - I can try to work on getting myself up to that standard again.

[Lifeismagical]

How much do you weigh?
Are you sure you are sleeping all night or do you suffer from Sleep Apnea?
Are you taking the right dosage of optimal vitamins?
Please check your bloodtype as you may be eating the wrong foods, we all have different blood types and once you get it checked out you can figure out what are the right foods for your optimal energy. Also, try and figure out the days you are low on energy. Fact of the matter is that us humans can not have optimal energy all week. We have our highs and lows that is just how we are built. Above and beyond what I have suggested get some blood work done check out your cholesterol, sugar, and any other tests that will determine your energy level. Good luck. These few links may help. Write me if you need more help.

Woman's Optimal Daily Allowance

Obtaining 'Positive Energy', Methods To Get Body And Mind On A Healthy Track - CBS News

The 7 Sacred Stages of Transformation - a Spiritual Map to Power - by Ayal Hurst

Best Regards,
Homeopathic Consultant

[dali]

do the highland fling. think youre a thistle. sing madonna songs in a scottish accent. all that earwork listening to italian might be tiring. start to ask yourself if you are really without ENERGY.realise that in fact you have loads. ask yourself how you feel when you think the thought I have no energy . really DO. then ask yourself how life would feel without that thought. then tell yourself the truth. YOU ARE ENERGY. Then do the highland fling and think yourself a thistle and learn a Joni Mitchell song and sing it in a scottish accent. Scotland loves you, hen. Dinnae fech.and i send you bundles of the stuff through the ether!!!!! enjoy