I am tired and I am working. What should I do to gain energy?

Improving energy levels when tired during work can often be aided by dietary changes. As shared by Chris Palmer, a change in diet contributed significantly to his personal increase in energy levels, mood, concentration, and even sleep quality. Andrew Huberman also highlighted the necessity for tools to overcome such mental health and energy struggles. Though this particular clip doesn't go into specific dietary changes, it implies that nutrition can play a key role in managing energy levels. You may want to consider reviewing your diet and how it might be affecting your energy throughout the day 1.

To give you a quick boost of energy while you work, you can try several methods discussed on the Huberman Lab by Andrew Huberman:

1. Get moving: Any form of physical activity, like walking, jogging, or even talking, can increase levels of epinephrine, which wakes up the brain and provides more energy 1.
2. Delay caffeine: If you drink coffee, consider postponing it to about 90 to 120 minutes after waking up to avoid the afternoon crash and maintain energy levels 1.
3. Intense short exercise: High-intensity, short-duration exercises like kettlebell swings or sprinting can provide a peak in energy levels and readiness for the day 2.
4. Cold exposure: Taking a cold shower or bath can be stressful at first, but it increases epinephrine, which can help boost both alertness and energy 3.

   Boosting Energy

   Andrew Huberman

   Andrew discusses how to increase epinephrine levels to boost energy. Exercise and caffeine are potent tools to increase epinephrine transmission from locus coeruleus, which gives us more neural energy throughout the day.

   

   Huberman Lab

   Optimize & Control Your Brain Chemistry to Improve Health & Performance | Huberman Lab Podcast #80

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5. Visual focus: Implementing visual tools that increase systolic blood pressure and the willingness to engage in activities can help shift the perception of energy levels, particularly relevant to overcoming mental fatigue 4.
6. Adjust glucose intake: Depending on the individual, managing carbohydrate intake can impact energy levels, with some people feeling more focused with low or no carbs during the day and then consuming carbohydrates at night for better sleep 5.

Experiment with these options to see what works best for you, keeping in mind that a combination of them might provide the most benefit for sustaining energy throughout your workday.

Cold exposure has a variety of benefits, as discussed by Andrew Huberman:

1. Metabolic Boost: Cold exposure can increase metabolism and promote the formation of brown fat stores, which are helpful for thermoregulation and reducing white fat 1.

2. Dopamine Increase: Exposure to cold can cause long-lasting increases in dopamine levels, which enhance mood and focus, providing benefits similar to those sought in addiction recovery without the detrimental effects seen in drug use 2.

3. Alertness and Focus: The release of catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine) during cold exposure leads to substantial mood improvements and heightened alertness that can last for hours 3.

   Benefits of Cold Exposure

   Andrew Huberman

   Andrew discusses the numerous benefits of cold exposure, including increases in metabolism, brown fat stores, and dopamine levels. He also explains how dopamine affects our perception of time and offers tips for managing discomfort during cold exposure.

   

   Huberman Lab

   Time Perception & Entrainment by Dopamine, Serotonin & Hormones | Huberman Lab Podcast #46

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4. Mental Resilience: Cold exposure can be deliberately used to build mental toughness and stress resilience, similar to training exercises used by Navy SEALs 4.

5. Inflammation Reduction: It has been utilized post-exercise to reduce overall inflammation 5.

6. Fat Loss and Thermogenesis: Cold-induced shivering activates the release of a chemical that increases metabolism, leading to fat burning, particularly in converting white fat cells to thermogenic beige or brown fat cells 6.

7. Fertility Benefits: For both men and women, deliberate cold exposure can have positive effects on fertility and hormone production, including regulating cortisol levels 7.

8. Eustress Generation: Unlike distress which leads to negative health outcomes, the stress from cold exposure is associated with positive health outcomes, such as increasing resilience without the increase of the stress hormone cortisol generally associated with distress 8.

In summary, cold exposure can contribute to improved metabolism, mental acuity, mood enhancement, and overall physiological health when done properly and safely.