I can't figure out what's wrong with me, I just seem to be too tired to do anything all the time, no energy. I do tend to get more lively at night but all day is just a sleepy mess.

So, anyone have any suggestions for daytime energy, I must say, I am a veggie, is my diet to pot? Am I ill? Do I need to start drinking actimol?? Or is it just a getting old thing???

Do you tend to go out more at night? it's probably your body clock thats slowly working the other way round due to staying up late. . . Thats exactly how I am!
I become so much more livelier at night, Im not exactly a zombie during the day but just want my bed most of the time.

Funny thing is . . . . I hate garlic & crucifixes too!?! strange eh?:rolleyes:

I dont think the leaf lovers society will love me for this, but it doesnt help you being a veggie ;)

It seems a mix between a messed up body clock combined with eating the wrong things at the wrong time!

Try some suppliments which you can take with something like Nytol for a couple of weeks.

Hopefully should get your body clock back to normal

My body clock probably is a bit defective. I work for myself and don't really have a routine. I really am not good at going to bed early, I think I'm missing out on 'me time'. Maybe I should have a go at some sleep drugs.

I do like the idea of being a vieggie vampire, loved The Lost Boys and I'm sure I could bite blood oranges instead of living stuff!

i generally sleep badly (take ages to get to sleep). I found when i started working, and forced myself to get up at the same time each morning (and go to bed at the same time), my sleep generally improved.

But now i'm not working, i go to bed when i like, get up when i like, and i'm getting less sleep than when i had to get up at 7am each morning.

I'd stay well away from the pills if i were you, you do not sound like you have a problem producing the 'sleep chemicals', so adding more in may make things worse in the long term if the body stops needing to make them.

Andy

Hence why I suggested (non-chemical based) nytol. It doesnt replace the chemicals, merely makes them kick in earlier :thumbsup:

That way someone with an awful sleeping pattern can get back to a shade of 'normality' ;)

http://www.getfreereports.com/rep/1health/50usefultips.htm
http://www.sleepnet.com/tips.html

Try these links for some ideas before you reach for the tablets (from the doc anyway)! Some of the tips on them have worked for me.

I'm also a veggie and don't think it is necessarily this which is stopping you sleeping. Due to being off work on hols my body clock has gone to 'pot' and also have some trouble sleeping. I think I am more of a night owl anyway. Hence come back from a night out...wide awake and probably will be a while to come. If you're worried...you could visit your doc - not for sleeping tablets - but maybe to have a check up. Make sure you're getting enough vit B and not anemic (sure that's spt wrong!) - which some veggies can be.

My main tip - get into a sleeping habit (ie at least during the week try to get to get to sleep at roughly the same time each night) and take some exercise during the day so you are physically tired when you take to your bed.

Good luck!

Hi uniB, I think what I'm about to say is roughly in line with what others have already posted ... my guess is that you're problem is poor diet and lack of excercise. I tried to be veggie a few years ago and would be again if it didn't make me feel tired. I never got good nutritional advice and I reckon i was lacking protein. I only occasionally eat red meat now - it just seems necessary to me to keep me active. Maybe this is just psychosomatic (?) and what i really need is hypnosis to get me over a meat dependancy?

One other possible helpful thought - maybe your best bet is not to worry about your sleep patterns but your waking time. Set an alarm and get up even if you don't feel fully rested. After a few days you'll feel sleep deprived and will be ready for bed at a "normal" time. We need external cues to keep our body clocks in sync. Experiments have shown that most people are naturally tuned to a 25 hour day and will sleep later and later unless there is some discipline to retune to the 24 hour day.

"Over the course of the experiment, almost all of the people settled into a 25-hour cycle."

