I’d definitely at least suggest chugging water and getting crunchy water like apples and cucumbers in you. Also if you drink caffeine less than two hours after you wake up, your body hasn’t flushed out the sleep receptors from last night yet and you’ve gotten them shored up to hit you again later in the afternoon. Caffeine literally has zero energy in it. Speaking as someone who still drinks it but is trying to be VERY careful with the timing (never later than 6hrs before bed time, that’s the half life of Caffeine), it doesn’t give you energy. It just shuts off sleepiness temporarily, but if you were already sleepy when you drank it you’re gonna be sleepy again later. Maybe supplement with those Caffeine-free energy drinks like the gamersupps options for the placebo effect?
(As for the beer, is a little weed an option in your area or is that just trading bad for bad? I had a can of thc plus the other thing drink once and holy damn that was the best sleep I EVER had. Finally shut the brain up.)
Weed is part of the equation, but it’s also become something I’m kind of dependent on as well. It can really fuck up your sleep if you use it regularly and stop too.
The unfortunate truth is that the entire equation is balancing out to a stable - but shitty - equilibrium. Any deviation you make at this point will cause instability and short-term negative consequences.
But a reduction in any (and all) of these variables will bring long-term benefits. The only solution - the only solution - is to endure the short-term consequences for long enough that you replace them with positive feedback loops and stabilize at a better equilibrium.
When you consume less caffeine, you’ll feel tired. When you consume less alcohol, you’ll feel restless. When you consume less weed, you’ll feel agitated. All of this will contribute to shitty days and worse nights.
But when you keep consuming caffeine, you’ll lower your baseline energy level. When you keep consuming alcohol, you’ll reduce the quality of your sleep and your time in REM. When you keep consuming weed, you’ll reduce your focus and productivity.
But you keep going because you are hitting the negative swing of the feedback loop and doing the only thing that will immediately fix it - more.
This shitty self-fulfilling equilibrium is likely a primary - if not the only - cause of your perpetual exhaustion. You don’t sleep enough, you don’t get enough REM while you’re asleep, and you cope with the symptoms enough to muddle through but you also ensure that it happens again the following day. Each little bad decision leads to the next.
Find whatever will help you endure your short-term consequences without jeopardizing your long-term recovery, and you will break out of the loop. Groups, hobbies, therapy, exercise, whatever works for you. Good luck and stay strong!
P.S. I didn’t mean to make so many assumptions or make it all about you, it’s not! But I do think this sort of thing is an epidemic and a lot of people could use some help even seeing it, let alone beating it.
I’d definitely at least suggest chugging water and getting crunchy water like apples and cucumbers in you. Also if you drink caffeine less than two hours after you wake up, your body hasn’t flushed out the sleep receptors from last night yet and you’ve gotten them shored up to hit you again later in the afternoon. Caffeine literally has zero energy in it. Speaking as someone who still drinks it but is trying to be VERY careful with the timing (never later than 6hrs before bed time, that’s the half life of Caffeine), it doesn’t give you energy. It just shuts off sleepiness temporarily, but if you were already sleepy when you drank it you’re gonna be sleepy again later. Maybe supplement with those Caffeine-free energy drinks like the gamersupps options for the placebo effect?
(As for the beer, is a little weed an option in your area or is that just trading bad for bad? I had a can of thc plus the other thing drink once and holy damn that was the best sleep I EVER had. Finally shut the brain up.)
Weed is part of the equation, but it’s also become something I’m kind of dependent on as well. It can really fuck up your sleep if you use it regularly and stop too.
The unfortunate truth is that the entire equation is balancing out to a stable - but shitty - equilibrium. Any deviation you make at this point will cause instability and short-term negative consequences.
But a reduction in any (and all) of these variables will bring long-term benefits. The only solution - the only solution - is to endure the short-term consequences for long enough that you replace them with positive feedback loops and stabilize at a better equilibrium.
When you consume less caffeine, you’ll feel tired. When you consume less alcohol, you’ll feel restless. When you consume less weed, you’ll feel agitated. All of this will contribute to shitty days and worse nights.
But when you keep consuming caffeine, you’ll lower your baseline energy level. When you keep consuming alcohol, you’ll reduce the quality of your sleep and your time in REM. When you keep consuming weed, you’ll reduce your focus and productivity.
But you keep going because you are hitting the negative swing of the feedback loop and doing the only thing that will immediately fix it - more.
This shitty self-fulfilling equilibrium is likely a primary - if not the only - cause of your perpetual exhaustion. You don’t sleep enough, you don’t get enough REM while you’re asleep, and you cope with the symptoms enough to muddle through but you also ensure that it happens again the following day. Each little bad decision leads to the next.
Find whatever will help you endure your short-term consequences without jeopardizing your long-term recovery, and you will break out of the loop. Groups, hobbies, therapy, exercise, whatever works for you. Good luck and stay strong!
P.S. I didn’t mean to make so many assumptions or make it all about you, it’s not! But I do think this sort of thing is an epidemic and a lot of people could use some help even seeing it, let alone beating it.