Energy Crisis in the over 40s

@p1kef1sh (45681)
September 16, 2009 10:28am CST
For the past 10 years or so I have always had a huge energy sap in the afternoons. At work I used to have to fight sometimes to stay awake in the afternoons. I always put my energy crisis down to being stressed. However, now I am at home all day I don't really have that as an excuse. So I just nap and then feel that I have wasted part of the day. Do you have an energy crisis daily, what's your excuse for napping?
6 people like this
27 responses
• Netherlands
21 Sep 09
haha!! I don't have an "excuse" for napping P1key! "I'm Tired"! That's excuse enough for me!! But Yes, I do have a time each day that I feel my energy crisis. It use to be about 10:00 in the morning but now days it has changed and I get past 10:00 just fine but it comes around 15:00 now days I start feeling it. Isn't it strange how it changes? I have had that all my life. I will go for a few months at one specific time and then all of a sudden it changes, I feel fine Then and my energy crisis starts happening at a New time! But regardless What time it is, I always have one each day!
@p1kef1sh (45681)
21 Sep 09
Must be all those activities you do trying to keep your staff in check GEL!
2 people like this
• Netherlands
22 Sep 09
Oh yes definitely P1key...I Swear you just can't hardly find good help these days...of Course there are exceptions!!
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
24 Sep 09
I get super snackish around 10am and sleepy around 4:00pm!
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Sep 09
My afternoon energy sap starts first thing in the morning lately. I don't need an excuse for napping. If I can, I do...
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
16 Sep 09
I know that feeling Dawn. I was just going to say.....Zzzzzzzz
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85130)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Sep 09
What? Dang, a fly got in. I HATE it when that happens...
@p1kef1sh (45681)
16 Sep 09
Never say no to free protein!
@livewyre (2450)
16 Sep 09
Napping is not always a bad thing, I used to love to have a nap afer work and then get up and go out for the evening. Most people feel drowsy after a heavy lunch, not really work-related (could be the three pints of guinness you were having for lunch...) I feel you are painting a negative feeling around napping - embrace your drowy self and forgive yourself
@livewyre (2450)
17 Sep 09
oh bugger that should have been 'drowsy' DOH!
@livewyre (2450)
17 Sep 09
Naps are good - embrace the nap so it might take it's rightful place in society.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
LOL. If I drnk at lunch then I am guaranteed to sleep. So I try not to. I've just got up from a nap actually........
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
22 Sep 09
Even though I worked full time, I've always liked an afternoon nap on days off. The older I got the more necessary it seemed. I also like to stay up late, so an afternoon nap seems a good idea. The fact is, I have always seemed to really need it and function better when I have one. These days, I'm up early and late to bed and sometimes I have 2 naps a day. I've been having to give myself permission so as not to feel that horrid guilt. There are plenty of things I could be doing but I really do not have the energy and I really do sleep very deeply when I have these naps...it's like they are vital to me. Sometimes I wonder if it's something I'm eating or not eating. They say drinking water eradicates tiredness but I've tried drinking small amounts to litres of it but I still get tired. Many people I speak to feel this way and some are several years younger than me.
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
22 Sep 09
I find that the only way to keep awake is to move about. Otherwise it's off to the Land Of Nod for an hour for this lad!
1 person likes this
• Regina, Saskatchewan
16 Sep 09
LOL, happens to everyone. You get over it when you hit 55 though...........ROFL
1 person likes this
• Regina, Saskatchewan
16 Sep 09
Greasey smooth! ROFL
@p1kef1sh (45681)
16 Sep 09
So that's another 30 years then for me Sparky. Longer for you - isn't he smooth?! LOL.
1 person likes this
• Bulgaria
16 Sep 09
I am young , so my excuse for napping is either because i stayd up last night , because im tired or most often , because i just feel like it :) But i think you might be feeling tired simply because you do nothing all day :) The saying "Im tired of resting DOES have some serious weight :) I myself have felt VERY tired , even tho all i did was sleep all day , and sleeping does make you tired :(
1 person likes this
@p1kef1sh (45681)
16 Sep 09
I think that there is something in that. I do some voluntary work and on those days I am less tired for certain.
