Best mid-day pick-me-up that will let me sleep at night?

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Nopenada

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At my baseline I get tired around noon every day. Especially after eating. My research says this is normal biology, hence why afternoon naps are an understood part of some cultures.

I can usually fight through, which is the only acceptable answer here in the U.S. but I was wondering if there is a pin I could use daily that would clear some of the fog so I’m more productive rather than just present?

Mornings are when I’m naturally at my most sharp, so really need something I can take that won’t effect my sleep if I take it around lunch time.
 
Do you have the ability to take a short walk outside? This is the absolute best defense for the early afternoon malaise IMO.
 
Nopenada said:
At my baseline I get tired around noon every day. Especially after eating. My research says this is normal biology, hence why afternoon naps are an understood part of some cultures.

I can usually fight through, which is the only acceptable answer here in the U.S. but I was wondering if there is a pin I could use daily that would clear some of the fog so I’m more productive rather than just present?

Mornings are when I’m naturally at my most sharp, so really need something I can take that won’t effect my sleep if I take it around lunch time.
I used to have the same symptoms, found it was a combination of dehydration and low testosterone. I have found that MOTS-C and NAD+ help me a lot. Also exercising in the morning drastically changed how I felt throughout the day as well.
 
Before I got my life together and started working on my health, I was the exact same way.

Once I cut the carbs at lunch, that afternoon crash was gone. If your blood sugar doesn’t spike, it doesn’t crash.

Oh and as gnuisance said: a post lunch walk in open air really helps!

​[archived internal link]
 
1) If you are getting that tired mid day, you are not getting enough sleep or your sleep quality is poor.

2) Caffene
 
Meritocrat said:
Have you tried skipping breakfast?
That makes it worse. All I have for breakfast generally is a Boost or Adkins protein shake.

orenkaid said:
I used to have the same symptoms, found it was a combination of dehydration and low testosterone. I have found that MOTS-C and NAD+ help me a lot. Also exercising in the morning drastically changed how I felt throughout the day as well.
Dehydration definitely doesn’t help, but I’m on TRT so low T isn’t an issue.

5byfive said:
1) If you are getting that tired mid day, you are not getting enough sleep or your sleep quality is poor.

2) Caffene
I sleep well. Lots of dreaming. I pin Ipa for that. Also just started SS-31 before bed, but my mid day blahs have been life long. I’m sensitive to caffeine. I don’t have coffee in the morning and it will mess with my sleep if I take it in the afternoon.

I’m going to try to force myself to take a short walk, but need to be careful about dehydration because it is hot where I live.

I may also give Adamax a shot. Doesn’t hurt to find out if that’ll work for me. NAD+ though… I just can’t pin that much liquid at once.
 
My opinion is you should not have to pin anything to get thru a normal day - getting thru a day without a nap should really not be that big of a deal. Sleep, food choices at lunch should be the solution unless u have something medically going on. Or, little coffee or tea.
 
Nopenada said:
That makes it worse. All I have for breakfast generally is a Boost or Adkins protein shake.

Dehydration definitely doesn’t help, but I’m on TRT so low T isn’t an issue.

I sleep well. Lots of dreaming. I pin Ipa for that. Also just started SS-31 before bed, but my mid day blahs have been life long. I’m sensitive to caffeine. I don’t have coffee in the morning and it will mess with my sleep if I take it in the afternoon.

I’m going to try to force myself to take a short walk, but need to be careful about dehydration because it is hot where I live.

I may also give Adamax a shot. Doesn’t hurt to find out if that’ll work for me. NAD+ though… I just can’t pin that much liquid at once.
If you are sensitive to caffeine, you can try exercising in the morning since your sleep is good, as you say. Have you tried modafinil in the morning?
 
gimmeshelter said:
My opinion is you should not have to pin anything to get thru a normal day - getting thru a day without a nap should really not be that big of a deal. Sleep, food choices at lunch should be the solution unless u have something medically going on. Or, little coffee or tea.
Hmm, so getting old wouldn't apply?
 
Nopenada said:
That makes it worse. All I have for breakfast generally is a Boost or Adkins protein shake.

Dehydration definitely doesn’t help, but I’m on TRT so low T isn’t an issue.

I sleep well. Lots of dreaming. I pin Ipa for that. Also just started SS-31 before bed, but my mid day blahs have been life long. I’m sensitive to caffeine. I don’t have coffee in the morning and it will mess with my sleep if I take it in the afternoon.

I’m going to try to force myself to take a short walk, but need to be careful about dehydration because it is hot where I live.

I may also give Adamax a shot. Doesn’t hurt to find out if that’ll work for me. NAD+ though… I just can’t pin that much liquid at once.
I’m also super sensitive to caffeine. Paraxanthine has a much shorter half life and doesn’t make me so jittery. They make coffee with it instead of caffeine and sell in pill form. I can’t have caffeine past 10am but can have paraxanthine at 3pm and am totally fine.
 
Extra vote here for skipping breakfast - every odd day. I have to plan around workout days though as I need to refuel.

Workouts in the morning help me and I also try avoid carb heavy meals during the day.
 
When I did exercise in the morning, in a fasted state, I always felt my mind was sharper. And the endorphin release after working out gave me more energy for the day. But there was an additional benefit of eating less at lunch. I would eat my biggest meal in the evening.

It wouldn't work for everybody. Even I couldn't do it after diabetes struck.

We tend to have more energy in fasted state due to evolutionary drives. I have even tried a NO drink during lunch to maintain the vasodilation and avoid sleepiness. Like the OP said, the afternoon siesta is a ritual in my family except for me.
 
Nopenada said:
At my baseline I get tired around noon every day. Especially after eating. My research says this is normal biology, hence why afternoon naps are an understood part of some cultures.

I can usually fight through, which is the only acceptable answer here in the U.S. but I was wondering if there is a pin I could use daily that would clear some of the fog so I’m more productive rather than just present?

Mornings are when I’m naturally at my most sharp, so really need something I can take that won’t effect my sleep if I take it around lunch time.
Get bloodwork done to ensure thyroid and other health markers are in optimal range.
 
Looming Sharq said:
Are you able to exercise early in the morning? That does the trick for me!

I’ve always exercised in the morning. I spent six months before starting any peptides getting up at 5:30am and either going for a run training for a 5k or going right to the gym for weight training. Never ate or had anything except water before going. Didn’t help. I actually thought stopping doing that and getting extra sleep might help, but that didn’t either.

MTSpace said:
Get bloodwork done to ensure thyroid and other health markers are in optimal range.

I should do this myself. My mouth-breathing PCP did my bloodwork when I was complaining about brain fog and he found absolutely nothing wrong. But at the time my testosterone was at a 6 and he considered that to be normal and not possibly an issue. -Spoiler alert, it was a huge issue. So I may benefit from paying for my own panels and seeing what I can figure out.

I do have Idiopathic Postprandial Syndrome, but I’m careful about my lunch to manage it and when I mess up it looks different than just some mid day fatigue.
 
Smash a cup of coffee. Or as I've been calling it, naughty mud 😏
 
I have the same thing, with a dx of idiopathic hypersomnia. Not sure if you're looking for peptides only but Modafinil and methylphenidate (not concurrently) have been helpful for me.
 
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