Ways to deal with a lack of energy

[alias_sqbr]

(This I started as a reply to fred_mouse's post)

So, if people's lj posts are anything to go by, a LOT of you have issues with fatigue/energy levels. What have people found effective in dealing with them?

Myself:

• NO SUGAR (except for as a deliberate treat when I don't mind feeling crap later). It just makes me hyper and then very sleepy.
  
• Similarly with caffeine, but I am unusually sensitive.
  
• Eat small amounts of low GI food fairly frquently. A balance of fresh vegetables, wholegrain stuff (rye bread, vita brits etc), fresh fruit, and lean unprocessed meats.
  
• Trying not to overtire myself. This means taking breaks when I'm starting to get tired, even if I feel all motivated to keep going, not overbooking myself (no more than one social event per weekend if I can at all help it) and, if necessary, piking on work/social etc commitments at the last minute rather than overstraining myself when I'm borderline fatigued.
  
• Keeping active. A small amount of pleasant exercise on a regular basis (yes, this is hard to balance with the previous one)
  
• Stop myself from feeling overextended/stressed: Saying no to too many commitments. Organising things well in advance. If I have energy, doing something off my to-do list NOT something new and exciting (unless it's REALLY exciting :)) If I'm bored but tired, see if I can do something simple off my to do list even if I'm too tired for the most important things. Organising my life so that me getting sick at random doesn't screw everything up.
  
• Not doing counterproductive (but briefly enjoyable) things when I feel ill. i.e. no comfort foods which are unhealthy or I'm allergic to etc (most of them :( ) No surfing the net when I have a headache. No long walks when I feel fatigued.
  
• Figuring out what foods make me ill and minimising the eating of them, especially when I'm already under the weather (not universally applicable :))
  

That's all that comes to mind.

EDIT: Ones other people reminded me of (more in comments):

• Get your underlying medical condition seen to (thyroid, allergies, depression, etc)
  
• Get enough sleep at regular times
  
• Low GI sustaining breakfast
  
• NO caffeine past a certain time of day (4pm for me)
  
• Iron supplements, especially for women
  
• Have a routine
  
• Remove stress, do things which make you calm and happy (like patting cats)
  
• Drink at least 2L of water a day
  
• Be young :(
  

I sometimes wonder if I have a minor case of something like chronic fatigue syndrome, I've had pretty bad attacks of "too tired to make lunch(*)" on and off since during my Phd, I eat through my sick days at a crazy rate (at least this job HAS sick days). Then again, it's hard to say how much of it is related to my gazillion minor food intolerances and reflux, both of which, amongst other things, make me headachey, sore, and tired. I also have a tendency to get actually sick (with colds etc) whenever I'm overtired or stressed, but that's actually being getting intermittently better as I get older.

(*)Any of you who have seen me when I've been forced to delay lunch will understand how significant this is :)

Comments

[stephiepenguin.livejournal.com]

Exercise is the big thing for me. I need to do it to keep going, but the reverse of that is when I get up early to go swimming in the morning, it means I basically crash at about nine.

[edible-hat.livejournal.com]

My strategy which seems to work for me:

-go to bed when I feel tired, wake up at the same time each day (or at least most days)
-read for 15-30 minutes before bed
-no caffiene after 6pm.
-always eat a low GI breakfast, usually a cereal with dried fruit and whole grains

[alias_sqbr]

Absolutely, yes to all of those, except maybe the reading (I get too involved in the story and stay awake for hours :))

[mothwentbad.livejournal.com]

I didn't make it to the end of the post. :(

[david adam <zanchey> (from livejournal.com)]

Based on a discussion with the head of haematology at one of Perth's hospitals, non-anaemic iron deficiency (where you don't have anaemia, as measured by haemoglobin levels, but low blood iron, as measured by ferretin levels) is reasonably correlated with the sorts of paralyzing mental tiredness I think you're describing.

[nephron.livejournal.com]

Hmm.

I sometimes have low ferritin, but I always have paralyzing mental tiredness. Except when I don't. (The times when I have low ferritin are not exactly correlated to when I'm mentally tired).

[rescviki.livejournal.com]

Well in my case it was an underactive thyroid which medication has cured.

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

A big factor in my tiredness turned out to be mild depression. Medicare actually covers most of the cost of half a dozen psych sessions if your GP thinks it appropriate.

It helped.

[auntpol.livejournal.com]

For me, I think I'm the most tired when I don't have a routine, or aren't sticking to a routine.

Recently moving house whacked me around something tragic, but I'm starting to get a routine, and that's helping!

Patting cats/contact with animals seems to make me generally happier and more energetic.

(Also, my Crohn's made me really tired pretty much all of last year. I was shocked by how much better I felt after I was properly medicated!!)

[vegetus.livejournal.com]

Three things I find that works...

Stop working 7 days a week or thinking about/stressing about work 7 days a week.
Stop going out late several nights in a row and getting smashed on each of them.
Eat more raw stuff and less junky oily indian food.

I think age has something to do with it, I find that the crazy work/volunteer hours I used to do are something I couldn't keep up with anymore.

[alias_sqbr]

Tricky innit? :(

[alias_sqbr]

Must..finish...post..to..get..energy...to......finish..post...

[alias_sqbr]

Oh, yes, iron! Forgot that one. (I started taking iron supplements when I first started getting tired, and it did help. Just not enough :( )

[alias_sqbr]

Mm, yes, "Go to a doctor and get your underlying condition fixed" is a good one, if you can manage it :)

[alias_sqbr]

Heh, see I had the opposite thing. I went to a counsellor thinking my causal chain was
depressed -> tired -> behind in Phd
but he said it was
tired -> behind in Phd-> depressed
and that I should concentrate on finishing my Phd, having a less stressful life, and fixing up my health. Which I did (as much as possible), and while I still have energy level problems I am a lot happier :)

[alias_sqbr]

Yes, "Get what's wrong with you diagnosed" is very important in those cases where it applies :)

[alias_sqbr]

Yeah, age is definitely an issue, not much you can do about it though is there? :(

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

*grin*

I suspected depression too, but it was good to have the battery of tests to rule out a bunch of potential biological causes.

Yay for happier!

[lilysea.livejournal.com]

As someone with tiredness issues, thank you for this!

The only things that I've found is:

...water! 2 litres of it per day, every day, before 4pm or else!

...Omega 3-6-9 Flaxseed oil capsules every day with breakfast make me
feel smarter and less emotionally volatile.

...Mood Improve tablets(St John's Wort, Passion Flower, Gotu Kola, Gingko Bilboa, Green Tea) every day with breakfast.

My friend Tammy swears by wheatgrass tablets but they taste foul. I've tried them, but I'm not sure if they help me or not.

[alias_sqbr]

Duh, water, how did I forget that?

Thanks for the other suggestions, too.