• Bulgaria
16 Sep 09
Well i know I feel very tired when i sleep a lot :D
• India
18 Sep 09
Sometimes, when I keep awake half the night and then wake up early and commence work such as cooking breakfast, doing the laundry, taking the dog for a walk, and baby sitting all at the same time, I have this energy sap at 10:30 a.m. A short nap does wonders. I am grateful to those few minutes of napping. What would I do without them? Sometimes, I nap in the afternoon; sometimes, at mid morning. Sometimes, when the baby is finally asleep, I just lie down beside him and sleep for sometime. :) I don't make excuses... I just need those naps. Cheers and happy Mylotting
@p1kef1sh (45681)
18 Sep 09
If you need them then take them. That's what I think. Especially if you've been up half the night!
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
17 Sep 09
It's nice to know I'm not alone in my energy drain! Around 3pm every day I get sleepy and have to fight to stay awake. If I nap, I can't sleep at night. Maybe it's just when we get older our bodies are telling us to slow down.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
17 Sep 09
I'm not afraid of getting older or of looking it! Every day is a wonder, and gets me one step closer to heaven. I love your attitude!
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
I think that it may be our bodies talking to us - and we should listen. What's wrong with aging anyway? I like getting older.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Sep 09
hi pikefish oh my I am according to my doctor supposed to elevate mylegs several times a day but I am here mylotting and forget to'folow doctors orders, besides if I lay down my motormouth roommate is just'going to really talk and talk.seems shes not really talking to me at aleast not always just remarking on things, she loves to clip thing out of the paper, why I dont know as she never uses any of them, but to each his own. the only way I could get a nap is to put in my ear plugs.I should do that ocassionally but never seem to get around to it. stuck here, mylotting is addictive. he he he he I get a let down right after our four oclock dinner,thats really do stupid, who wants to eat their evening meal at four oclock in the afternoon?
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
It's a feature of care homes Hatley. I think that early meals are for the staffs' sake and not the residents. They pray that you'll all be tucked up in bed by 7pm as well. It's like being punished for being older!
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Sep 09
error alert should be thats really so stupid.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
22 Sep 09
Hmmmm i only seem to take a nap when im on vacation. I swear though i need more rest when i get home from vacation because i go places and do things and just am never home or have time to rest on vacation!
@p1kef1sh (45681)
23 Sep 09
I used to say that it was a humane thing to give people 6 weeks vacation at a time. Two weeks to get used to the idea, two weeks to actually be on holiday and two weeks to recover and prepare to return to work! Never persuaded anyone to give it to me though! LOL.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
24 Sep 09
that would totally rock!
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
17 Sep 09
Hey p1key! I don't have an excuse! I stay up really late and sleep really late! I have the most screwed up schedule ever! If I have to get up for an appointment I can't and end up getting in trouble because I can't wake up! I am up half the night so how can I have a normal schedule? I sleep until the afternoon so when would I possibly be able to nap?
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
You miss most of the day that way Opal. I wonder how you got into such a pattern. If you didn't have the computer would you go to bed earlier? And does your sleep pattern bother you?
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
18 Sep 09
The computer is no longer the issue P1ke, it's the fact that I have this Insomnia that I just can't seem to get a handle on! I no longer turn on the computer when I can't sleep, at least not as much as I used to do! I now pick up a book instead which helps me relax and almost get back to sleep. I am working on the problem with my therapist and shrink! It's kind of a slow process, but hopefully it will get corrected! Hopefully soon! Thanks so much for your concern! Love you for it! Hugs, Opal
@bhanusb (5709)
• India
17 Sep 09
If napping gives you extra energy it's not bad. I think it's not wastage of time. Humans are not machine. They need rest. So I don't find any wrong in your napping.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
Thank you my friend. Very sage advice. BR advice in fact!
