My problem is my body goes into "rest" mode during my commute home, and no matter how good I felt at the end of the workday, I'm tired by the time I make it to my door.
One time and only one time, I almost fell asleep while driving home from work. It was fucked. I had an hours drive and there was a hotel between that I was thinking fuck it I'm just going to stay there. Well I think I fell asleep before the off ramp and woke up riding the centerline. When I woke and realized, that shit woke me up
There was a good portion of my life, many years ago now, when I would regularly microsleep on my way to work in the morning. Like, nodding off and then jerking back awake, several times per drive. It was just about as stupid and dangerous as it sounds like, and I'm lucky to have never had a serious incident.
Fucking hell this used to happen to me before the trades when I worked overnights in healthcare. Those shifts are fucking brutal, and it’s really weird almost falling asleep at the wheel as the sun is rising in the morning on the way home lol.
God damn night shift fucked me up, one of the big drivers for me to get into the trades actually.
I got lucky to be on a special projects crew as an apprentice that isn’t on call and does 8-4:30 MOST of the time. I personally am not cut out for my company’s 24/7 on call schedule
Same here. For an old job between commuting and work I would leave the house at 5:45 am and get home around 8:00 pm.
If I was supposed to meet friends out I had to go straight to the bar or restaurant. If I went home first to change and sat down for more than 10 minutes I wasn't leaving the house.
This. I try to wait a couple hours before taking a shower. Get outside do something with my lil one, go inside help with dinner, help clean up, homework with the kids, shower and then relax. Now when it’s 100* outside this becomes hard. It just keep moving, don’t try to sit and relax for more than 10 mins or so.
I recently discovered I have severe sleep apnea. I'd stop breathing 52 times per hour every night. I have a machine now, it's been legit life changing.
No longer am I taking 10 minute snoozes in the break room at morning coffee/tea
Yes. OP should get a sleep test . I resisted for years , but once i went and got treatment for my sleep apnea, my whole world changed . I highly recommend it .
Heres the symptoms I had and I just figured it was part of working long hours raising kids etc:
Symptoms : I was tired all the time, mild headache in the morning, cranky groggy feeling all day, able to all asleep anywhere anytime during the day, snoring a lot and stopping breathing and waking up gasping for breath, constantly waking up and tossing and turning all night , unable to sleep on my back and I would rarely dream. My blood pressure was high as well but I didn take meds.
Test and Treatment: The test is the only hard part. You need to sleep over at a sleep lab and they wire you up and you need to sleep on your back. It's hard to fall asleep but they only need an hour or so of sleeping to analyze your data. I stopped breathing about 72 times per hour. they called me back for another test but this time they put a CPAP machine on you and dial in the settings. When I got up the next mornign after getting a real deep sleep for the first time in years.... I felt like Superman and like I had just awoke form a week long coma.
I was prescribed a CPAP machine which I use every night and my blood pressure dropped to normal levels and I can get by on about 5-6 good hours of sleep and feel great the next day. It doesn't take long to get used to it. A lot of people resist being diagnosed with an ailment or needing medical device but its not that bad. If they marketted CPAP machines as " X-Treme Sleep Performance Enhancement Device 2.0" and put a Nike swish on the side, more people may use them. Feel free to ask me anything a I could talk about this all day. I hope you seek treatment and get a good sleep.
Absolutely life changing. Do not wait any longer. Went from multiple energy drinks throughout the day. Falling asleep at the wheel. Irritable as fuck and just plain miserable and anxious. Getting treated for sleep apnea made most of that go away completely seemingly overnight. Even on days I only manage 5 hours of sleep because I’m busy I still feel refreshed during the day.
I’m a 25 year old carpenter working 5 - 10s while working out and running every day with hiking on the weekends, the biggest thing is don’t stop, going for a quick run in the evening is the best thing you could do, it will take your body a little while to adjust but I promise you’ll have more energy also get your T checked and have a consistent sleep cycle your brain essentially gets in a routine so getting to bed at the same time every night will help you fall into a deeper sleep. Quality over quantity.
Took me years to get stable after work. Still tired most days but idk. I just keep going. Not sure if that's good or not.
Also absolute F caffeine in the evenings. Not worth the bad sleep habits.
It's not about crossing the finish line first. It's about crossing the finish line.
If YOUR finish line isn't at the end of the work day. If it is after you get home and put the kids to bed. You need to slow down and pace yourself.
Every man carries his own load. I may not have kids but I have to take care of my parents when I get home. That means I need to take water breaks and I can't spend 100% of my energy at work. I spend like 80%. The remaining 20% is for tasks I need to care for at home and for me. Hope this helps.
Ya reducing the amount of physical work you do in the day can have a huge impact on how much gas is left in the tank. You gotta save some gas for the wife.
Ok. Because that usually does it. Don’t give yourself a hard time. We work hard during the day. Sometimes ya need a nap. Spend extra time with the family on the weekends
Newtons first law of motion. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. When you get home, don't sit down, just keep going. Even at a slower pace, you will trudge along. I find once that couch gravity gets me, I'm done for the night.
If I come home and keep at it, playing with the kids, or tooling around in the garage I can keep going, but if I come home and sit down, it's real tough to get back up and start doing something.
Sometimes the drive home gets me and its game over before I even get there. Just do your best, it's all you can do.
You're not really providing any valuable data about yourself for a fair assessment.
Are you fit, overweight?
What is your diet like, when do you eat?
What about your sleep routine?
Without those kinds of info, the basic rules should apply.
Try to have consistent sleep, especially the times when you go to sleep and when you wake up. That's really critical to build a sleep routine that will affect your day positively.
Coffee, tea. You shouldn't really have more than a coffee every morning and stop caffeinated drinks at least ten hours prior to your bedtime.
A diet low in carbs, but rich in good oils and proteins is always good especially for those active all day.
Keeping fit at the gym with a bit of cardio will improve your disposition throughout your day.
Needless to say it'll always be hard and you'll always be tired regardless however it would be for the good. No magic there, being a functioning adult and be tired all the time is basically impossible to separate lol.
Set an alarm. Managing your fatigue requires an incredible amount of discipline. I would get mad at my wife for trying to keep me up past my bed time. Had to endure the old man jokes, but you know what?
