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Ask HN: Do you have a high level of energy throughout the day?

by dhruvkar on 11/27/23, 8:59 PM with 55 comments

• by hilux on 11/27/23, 11:55 PM

  That's a very broad question. Since you're asking, I assume that you do not enjoy high energy all day.

  First of all, the cause for low energy may be mental or it may be physical.

  Don't assume that because you feel tired in your body, the root cause is obviously physical. Long-term therapy helped me a lot. I also meditate semi-regularly, and try to maintain a good network of friends I see regularly. (AND, VERY IMPORTANT ... exclude negative people, if necessary family, from my life!)

  Moving on to the body, it sounds like you're asking about "good health." Here's what works for me (has evolved over time):

  * Early morning sun exposure, ideally a run.

  * Keeping a healthy weight through intermittent fasting and low-carb eating.

  * Regular resistance training - squats, pushups, pullups, can be done at home.

  * Did I mention low-carb eating? Say no to lunchtime rice or noodles. Or perhaps say no to lunch.

  * Very limited alcohol. No recreational drugs.

  * Feeding that gut microbiome with lots of prebiotics and probiotics.

  * Using a standing desk for about half the day.

  * Avoid most meds except in case of emergency, i.e. stay off the prescription cascade.

  * Regularly getting a good night's sleep, again without using meds. I recommend a weighted blanket.

  I do drink coffee and tea, which are both reputed to be healthy, and I eat lots of other delicious cooked food. (Often without the rice/bread/noodles.) I am highly skeptical of raw-food diets - they seem completely anti-evolutionary.

  Good luck!

• by yummypaint on 11/27/23, 11:59 PM

  Everyone is different, but i have experimented quite alot with what works for me:

  Sleep 4 hours twice per 24 hr cycle, spaced 10-14 hours apart. No caffeine, lots of water. This makes a massive difference.

  I reach my "final form" when adding a keto diet to the mix. No energy crashes ever, it's like being a machine. It can also be fun.

  That being said it's nontrivial to schedule things in that way, and overall I'm happier when i get to see my family more by sleeping an 8 hour block in exchange for the performance benefits.

  Also don't forget to do creative/fun things outside work. Watching TV doesn't count. Nothing kills my productivity faster than feeling like a work robot.

• by crazygringo on 11/28/23, 3:13 AM

  A largely raw food diet might be great for a lot of things, but it's not necessarily going to be great for energy.

  Make sure you're getting enough protein, and then enough nutrients generally to fuel your body at the right rates.

  For some people this means a lot of slow-digesting grains, other people do better with less carbs and more fats.

  And then some people need more to keep their blood sugar from being too low, whether it's bananas and honey at the start of the day or crackers between meals or whatever.

  My biggest advice is that energy can be very linked to diet, and don't be ideological about it. Experiment widely and figure out what works best for you. It's truly bizarre just how differently different people respond to different proportions of macronutrients, or things like raw vs cooked, or things like intermittent fasting.

• by lakotasapa on 11/27/23, 11:34 PM

  I do 300+ caffeine daily. However one thing this does "wake" me up is short walk outside in full sunlight.

  Also found having a good convo on an interesting topic. Find it very satisfying however, that may be due to my loneliness :)

  And what others have said: B complex, B12 in particular.

  Lastly, I found one of my best workout days are the days where I did NOT want to work out. Those days I flip a coin and do whatever it says. So I find it's a lot of mind over matter.

  Like when your football wins, you wanna go out and run a marathon!

• by Someone1234 on 11/27/23, 10:43 PM

  Have you considered that your definition of "high level of energy" and other people's may not be the same?

  For example Ballmer's famous Developers Developers Developers speech[0] is NOT my "high energy" and in fact if I ever had that much "energy" I'd consider myself to be having an emotional breakdown.

  My "high energy" is: zero brain-fog, good mental acuity, and not feeling sluggish. I've found light fasting to help with that (e.g. only eating dinners). But it isn't really clear what you're trying to achieve and or what success would look like.

  [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxbJw8PrIkc

• by matt3210 on 11/28/23, 2:53 AM

  I drink (literally) 20 cups of Folgers coffee at work per day. Also a 12oz Red Bull for breakfast. Work provides a large lunch and I skip dinner. Essentially OMAD with tons of caffeine. I also sleep like a baby because no caffeine after 2pm (starting the day at 6). I am able to hyper focus 11 hours a day 6 days a week on this diet.

  Edit: reading this back and I see I might have a problem with caffeine but I’m not ready to confront that yet.

  Edit 2: does hyperfocus == energy? I think so

• by adhd_news on 11/28/23, 4:35 AM

  If you're having trouble staying focused and having high energy, especially while working, you might want to consider if you have ADHD. Medication has completely changed the lives of many people that I know for the better.

  To be clear: I'm not a doctor, I'm not saying you must have ADHD based on two sentences. I'm not saying that medication is your only option, or would even be appropriate for you. I'm suggesting simply that you take a look at one of the self-report scales like "Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale" (ASRS) and see if it fits your experiences, and if it does maybe talk to your healthcare professional about it.

• by rramadass on 11/28/23, 2:14 PM

  You can never have "high level of energy throughout the day" everyday. A lot depends on your Food, Sleep, Time-of-the-day, Past Activities etc. That said you can have good high alertness, cheerfulness, positive mentality, energy for most of the day by following some simple disciplines. Here is mine;

  1) From Hatha Yoga: Do Kapalabhati, Bhastrika, Nauli kriya, Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha. All should be done gently without too much force. End with massaging the head lightly.

