Do you take any kind of stimulants?

[The Hun]

I feel like my energy levels are often low and I can't concentrate as I would like to. Coffee doesn't do much for me any more (I take it with maca once a day which gives me a little boost but nothing spectacular) so I'm thinking about taking something else that hopefully won't be harmful for my health altogether.

What are your experiences?

 

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[sparechange]

You might be dehydrated which is causing a lack of energy, either that or eating the wrong foods. Coffee should be avoided for energy, get out and run, it sounds crazy but being more active actually increases energy levels a million times over.

 

[The Hun]

You might be dehydrated which is causing a lack of energy, either that or eating the wrong foods. Coffee should be avoided for energy, get out and run, it sounds crazy but being more active actually increases energy levels a million times over.

I drink quite a lot during the day, but it is true that I never really paid too much attention to my diet. I have always simply had whatever I desired, which doesn't include a lot of junk food. Sometimes my body asks me for salads, other time it demands some fat, but altogether I think the main meals are more or less balanced. Although since I work at home I do tend to visit the kitchen quite often to munch some stuff between meals (cookies, fruit, almonds, peanuts, etc.).

Doing more sport has definitely been one of my goals for some time. I have started activities such as jogging, swimming, etc. several times but I just never managed to maintain it for a long time, I have always found excuses to weasel out and eventually quit. This is something I definitely need to work on.

 

[broswoodwork]

I've recently cut back to AM coffee only, and tea occasionally in the afternoon. At first I was going to bed at like 7:00pm and getting headaches, but gradually, as my body adjusted, I'm back to "normal" 5 large black ice coffee alertness and energy level without anything but the first mug or two in the morning.

 

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[EdKirby]

The thing that's had the biggest impact on my energy during the day has been going Keto. Getting rid of most carbs and normalizing my insulin dips and spikes has had an incredible effect. It's not a quick fix though. But, yeah, how and what you eat can have a profound affect.

Also, how are you sleeping? This could have an affect even if you think you're sleeping ok. I used to sleep like crap then I found out that most people are deficient in magnesium and that can effect sleep as well as anxiety. I started taking a magnesium supplement and now I get 8 plus hours of sleep with 2 - 3 hours of that being deep sleep. Yes, I track it. I'm a geek. lol

I know you asked about stimulants, I figured I'd offer an alternative.

 

[jlwilliams]

I've also cut back to mornings only. Too much caffeine is bad juju, but occasional caffeine is good juju.

 

[Rabby]

Yes, sometimes. For example, adrafinil for jetlag. But the best stimulant in the world is 8+ hours of sleep opportunity every night, without fail. If you're tired it means your brain or some other part of your body needs to initiate its maintenance mode to keep you from burning out, taking damage, etc. Keep that in mind and save the stimulants for when it's just unavoidable (think: drug-crazed men with machetes are hunting for you day and night). If it's not that level of unavoidable, go to sleep.

 

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[broswoodwork]

magnesium

Interesting. I'm going to explore this. Thank you.

 

[EdKirby]

Interesting. I'm going to explore this. Thank you.

You're welcome! I hope it works for you.

 

[Silverfox148]

Get off the coffee(I used to be a pretty big coffee drinker), I love coffee but only do decaf these days with the occasional real coffee on some random days.

Honestly get off all stimulants and start an exercise regimen and get outdoors and your energy should be good.

 

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[james2021]

Get off the coffee(I used to be a pretty big coffee drinker), I love coffee but only do decaf these days with the occasional real coffee on some random days.

Honestly get off all stimulants and start an exercise regimen and get outdoors and your energy should be good.

Your best bet is to get blood work done because there is usually an underlining issue causing the low energy/libido. Increase your physical activity & make some changes to your diet. A change in diet can have a huge increase in energy levels!

 

[Ninjakid]

The right answer is fix your diet.

If you're using anything stronger than caffeine, it's probably an amphetamine, which you shouldn't play around with.

 

[Tourmaline]

I feel like my energy levels are often low and I can't concentrate as I would like to. Coffee doesn't do much for me any more (I take it with maca once a day which gives me a little boost but nothing spectacular) so I'm thinking about taking something else that hopefully won't be harmful for my health altogether.

What are your experiences?

I would not take any stimulants in your situation.

You may want to look into 'adrenal fatigue'. Presuming you eat enough and don't have other health problems, it may be why your energy is low.