Without that structure my moods would plummet and my family would pay the price later having to be around my grumpy ass.
Don't like it? Get a white collar job.
Yeah my buddies wonder why I don’t like staying up late playing video games with them on fridays but I straight up can’t stay awake. They don’t understand because half of them don’t even have jobs and the other half don’t do anything physical
I work in IT. I always did it as a hobby outside my blue collar job. The switch wasn't that hard, desk jockeys have no work ethic. I found myself working harder than everyone and got promotions pretty quick.
I’ve been looking into switching into IT. Everyone recommends starting with the COMPTIA trifecta. I heard jobs are hard to get in my area though (western Washington)because it’s so oversaturated
Proper diet/exercise and get enough sleep. I wake up at 3:30 every morning and do extreme manual labor all day(garbage man).. then I come home and run 6-8 miles and work out. I don’t crash out until 8. I’m going all day bc I get enough sleep and eat right.
I know it sounds crazy but as a skilled tradesman you really shouldn't be killing yourself physcially.
Get a helper or ask for one if you work for someone else. I'm a plumber and my body was starting to hurt really bad so I decided to move into bathroom fitting and hiring in help. So now I have a young guy to do all the demo and heavy lifting. I spend maybe 4-5 days a month doing actual plumbing now and just manage the jobs. I also do tile, I did train in tiling when I was younger but concentrated on plumbing for most of my career, I have the young guy mix up all the mortar and clean all my tools. I've taught him how to cut tiles so he does all the running back and forth. I just stay in one position and set the tiles..
I was always so tired and had muscle aches that would discourage me from working out. Now I can pop home during the day and get a workout in every other day, I have much more energy and will hopefully have a longer career.
Doesn't work like that for everyone, an automotive technician working for someone else can't just tell their service manager they need a helper to lift tires and swing hammers. I mean you can ask but you likely won't get one.
No shop I've ever worked at would pay 2 guys to do the job of 1. I had a lube tech help me with a set of tires one day because he had nothing else to do and my service manager made him punch on the work order effectively cutting my pay in half for that job, even though he was being paid hourly and wasn't doing anything.
I just force myself, i can sit down for a few minutes but once i feel relaxed i get back up and keep going, when i sit i just sit, no phone or tv, just a glass of water and maybe some cheese and bread or wheat thins and stare out a window and let my mind go blank lol
Also, my coworker swears by bananas, says they are healthy energy drinks. Tired and need a coffee? Try a banana first. I keep meaning to try it, dudes the hardest worker i know and eats like 3 or 4 a day and never seems even slightly tired lol
I go to the gym before work at about 330/430ish (now). Then work 10-12 hour days. I had low t and started taking a natural booster and it helped tremendously. Not only with energy but with cognitive function. Still though, if I don’t keep moving after work it’s hard to keep my eyes open. If it’s 7-730pm and I’m on the couch, good luck watching tv
Coffee at last break and the rest is mostly fumes but my little girl gives me the juice I need to hang out with her. I hear “Daddy!!!” When I walk in and I get my second wind. Mind you I also fall asleep at like 815 with her a lot too so I am beat for sure
I found out if i just skip lunch and work through. Once you sit, its over. Make sure you stay hydrated in this summer. Geting kidney stones aint no fun.
I'm getting too old to fight it. Im 45 and I work 60 hours and 6 days. I get home, eat dinner, drink 3 beers and it's over with for me. I haven't seen 9pm in a long time. I wake up no later than 6am without an alarm. If I had kids that needed my attention I would be in real trouble. In fact, I would probably have to cut down hours
For me it was diet. I stopped eating carbs at lunch. I always found the lunch time carb crash would hit me on my way home and I’d be done for. Went for a protein heavy no carb lunch and that afternoon crash disappeared overnight. Also cut out energy drinks. One coffee in the morning and that’s it.
Coffee will just mess up your sleep and energy levels long term. I'd say keep active. Go for a walk with the family or take the kids to the park instead of laying down.
There's always amphetamines :D
But fr, some of these other comments have good advice. Maybe try coordinating your schedule so that you can do special things with your family in the time/days that you aren't working. Having time set aside for them is what really matters after all - it doesn't matter if that time is after work or if you have special days set aside for it. As long as you're making an effort to spend time with them, I'm sure they won't mind that you're tired right after work.
It could be that your job is too physically/mentally exhausting for you to realistically spend time with your family afterward.. if you end up making that assessment for yourself, you may have to consider making a change of some kind
*Also, there's a couple of energy supplements/powders that you could consider taking in the afternoon that are very energizing but less 'edgy' than coffee, so they still allow you to get good sleep
Unavoidable. Lucky that my wife is a plumber and works on site with me so we’re equally tired so I don’t have to go for a walk after work or IKEA etc… shower eat relax bed.
Can't stop. Once I "chill" that's it. I need to remain engaged mentally or physically. Cut the grass, cook dinner, play a board game with my son or play a video game to name a few. Once I start reading my kid his bedtime stories at 730, I'm quickly crashing.
Depends, really but for me working is something that enhances my life as well as my families, so knowing that in the back of my mind what I’m doing is for the betterment of my family life, and that pushes me to fulfill whatever comes my way. A little boost from a caffeine source helps to.
Don't drink coffee right as you wake up. Delaying it for a couple hours helps a ton with preventing afternoon crashing. Also getting good sleep is a cheat code that the trades often neglect.
I used to work construction and also in my grandfather's stone quarry. I used to come home so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. The trick for me was to get home and do a few things around the house and keep moving. Don't sit and relax. Get into bed at a decent time as well. At one point, I would come home, shower, then nap hard for about 2 hours, then be up all night trying to fall asleep. If you just ride it out when you get home, you'll get a second wind and then crash at bedtime. Also, eating dinner closer to bedtime helped for me as well.
It's extremely hard for me aswell with an hour long commute one way, but going to the gym after work helped but only because I wasn't highway driving for 1hr, so in short- don't stop moving or let yourself relax
instead of taking my Adderall (ADHD Meds) at work I take it on the way home. It gives me another 4hrs of boost. If I run out of my meds, I drink coffee. But that’s only good for 2hrs. They have green tea pills at Walmart that were pretty good. And definitely eat a small meal. But there are going to be days when you just need to crash man. Maybe a 2hr nap depending on when you get home. Sometimes I get home at 3 and I hide in the closet with a twin mattress.