  2) Loosen all your joints particularly hip/pelvic area and then do some stretches (Yoga asanas are recommended).

  3) Do deep "Hindu squats" aka "Baithaks" (using the ball of the foot to push off the ground while getting up) and "Hindu Pushups" aka "Dand" in sequence. The squat raises the energy from the sole of the foot and the pushup conducts it through out the body.

  4) Read Dr. Satchin Panda's book "The Circadian Code" (and watch his videos on Youtube; eg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fciGNBN0nKM) and setup your daily activities in accordance with your circadian rhythm.

• by rpastuszak on 11/27/23, 10:47 PM

  What works for me:

  0. Accept that your energy and dopamine levels will slowly go down throughout the day

  1. Get enough sleep

  2. Take a short nap or meditate (10-15m) after lunch to clear my head.

  3. Exercise (even a little bit helps)

  4. Accept that you’re not a robot and you will have worse days.

  I’m oversimplifying here a bit but: historically humans worked in cycles (one busy day followed by one slower day) and our current approach is not sustainable.

• by solumunus on 11/28/23, 2:25 AM

  For most of this year I’ve needed a lunch time nap and not been very satisfied with overall energy levels. Unrelated to that I decided to lose some weight, and after losing 6kg (~13lb) the difference in my energy levels has been astounding. I haven’t needed a nap since and my productivity has certainly increased.

• by doubled112 on 11/28/23, 12:08 AM

  I don't know what you mean by high energy? I consider my energy level adequate.

  There are no secrets, it's just how I run. I only eat "OK", certainly not great. I drink a pot or more of coffee per day, but only water other than that. I don't drink a lot, or do any drugs, not sure if that helps.

  I wake up, I get kids ready, start my workday, take them to the bus, continue my work day, pick the kids up, and then I go wherever the night takes me. Sometimes I need to finish my day, my wife and I are going to need to feed kids, wash kids, get their homework going, get them somewhere, etc.

  That's probably 7AM-7PM, sometimes closer to 9PM. Most days I'm ready to go until about midnight or so, at a fairly steady, sometimes brisk, pace.

• by smileysteve on 11/28/23, 4:41 AM

  My smart watch has a smart alarm on it; it helps me wake up "on the right side of bed". Combined with 8 hours of sleep.

  Also, find the tasks that motivate you; working out, working on your car, working on a house, working on a side project. Avoiding TV if possible.

• by samorozco on 11/27/23, 11:24 PM

  I will say my energy levels have seriously increased in the last few years and I 100% think it is because I have stopped working out as much. When I worked out a lot I felt like I had a lot more energy and I have noticed similar things from other people.

• by syndacks on 11/28/23, 4:04 AM

  Cocaine and gummy bears

• by Quinzel on 11/28/23, 9:28 AM

  The single most helpful thing for me is having a relatively consistent bedtime and wake-up time. The next important things are: Drinking plenty of water, and exercising every day (It doesn't have to be intense exercises like a full-blown gym session or a long-distance run or bike ride, but you're body is designed to move, so go for a walk... or do something).

  For normal healthy individuals without other medical conditions, it really doesn't take anything special, it's just taking care of the base needs, and then from there everything else kind of flows.

• by givemeethekeys on 11/27/23, 11:10 PM

  The highest energy I've ever had was achieved by: - Using a standing desk.

  - Creating my own list of tasks and trying to get through as much of it as I could.

  - Skipping breakfast, keeping my lunch small, drinking plenty of water.

  - Working out before dinner, and finally having my first big meal.

  - Getting a full night's sleep. Usually skipping coffee because it wasn't needed.

  Even on days when I had a large lunch, standing ensured that I didn't fall asleep at my desk.

• by jelsisi on 11/28/23, 2:37 AM

  I've struggled with this a lot and haven't found the answer yet, but I will say that having a light dinner, just enough not to make me wake up at night, has improved my sleep a lot. I also stopped running and have switched over to weight training and that has helped as well. I think everyone's body is different and that these comments will only go so far for any given individual.

• by hnthrowaway0315 on 11/28/23, 3:59 AM

  From what I observe, some people are just constantly high. I found many examples in sales/marketing. Tired yet high.

• by jasfi on 11/28/23, 9:31 AM

  Here are some tips:

  - Use caffeine for a boost when you need it, but try to go without when possible.

  - Try a light green tea instead of coffee for your caffeine boost.

  - Take B Complex, strong enough for your needs. Others vitamins such as C, D3, Magnesium and Zinc are good too.

  - Try disconnecting from all screens whenever you're not working, where possible.

  - Consistently get enough sleep.

• by idontwantthis on 11/28/23, 7:45 AM

  I’ve recently started doing 5 minutes of calisthenics every half hour while working. It’s making me much more focused on work plus it feels like getting exercise for free since it’s time I would otherwise waste. Also 10-20 minutes of mindfulness meditation most days.

• by sbolt on 11/27/23, 10:51 PM

  I was vitamin D deficient, daily supplementation has been a game changer for me.

• by wingtw on 11/27/23, 11:22 PM

  After lunch nap (when drowsy) has made me almost 200% more priductive during afternoons.

• by guluarte on 11/28/23, 4:07 AM

  Modafinil or Adderal

• by nittanymount on 11/27/23, 11:23 PM

  you may need some Vitamin B 6/12, D ... esp. B

• by malux85 on 11/28/23, 12:25 AM

  Take a 1 hour nap at lunchtime

• by hardkorebob on 11/28/23, 2:59 AM

  I sure do. Lift weights for 23 years and do lots of soul searching, praying and eating healthy (blood-free diet). ;)