"Exposure to light and other external cues - zeitgebers, as the German researchers called them—is necessary to reset internal clocks and keep people in sync with the natural cycles of day and night." http://www.rps.psu.edu/time/unwinding.html

Another way of making yourself tired at a normal time is excercise. If you do something physically demanding during the day it helps to use up some of the energy from your natural 25 hour cycle. Which is why I'm awake at 2 in the morning. I've not been excercising since before Christmas when the gym was last open. Tablets and alcohol should be used as a last resort. (I'm on the last resort - 4 stellas and now vodka & coke, but as I can still type it obviously ain't working!) Am i worried? Will I set the alarm tomorrow? - nah!

Just checked your links threecolours - I got some things right - it seems the alcohol isn't a good idea though (I always thought it made me sleepy - maybe I'm just drinking to fill the hole in my soul?)

16. Rise at the same time seven days a week, no matter what.

17. Do not linger in bed when you wake up; instead, get up right away and start moving on with your morning routine.

19. Do some sort of physical exercise each day which will tire you out.

20. Cut down on smoking and drinking alcohol at least two hours before bedtime.

It is absolute nonsense to suggest that you cannot have a perfectly good diet whilst being a vegetarian.

I admit that if you were to go vegan then you do have to be very careful to make sure you eat the right things, but it is perfectly possible to be a vegetarian and eat all of everything that you need.

no one suggested that you couldn't have a balanced diet as a vegetarian, just that it was a possability that uniB didn't.

Originally posted by Cyclone
no one suggested that you couldn't have a balanced diet as a vegetarian, just that it was a possability that uniB didn't.

Yes, poor diet is a possible cause of lack of energy, but what I'm saying is I don't think it is a lot more likely because you are a vegetarian.

Originally posted by Cyclone
no one suggested that you couldn't have a balanced diet as a vegetarian, just that it was a possability that uniB didn't.
Actually it was posted by RPG a little up the thread.
He said...
Originally posted by RPG
I dont think the leaf lovers society will love me for this, but it doesnt help you being a veggie ;)
This imply's that by being a veggie it is affecting his energy levels when it's complete rubbish.

It's WHAT veggie foods you leave out that may be having an effect, not just merely that he is a veggie.

im veggie have been for years, but i have heard that you may be more suseptible to anemia and diabetes. if ur tired it could be iron problem. try exercising and reading b4 bed instead of tv/dvd
make sure you really wake urself up in morning - so a little dance(wham wham!!)
if you get reg sleep and are active in day it should sort itself out. Ive also heard that actimal is a load of pants - although i do have them (love taste)
good luck

i read that to mean that it is 'easier' to have a problem with your diet if you've decided to go veggie and not done any research. You can't just cut out all meat and live of lettuce, your body still needs proteins and trace elements that are most readily found in meat, so you have to replace them somehow.

It certainly didn't say that all vegetarians do not have a balanced diet, which is what yodameisters reply seemed to be defending.

Originally posted by Dirk Diggler
Actually it was posted by Robin a little up the thread.
He said...

This imply's that by being a veggie it is affecting his energy levels when it's complete rubbish.

It's WHAT veggie foods you leave out that may be having an effect, not just merely that he is a veggie.

The two things that seem to be easiest to miss out from a veggie diet are iron and the B vitamins - I would try adding a decent quality multi vitamin / multi mineral ( Holland and barret should do veggie/vegan ones) and see how that works for a couple of weeks :)

Of course it could also just be either the dull gray weather (always makes me want to sleep all the time) or some low grade viral infection which hasn't hit you hard enough to notice any real symptoms but is still making you feel a bit bleaurgh (to use a technical term!)

hey you could always join me with SAD, am sure ive got it. been vegi since age 11 and never took vitamins until the last few years, can treally tell difference in self. seem to get colds same as other people and coughs and things. Wasnt it albert einstein who said we could very easily all become vegi with no detremental effects??

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
Wasnt it albert einstein who said we could very easily all become vegi with no detremental effects??

I think it was Linda McCartney :0)

Thanks for all the advise! I thought someone would explain I need to eat more cabbage or something and everything will be cured! Oh well, doesn't sound quite so simple.