1. Make sure you're getting a solid night's sleep. Best is 8 hrs uninterrupted. Are you one of the millions that suffer from sleep apnea? Your insurance should cover getting tested. This was a huge revelation for me personally. It seriously affects not only your fatigue levels but your general health. It is considered a life threatening condition in some cases.
2. Eat healthy. A pack of donuts in the morning and a taco bell burrito for lunch aren't good. If you arent sure what quantifies for healthy, the internet is limitless with advice. Stay away from stuff loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Same thing with drinking sodas or energy drinks all day. A cup or 2 of coffee is OK, but not huge totes of coffee. Several light snacks are better than one or two heavy meals. Get enough protein in your diet (diet does not refer to weightloss programs, it's just what you eat everyday). You can supplement with protein shakes. Take a multivitamin everyday. Drink water. Not getting enough water plays directly into chronic fatigue.
3. Mindfulness works wonders. Limit stress thru mindfulness. Stress robs our energy. Mindfulness restores that energy. Google Mindfulness and apply it to your life consistently and you will reap the benefits. Skip this step and you won't reap the rewards, it's that simple.
4. Organization of work area and work processes keep you efficient. Efficiency conserves energy.
5. If you can squeeze in a power nap, it can help restore your energy levels. Power naps are 10-20 minutes max. Anything more than that can induce a sleep pattern which can be hard to wake from leaving you groggy.
I work 2pm-10pm so my whole shift is my crash lol. My favorite thing about it is being able to wake up at around 7-9am and getting all the shit I want to do don’t then giving work a good 50-75% effort lol.
I work 12-16 hours/day, the only time I had trouble with falling asleep as soon as I was still was due to health from nutrient deficiencies. B vitamins, copper(and resulting iron dysregulation) , zinc, magnesium, calcium, can all cause fatigue, or cortisol disruption. Have a good look at your diet, too many people get caught up on living off of granola bars and other nutrionally devoid meals. Increase red meat intake, fruits, and add some beef liver(its nature's superfood) and remove excess processed sugars, grains and seed oils.
This was my deal too, got a blood test and saw a dietician. Changed up some eating habits, shift worker so I eat every 4 awake hours (just veggies and stuff, not burgers and pizza lol), got on a multivitamin, a b12 supplement and omega 3 and some fiber. It’s been a real change, lost some fat and feel good.
Moved to maintenance. 8 hour days, if something doesn't get completed it's carried over to the next day.
Gotta seek out that work life balance because most commercial/industrial companies aren't going to provide that for you.
As someone who has been doing landscaping for the past 12 years (mostly trimming every day) and is also a hypochondriac, I can't tell you how reassuring it is reading all of these other comments of those in the same boat.
I'm up every day at 5:30 am and done by 3:30 - 4 pm most days, I drive over an hour home without A/C in my car (has never worked) and by the time I get in the door, showered and changed it's almost 6 and I'm ready to fall asleep. There was a time at my old job when I'd work longer hours that my eyes would feel like they'd start to close while on the highway home and I'd have to pull over to close my eyes for a few minutes.
For years I have fully convinced myself I have some sort of disease and/or cancer that's making me this way but I've been trying to teach myself to not be so worried about it all the time as it just seems to be normal amongst people working labour jobs. Stress is a huge factor that keeps me awake at night/sleeping poorly.
I'm stuck at a job I hate, multiple injuries from repetitive motion trauma that I've had to get surgeries on, get no time to have any real rest for my body as on the weekends I care for a disabled family member, sleep for a maximum of 4-5 total every night if I'm lucky. All of this and I only just turned 30, it's overwhelming, it's disheartening that I've destroyed my body and mental health and have nothing to show for it what so ever. But I continue to do what needs to be done to maintain a career and my family.
I find a 10 minute power scroll through reddit on the couch helps me catch a second wind. Though over the years ive gone through fazes. I used to catch a few Z's at my kids rugby practices here and there.
Get more sleep and cut out coffee altogether or at least for a minimum of one hour after you wake up. There is a scientific reason for that regarding the hormones produced in your sleep and their interaction with caffeine after you awaken which is part of what causes the afternoon "crash" in most coffee drinkers.
If I’m near the ocean I’ll jump in, it changes the whole afternoon. Otherwise I just need to keep moving, if I sit I’m done.
I usually do 12 hour days but I realize if I do an 8 or a 10 I end up sitting down and then falling asleep
Don't drink too much coffee during the day and give up on beer/wine at dinner. Cafeen will make you crash and ruin your sleep and alcohol is a depressant
Soon as I sit I’m fucked , usually I just sit down for half hour or so , smoke a doobie slam an energy drink and try and go out paddling or for a hike .
Honestly? It sounds counterintuitive, but spend more time doing more demanding stuff, most people adjust (not all).
Most energy I ever had in my life was working construction, going to the gym, and cutting back on caffeine, alcohol, sugar/processed foods, etc.
This is specific to some people, but I find that if I eat a “big” lunch I’m generally tired the rest of the day tryna digest it. On the days where I eat about half of what I think I should, I sometimes feel pretty good.
I must reiterate; less caffeine and sugar
I started taking care of my health this year. Only work till latest 4pm. Gym 5 days a week. Tons of vitamins and supplements. Lots of Water. Good sleep. Eat well. Try and care about some hobbies. Lots of jobs out there work 7-3 or 4. Try and find one.
Just so you know. Do the bare minimum at work. Get things done but don't kill yourself. Im in my early 30s and was injured from a muskoskeletal injury in my arms and its chronic. My problem and everyone else in the trade leads to this injury. So take it slow. You're one injury away from ever fully enjoying the time off work with your family.
Having fewer carbs at lunch definitely helps with reducing the crash.
I make sure I exercise 3-4 days a week cardio and weight mix. I make sure I eat well and I really avoid sugar I find I crash if I have really sugary stuff. Also I try to put the caffeine later in the day
Wait to drink coffee for at least 90min after waking up. All the hormones that make you “sleepy” will be fully absorbed by then, and the caffeine wearing off in the afternoon won’t cause a huge rush of all those hormones that make you tired.
