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Comment by GigabyteCoin | Hacker News Reader

If you wake up at any time of the day, mid way through it (no matter when) your brain "is toast".

That is why so many sleep scientists suggest naps is because they have proven that naps are beneficial to mental fatigue.

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This. I personally take a 1-2 hour nap between 4-5 hour coding sessions. Being a freelancer facilitates this.

Also, this infographic about naps is great: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

Really? My brain is semi-toast until about the middle of the day.

Maybe due to over use of caffeine?

I've been like this for as long as I can remember, so caffeine isn't it.

Normal endocrine systems peak at around 3 AM and are at their lowest at around 3 PM. If you happen to wake up at 5 AM vs 8 AM, you will feel more energetic.

This is because, historically, our main predators were nocturnal, while we hunted almost exclusively in the two twilights (we have substantially better twilight vision than virtually any animal). So when the wolves came at 3 AM we'd be at our most energetic and when it's relatively safe (3 PM in daylight year round), we'd be taking a ciesta.

If your body is off hormonally, grogginess throughout the day is a primary sign. When my body was substantially off from ages 18-24, I actually became completely nocturnal, just because 12-5 AM were the only times I felt anywhere near energetic.

Huh. Your description of normal actually matches up pretty well with what I experience. Throw in some bedtime-drift, and you have a pretty good description of me. Thanks, this had been kind of worrying me a bit.

(I've always wondered why waking up at 6 AM was so much easier than waking up at 8 AM. It was baffling.)

I'm the same way, and my friends had the same reaction as you. They suggested that if I cut out caffeine and sugar then my body's own natural energy would resurface, and I'd stop being so groggy until the mid-afternoon.

So, I listened to them, and for 9 months I consumed no stimulants at all. After 9 months of this experiment, I was -- and I know the story isn't supposed to work this way, but it did -- consistently groggier and crankier than I had ever been before. So I went back to caffeine and have had no second thoughts about it since.

I say with conviction (having the same experience) that this is because your endocrine hormonal system is seriously out of whack. Probably hypothyroidism, but possibly hypopituitiarism or even lack of testosterone.

Go see an endocrinologist, stat! Your quality of life, and even longevity, could be at serious peril.

Hm. You may have a point. This was back when I lived in America, and seeing an endocrinologist would have required winning the lottery or something. Now that I'm living in a more civilised country, perhaps I'll give it a try...

Ok, the only other reason I notice sometimes long bouts of tiredness during morning, is when my wake up time is badly chosen. Do you wake up with an alarm? Try to wake up on your own before it rings. Waking up in certain cycles of your sleep will turn one into a sort of morning zombie ;)

I'm exactly the same. I'm not a morning person and I can't seem to change this :(

Do you wake up with an alarm or 'naturally'?

My friend going to law school said she can study for 4-5 hours in a row, fully focused. But then she needs a break, for 2 hours ideally. Then she can do another 4-5 hours. After that, another break. Usually she can do a third 4-5 hours. That's 12-15 hours of full-focus time per day, which to me sounds like a ton.

Studying law is very systematic through (even more than other 'types' of studying). You outline as you go through the material, then revise outlines, then do test exams and repeat where necessary. Things that are very routine to do, even if they involve sitting at a desk, don't take nearly as much focus/willpower as 'creative' things where you need to decide what to do next, and think of new ideas on how to do it, every couple of minutes.

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