I've been a veggie for about 18 years and I know that it's harder to get a balanced diet, I have been working hard recently and haven't had time to cook decent food so my diet has gone a bit down hill. Lack of time has also meant that I haven't been going to the gym like I used to a few months ago, so my level of exercise has also suffered.

I'm not one for new year's resolutions but I guess I have to make it this year's to try and get up at a regular time every day, eat a more balanced diet, exercise, take vitamins, do a small dance on waking, try to stop drinking as a way of relaxing... Oh no 2005 sounds really boring already!!

Originally posted by uniB
I've been a veggie for about 18 years and I know that it's harder to get a balanced diet, I have been working hard recently and haven't had time to cook decent food so my diet has gone a bit down hill. Lack of time has also meant that I haven't been going to the gym like I used to a few months ago, so my level of exercise has also suffered.

Sounds like thats your problem then - take some time to relax and rebuild your energy levels - (evil) docs orders ;)

Originally posted by nick2
I think it was Linda McCartney :0)
some people are so cheeky:D its true though im sure, got it off cows are cool dot com

Actually taking vitamins if you don't need them can be very bad for you too. For example, you should not take vitamin D if you take cod liver oil as it contains loads of vitamin D too, unlike vitamin C vitamin D builds-up inside you and can make you quite ill.

Wasn't Hitler s'pose to be a veggie, he didn't seem to be too lacking in energy!

hilter was wrecked on coke most of time, thats why:D

Originally posted by nick2
Actually taking vitamins if you don't need them can be very bad for you too. For example, you should not take vitamin D if you take cod liver oil as it contains loads of vitamin D too, unlike vitamin C vitamin D builds-up inside you and can make you quite ill.
apparently you should only have actimel etc when taking anti-bs cos you good bacteria doesnt need topping up. anti-bs kill all bact, so actimel would just replace good stuff
(this could be a load of pants as you shouldnt believe everything you hear)

Originally posted by NatalieSheff
hey you could always join me with SAD, am sure ive got it. been vegi since age 11 and never took vitamins until the last few years, can treally tell difference in self. seem to get colds same as other people and coughs and things. Wasnt it albert einstein who said we could very easily all become vegi with no detremental effects??

he was a physicist, not a nutritionist.

i know but he was quoted in one of vegi mags i get thru internet. must only quote him cos hes smart, being a physicist:D

Originally posted by uniB
I can't figure out what's wrong with me, I just seem to be too tired to do anything all the time, no energy. I do tend to get more lively at night but all day is just a sleepy mess.

So, anyone have any suggestions for daytime energy, I must say, I am a veggie, is my diet to pot? Am I ill? Do I need to start drinking actimol?? Or is it just a getting old thing???
have you had your iron levels checked i was feeling really tired and the docs did a blood test and said my iron levels were low and i was anaemic

low iron levels result in feeling tired rapidly after any physical exertion along with general tiredness. They don't result in feeling more awake at nightime.

in my experience the daytime lethargy resulted in not doing so much and then not feeling so tired at night. the trick is to become energised while awake. this might mean a change of diet or a change of attitude. the key for me was eating meat again (just occasionally was good) and doing more excercise. when you burn off the energy you have gained you then feel tired at night.

in holiday times particularly christmas, we tend not to work or excercise and feel tired during the day especially if our diet is all to pot. then sleep at night becomes difficult.

making a decision to be more active, even if you don't feel like it at first, does work. you have more energy during the day and sleep better at night.

and after that little reminder to myself, i'm gonna put my own advice into pratice. (3am to bed last night, 4am to bed previous night and next to no excercise for nearly a week now)

I became a veggie 10 years ago and found out I was anaemic about 3 years after. As well as being tired all the time I used to run for Bristol county and my stamina became appaling. I would definitely suggest asking your GP about this as they can find out if you are anaemic with a simple blood test.

Hi,

Have you tried taking a cat-nap of 20 to 40 minutes sometime during the day? I find it works wonders for me - as long as I don't sleep too long.

The other thing is that sometiems you can be listless if you're dehydrated - make sure you're drinking enough during the day.

Joe