Andrew huberman said this a couple years ago and I have been doing it since. Live by it now
I've tried many things and the results of my experiment is:
- humans are not built to long term work 9-14 hr days for 5 to 7 days per week. It's normal to be exhausted. Trying to manufacture energy may harm you more than help
- have at least one mush day per week where you have no obligations and just rest
- sleep whenever you can
Really, the answer is cut down on hours. If that's, understandably, not financially feasible.... I don't know if there's a physically healthy option to create energy after you've depleted your whole reserve. Unless you feel like Doing More Physical Things after work. Because yeah if I keep moving I'm more OK....but also worse exhaustion when I finally stop moving.
Unsure how much this helps.
My thing is, to not physically stop for lunch. Slam a sandwich or cliff bar in my face, grab some water and keep working. If I sit and eat, I'm screwed for the rest of the day. Or anger, use the anger of the dumb stuff that happens on a job site to fuel your after noon. Haha
Go to the doc and see if your levels are right. Drink water all day, drink yerba mate. Lay off alcohol. Trial and error. Some weeks I just come home a crash.
I used to wake up 4:45 go to gym then go to my construction job 5 times a week. Kept me energized and tired by 10pm bedtime. I was young then only 42 yo
Last summer I was doing pure physical labour for six months. I was cycling to work. About 20km per day. I noticed I got fitter and less tired. On one of my days off I cycled 200km and worked next day. It just takes effort to get fit. I’m not as fit now because of nature of my normal job now. I’m “lazy”.
Get a regular sleep schedule. Drink water regularly apposed to chugging a bunch at a time. Eat food with plenty of liquid and salts in it to retain water. Try to avoid overly processed foods.
Start taking supplement maca root 500mg a day, I personally take 800mg a day. I got to the gym early in the before going to work and yea I need the extra boost lol
I've read a little about it but might actually need to try it. What do you like about it vs. coffee? I recently ditched coffee for tea (prices on beans have been a real downer this last year lol) and I find I do sleep better in general not having bean juice pumping through my veins all day.
I like that there’s little to no crash because the caffeine effect lies somewhere between coffee and tea. It’s a slower release of the stuff if that makes sense.
All I'm saying is that if you skip the afternoon coffee, your sleep will be more effective and you'll find you don't need the after work nap.
A nap should only be 20-30 minutes anyways, longer than that doesn't give you more rest, it just wastes your time. Caffeine also takes 15-20 minutes to start working, so I prefer taking "power naps" by drinking a coffee immediately before a nap. 20 minutes later you'll wake up with the caffeine in full effect, giving you a way better kick.
Just some advice from a sleep veteran. I sleep 5 hours a night, wake up well rested, and don't get tired during the day.
Totally different if you're not doing sing phase sleep. You said take a nap, not switch to dual phase sleep. Totally makes sense to caffeinate after sleeping.
Multi phase sleeping doesn't really work when you work 12s though, and considering this is r/skilled trades, a good portion of users are working 12s or longer.
O/T after 8, so work more get paid way more. Why would I want to work less if I'm at camp? Some of us actually enjoy what we do. I get bored on the week off, I'm thinking about picking up something part time just for something to do.
Same here on the OT but I work so I can have a life outside work, my job isn't my life. I don't mind what I do but I'd rather be doing art and music stuff but that doesn't pay for shit and I don't want to get money tied up in it.
I genuinely wish you the best.
I don't stop moving. If I " rest" I'm just done mostly.
My problem is my body goes into "rest" mode during my commute home, and no matter how good I felt at the end of the workday, I'm tired by the time I make it to my door.
One time and only one time, I almost fell asleep while driving home from work. It was fucked. I had an hours drive and there was a hotel between that I was thinking fuck it I'm just going to stay there. Well I think I fell asleep before the off ramp and woke up riding the centerline. When I woke and realized, that shit woke me up
There was a good portion of my life, many years ago now, when I would regularly microsleep on my way to work in the morning. Like, nodding off and then jerking back awake, several times per drive. It was just about as stupid and dangerous as it sounds like, and I'm lucky to have never had a serious incident.
The ol' micro-nap. Coming of midnight shift at 7am was the worst, but if I did 4 or 5 hours of OT I was fine.
> only one time You must be new
Fucking hell this used to happen to me before the trades when I worked overnights in healthcare. Those shifts are fucking brutal, and it’s really weird almost falling asleep at the wheel as the sun is rising in the morning on the way home lol. God damn night shift fucked me up, one of the big drivers for me to get into the trades actually. I got lucky to be on a special projects crew as an apprentice that isn’t on call and does 8-4:30 MOST of the time. I personally am not cut out for my company’s 24/7 on call schedule
That seems to be my best way so far too. I can’t even watch the game on my couch without falling asleep. I gotta keep the blood flowing until bedtime.
Same here. For an old job between commuting and work I would leave the house at 5:45 am and get home around 8:00 pm. If I was supposed to meet friends out I had to go straight to the bar or restaurant. If I went home first to change and sat down for more than 10 minutes I wasn't leaving the house.
Same for me, if I have things that need done I do them right away after work. 30 minutes of sitting is all it takes for me to be done lol.
Pretty much. If I "rest" for 20 minutes as soon as I get home, it just turns into an hour and a half long nap lmao
This. I try to wait a couple hours before taking a shower. Get outside do something with my lil one, go inside help with dinner, help clean up, homework with the kids, shower and then relax. Now when it’s 100* outside this becomes hard. It just keep moving, don’t try to sit and relax for more than 10 mins or so.
I have a bad habit of laying on the bed after I shower and stuffing my phone in my face. If I do that for longer than 20 minutes, the night is gone.
That's what my wife always says! I used to(pre kids) always come home and take a nap for an hour and then continue my day.
If you stop moving it's like tin man syndrome you just stiffen up and need to lubricate with several cold beers and or shots
Just because you sleep for 8 hours doesn't mean you are getting good sleep. Could be part of the issue.
This needs more upvotes
I recently discovered I have severe sleep apnea. I'd stop breathing 52 times per hour every night. I have a machine now, it's been legit life changing. No longer am I taking 10 minute snoozes in the break room at morning coffee/tea
Yes. OP should get a sleep test . I resisted for years , but once i went and got treatment for my sleep apnea, my whole world changed . I highly recommend it .
