How to have more Energy

I suffer from chronic fatigue (not an official diagnosis). I'd say it's about 70% physical and 30% psychological.

I'm looking for tips on how to have more energy as most of the things I've tried don't cut it.

#1, sleep. This means actually tracking how many hours you're getting for awhile (I think everyone overestimates how much they actually get). It also means ramping down into it, so you're not watching a bunch of screens right up until the moment you turn in. Turn off all the lights, get blackout curtains if necessary, etc.

#2, diet. Probably don't need to elaborate much here.

#3, exercise. Obviously exercise can cause fatigue, but mostly of the short-term variety that increases energy in the medium-term and long-term. Literally just walking a few blocks a day makes a huge difference (and absorbing that sunshine is good, too).

Since these are all obvious answers, I imagine you've tried some version of them, but I think the devil is really in the details. It would be very easy to do some of the above, but in some watered-down or easier-to-start way that doesn't reap the normal benefits.

#4, ditch that very pretty green decorative crystal.

If I have one, I'm not quite aware of it.

..for it may ditch you first:

If it were me, I would try therapy as you say some of it is psychological. Any disorder like this can make anyone feel fatigued & under par. Not everything is physical. Far from it.

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Forgot to add: be rigorous about each solution before ruling it out. I alluded to this with the "actually measure your sleep" thing, but do the same with food and exercise.

I know people who've said that calorie counting "didn't work for them," only to reveal they never really counted them, they just sorta guesstimated. I probably don't need to tell you (or anyone) that people are very bad about estimates and don't have a good sense of how little things can add up. They won't count the creamer in the coffee, or the butter on the toast, or...

So yeah, I'd definitely strongly suggest actually throwing together a simple spreadsheet (doesn't have to be complicated at all) and tracking a few things for a few weeks, and then looking at what's actually happening, since it's just way too easy for all of us to round things off in ways that obscure the reality.

Look up some pictures or videos of cute Asian girls. That will temporarily boost your energy but won't last long (pun intended).

Long-term stuff involves sleeping more and eating more (or less, but above all - healthier).

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In all seriousness, I'd say Yoda's list (plus removing any alien death crystals) will hit what you're looking for. I'm not a healthy person but a few years back I made an honest effort of it. My normal sleep pattern involves falling asleep whenever I get around to it. I stopped that and made myself lay down, lights off and no phones or digital devices/tv from that point on. It probably took a week or two to adjust, but at some point I started waking earlier, was refreshed, and by the time I got home my body was letting me know it was close to time to sleep.

Another thing I did was cut all chips and soda out. I lost around 10lbs from that alone, without any effort or exercise. I do notice, quite obviously, the improvement of my health physically and emotionally when I eat better after a couple of weeks. Even if it's just cutting the junk food and kind of still eating normal. This may sound weird, but even my skin feels better just cutting the junk food. I don't mean to the touch, but the feeling I have OF my skin. Oiliness wasn't near the issue it is normally, just by cutting such things.

Lastly, I started walking 2-3 miles every other day at the local park. I would eventually push it to jog a bit, walk a bit, slowly (like a month or two) working up to just sprinting as fast as I could even if I could only last maybe 20 yards. 2-3 miles every other day or three, walking half a mile, sprinting 20 yards or whatever, then walking another quarter mile, repeat or whatever. That improved my breathing, endurance, and made it much easier to want to go to sleep earlier in the night and helped me sleep more soundly THROUGH the night without waking up every few hours.

It might have only taken a solid month to get myself into the mindset to actively follow some basic level of standard for myself, but when I did I felt better, slept better, anxiety dropped by at least 50%, and noticed a general better attitude in myself. I guess I noticed because I wasn't AS miserable as I've always practiced myself to be, mentally.

I eventually stopped most of that. Now I'm exhausted, depressed, and angry at the world again. So yeah, there's something to it.

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This is definitely a thing. I noticed I had less dandruff after losing a bunch of weight. I always had a problem with that (particularly being born with very dark hair), and it turns out the solution wasn't a shampoo or anything, it was just to be generally healthier.

Everything's interconnected, in that getting better in one way really does help other things get better. Getting more sleep helps you eat better, which helps your energy, which helps you exercise, which helps you sleep better again, and so on. The word "holistic" has a lot of silly connotations, but in the dictionary definition sense, health and well-being are quite holistic.

I don't mean to imply that you can fix everything in your life like this or anything, but if you get the "big stuff" right, a lot of the small things come in the bargain.

^for sure. That's why I was listing it the way I did, trying to sort of draw a conclusion that one piece fed another, feeding another. At the same time, doing things like that as a whole helped make each piece easer to do too. The hardest part, for me, was just adjusting my thought processes and stopping that default procrastination impulse of mine. Within five minutes of starting whatever, though, I was fine and good to continue. Sadly, no matter how comfortable I got doing whatever and no matter how much improvement I made in myself, that voice never seemed to get weaker and still gets in my way. It's always that first step that gives me pause (if not terrifies me at times), but if I can make that step then the next several are progressively easier.

For whatever that's worth to the topic.

I've been tired a lot in the last few months. I'm a very light sleeper and just about any sound, movement or light will wake me up. I know you're like me and sensitive to unwelcome sounds. Could any of that be part of your tiredness problem?

I probably spent my entire twenties doing this. If I got home really late, I wouldn’t go to bed at all.

Exact same thing happened to me when I stopped drinking. People don’t realize how many calories are in beer, wine & alcohol.

You & me both. At least 3 nights a week I move into the spare bedroom because I’m woken up by husband’s breathing/snoring. And if I wake up I cannot fall asleep again. I never used to be like this.

Abstain from all sexual activity for 30+ days and you will have a massive amount of energy. This is what pro boxers used to do (and some still do) because abstinence gives them more energy and makes them more aggressive.

Bumping this thread for the New Year.

I still have chronic fatigue (exact source unknown but most likely a combination of depression, lack of motivation, avoidance of family, poor diet, being overweight, and having hit that area of middle-age where everything seems to become more difficult).

I do a 40 - 45 minute walk each evening for exercise (covering about 1.2 miles) and I walk my neighbor's dog once or twice a week (depending on weather) covering 2 - 3 miles.

Despite this, I could go back to bed anytime between after-breakfast or before-dinner and sleep another 4 to 6 hours every day if it was an option (and during this holiday period I have gone back to bed around noon, just for a quick meditation, only to have it turn into a 4 hour nap - this is after having had a relatively-full night's sleep).

Just wondering if anyone has any new, creative ideas for how to have or create more energy?

Do you have any reason to think that you might have sleep apnea? It might be something to speak to your doctor about. Several of the things you mention are either symptoms of it (being tired, insomnia, etc) or risk factors (male, middle-aged, weight).

i can relate to the lack of energy. my doctor said my vitamin d is low. so that’s another thing to consider. i have always been tired my entire life tho, so i often wonder if this isn’t just the way i age.

i hope you get it figured out

Some suggestions that might work depending on what your underlying sleep problem is.

1. Cut carbs/sugars/starches...those foods causes your blood sugar and glucose levels to rise and then crash making one tired. I feel much better and have more energy when I cut way back on the carb type foods.

2. Sounds like you're in a situation you're not too thrilled about. Try using your mind to create something different than the usually day to day existences. Take on some hobby or project that is really demanding and time consuming and focus on that.

3. Eliminate caffeine, even if you only have caffeine in the morning it can keep you from going into a deep stage 4 sleep thus causing one not to be fully rested.

Hope some of this is of help.