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
16 Sep 09
I think most of us are biologically wired to take a rest in the afternoon. Most ignore the urge, but I find that a mid-day rest makes the 2nd half of the day much better. I feel more recharged and am ready for anything...well, almost anything. For some reason, perhaps because the rest is shorter, I find that dreams during a nap are much more vivid in the afternoon than at night. I wonder how many horror or sci-fi writers take naps and get ideas from them?
@p1kef1sh (45681)
16 Sep 09
I have heard and thought that too. If I fall into a deep afternoon sleep I wake up feeling very groggy. I do have vivid dreams sometimes - mostly rude ones! LOL.
1 person likes this
@catdla1 (6005)
• United States
16 Sep 09
No, I think that is steam. He fogs up the mirrors and windows with his dreams
@rosepedal64 (4188)
• United States
16 Sep 09
Hello p1kef1sh.... I wanted to share with you something that a doctor had told me once. First I want to say that I know what you are going thru. I am in my early 40's. A doctor told me that we hit our 40s that our enegy level starts to dimish. He said that we need more food with protein to help keep us from getting that sleepy feeling. The food that has protein the better we feel. I have tried this and it does seem to work. Great discussion..
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
Well I like meat and that's a great source of protein. Maybe a sausage at 3pm! LOL. Interesting theory, I've not heard that before.
• United States
17 Sep 09
Yes..I know it has worked for me. I was getting that tired feeling everyday. Now that I have increased my protein I have noticed less napping.. Have a sausage for me too..LOL..
@riyasam (16556)
• India
17 Sep 09
i think doing nothing also causes stress and that for sure does drecrease the energy levels.exercise or doing hobby which interests us and engages us and that is qujte a stress buster.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
I am mentally quite active Riyasam - physically too three days a week. You are right about hobbies being a stress buster - until they become stressful themselves! LOL.
@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
17 Sep 09
hi p1ke. i know i can't afford to take a nap in the office during office hours. even if it is lunch time, i still can't. i don't know what happened to this body. i want some more sleeps, but my mind always keeps me mylotting, so what can i do?
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
I know the late night myLot thing Neil. I had to wean myself off it. It comes eventually.
• Australia
17 Sep 09
Hundreds of millions of Mediterraneos and Latinos can't be wrong! Vive la siesta! I used to sneak into the loo at work in my early twenties and have a 20 min power nap while seated on the lav. My excuse was apnoea lol. Now I'm a senior citizen I figure I no longer need an excuse. Lash
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
Quite right. When I was young we spent a month every year in Italy - there everything shut for about 3 hours in the afternoon. I read magazines on the lav, but I have never slept on one yet. I do have a photo of my daughter asleep on one though; and she's 20!
@dozhou (326)
• United States
17 Sep 09
Don't be too worried about yourself. It is a natural phenomena. A lot of guys over 40s have to face it. If you could arrange your life schedule better, it will change.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
Good thinking. Thank you.
• United States
17 Sep 09
I am all for the afternoon nap if i didnt have so much to do. Think maybe starting a quick 15 minute scheduled rest time might be a good idea. This isnt something that started when i reached middle age its been happening since i was a teenager that i get tired in the afternoon. Not sure why
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
I think that our bodies are designed to nap occasionally. They probably weren't designed to stay up as late as we do these days.
• India
17 Sep 09
Ofcourse all will have enery crisis daily who are working hours together.But we shouldnt nap in our working hours.So try to sleep early in the nights.So u can get enought energy to do work in the morning.So you will not have any energy crisis in the afternoon.So no need to fight yourself to stay awake in the afternoons.So in my view get enought sleep in the night itself.So you will not nap in the afernoon and you will not feel that i have wasted part of your day.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
17 Sep 09
An early night is blissful. That's a good point. Thank you and welcome to myLot.