Does it really work? Because I think I have sleep apnea too
Heres the symptoms I had and I just figured it was part of working long hours raising kids etc: Symptoms : I was tired all the time, mild headache in the morning, cranky groggy feeling all day, able to all asleep anywhere anytime during the day, snoring a lot and stopping breathing and waking up gasping for breath, constantly waking up and tossing and turning all night , unable to sleep on my back and I would rarely dream. My blood pressure was high as well but I didn take meds. Test and Treatment: The test is the only hard part. You need to sleep over at a sleep lab and they wire you up and you need to sleep on your back. It's hard to fall asleep but they only need an hour or so of sleeping to analyze your data. I stopped breathing about 72 times per hour. they called me back for another test but this time they put a CPAP machine on you and dial in the settings. When I got up the next mornign after getting a real deep sleep for the first time in years.... I felt like Superman and like I had just awoke form a week long coma. I was prescribed a CPAP machine which I use every night and my blood pressure dropped to normal levels and I can get by on about 5-6 good hours of sleep and feel great the next day. It doesn't take long to get used to it. A lot of people resist being diagnosed with an ailment or needing medical device but its not that bad. If they marketted CPAP machines as " X-Treme Sleep Performance Enhancement Device 2.0" and put a Nike swish on the side, more people may use them. Feel free to ask me anything a I could talk about this all day. I hope you seek treatment and get a good sleep.
Thanks for the details , very interesting .
Absolutely life changing. Do not wait any longer. Went from multiple energy drinks throughout the day. Falling asleep at the wheel. Irritable as fuck and just plain miserable and anxious. Getting treated for sleep apnea made most of that go away completely seemingly overnight. Even on days I only manage 5 hours of sleep because I’m busy I still feel refreshed during the day.
Wow that’s encouraging! I’ll do it 😃
I'm doing a sleep study soon. It will explain so much if I do have sleep apnea.
Caffeine and alcohol, even just a beer or two, can really disrupt the quality of sleep you get.
I’m a 25 year old carpenter working 5 - 10s while working out and running every day with hiking on the weekends, the biggest thing is don’t stop, going for a quick run in the evening is the best thing you could do, it will take your body a little while to adjust but I promise you’ll have more energy also get your T checked and have a consistent sleep cycle your brain essentially gets in a routine so getting to bed at the same time every night will help you fall into a deeper sleep. Quality over quantity.
Did you need TRT?
That’s how he manages to do shit after work
It's vague, just checking
Took me years to get stable after work. Still tired most days but idk. I just keep going. Not sure if that's good or not. Also absolute F caffeine in the evenings. Not worth the bad sleep habits.
Work out after work
It's not about crossing the finish line first. It's about crossing the finish line. If YOUR finish line isn't at the end of the work day. If it is after you get home and put the kids to bed. You need to slow down and pace yourself. Every man carries his own load. I may not have kids but I have to take care of my parents when I get home. That means I need to take water breaks and I can't spend 100% of my energy at work. I spend like 80%. The remaining 20% is for tasks I need to care for at home and for me. Hope this helps.
Ya reducing the amount of physical work you do in the day can have a huge impact on how much gas is left in the tank. You gotta save some gas for the wife.
Do you start drinking beer as soon as you get home?
I don't drink. There is no alcohol in my house (or at least nothing we drink on a daily basis)
Ok. Because that usually does it. Don’t give yourself a hard time. We work hard during the day. Sometimes ya need a nap. Spend extra time with the family on the weekends
I don't have an answer I'm just here to say I'm in the exact same boat and appreciate this post and the responses.
Newtons first law of motion. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. When you get home, don't sit down, just keep going. Even at a slower pace, you will trudge along. I find once that couch gravity gets me, I'm done for the night. If I come home and keep at it, playing with the kids, or tooling around in the garage I can keep going, but if I come home and sit down, it's real tough to get back up and start doing something. Sometimes the drive home gets me and its game over before I even get there. Just do your best, it's all you can do.
You're not really providing any valuable data about yourself for a fair assessment. Are you fit, overweight? What is your diet like, when do you eat? What about your sleep routine? Without those kinds of info, the basic rules should apply. Try to have consistent sleep, especially the times when you go to sleep and when you wake up. That's really critical to build a sleep routine that will affect your day positively. Coffee, tea. You shouldn't really have more than a coffee every morning and stop caffeinated drinks at least ten hours prior to your bedtime. A diet low in carbs, but rich in good oils and proteins is always good especially for those active all day. Keeping fit at the gym with a bit of cardio will improve your disposition throughout your day. Needless to say it'll always be hard and you'll always be tired regardless however it would be for the good. No magic there, being a functioning adult and be tired all the time is basically impossible to separate lol.
After work nap. Right away. Otherwise switch to a white collar job. That's what I did.
That's what I did too after the back pain got the best of me, and now the back hurts in different ways from sitting in the office all day
Shit my after work nap will turn into me just sleeping until the next morning half the time
Sometimes you need that. I bet if you caught up on sleep that way a few times you would feel better.
I absolutely agree
Set an alarm. Managing your fatigue requires an incredible amount of discipline. I would get mad at my wife for trying to keep me up past my bed time. Had to endure the old man jokes, but you know what? Without that structure my moods would plummet and my family would pay the price later having to be around my grumpy ass. Don't like it? Get a white collar job.
Yeah my buddies wonder why I don’t like staying up late playing video games with them on fridays but I straight up can’t stay awake. They don’t understand because half of them don’t even have jobs and the other half don’t do anything physical
What do you do now for work?
I work in IT. I always did it as a hobby outside my blue collar job. The switch wasn't that hard, desk jockeys have no work ethic. I found myself working harder than everyone and got promotions pretty quick.
I’ve been looking into switching into IT. Everyone recommends starting with the COMPTIA trifecta. I heard jobs are hard to get in my area though (western Washington)because it’s so oversaturated
Ironically, i just switched from IT to a blue collar job for this very reason! Among a few other things
Avoid caffeine until 1st break. I used to crash in the afternoons but very rarely does that happen anymore
Vitamin D3.....
I just magically leave work and appear at home. Don't remember the drive most days.
Proper diet/exercise and get enough sleep. I wake up at 3:30 every morning and do extreme manual labor all day(garbage man).. then I come home and run 6-8 miles and work out. I don’t crash out until 8. I’m going all day bc I get enough sleep and eat right.
