How many usable hours do you have per day before you feel tired?

[Terrifiedofwastingmylife]

I'm wondering what is normal. Have booked myself a blood test, as always low in stuff like ferritin and folate, and wondering if it's making me really tired. Have also started taking magnesium for better sleep. Have also booked myself an appointment with a doctor who has an interest in deficiencies.

A typical office day leaves me absolutely shattered. Pretty standard, up at 6.30am, home by 6pm, 45 or so minutes break for lunch. If I go out for dinner after, I am exhausted all the next day.

I don't think it's that crazy.

I don't work 12 hours every day but it's fairly common. It's rare a fortnight passes without doing it twice.

I pretty much always do at least 10 hours and I train Mon/Wed/Fri. It makes me sleep better and despite sometimes feeling sore the day after I'm much more alert and energised when training. Hate my body feeling sluggish and unused.

I had a break for six weeks around Xmas but I've not missed a session in almost two months now. I went at 10pm the other night as sacrificing my free time felt like the lesser evil than ruining my streak. 😂

Can't remember when I was not tired! I hear you OP, just ordered magnesium glycerinate for before bed. I'm anaemic and have 2 kids under 5, have worked 50 hour weeks for the past 2.5 years, about to go part time to combat the tiredness slightly!

About 16 ish? Up at 5.30am and start to take the knock at about 10pm but faff about and not usually in bed til 11pm. I often have a post lunch dip when I get the yawns but perk up after about 30 minutes if I stay active.
Interesting you're looking at deficiencies. I have other symptoms which point to iron/B12 deficiency (cold and numb hands and feet, pale finger nails and now a sore tongue) but my energy levels are fine and don't have any shortness of breath. I run and swim regularly and my times are getting faster so a bit of a mystery. Trying to up iron and B12 in my diet anyway as it can't hurt.

15-16. Up around 7:30am, only start to feel really tired about 11pm. I do sometimes feel lacking in energy but I don't nap or stop much. Sometimes I overdo the caffeine to keep going.
I'm 38 too.

I’m tired as soon as I waken, every day!

Is that not normal?

I get approx 7 hours sleep per night during the week and about 10 hours Fri/Sat night

I wake up tired, so none. But I never get an early night and rarely an undisturbed one plus have very little down time so I know the reason.

Same. I'd say about 15 minutes currently, sometimes no minutes at all. Stbxh doesn't have a chronic illness, gets tired a lot in the evenings, were a few years older than you. Life is stressful at the moment for us and that's exhausting, but if there's no obvious reason for it I think the steps you're going to take sound very reasonable.

Physically, I can do about 20 minutes of activity (light house work, walking, swimming) in total spaced out over the day. Any more than that and I am very ill for days. I do have a rare autoimmune condition though and I am hoping the hefty steroids I am taking will do the trick eventually.

Before I got ill I used to run2 miles to the pool, swim a mile and run home again most mornings. I did a 10 minute swim today and knew I had overdone it- my speech starts slurring and my swallow stops working and on the worst days my bladder fails.

It took years of living like this before doctors listened though (well actually it was an optician who figured out what was going on and told the doctors to refer me!)

I bet people look at me and assume I am lazy sadly.

Absolutely none, and that is down to 19 medical conditions. My GP is surprised I am alive, yet alone walking around with all these genetic and chromosome defects, metabolic failures and skeletal/ vascular conditions. He is even more surprised that I run a business and home educate a child. Throw in the menopause and it is a right fun gig. Don't be me and ignore symptoms or be fobbed off for years. Persist to get medical tests done for quality of life.

I've found that lifting weights really helped me. It's an odd one as you associate cardio more with general fitness/energy levels but massively improving my strength has helped my posture and stops me getting aches and pains/improved muscular endurance. I feel more dead than energised after the gym (unlike running) but the resulting strength really helps me.

Admittedly I also do stuff like high rep barbell squats sometimes, so it's kinda cardio as your heart is hammering. And it helps me sleep really well, especially as someone with with ADHD - just deadens my muscles. I feel a bit like a coiled spring a lot of the time lol.

One or two. Thankfully I'm retired.
When I look at my schedule from the final year of my 20s I can't quite believe I did it. (job, college, gym, dance classes, swimming, jogging, evening classes… all in the same week)
I was a mess by the end of the year though.

Mid 50's. I can get 5 really good active hours in from 7am - midday.

Then I'm needing a rest until about 3. Then I can go again from 3pm until about 8pm.

I absolutely can't do that in one go. I'd just fall asleep.

I've been like this since having covid. My batteries need recharging more frequently.

In a weird way, I’m the opposite and can easily function on low/no sleep. I pulled an all nighters last week and it’s royally messed up my sleeping schedule. I finished work at 6 today and ended up napping and now I’m wide awake and will probably be up all night! I wish I could easily fall asleep.

There's mentally tired & physically tired.
What is your lunch break like, what are you doing (break it down) 6:30am-645am ? because 12.25 hours moving/doing non stop is tiring for sure.

If you're doing a huge amount in that time then it's just a tiring schedule, not surprising it tires you out.

I usually wake up tired. On days with bad pain (joint issues) I can't stay awake for more than 3-4 hours at a time. I have never slept well but I wish I had the same amount of energy most people my age seem to have. I'm 24

Illness aside, I think a lot of people are just incredibly unfit nowadays. Even slim people.

I’m the same age as you and would feel tired at the end of that day. The thing which doesn’t seem right to me is feeling tired the next day. I’ll be pretty tired after a day at work or looking after DC, very tired if I’ve done that and then gone out for dinner in the evening. But after a normal night sleep I’m reset for the next morning unless I’ve had too much alcohol.

But are you tired? Insomniacs cannot fall asleep but feel shattered. Napping messes up my sleep routine as well and I try to stay awake until 10 pm otherwise I am like an owl at 2 am.

Like you, I can go for periods with little and no sleep too. I operate a sleep bank. So when there is a deficit, I can catch up by sleeping 9-12 hours and draw down on the surplus for later. My dad is like that too (doctor). He can fall asleep anywhere.

I'm definitely unfit, but there's little I can do about that right now. I do try and get some walking in when I can.

I'm late 40s, unfit and overweight. I work 9 to 6 every day. I am pretty good energy wise from 8 am (it does take me 30 mins and a coffee to get going) til 6pm - then but if a rest /decompress and I can go again til around 9 - after that I'm prone to lying on couch / watching tv that doesn't take a lot of mental energy or social media surfing though I am trying to give the social media up.

I am too tired for any physical activity like exercise in the evenings though although I'd say it would really help my energy levels / health.

I do take magnesium and a multi vit

I'm very rarely tired. I do a lot of heavy weights that seem to keep me energised and I occasionally run.

it's a really difficult judgement call isn't it

I have been for a blood test and they've found concerning things - I am still mildly anaemic but I also have larger than I should have red blood cells which on the face of it, can be as simple as a B12/Folate deficiency. Except they checked those and I wasn't deficient. At the worst end, it's a sign of leukemia so I have to get further checks done now. I would say if you're worried about tiredness get it checked out. I wasn't particularly, I just thought it was part of life but I regret not doing it sooner now.

I used to do a lot of heavy weights but I have a lot of weight, no pun intended, to lose, and I can't keep eating the amount needed to sustain the workouts.

interesting thread OP. I am very low on "intelligent" hours atm, but summer usually helps a lot.