Caffeine and all other stimulants are not simply 'energy givers'. They give you energy now, but at the expense of energy in the future. You will always feel down afterwards, that is the price of the energy you had earlier. So in net it is zero.

But if you are already low energy it does not actually solve your problem.

I use caffeine to better focus, when I need to do physical things in the next hour or two, or when I'm driving long distance. But my energy levels are good otherwise, I never need caffeine.

However I a couple years ago was on the verge of adrenal fatigue. I took care of it and my energy levels and overall mental health drastically improved too. Being an adrenaline junkie had a cause and a toll it turns out!

Now to answer your question directly, the single strongest safe stimulant is the ephedrine caffeine stack. It has had tons of medical review and scientific studies and is absolutely phenomenal for energy. However you generally do need to do 3 week cycles on it, and getting jittery is extremely common too. If you have heart issues you should absolutely not take it, and probably not any stimulants either.

Of course I could suggest metaphysical things to try too, that give you energy directly without a future cost. But that is in an entirely different bucket of reality.

 

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[Johnny boy]

Maybe your life is boring?

Try adderall. I've had all of my best ideas on it. Closest thing to the limitless pill in my opinion.

Just be prepared for a bad day afterwards. I think it's worth it though.

No it's not healthy. I plan on dying eventually anyways.

 

[The Hun]

The thing that's had the biggest impact on my energy during the day has been going Keto. Getting rid of most carbs and normalizing my insulin dips and spikes has had an incredible effect. It's not a quick fix though. But, yeah, how and what you eat can have a profound affect.

Also, how are you sleeping? This could have an affect even if you think you're sleeping ok. I used to sleep like crap then I found out that most people are deficient in magnesium and that can effect sleep as well as anxiety. I started taking a magnesium supplement and now I get 8 plus hours of sleep with 2 - 3 hours of that being deep sleep. Yes, I track it. I'm a geek. lol

I know you asked about stimulants, I figured I'd offer an alternative.

I tend to have trouble going to sleep early, I rarely manage to fall asleep before 1AM. But then again, I do tend to work late after my daughter goes to bed and I also get distracted with random stuff once in bed (f.e. reading stuff in the forum lol).

I will definitely check out the magnesium, I also have a Mi Band that I never use and I believe can track the sleep levels, it is also an interesting thing to track.

Get off the coffee(I used to be a pretty big coffee drinker), I love coffee but only do decaf these days with the occasional real coffee on some random days.

Honestly get off all stimulants and start an exercise regimen and get outdoors and your energy should be good.

I did some chin-ups and push-ups at home this morning and I will go for a jog later, this is something I need to start doing regularly!

Your best bet is to get blood work done because there is usually an underlining issue causing the low energy/libido. Increase your physical activity & make some changes to your diet. A change in diet can have a huge increase in energy levels!

Noted. I will be calling the doctor today to make an appointment for a full check-up.

I would not take any stimulants in your situation.

You may want to look into 'adrenal fatigue'. Presuming you eat enough and don't have other health problems, it may be why your energy is low.

Caffeine and all other stimulants are not simply 'energy givers'. They give you energy now, but at the expense of energy in the future. You will always feel down afterwards, that is the price of the energy you had earlier. So in net it is zero.

But if you are already low energy it does not actually solve your problem.

I use caffeine to better focus, when I need to do physical things in the next hour or two, or when I'm driving long distance. But my energy levels are good otherwise, I never need caffeine.

However I a couple years ago was on the verge of adrenal fatigue. I took care of it and my energy levels and overall mental health drastically improved too. Being an adrenaline junkie had a cause and a toll it turns out!

Now to answer your question directly, the single strongest safe stimulant is the ephedrine caffeine stack. It has had tons of medical review and scientific studies and is absolutely phenomenal for energy. However you generally do need to do 3 week cycles on it, and getting jittery is extremely common too. If you have heart issues you should absolutely not take it, and probably not any stimulants either.

Of course I could suggest metaphysical things to try too, that give you energy directly without a future cost. But that is in an entirely different bucket of reality.

Interesting, I never heard about adrenal fatigue but I will certainly look into it deeper. I see that it's not widely accepted by the medical community, but of course that doesn't mean that it's not a real thing. In fact, it seems like I have many of its symptoms .