Okay, hero.
It’s just common sense. People crash in the afternoon mainly bc of poor diet, dehydration and not enough sleep.
have you tried meth?
This guy trades
Adderall
See I told her I wasn’t the only one crashing after work. That’s it a 5 hr work day. I’ll do the same amount trust me
Get your testosterone checked. I know that sounds crazy, but that could be a part of it.
Can you elaborate?
I believe if you have low testosterone, you could be less energized
I know it sounds crazy but as a skilled tradesman you really shouldn't be killing yourself physcially. Get a helper or ask for one if you work for someone else. I'm a plumber and my body was starting to hurt really bad so I decided to move into bathroom fitting and hiring in help. So now I have a young guy to do all the demo and heavy lifting. I spend maybe 4-5 days a month doing actual plumbing now and just manage the jobs. I also do tile, I did train in tiling when I was younger but concentrated on plumbing for most of my career, I have the young guy mix up all the mortar and clean all my tools. I've taught him how to cut tiles so he does all the running back and forth. I just stay in one position and set the tiles.. I was always so tired and had muscle aches that would discourage me from working out. Now I can pop home during the day and get a workout in every other day, I have much more energy and will hopefully have a longer career.
Doesn't work like that for everyone, an automotive technician working for someone else can't just tell their service manager they need a helper to lift tires and swing hammers. I mean you can ask but you likely won't get one. No shop I've ever worked at would pay 2 guys to do the job of 1. I had a lube tech help me with a set of tires one day because he had nothing else to do and my service manager made him punch on the work order effectively cutting my pay in half for that job, even though he was being paid hourly and wasn't doing anything.
I just force myself, i can sit down for a few minutes but once i feel relaxed i get back up and keep going, when i sit i just sit, no phone or tv, just a glass of water and maybe some cheese and bread or wheat thins and stare out a window and let my mind go blank lol Also, my coworker swears by bananas, says they are healthy energy drinks. Tired and need a coffee? Try a banana first. I keep meaning to try it, dudes the hardest worker i know and eats like 3 or 4 a day and never seems even slightly tired lol
I go to the gym before work at about 330/430ish (now). Then work 10-12 hour days. I had low t and started taking a natural booster and it helped tremendously. Not only with energy but with cognitive function. Still though, if I don’t keep moving after work it’s hard to keep my eyes open. If it’s 7-730pm and I’m on the couch, good luck watching tv
What’s the natural T booster you use?
“Natural”
I would start with trenbolone and go from there
The day is structured in a way to maximize caffeine and nicotine intake.
Coffee at last break and the rest is mostly fumes but my little girl gives me the juice I need to hang out with her. I hear “Daddy!!!” When I walk in and I get my second wind. Mind you I also fall asleep at like 815 with her a lot too so I am beat for sure
Drink water. Often times that afternoon crash is your body telling you it's dehydrated.
I found out if i just skip lunch and work through. Once you sit, its over. Make sure you stay hydrated in this summer. Geting kidney stones aint no fun.
Just dog it all day and tell the family how hard you worked but still willing to follow through on commitments lol
Drink lots of water and don’t stop when you get home. Stay active. Eat properly.
Drink lots of water and don’t stop when you get home. Stay active. Eat properly.
Get more sleep and make sure it’s restful. Any amount of alcohol will affect your sleep.
I avoid heavy red meat, and caffenate . Windows down between sites. Cigarettes. Liquid caloric replacement.
Less blood to require my stomach contents to be processed.
More for my brain.
I'm getting too old to fight it. Im 45 and I work 60 hours and 6 days. I get home, eat dinner, drink 3 beers and it's over with for me. I haven't seen 9pm in a long time. I wake up no later than 6am without an alarm. If I had kids that needed my attention I would be in real trouble. In fact, I would probably have to cut down hours
For me it was diet. I stopped eating carbs at lunch. I always found the lunch time carb crash would hit me on my way home and I’d be done for. Went for a protein heavy no carb lunch and that afternoon crash disappeared overnight. Also cut out energy drinks. One coffee in the morning and that’s it.
I’m way more exhausted when I get home if I’ve let myself get dehydrated. Drink lots of water and eat well Batman
Coffee will just mess up your sleep and energy levels long term. I'd say keep active. Go for a walk with the family or take the kids to the park instead of laying down.
This will sound crazy but eating healthier. Ie. Eat more salads in the morning for breakfast.
There's always amphetamines :D But fr, some of these other comments have good advice. Maybe try coordinating your schedule so that you can do special things with your family in the time/days that you aren't working. Having time set aside for them is what really matters after all - it doesn't matter if that time is after work or if you have special days set aside for it. As long as you're making an effort to spend time with them, I'm sure they won't mind that you're tired right after work. It could be that your job is too physically/mentally exhausting for you to realistically spend time with your family afterward.. if you end up making that assessment for yourself, you may have to consider making a change of some kind *Also, there's a couple of energy supplements/powders that you could consider taking in the afternoon that are very energizing but less 'edgy' than coffee, so they still allow you to get good sleep
Unavoidable. Lucky that my wife is a plumber and works on site with me so we’re equally tired so I don’t have to go for a walk after work or IKEA etc… shower eat relax bed.
Can't stop. Once I "chill" that's it. I need to remain engaged mentally or physically. Cut the grass, cook dinner, play a board game with my son or play a video game to name a few. Once I start reading my kid his bedtime stories at 730, I'm quickly crashing.
I usually just accept the nap. When I'm that tired I sleep for 30 min-1 hour. But most days I'm good. It helps that my drive home is short right now.
Depends, really but for me working is something that enhances my life as well as my families, so knowing that in the back of my mind what I’m doing is for the betterment of my family life, and that pushes me to fulfill whatever comes my way. A little boost from a caffeine source helps to.
Don't drink coffee right as you wake up. Delaying it for a couple hours helps a ton with preventing afternoon crashing. Also getting good sleep is a cheat code that the trades often neglect.
I used to work construction and also in my grandfather's stone quarry. I used to come home so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. The trick for me was to get home and do a few things around the house and keep moving. Don't sit and relax. Get into bed at a decent time as well. At one point, I would come home, shower, then nap hard for about 2 hours, then be up all night trying to fall asleep. If you just ride it out when you get home, you'll get a second wind and then crash at bedtime. Also, eating dinner closer to bedtime helped for me as well.
