Ask HN: What is one thing that has improved your energy the most? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What is one thing that has improved your energy the most?

No caffeine after 3 PM (5 hr half-life, 25% remain at 1 AM), no water/drinks after 8 PM, going to bed at a regular time, and of course a mix of cardio/resistance exercise (see CDC for guidance).

Aside from that the only other thing I've found helpful is, counter-intuitively, skipping meals. First few days your body remembers that you're "meant" to eat then (i.e. hunger), but after that you get a strange energy boost instead. So if I skip breakfast/lunch I often find myself with MORE energy mid-afternoon, even if you'd expect less. I do get a little hangry/irritable at dinner time however.

Why no water after 8pm? That sounds so bizarre to me, especially, if I hit the bed at around 11pm.

Creatine is excellent. It takes a few weeks (maybe ~1 if you “front load”) to accumulate but once it does you’ll notice a difference if you’re looking for it.

It’s multiple times now that I’ve stopped taking it, felt fine for a bit and then started feeling sucky… I don’t eat a lot of red meat so I think I just default to creatine deficiency. Then I remember to start taking it again and feel better.

I think it’s the closest thing to a miracle drug we have. It improves cognition (in those that are deficient) as well. Cognition, energy, strength… just drink enough water to counteract the increased load on your kidneys and it’s wonderful. Unlike many other supplements you’ll see mentioned, it’s something naturally part of our diets. It’s really more like a vitamin than anything. Vegetarians and vegans in particular are likely to be deficient.

Staying completely free of caffeine and other toxics like that whether natural or synthetic.

Can confirm, never felt more tired day to day than when I was drinking two cups of coffee per day. Stopped 2 years ago and never looked back. The first 30 days are the worst, but after that, a glass of water wakes me up just as effectively.

How does being caffeine free help? I drink a butt load of coffee everyday so that’s been my norm for a few years.

Part of being feeling tired in the morning can actually be caffeine withdrawal symptoms. You start off in a low and need your fix to get back to normal. Once you get off of it, that normal becomes your normal again.

I was 2-5 cups/day drinker for years. I tapered down my intake over a month, but the first couple weeks of no caffeine was hard. I'd guess it took months before I really felt free.

I drink decaf most days now. When I have the occasional cup of real coffee ( 4 times a year), it gives me a good boost.

For me, my sleep quality noticeably improved ober night after I stopped all caffeine. I had headaches for about 2 days, then slept the best I had in years. I wasn't a big coffee drinker. 2 cups with breakfast, maybe a black tea or 2 in the day, nothing after about 4pm. But it was obviously still in my system at night.

There's no definitive study that I'm aware of, but anecdotally many people have trouble getting to sleep if they consume caffeine too late in the day, and/or struggle to get out of bed before regularly consuming caffeine in the morning.

This study provides some interesting insights: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6292246/

It cites another study, Orbeta et al:

> students reporting high caffeine intake are more likely to be tired in the morning than those reporting very low intakes

I would love to do this, my biggest fear is bowel movement,coffee is the trigger and I'm honestly afraid of leaving it because of this.

Having something small to look forward to. Right now it is an Arnold Palmer (half ice-tea, half lemonade). I have one per day.

That's my favourite non alcoholic drink also - it's really worth waiting for.

Lifting, animal fats, 10k steps a day, cold showers and no porn

Switching to a mainly plant-based diet, reducing the amount of sugar I eat, and regularly riding my bicycle.

Cutting out carbs completely. It's crazy how it knocks me out at 2/3PM like clockwork until I discovered this. Now my energy is stable through the day, and I sleep much better, and get up at 5:30am to job. It's nuts right? But try it, no carbs.

I don't go as extreme. I cut carbs out at lunchtime which seems to eliminate my post-lunch slump.

Carnivore diet, it has stabilized my energy trough out the day. It sucked at first, specially since I have a bad history with sugars and carbs (lost over 55kg a few years ago). Also, try to find things you like to do, this is crucial. Moderate amount of excercise every day, nothing crazy but 60min a day followed with stretching.