I did the ECA stack for a while many years ago when I was into bodybuilding and I wanted to burn some fat, It worked but I found that I was very nervous and my heart was accelerated so I decided I would stop taking it, not something I want either now that I'm a lot older and not doing that much exercise.

Maybe your life is boring?

Try adderall. I've had all of my best ideas on it. Closest thing to the limitless pill in my opinion.

Just be prepared for a bad day afterwards. I think it's worth it though.

No it's not healthy. I plan on dying eventually anyways.

I wouldn't say it's boring, although I do get bored of stuff quite quickly and things like a daily routine tend to lower my motivation. I never tried Adderall but I met some people in university who would take it during the exams season, not sure I can get it legally nowadays where I live (Spain).

 

[babyballer]

I feel like my energy levels are often low and I can't concentrate as I would like to. Coffee doesn't do much for me any more (I take it with maca once a day which gives me a little boost but nothing spectacular) so I'm thinking about taking something else that hopefully won't be harmful for my health altogether.

What are your experiences?

Do you fap? Or watch porn?

 

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[babyballer]

View attachment 29196

I've recently cut back to AM coffee only, and tea occasionally in the afternoon. At first I was going to bed at like 7:00pm and getting headaches, but gradually, as my body adjusted, I'm back to "normal" 5 large black ice coffee alertness and energy level without anything but the first mug or two in the morning.

Coffee gives you short term energy. In the long run, you will be tired because of it. I have stopped cold turkey.

 

[PureA]

Taking stimulants is just masking underlying issues.

The problem is with your sleep, nutrition, exercise and general lifestyle choices...

 

[MatthewJacob]

I feel like my energy levels are often low and I can't concentrate as I would like to. Coffee doesn't do much for me any more (I take it with maca once a day which gives me a little boost but nothing spectacular) so I'm thinking about taking something else that hopefully won't be harmful for my health altogether.

What are your experiences?

If your energy levels are low and you have trouble concentrating, I would definately start looking at your diet before taking stimulants.

I had similar problems a couple of years ago and here is what I did:

1. COMPLETELY changed my diet to a low carb / ketogenic diet being in deep ketosis most of the day
2. Started fasting (only eating 1 meal a day keeping blood sugar levels stable)
3. Using Armodafinil/Modafinil sparingly

• I have created an educational video on YouTube on both Smart Drugs here:
  
  View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkm8qQOEuTw

It's amazing what being in Deep Ketosis can do in terms of energy levels, alertness and focus.

One of the side effects I got when I switched to a low carb / ketogenic diet was Insomnia because I had so much energy lol

 

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[The Hun]

Do you fap? Or watch porn?

Not very often, maybe once-twice a week max.

I went our for a run with my dog and also did a little break to do some gardening in my backyard. Even though I only slept about 5 hours the day has been relatively productive until now.

 

[Here]

The thing that's had the biggest impact on my energy during the day has been going Keto. Getting rid of most carbs and normalizing my insulin dips and spikes has had an incredible effect. It's not a quick fix though. But, yeah, how and what you eat can have a profound affect.

Also, how are you sleeping? This could have an affect even if you think you're sleeping ok. I used to sleep like crap then I found out that most people are deficient in magnesium and that can effect sleep as well as anxiety. I started taking a magnesium supplement and now I get 8 plus hours of sleep with 2 - 3 hours of that being deep sleep. Yes, I track it. I'm a geek. lol

I know you asked about stimulants, I figured I'd offer an alternative.

Another vote for keto. It’s helped me a ton as well. I haven’t tried magnesium though, will look into it.

 

[babyballer]

Not very often, maybe once-twice a week max.

I went our for a run with my dog and also did a little break to do some gardening in my backyard. Even though I only slept about 5 hours the day has been relatively productive until now.

5 hours of sleep does not seem to be enough.

 

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[G-Man]

Beet powder mixed with green superfood powder, or a Full size blender packed down with spinach with a cup of berries. Mix all of the above together and you’ll get something that actually gives me a minor “high”.

 

[EdKirby]

I only slept about 5 hours

The research is pretty clear on this. 5 hours is not enough.

Here's my sleep improvement protocol just in case it might help.

1. Track sleep. I have a sleep app on my iPhone and I wear my Apple watch to bed. You can't fix what your not measuring.
2. I take a magnesium supplement every day to every other day or so. Magnesium helps with anxiety and sleep issues. It also helps with increasing deep sleep. I'm 52 so I also have to hit the bathroom in the middle of the night. I still get back to sleep and get very little disruption anymore.
3. I don't use an alarm clock. I let my body take all the sleep it needs. Sometimes its 7 hours, sometimes it's 9. But it averages about 8.

