How to have lots of energy on a daily basis?

[Namaste]

Originally Posted by Shamou

So, my answer to you would be… “if you get passionate about what you do… you’ll have all the energy that you want or need…”

I totally agree with you Shamou Caffeine, sleep, carbs all have their effect on the energy levels, but these effects pale in comparison by the motivations and passions that fuel me throughout the day. If I have something to look forwards to each morning, I always have lots of energy - more than enough to get through the day (and night).

[Christian223]

There is also another method to increase energy levels, sexual energy, you may think that it gets you tired, but thats because you dont really understand how to use it correctly, there is a way to use it as a tool for increasing energy levels, you should give it a try:

ENERGY WORK: Helping males to understand & use their Sexual Energy.

[skinnyninja]

My secret of success in this area:

[x3r0bug]

There are many things that I have noticed that affect my energy levels. To sum it all up, the biggest factors I've noticed include:

- Sleep - Not necessarily the amount of sleep I get, but the quality of sleep I get at night.

- Diet - less carbs during the times you need more energy. fruits and veggies. daily multi-vitamin.

- Fitness - exercise not overly, but regularly... I think your two times per week is okay.

- Positive thinking - I've noticed negative feelings and/or thoughts can deplete your energy levels and make you feel tired, or groggy.

- Wake-up time - believe it or not, I've noticed significant differences in my daily energy when I wake up early, as opposed to waking up at, near, and especially after noon--all despite how much sleep I got that night.

There's probably something I'm missing, but for the most part, those are the main things that affect my personal energy levels, and it may be the same for you as well. This is something I used to struggle with a lot so I have done a lot of observing and experimenting. While not conclusive, that is where I'm at so far with my personal research on this topic.

[carenkh]

Even though this is a different direction than most of the thread, I thought this may apply:

Are You Leaking? by Christine Kane

[Calculusaurus]

This is a very good thread. (HQ posts!)

One thing I've noticed is that I have higher energy during times when I'm busier, have more responsibilities, more deadlines to deal with, and all that sort of stuff.

Two semesters ago I had about 2 months with an extremely high workload. 40-page papers, math exams, piano recitals. It was insane. But I had high energy nearly every day. I had no other option. In fact, "energy management" wasn't even an issue. Because I was so busy, energy just came for free; it had to.

I lasted two months like this, but I could have lasted longer -- the only reason I didn't is because the semester came to an end.

Remember Steve's college experience? He mentioned that for him, time seemed to slow down because he had so much to work on. This is what happens to me when I have lots of work to do. I become highly alert and aware of the passage of time. For some reason, this effect is enough to replace any need of "energy management."

On the contrary, I notice that the more freedom I have, the more likely I am to struggle with energy management. Times of complete free time are great for relaxation, but I find them impossible to deal with energy/motivation-wise.

[Magnus]

Here is a different angle (I think, didn't have time to read every post right now):

I have always felt I had a very low energy level. For as long as I can remember I have always stayed up late and even when going to bed I could sleep in until 2pm without any problem. I have tried for a long long time to quit procrastinating and sleeping so much without any longterm results.

Recently however, I have had more and more energy on a daily basis. The first change I did was to eat LESS, a lot less. I've found I need a lot less food than I thought. I also eat more vegetables. I have small in between meals. Like a banana or even a chocolate bar so that I don't crash. This had some (minor) effect.

Then recently I started to go up every morning and go for walks (I described what got me motivated to do that here). This also had some positive effect. But I've been up early before without getting a lot of energy later in the day.

Now the thing that I personally think really REALLY made the difference is that I chiseled out two overall longterm goals that describes where I want to be in one year and a little more. Something I am passionate about. What I did after that is that I have cut out everything that don't lead me closer to that. I use an accounting system that give me different scores every day depending on what of my goals I worked towards. I feel that I have so much more energy now. It's like everything is aligning itself since I know where to go.

The thing is that setting up a goal that says "I want more energy" is not enough, not for me at least. I subconsciously ask myself, "why, I'm kinda fine now. To what purpose do I need this energy?". How do you know that all your other problems will be worked out when you have more energy? Really, ask yourself that question. What are you going to use all this energy for? It might be that for your current ambitions your energy level is just fine. I'm still amazed at how much difference this question made to me.

I hope you succeed with getting a higher energy level, I know how frustrating it can be when it feels like you are just procrastinating your life away. As for me, I've had a small taste of something else. I intend to find out more.

[WilliWibald]

>"Let's stress it: IMHO energy level problem must be addressed before you can even think about anything else (i.e. time management)."

...me too. me too. Energy comes before everything else. All these other tricks and techniques are nothing compared to be just energized. They are just additional extra items but the core is energy.
How to get there? I don't know.
But there is this book I'm reading at the moment: Power Sleep by James B. Maas Power Sleep by James B. Maas . And I'm feeling excited reading it. According to Maas most people are sleep deprived and don't even know it. And getting the right amount of sleep seems to be the key to high energy levels and a steady positive mood and a productive positive day. I'm already implementing the hints given in this book and if it's that, that gives consistent energy peaks I'll let you know. (should be clear in 4-6 weeks if everything works out well).

[Ilya]

I started writing about physical exercise and noticed that you get enough of that and still fill physically tired. You also seem to have reasonable food and sleep habits.

I'd say, there is not enough information to give you the solution, but I'll throw in some ideas, and you can check if anything resonates.

Can it be a problem with information overload? Reading too much, or Internet surfing can drain a lot of energy. It may feel as if you are physically tired, but it is a false feeling. Usually, daytime naps help with this. You process the avalanche of new info and feel refreshed. Try it, if it works, you have a suspect.

Can it be that you do not rest enough? Overtraining can happen to enthusiastic guys. Especially if you run every day.

How about personal life? Are you in love? You don't have to answer, just think about it. Heart matters are the huge drainers.

Also, you mention a few days a month when you do feel enough energy. Try to do a comparison of these days with the usual low energy days.
Look out for locations, routine, activities, people you meet, what you do the day before etc. Are there any consistent patterns?

Did you have high energy levels in the past? If you did, when did it change, what was the main factor?

This is all I can suggest right now. I did have the problem of low energy, but by the time I exercised like you and ate healthily, it all gone.

Oh, last idea. If you do not already, try "listening to you body". Is there any desires or cravings that you suppress? Do you want a particular cheat meal or something. You seem to be in control, and disciplined. At this stage, you body can give you valuable advice and you should follow it, even if it goes against your regimen. If you try to tough it out, the body sometimes goes silent and doesn't let you know what's wrong. Your "WTF" description matches this situation.

Hope some of these ideas will help you to figure out what's going on.

Good Luck.

[RT Wolf]

This thread was started a long time ago and i dunno if that person's still around. If the thread starter is here: go to a doctor.