Everyday Systems

I have days when I hop out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. On days like that, I feel wide-awake the whole day, and feel content with my 3 standard meals during the day.

On other days, I wake up exhausted, and can barely keep my eyes open - just staying awake is a major battle. Neither caffeine nor naps seem to shake off the sense of grogginess. On these days, I notice that I am constantly hungry (mainly for carbs + sweets), no matter how much I eat.

I'm thinking there must be some correlation between this feeling of exhaustion and a binge-like appetite - maybe serotonin?

Has anybody else experienced anything like this and come up with a successful strategy for dealing with the grogginess and hunger?

Sixty

Would exercise help? Go for a quick, brisk walk? Sometimes that helps me wake up ...

Hi Sixty,

Just wondering if your low energy days are Mondays/Tuesdays, after having some snacks etc at weekends? I always used to feel mega-low a day or a few hours after eating more sugary stuff.
Or are they days leading up to your period (sorry, don't know if you're female, or, looking at your username, of the right age, so I could be way off the mark here!) when for some reason our body's are supposed to crave carbs?

It might be worth keeping a food diary, and entering details of which days you feel like this?

Carole.

Thalia & Carole,

I appreciate your thoughts on this issue. I am a male, do lots of sports, get plenty of sleep and maintain an ideal weight.

It might be worth keeping a food diary, and entering details of which days you feel like this?

That's probably a very good idea, and something I've thought about doing. I do enjoy snacking on weekends, and it never crossed my mind that this could potentially lead to a "mega-low" (great expression!) days later.

Maybe I'll start some snack-tracking this weekend, and try to see if there's a link to my occasional mega-low.

Sixty