This made a huge difference with my day. Couple this with the benefits if intermittent fasting and Keto and it's deadly.

 

[EdKirby]

Another vote for keto. It’s helped me a ton as well. I haven’t tried magnesium though, will look into it.

You should! Most people don't realize that they are mineral deficient nor the affect it can have on various systems in the body. If you're doing keto, you excrete out a bunch of minerals as well, but you probably already know that.

 

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[The Hun]

5 hours of sleep does not seem to be enough.

The research is pretty clear on this. 5 hours is not enough.

Here's my sleep improvement protocol just in case it might help.

1. Track sleep. I have a sleep app on my iPhone and I wear my Apple watch to bed. You can't fix what your not measuring.
2. I take a magnesium supplement every day to every other day or so. Magnesium helps with anxiety and sleep issues. It also helps with increasing deep sleep. I'm 52 so I also have to hit the bathroom in the middle of the night. I still get back to sleep and get very little disruption anymore.
3. I don't use an alarm clock. I let my body take all the sleep it needs. Sometimes its 7 hours, sometimes it's 9. But it averages about 8.

This made a huge difference with my day. Couple this with the benefits if intermittent fasting and Keto and it's deadly.

This week I am taking my daughter to school in the morning so I have to wake up at around 7AM and I can rarely go to sleep before 1AM, but often it's later (yesterday I had a telephone fight with my ex-wife in the evening and it left me pretty anxious so I couldn't sleep well either). I try to give myself at least one day a week to sleep in but I know it's not sufficient.

I'm starting with magnesium today, I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Here]

You should! Most people don't realize that they are mineral deficient nor the affect it can have on various systems in the body. If you're doing keto, you excrete out a bunch of minerals as well, but you probably already know that.

I was taking an absolutely insane number of vitamins. It took a good 5 min to chug them all down. Two weeks ago I kinda just stopped taking all of them. I’m not sure they’re all necessary and had planned to go to a naturopath to get myself sorted, but it didn’t work out.

Today I feel sick, partly because I ate some sugar yesterday but I’m sure the lack of supplements isn’t helping. I think I’ll spend this morning reading labels so I finally figure out what’s redundant and what I need to keep.

 

[Deleted74396]

This week I am taking my daughter to school in the morning so I have to wake up at around 7AM and I can rarely go to sleep before 1AM, but often it's later (yesterday I had a telephone fight with my ex-wife in the evening and it left me pretty anxious so I couldn't sleep well either). I try to give myself at least one day a week to sleep in but I know it's not sufficient.

I'm starting with magnesium today, I will let you know how it goes.

Bravo to you for keeping that up 6 days a week! I've been doing some 7am-1am days but can't manage more than two or three a week.

 

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[EdKirby]

Today I feel sick, partly because I ate some sugar yesterday but I’m sure the lack of supplements isn’t helping. I think I’ll spend this morning reading labels so I finally figure out what’s redundant and what I need to keep.

Yeah, the sugar thing. My nemesis. I do Keto but I do like to take a break once in a while to enjoy some sugary foods. It always makes me feel less than stellar.

On the supplement thing, it sounds like you were taking a lot of stuff. Personally, I limit what I take. Most stuff can come from good healthy foods. But I do take D3, Fish oil for the Omega 3s, magnesium, some potassium, and a couple of other things but not everyday either.

I'm also into bio/brain hacking a little so I've done medicinal mushrooms (NOT the hallucinogenic ones, lol), red reishi and lion's mane. Stuff like that.

I prefer to try to eat well but that's not always possible nor is it effective and you need supplementation.

 

[EdKirby]

I'm starting with magnesium today, I will let you know how it goes.

Please do! It may take some time for it to start to help. I don't remember it taking too long though, certainly not longer than a few days. For me it was like 2 to 3 days and I started seeing a difference. I have a sleep tracker and it showed up in that and I could feel it as well.

Also, please please please! Only take what's recommended on the bottle. I don't want to see anyone get hurt.

EDIT: By the way, I started a thread over here: O/T: HEALTH - Magnesium for better sleep

If you'd like to post your experience with the magnesium.