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How does one get off the energy drinks to stay awake and beer to fall asleep train? I’ve been trying to cut back to 1 Monster a day, but I get too tired to function at work without it. (And then when I’m off - I want to feel awake and active during my free time too!)

Like, I know my stomach feels bad because 2 pipeline punches and then binging on a can of pringles + frozen dinner + beer when I get home from work is not good for me. Everything is happening too fast though for anything else to work.

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sexy_peach@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
Caffeine tolerance is fully gone after 2 weeks without it. Stop drinking energy drinks at all for two weeks, then don’t start again. They’re nice for special occasions, but I don’t think it’s good to drink them every day. Maybe drink a set amount of cups of coffee per day or sth like that.

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- menemen@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  1.5 liters a day is a set amount, right?
  
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  - sexy_peach@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    Yes, but you’ll just develop a tolerance and just have the effect of someone that consistently drinks 2 per day
    
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    menemen@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    2l sound excessive.
    
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Chocobofangirl@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
I’d definitely at least suggest chugging water and getting crunchy water like apples and cucumbers in you. Also if you drink caffeine less than two hours after you wake up, your body hasn’t flushed out the sleep receptors from last night yet and you’ve gotten them shored up to hit you again later in the afternoon. Caffeine literally has zero energy in it. Speaking as someone who still drinks it but is trying to be VERY careful with the timing (never later than 6hrs before bed time, that’s the half life of Caffeine), it doesn’t give you energy. It just shuts off sleepiness temporarily, but if you were already sleepy when you drank it you’re gonna be sleepy again later. Maybe supplement with those Caffeine-free energy drinks like the gamersupps options for the placebo effect?

(As for the beer, is a little weed an option in your area or is that just trading bad for bad? I had a can of thc plus the other thing drink once and holy damn that was the best sleep I EVER had. Finally shut the brain up.)

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- andros_rex@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  Weed is part of the equation, but it’s also become something I’m kind of dependent on as well. It can really fuck up your sleep if you use it regularly and stop too.
  
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  - Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    The unfortunate truth is that the entire equation is balancing out to a stable - but shitty - equilibrium. Any deviation you make at this point will cause instability and short-term negative consequences.
    
    But a reduction in any (and all) of these variables will bring long-term benefits. The only solution - the only solution - is to endure the short-term consequences for long enough that you replace them with positive feedback loops and stabilize at a better equilibrium.
    
    When you consume less caffeine, you’ll feel tired. When you consume less alcohol, you’ll feel restless. When you consume less weed, you’ll feel agitated. All of this will contribute to shitty days and worse nights.
    
    But when you keep consuming caffeine, you’ll lower your baseline energy level. When you keep consuming alcohol, you’ll reduce the quality of your sleep and your time in REM. When you keep consuming weed, you’ll reduce your focus and productivity.
    
    But you keep going because you are hitting the negative swing of the feedback loop and doing the only thing that will immediately fix it - more.
    
    This shitty self-fulfilling equilibrium is likely a primary - if not the only - cause of your perpetual exhaustion. You don’t sleep enough, you don’t get enough REM while you’re asleep, and you cope with the symptoms enough to muddle through but you also ensure that it happens again the following day. Each little bad decision leads to the next.
    
    Find whatever will help you endure your short-term consequences without jeopardizing your long-term recovery, and you will break out of the loop. Groups, hobbies, therapy, exercise, whatever works for you. Good luck and stay strong!
    
    P.S. I didn’t mean to make so many assumptions or make it all about you, it’s not! But I do think this sort of thing is an epidemic and a lot of people could use some help even seeing it, let alone beating it.
    
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    andros_rex@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
    I think maybe there’s something larger with “hustle culture.” We’re all working ourselves to death and are trying to self medicate against the effects of things like blue light from screens and spending most of our time indoors.
    
    There’s just so many varieties of energy drink now. I didn’t get hooked on Red Bull or the original Monsters because they tasted like piss. Thinking back to like twenty years ago, I don’t think that gas stations were wall to wall with energy drinks.
    
    If I could just “opt out” of human society for like two weeks, I think I could detox.
    
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bitjunkie@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
General: Drink a shitload of water and eat green things.

Morning: take a multivitamin, vitamin D, and either sublingual B12 or methylated B-Complex.

Throughout the day: take electrolyte supplements like potassium gluconate, magnesium citrate, or drink Gatorade or equivalent in place of the caffeine. I’ve tried Liquid IV more recently and subjectively it does feel like it works better than standard sports drinks. Light therapy can also help if your work environment is conducive to it. The good lamps are kind of expensive, though.

Night: limit use of glowy screens for an hour before bedtime or use a blue light filter / night light type application or system setting. Take ZzzQuil, melatonin, and if you’re not opposed to it, try to supplement weed for at least some of the alcohol. Indica edibles are the best for sleep for most people. Be super careful with the dosages at first because as Snoop Dogg put it, that shit ain’t got no off button.

Do you snore? If so, you probably have at least moderate sleep apnea. Ask your GP for a referral to a sleep specialist. You don’t have to stay overnight in a lab anymore, they have a little kit they send you home with. All of the stuff I’ve listed above is what I tried before realizing the apnea was the main problem, and it all worked to varying degrees. The CPAP has basically given me my life back after decades of not realizing how shitty the quality of my sleep really was. It made the biggest difference, but I still do all the other stuff and most days I feel like a fucking superhero compared to my previous self.

I hope this helps!

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