Do you take any kind of stimulants?

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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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[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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[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.

 

[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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[jlwilliams]

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

 

[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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[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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[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.

 

[MoneyDoc]

Not really a stimulant but Ashwagandha helps me so much... but you really need to find a brand that provides a quality product. A lot of the Ashwagandha supplements are garbage hence the low prices. Good quality Ashwagandha is expensive to source.

 

[Rabby]

Just take <magic pill> and do <magic activity> and start eating <magic diet> and you won't have to worry about sleep until your nervous system is a complete wreck. It will be great.

Seriously though, tell the X to shut her hole or call you in the morning when you're awake. Don't do phone calls or email within an hour of bed time if they make you too nervous to sleep. Consider not looking at screens of any kind within some period of bed time, like 1 hr or 30 mins. You'll think "but this is my relaxation time!" but then when you actually get enough sleep every night you'll realize there is nothing that replaces sleep for relaxation and anxiety control. 5 hours is the equivalent of applying sandpaper to your nerves. It makes life not fun. Sleep makes everything easier and better. Go to sleep.

 

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[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]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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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[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.

 

[Supercar]

Like many have said, you can't keep relying on caffeine for energy for longer than a day or two. If you are too tired and have to have caffeine, then you can't have it!

Yes, adrenal fatigue is real. I am recovering from it. Some also call it Epstein-Barr virus, Mononucleosis, etc. It is extremely common among athletes. In the business world it is known as burnout.

Fix your:
1. Hydration
2. Sleep
3. Nutrition
4. Exercise.

In this exact order of priority.

1. Hydration:

I used to drink 4 liters a day. Way more than was recommended for my average weight. I was always thirsty. Turns out I was not consuming enough of electrolytes. I was pissing more than I was drinking. When I started feeling thirsty, I decided to cut down on salt intake. I should have increased the salt intake instead. Then add sports, work, gym, stress, etc. This is how it all went downhill.

A year ago I discovered Pedyalite. It is easy to drink and it does not leak out of me right away like plain water does. Drink it first thing in the morning or during the day, then plain water in the evening.

When you drink plain water, make sure it is either spring water or tap water (of a good quality). Do not drink distilled water, non-spring bottled water, or caffeinated carbonated drinks. They deplete you of minerals.

2. Sleep

I have learned more about sleep than I should have, and I am still working on that.

Make sleep a life priority. Set an alarm to go to bed. Sleep for 7-8 hours. Do not sleep longer than 8-9 hours, especially if you have problems going to bed the following night. There is a thing called "sleep hygiene". Follow the same sleep schedule every night.

Keep the room cool, quiet, well-ventilated, no light, dark curtains on windows. Wear ear plugs and a blind if they help.

Track your sleep. Once it improves, everything else will improve too. Yes, ideally you need close to 2 hours of deep sleep.

If you think you may have a problem with snoring, get a snoring tracking app, such as SnoreLab. Snoring will make you tired in the morning. There are easy fixes for snoring too.

Sleep doctors around here always test for sleep apnea first. I think they are crazy, but those who have serious sleep issues might indeed have that.

I am a night owl. I am fooling myself to go to bed early by setting my watch 2 hours ahead. I am in Arizona now, but I live on Eastern Standard Time. It helps me get 2 extra hours of sleep every night.

3. Nutrition

Find a way to keep your energy levels steady throughout the day. This means keeping steady blood sugar levels.

Small and balanced meals every 2-3 hours works very well.

Keto works for some, but it does not work indefinitely, people have to get off of it eventually. They add back fruits and carbs.

Avoid sugar. Never over-eat. Keep your carb intake moderate or low. If you need coffee, then you can't have it. I love coffee, but I drink it only when I am fully rested and usually only during the day.

Carefully watch what you eat before bed. You do not want to be full, restless, dehydrated, or hungry at night.

4. Exercise

Find a low-intensity routine that you like to do.

Go for a walk, or walk the dog for 30-60 minutes every day. Go for a bike ride. You can do some jogging or light running, if it improves and does not mess up your night sleep.

Avoid high-intensity workouts that raise your heart rate above the aerobic levels. That can mess you up bad. You are better off doing nothing at all than doing those. You can start doing them again only after your sleep improves.

Good luck!

 

[SkyLake]

Stop.

