But even though I generally sleep 8 hours a night, I am quite tired during the day and I often have trouble focusing. At night, I fall asleep like a log and I don't wake up during the night.
The things I never tried: giving up caffeine completely, eliminating sugar completely, eliminating carbs completely, losing 20 kgs (I'm a bit overweight like BMI 27).
What didn't work: Ritalin, Venvanse, Modafinil...
[1] I feel like it could just be "stress" ie don't know how to relax and let go (beer does work but I wake up worse). I cling to small stuff like "will my wife remember to pick up the clothes later?" (making up a real example that has zero bad effects if it doesn't happen today)
Doctors are only so helpful (and most are even less so)
Here's a list of things I tried that sorta helped with my tiredness spells. Recommend doing any of these changes separately:
- Sugar fast for 4 weeks (helps reset your cravings)
- Switched from coffee to green tea
- Reduced caffeine intake to one a day or 3x a week
- Acupuncture
- 15 min walks or bike ride every day
- Omega 3 oils
- Higher intake of minerals I was deficient in (eating more green vegetables)
(spoiler alert, I had undiagnosed ADHD which contributed to my high anxiety, which gave me waves of alert/exhausted)
I kept fruit in. Some people allow honey
2. Do you suffer from a stiff neck? If 1 does not help to release muscle tension, check for Intracranial hypertension or Intracranial pressure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_pressure).
Since you were prescribed ritalin at one point i'm guessing you went to see a mental health professional, maybe try to get a second opinion?
Other things they find effective (that don't require a diagnosis) include breathing exercises (flavor of the month is a free(no ads!) app called RespiRelax+), grounding exercises (name 3 things you can touch, etc) and indulging in dopamine activities (for them it's gaming and cooking, for you it might be sport and model aircraft). Last point is not really going to help you sleep but they find that if they can't sleep because of anxiety, it's better to try to forget about it by doing something they like rather than lay awake in bed.
Allergies and Food sensitivities.
These are often incredibly hard to diagnose because there are foods that we eat so commonly, we don't have a good control/variable separation for experimentation. In addition, allergies and food sensitivities don't develop all at once. They increase over time. This makes discovery even more difficult.
But it's almost always this.
As for myself, I had severe brain fog and fatigue. It turns out I was allergic to coffee. Looking back, I now see that it was something that became more and more severe over about 10 years.
It took me quitting coffee for several weeks for an unrelated reason to discover that it was the problem. When I started again, the stark difference in how I was felt made it much easier to diagnose. I got lucky really.
Then there is also depression or hormone problems.
For me personally it tends to be caffeine preventing me from getting good sleep, which in turn makes me want to take caffeine to focus more, which prevents me from getting good sleep, rinse repeat.
I don't think caffeine is an issue. I try not to drink coffee on weekends and I still feel like this on Monday
Vitamin B-12 deficiency due to lack of intake (a risk for strict vegan diets) or pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder. The former is addressed by over the counter supplements and the latter by injections.
Deficiency can be diagnosed through a blood test.
Usually after an hour or two (and a few big gurgles from the gut later) it resolves itself.
If I eat a gluten free vegan meal for lunch I avoid the 3pm slump and the associated brain fog.
I can't sleep with a window open most of the year. In winter it's too cold, in summer it's too hot.