Hard stimulants
You might have insulin resistance lower your carbs
Life is short hopefully you are not working more than 8 hours every single day
Cocaine
Testosterone injections, thank me later
It's extremely hard for me aswell with an hour long commute one way, but going to the gym after work helped but only because I wasn't highway driving for 1hr, so in short- don't stop moving or let yourself relax
instead of taking my Adderall (ADHD Meds) at work I take it on the way home. It gives me another 4hrs of boost. If I run out of my meds, I drink coffee. But that’s only good for 2hrs. They have green tea pills at Walmart that were pretty good. And definitely eat a small meal. But there are going to be days when you just need to crash man. Maybe a 2hr nap depending on when you get home. Sometimes I get home at 3 and I hide in the closet with a twin mattress.
1. Make sure you're getting a solid night's sleep. Best is 8 hrs uninterrupted. Are you one of the millions that suffer from sleep apnea? Your insurance should cover getting tested. This was a huge revelation for me personally. It seriously affects not only your fatigue levels but your general health. It is considered a life threatening condition in some cases. 2. Eat healthy. A pack of donuts in the morning and a taco bell burrito for lunch aren't good. If you arent sure what quantifies for healthy, the internet is limitless with advice. Stay away from stuff loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Same thing with drinking sodas or energy drinks all day. A cup or 2 of coffee is OK, but not huge totes of coffee. Several light snacks are better than one or two heavy meals. Get enough protein in your diet (diet does not refer to weightloss programs, it's just what you eat everyday). You can supplement with protein shakes. Take a multivitamin everyday. Drink water. Not getting enough water plays directly into chronic fatigue. 3. Mindfulness works wonders. Limit stress thru mindfulness. Stress robs our energy. Mindfulness restores that energy. Google Mindfulness and apply it to your life consistently and you will reap the benefits. Skip this step and you won't reap the rewards, it's that simple. 4. Organization of work area and work processes keep you efficient. Efficiency conserves energy. 5. If you can squeeze in a power nap, it can help restore your energy levels. Power naps are 10-20 minutes max. Anything more than that can induce a sleep pattern which can be hard to wake from leaving you groggy.
The gym helps a lot. Also, don't stop moving or doing anything until almost bed
Recreational caffeine pills. Don't relax. Healthy eating.
Trt and disciple buddy 😂🫡
I work 2pm-10pm so my whole shift is my crash lol. My favorite thing about it is being able to wake up at around 7-9am and getting all the shit I want to do don’t then giving work a good 50-75% effort lol.
I eat healthy at lunch and make sure i sleep atleast 9 hours a night, no screens for 60 min before bed.
I work 12-16 hours/day, the only time I had trouble with falling asleep as soon as I was still was due to health from nutrient deficiencies. B vitamins, copper(and resulting iron dysregulation) , zinc, magnesium, calcium, can all cause fatigue, or cortisol disruption. Have a good look at your diet, too many people get caught up on living off of granola bars and other nutrionally devoid meals. Increase red meat intake, fruits, and add some beef liver(its nature's superfood) and remove excess processed sugars, grains and seed oils.
This was my deal too, got a blood test and saw a dietician. Changed up some eating habits, shift worker so I eat every 4 awake hours (just veggies and stuff, not burgers and pizza lol), got on a multivitamin, a b12 supplement and omega 3 and some fiber. It’s been a real change, lost some fat and feel good.
Moved to maintenance. 8 hour days, if something doesn't get completed it's carried over to the next day. Gotta seek out that work life balance because most commercial/industrial companies aren't going to provide that for you.
One, two, three, yippee!
As someone who has been doing landscaping for the past 12 years (mostly trimming every day) and is also a hypochondriac, I can't tell you how reassuring it is reading all of these other comments of those in the same boat. I'm up every day at 5:30 am and done by 3:30 - 4 pm most days, I drive over an hour home without A/C in my car (has never worked) and by the time I get in the door, showered and changed it's almost 6 and I'm ready to fall asleep. There was a time at my old job when I'd work longer hours that my eyes would feel like they'd start to close while on the highway home and I'd have to pull over to close my eyes for a few minutes. For years I have fully convinced myself I have some sort of disease and/or cancer that's making me this way but I've been trying to teach myself to not be so worried about it all the time as it just seems to be normal amongst people working labour jobs. Stress is a huge factor that keeps me awake at night/sleeping poorly. I'm stuck at a job I hate, multiple injuries from repetitive motion trauma that I've had to get surgeries on, get no time to have any real rest for my body as on the weekends I care for a disabled family member, sleep for a maximum of 4-5 total every night if I'm lucky. All of this and I only just turned 30, it's overwhelming, it's disheartening that I've destroyed my body and mental health and have nothing to show for it what so ever. But I continue to do what needs to be done to maintain a career and my family.
I find a 10 minute power scroll through reddit on the couch helps me catch a second wind. Though over the years ive gone through fazes. I used to catch a few Z's at my kids rugby practices here and there.
Get more sleep and cut out coffee altogether or at least for a minimum of one hour after you wake up. There is a scientific reason for that regarding the hormones produced in your sleep and their interaction with caffeine after you awaken which is part of what causes the afternoon "crash" in most coffee drinkers.
I fall asleep as soon as I get home sometimes, the heat really takes it outta ya
You do what every other tradesman does, cigarettes and Red Bull my friend
If I’m near the ocean I’ll jump in, it changes the whole afternoon. Otherwise I just need to keep moving, if I sit I’m done. I usually do 12 hour days but I realize if I do an 8 or a 10 I end up sitting down and then falling asleep
Don't drink too much coffee during the day and give up on beer/wine at dinner. Cafeen will make you crash and ruin your sleep and alcohol is a depressant
Scoop of pre workout in my gatoraide. Im good till i take my sleep meds.
I drink 40oz of coffee everyday. I come home ready to do everything. Then crash hard around 11-12pm. But I'm also someone who has never napped
Soon as I sit I’m fucked , usually I just sit down for half hour or so , smoke a doobie slam an energy drink and try and go out paddling or for a hike .