Do the basic stuff right.

Drink enough water. Get a good night's sleep every day. Eat enough but not too much. Workout at least 30 minutes every day. Get your health sorted.

Then, try experimenting with different foods/diets. Many people stand by keto. Other by meat only. Other by plants only. Experiment and see.

Taking stimulants is only going to worsen your problems. It's a shortcut which backfires very, very bad.

 

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[Shreyas Nampalli]

I take Ashwagandha, it is an adaptogen that can normalize sleeping so that you get proper rest. I think that is the most important thing. It also helps with clarity and focus during the day and feels like real natural energy coming from me. And ever since I started taking it all my brain fog is gone too. Maybe give it a try there are a bunch of brands on Amazon when you do a search. I use the Mana Spring Brand now

 

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[JAJT]

not sure I can get it legally nowadays where I live (Spain).

From a quick google search - Spain has access to prescription methylphenidate for ADHD. Also called Concerta. My son is on it (for ADHD, not lack of energy). It's a very safe, well studied stimulant that produces effects similar to Adderall.

It feels like forced wakefulness and you'll become hyper focused on tasks VERY easily - which can be a benefit if planned for (working on a business, getting boring shit done quickly without distraction, etc) or a detriment (spending 6 solid hours going down a wikipedia rabbit hole or engaged with social media, etc).

Personally I'd agree with others that your first step is to completely examine your diet, health and fitness first (including blood tests as necessary) before looking for a magic pill though.

 

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[Meerten]

I know it's a long post, but I feel all of this is important to share.

I also take amphetamines, but never habitually. Maybe one month per year, low doses.
Like Johnny said: it does really improve performance for the moment.
Especially if you have a certain kind of ADD, it can be like day and night.

However, the addiction WILL sneak up on you if you are not extrémely careful with it.
Hence one should not allow him-/herself to make this into a ritual without seeing a psychiatrist.
At least not until one has lots and lots of experience with using it.
It is some nasty shit. Do not underestimate this stuff.

And never, èver, start snorting it habitually. Just don't do it.
It isn't worth the attacks on your nose and the dramatically increased risk of addiction.
Espècially if you really do have ADD, and may want to use this as a medicine for the better part of your life.

And even though it's (way) more safe to oralize it, don't get seriously high on it like that habitually either.
As it'll still dominate your life if you don't know what you're doing.

Also know that, like has been said before: The energy gains and momentum you "get" must àlways be repaid.
Thus you'll be lying in bed depressed for days if you abused it in whatever way. Which isn't too hard to do.

It's a loan, just like with money.
And it WILL come to collect, even when you really don't want it to.
Unless ofcourse, you take a 4th bump... .....who needs sleep?
Which, I don't have to tell you, is an un(pre)scripted fastlane to hell.

That is, IF you don't have the awareness and the discipline that is required to stay on track long-term.
And I might add to that "experience", because I bet you that even your meditation guru *could* get themselves entrenched with this. So be vèry careful if you're going to experiment with it.

Stick with coffee.
I've heard some good things about taking 200mg L-Theanine before coffee.
It ought to take away some of the jitters and tension, while NOT taking away the energy boost. Not at all.

Go for a run and/or practice meditation. Fix the diet.
The latter three will, after a while, do many of the same things for you as AMP and coffee do.
... Except this time it isn't a bloody loan. It is extra.

Wake up early enough to keep your circadian rhythm happy.
That'll give you lots of energy, because you won't miss your cortisol boost.

I used to be an evening person simply because I never dared to experiment with 5:30 am.
Logic being that if 7:30 didn't really work for me, then why would 5:30 suddenly do?!

I couldn't have been more wrong.

With 5:30 am on the clock, I am bursting with energy.
That is, as long as I manage to get myself to bed early enough. (which is the bigger challenge)
Whereas when waking up at 7:30 am, it's just mediocre. Nothing special. Ordinary day.

I am now a true "morning person". And have been so for almost two years now.
Never thought I could just.. "switch", that. (with some melatonin & no bright screens)

So these are some of the natural ways to achieve continuously what amphetamines can force only temporarily.
Except if you have ADD, in which case it may or may not still be worth to use this kind of stimulant.

Hope this helps someone.
As some of it would've helped me 8 years ago.

 

[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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[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).

 

[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”.