Has anyone (autistic) figured out how to increase their energy?

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I wrote an overly detailed post and then deleted it all. Basically I’m autistic and always exhausted. Have any other autistic people successfully increased their energy levels, and if so, how did you do it?

As a side note, I have recently watched the “autism from the inside” YouTube video about how he increased his energy and will try to implement some of those things to see if it helps.

I am diagnosed ADHD rather than autistic (I do sometimes wonder though) and have been trying to work out the same thing.

I've found the concept of "Energy accounting" which I think is very helpful. That involves trying to make a note over a few days/weeks of how activities, tasks, people, environments, sensory inputs, experiences, etc (anything really) feel like they affect your energy or are affected by energy.

For example, I have found that walking is NOT inherently energy draining for me, but carrying something heavy is, being aware of the location of my children is, giving instructions to other people (e.g. children) is, experiencing uncomfortable temperature is (and my threshold is quite low for this - there is a very narrow band of what is comfortable temperature). This was surprising because I thought that walking physically exhausted me - it's not, it's all the other things around it.

And when I feel totally drained, it is difficult for me to watch certain TV programmes or read books, but I can read and respond to posts on forums. I can describe something in detail to another person by typing, but I find it physically difficult to open my mouth and speak out loud.

If I have to get up before 8am, it really depletes my energy for the entire day. Getting up after 10am is the best. But between 8-10 as long as I'm on my ADHD medication and have been to sleep before midnight is fine. (I suspect that I have a delayed sleep phase disorder but haven't looked into testing for this).

As for what gives me energy - this seems more tricky. Sometimes fresh air does, but only if it's not the wrong temperature. Singing can, but I feel a bit self conscious about singing where people are listening. Eating and drinking can help. Sometimes momentum helps so just getting up and doing something IRL rather than being sucked into the computer which is probably more draining again.

Obviously all the normal stuff as well like ask GP for blood tests. It might be worth experimenting with non-standard sleeping patterns and different elimination diets.

Thank you, that’s a very helpful reply. I do already have some idea of what drains me but I’ve also found that often I have a delayed response, even by a couple of days so I have to think back over the whole week to figure out what triggered it.

I also do best waking up after 8 but I find it more stressful driving to and from work when it’s busier, I also manage a department and I’ve found it’s less stressful at work to arrive earlier than everyone else. I do work part time and I do have flexi time so I could theoretically go in later and leave later, but I’ve found that going in earlier is less stressful overall.

I think I’ve mostly figured out what completely drains me and leads to burn out, I just now seem to be stuck in “always kinda tired never really want to do anything” mode rather than energised. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be energised 😂

I found occupational therapy so incredibly insightful with my autistic ds that I started paying close attention to my own sensory experiences, noting what was regulating, what was draining (and like @BertieBotts describes the nuances between the two)

I’ve recognised that there are a huge number of low level irritatants that I push through all the time that drain me. I avoid what I can, minimise what I can, and I’m slowly learning to recognise the signs in my body that it’s getting too much and take a break.

Experiencing sensations that regulate me are energy replenishing. And if there is something stressful on my schedule I will try and put some time either side of it. That could just mean sitting quietly, staring into space with a cup of tea for twenty minutes, but doing that instead of trying to push through can make a massive difference to my energy and productivity later on.

Things like eating regularly, and well, and drinking water help too. I have a rule that if I feel bad (stressed/tired/cross/irritable/sad/overwhelmed/hungry/sore) I drink water first, and it’s staggering how often it helps.

Have a look at the spoon theory.

Basically spoons are your currency.

You wake up with so many spoons.

Everything you do costs spoons to do it. For someone NT it costs them less spoons, because you have to pay the ND spoon tax. That means you run out of all your spoons for the day before other people. If you keep using spoons, you go into spoon debt and it costs you some of tomorrow's spoons, which means tomorrow you will have less spoons to start the day with.

The more you go on, the more spoon debt you acquire and you reach burnout quicker.

The only solution is lower demands, firm boundaries, and planning your spoon consumption wisely.

I don't have much advice for this, but staying away from loud spaces helped a bit

Having a job drains me 😁 Honestly when I was off for a few months, had more energy. I think biggest blockers for me are not eating enough carb, not getting enough sleep, not eating enough veg. Eating more beans seems to give me energy. Exercise but not too much - walking is great. But overall need to do more exercise so am not deconditioned. I have adhd and probably autistic, I suffer more from burnout I think than lack of energy.

Thanks for everyone’s replies, I appreciate you all taking the time to respond.

I am already aware of the spoon theory, sensory regulation, burnout etc etc. I think I was looking for ideas more based on the concept of “I have to have a job and this is the best job I’ve found for flexibility, stress levels and sensory demands. But I’m still tired all the time. Any tips?”

I recently had a blood test and found I was deficient in some things so I’ve started taking supplements to try and combat that, no real change yet but it’s early days. I’m crossing my fingers hard for some noticeable positive effects on my energy.

I’m probably going to turn my notifications off for this thread as I suspect the answer is basically that I will feel better when I’m retired and no longer have to have a job 😂 But I’ll leave the thread open in case there are suggestions that can help others.

Here's what I'm taking to try to feel less fatigued:

Iron bisglycinate with Vitamin C to aid absorption. 60mg tablet every other day to aim to get ferritin to around 80µg/L. It should be minimum 51.1. Ignore NHS's 'satisfactory' level of 30.

Vitamin D 4,000IU (didn't intend to take this much but it's part of a handy capsule which also has magnesium for sleep, calcium for my perimenopausal bones, and K2 to help absorb the VitD).

Just started estrogen patch HRT.