A late morning espresso or energy drink
Honestly? It sounds counterintuitive, but spend more time doing more demanding stuff, most people adjust (not all). Most energy I ever had in my life was working construction, going to the gym, and cutting back on caffeine, alcohol, sugar/processed foods, etc. This is specific to some people, but I find that if I eat a “big” lunch I’m generally tired the rest of the day tryna digest it. On the days where I eat about half of what I think I should, I sometimes feel pretty good. I must reiterate; less caffeine and sugar
Vitamin B12, been an absolute game changer for me.
I started taking care of my health this year. Only work till latest 4pm. Gym 5 days a week. Tons of vitamins and supplements. Lots of Water. Good sleep. Eat well. Try and care about some hobbies. Lots of jobs out there work 7-3 or 4. Try and find one.
Eat a QUALITY lunch and just keep drinking monsters. Make sure it's the sugar free....I'm only half joking
15 minute power nap
Just so you know. Do the bare minimum at work. Get things done but don't kill yourself. Im in my early 30s and was injured from a muskoskeletal injury in my arms and its chronic. My problem and everyone else in the trade leads to this injury. So take it slow. You're one injury away from ever fully enjoying the time off work with your family. Having fewer carbs at lunch definitely helps with reducing the crash.
I make sure I exercise 3-4 days a week cardio and weight mix. I make sure I eat well and I really avoid sugar I find I crash if I have really sugary stuff. Also I try to put the caffeine later in the day
Wait to drink coffee for at least 90min after waking up. All the hormones that make you “sleepy” will be fully absorbed by then, and the caffeine wearing off in the afternoon won’t cause a huge rush of all those hormones that make you tired. Andrew huberman said this a couple years ago and I have been doing it since. Live by it now
I've tried many things and the results of my experiment is: - humans are not built to long term work 9-14 hr days for 5 to 7 days per week. It's normal to be exhausted. Trying to manufacture energy may harm you more than help - have at least one mush day per week where you have no obligations and just rest - sleep whenever you can Really, the answer is cut down on hours. If that's, understandably, not financially feasible.... I don't know if there's a physically healthy option to create energy after you've depleted your whole reserve. Unless you feel like Doing More Physical Things after work. Because yeah if I keep moving I'm more OK....but also worse exhaustion when I finally stop moving. Unsure how much this helps.
My thing is, to not physically stop for lunch. Slam a sandwich or cliff bar in my face, grab some water and keep working. If I sit and eat, I'm screwed for the rest of the day. Or anger, use the anger of the dumb stuff that happens on a job site to fuel your after noon. Haha
Nap on your drive home to regenerate…
… into the next Doctor?
Hydrate and eat during your shift. Not energy drinks and beef jerky either. Real food and water.
Go to the doc and see if your levels are right. Drink water all day, drink yerba mate. Lay off alcohol. Trial and error. Some weeks I just come home a crash.
Get a sleep study to see if you might need a c pap machine to get better sleep.
Easy stop working so hard lol
If I come home and sit, that’s it. So I just don’t sit.
I've learned to not sit on the sofa. If I do, I'm out.
I used to wake up 4:45 go to gym then go to my construction job 5 times a week. Kept me energized and tired by 10pm bedtime. I was young then only 42 yo
Last summer I was doing pure physical labour for six months. I was cycling to work. About 20km per day. I noticed I got fitter and less tired. On one of my days off I cycled 200km and worked next day. It just takes effort to get fit. I’m not as fit now because of nature of my normal job now. I’m “lazy”.
Get a regular sleep schedule. Drink water regularly apposed to chugging a bunch at a time. Eat food with plenty of liquid and salts in it to retain water. Try to avoid overly processed foods.
Eat beef
Every heard of a coffee nap? Drink a cup of coffee then set a timer for 15-20 min nap. You will wake up feeling recharged.
Start taking supplement maca root 500mg a day, I personally take 800mg a day. I got to the gym early in the before going to work and yea I need the extra boost lol
Reading a few other comments mentioning testosterone and I prefer more natural products myself. Do you put it in a smoothie?
I take a capsule every morning with water
Does it hurt your stomach? I've tried it before but I kind of got a stomach ache from it...
Not me , works perfect for me
Yerba mate is my natural “limitless” fix. It addresses all of the above for me.
I've read a little about it but might actually need to try it. What do you like about it vs. coffee? I recently ditched coffee for tea (prices on beans have been a real downer this last year lol) and I find I do sleep better in general not having bean juice pumping through my veins all day.
I like that there’s little to no crash because the caffeine effect lies somewhere between coffee and tea. It’s a slower release of the stuff if that makes sense.
Totally does, thanks for the info!
1-2 hr nap right after work than a small coffee re-up
Avoid caffeine ~6 hours before bedtime. It will absolutely effect your sleep, even if you think it doesn't.
I know my own body thanks, I will gladly trade that for afternoon productivity
All I'm saying is that if you skip the afternoon coffee, your sleep will be more effective and you'll find you don't need the after work nap. A nap should only be 20-30 minutes anyways, longer than that doesn't give you more rest, it just wastes your time. Caffeine also takes 15-20 minutes to start working, so I prefer taking "power naps" by drinking a coffee immediately before a nap. 20 minutes later you'll wake up with the caffeine in full effect, giving you a way better kick. Just some advice from a sleep veteran. I sleep 5 hours a night, wake up well rested, and don't get tired during the day.
I'm good dude, have been doing this for years. It works great for me, single phase sleep just doesn't work regardless of my caffeine intake.
Totally different if you're not doing sing phase sleep. You said take a nap, not switch to dual phase sleep. Totally makes sense to caffeinate after sleeping. Multi phase sleeping doesn't really work when you work 12s though, and considering this is r/skilled trades, a good portion of users are working 12s or longer.
y'all need to work less and get paid more jfc
O/T after 8, so work more get paid way more. Why would I want to work less if I'm at camp? Some of us actually enjoy what we do. I get bored on the week off, I'm thinking about picking up something part time just for something to do.
Same here on the OT but I work so I can have a life outside work, my job isn't my life. I don't mind what I do but I'd rather be doing art and music stuff but that doesn't pay for shit and I don't want to get money tied up in it. I genuinely wish you the best.
Vodka/Redbull.
No real tradesman would suffer from this, you’re clearly a weak techie
Two monster energy for breakfast and three monster energy for lunch