Cardio in the mornings. I used to work out mainly at night, and I still lift in the afternoons, but going on a jog or bike ride right after getting up is amazing. No matter how shitty it is outside or how much I do not want to drag myself out of bed, being outside and active for 30-ish minutes at the start of the day makes a huge difference.

Sleeping better.

Exercise + healthy food + sleep = extra energy

Switching to vegetarian diet. This gave me a huge energy boost for about 3 months. I wish I could recreate this experience.

Intermediate fasting 16/8. I skip breakfast mo to fr. This gives me lots of energy until late afternoon.

Alpha GPC and L-TYROSIN supplements for focus and alertness. Since I take those I can really easy go into the zone

Just so you're aware, as I stopped taking Alpha GPC because of this, but Alpha GPC has been possibly implicated in adverse cardiovascular events.

"Recently, concerns have been raised about the potential of alpha-GPC to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) because it serves as a substrate for the synthesis of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) in the gut, and TMAO is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in people with CVD and in mechanistic studies.

A 2021 cohort study of more than 12 million participants (at least 50 years old), including 108,877 alpha-GPC users, reported that alpha-GPC use for at least 12 months was associated with an increased risk of stroke over 10 years. Moreover, a 2021 mouse study found that alpha-GPC supplementation promoted atherosclerosis.

However, the currently available evidence is preliminary in nature, so randomized controlled trials and large cohort studies are needed to confirm these findings."

https://examine.com/supplements/alpha-gpc/#what-are-alpha-gp...

I am aware of this. I am doing my blood test every 3 months where i check TMAO levels too. I managed to get the levels back to my base line with garlic extract. I think Andrew Huberman mentioned it somewhere. Also important, I don’t take Alpha GPC every day. Maybe 3 to 4 days a week

I found the same eating vegetarian when I tried it a while back

I think it was due to eating less heavy foods in general and less oil/grease

Attending a partial hospitalization program (PHP/IOP) and improving my ability to self-reflect + resolve emotional trauma in a group therapy environment. It has helped tremendously with my energy levels that were previously at an all time low, but I still have more to go

Physical energy? Regular exercise, of a form I liked doing.

Mental energy? Finding time to be alone. Going for a walk.

Switching to a mainly meat based diet, increasing protein and reducing industrially produced foods.

This isn't specifically commenting about your, but I love how wildly different these comments are. The one currently below you said they improved when they switched to a plant-based diet.

Everyone is different, but I just thought it was funny to see how different everyone is.

I'd imagine both diets cut out bad things while prioritizing either mostly meat or mostly plants. E.g you go from a poor, unplanned diet to an improved, focused diet and it will work well.

Worth trying and testing. After 32 years of eating vegetarian, this radical change was worth every penny.

How would you compare plant-based diet to the meat-based diet? Like the side effects, how did you experience it?

I am eating lots of plants along with meat, but I would say my 75% calories now come from meat. I dont have stomach acidity (i used to have it since grade 4), frequent migraines, IBS. I have increased mental clarity, better focus, better sleep.

I would attribute most of these changes to grains/gluten reduction than meat adoption.

Taking a lunch break. I used to work through lunch at my desk and then found that my focus and energy would really crash around 2-3. I have found that even taking a 30 minute break away from my desk keeps my energy high for the rest of the day.

Daily runs (~5k 5-6x per week), vegetarian diet, consistent sleep/wake-up time.

30 minutes of exercise- five days a week.

Really improved my energy. I have done this for years- on and off. During the "on" periods, there is significant and noticeable improvement in energy throughout the day.

Meth

The only straightforward advice here is

can confirm jk

1. chewing gum (studies show alertness promoted, or use as placebo)

2. morning light on a timer (regulates circadian rhythm)

3. hydrate (water but also coffee and coffee-as-tea when brewed twice)

Drinking more electrolytes.

Sleeping better (recently found out that increasing warmth vastly improves my sleep)

Exercise.

Not eating crap (i.e: sugar)

Exercising - LONG walks

Ice shower early in the morning.

Sleeping good

Adderall

This is the only answer I believe in this thread.

I remember it from Silicon Valley when the carver asks for Adderall so that he could stay up for two days straight.

I prefer Vyvanse for that long, slow release... no mid-afternoon crash ;)

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