Ask HN: What to do when feeling low-energy/tired during the day?

I thought it might be interesting to hear what helped others. I'd consider my lifestyle pretty healthy and my sleep is good, but I often feel low-energy during the day.

- I'm exercising a lot (usually 5 days a week)

- I'm drinking coffee (2-3 cups in the morning)

- I'm getting about 7 hours of sleep per night

Is there anything specific that I should try or get checked?

Try getting 8 hours+ of sleep a night. There is tons of research that 8 hours or more is needed (and most people in modern society dont get that). There will be plenty of people that come out of the the woodwork and say "but I only need 4!". That's statistically incredibly unlikely--winning the lottery unlikely. Humans need sleep. If you are working out a lot and only getting 7 hours, that's probably your problem. It also matters when/how you sleep.

Try to stay consistent. Your body's sleep cycles like to be on schedule. You'll always go through the stages, in order, throughout the night, but the duration of each stage shifts throughout the night--with the bulk of your REM sleep happening in the early morning hours/right before you wake up. For example, if you wake up 2 hours early one morning, you may have only cut your overall sleep by 30% but you may have cut your REM sleep by 50-60% --that's important for concentration, recall, and emotional processing. Similarly, if you stay up really late, you cut into the deep and light sleep that's physically restorative--especially if you are working out.

If you go to bed at varying times each night or wake up at wildly different times in the morning, you kind of make it tough on your body to get into a rhythm.

Limit coffee to 2 cups (nothing after 10am), and make sure you are staying hydrated.

It's normal to feel a little sluggish in the early afternoon after lunch, but you shouldn't feel exhausted or super tired.

If you are feeling super tired to the point where you are falling asleep at your desk, you may want to get checked for sleep apnea.

* Don't go to sleep until you feel really sleepy, take a short nap (15-20 min) in the afternoon right after drinking coffee.

* Meetings are enthusiasm drainers, switch jobs.

* Find something really motivating to do.

Testosterone replacement therapy seems to be the rage these days.

Anecdotally a friend has mentioned it helps them feel young again; can workout like they used to, etc.

I take a nap.

Because it is not immoral, unethical, or otherwise harmful.

Because not taking a nap is not an optimization I find worth pursuing.

YMMV. Good luck.