Tired all the time?

mr_eddy

Ok so since I started commuting on a bike I am finding it very difficult to make it through the day.

I am a fit and healthy 28 year old male, 5' 10" and weight 12 stone. I have ridden daily for over 6 years. I have been commuting for 6 months now.

The problem is that as soon as I get into my office I sit down and I instantly want to go to sleep, I am not sure what may be the cause but its been happening for a while.

My routine is roughly:

Go to bed at 11pm
Wake up at 8am
Take Mulit Vitamin tablet
Have bowel of Frosties or a couple of Nutrigrain bars/bannana
Cycle 5 miles to work (flat on road bike)
sit down at desk, realise there is nothing to do as usual
FALL ASLEEP!

Could it be diet or just the fact that my job is so boring.

Help please

secretsqizz

If you work in the private sector I will gladly eat a fugelhelm

MattC59

What sort of pace do you ride to work at ? It might be that the sugary content of the frosties is giving you a short sharp boost in energy, but you're using it up and not topping it up when you get to work.
Try having the bars when you get to work, instead of before you leave.

Matt

ride_whenever

it's the exercise crash coupled with a warm environments.

Used to happen all the time in lectures after rowing outings, the only way round it is to have breakfast at work, seems to keep you awake long enough to get over the exercise come down.

Bentyler

I am inclined to agree with the suggestion you are getting a sugar spike followed by a low, try a slow burn cereal such as porridge. Plenty of liquids when reaching the office and healthy nibbles throughout the day. Try not to sit at your desk all day, stretch your legs at lunchtime. Very easy to be lethargic this weather in a warm office. CW mag recently had a useful article on this subject.

Harry182

If a morning office coffee doesn't sort out the tiredness, your impending redundancy surely will. You seriously have nothing to do at work?

MichaelW

This may sound a bit lame but try going to bed earlier. Some people just need more sleep.

Famously, Maggie Thatcher could function on 3 hrs sleep leaving her with enough energy to really do lots of good/evil (delete as appropriate) (The word, not the ex prime-minister)

Also eat a proper breakfast. Museli is grrreat.

ShutUpLegs

I'd drop the multi vitamin tablet.

shouldbeinbed

yeah slow burn foods for brekkie look at the sugar (in various guises) of your nutrigrain and frosties all the wrong sorts and they're like red bull. short peak and a hell of a drop off.

also it sounds like you've got time in the morning to experiment and get your brain cranking along with your body, vary your distance, start out time, route and pace a bit, get out of the tedium / comfort zone rut.

see if you can leave something over at work from the night before to get your teeth into as soon as you sit down.

could be a virus or hidden lurgi too that is just making you sluggish all round. Maybe a precautionary trip to the docs too?

Finbar Saunders

MattC59 wrote:

Try having the bars when you get to work, instead of before you leave.

+1

For a 5 mile commute you don't need to have breakfast first. Try having it after you arrive and see if it makes a difference. Do you shower at home or work?

disquieting_museeuws

Even most so-called plain cereals like cornflakes or shreddies are packed with revolting sugar - get rid of the Frosties, and your taste buds will start coming back, leading to you eating healthier alternatives (not a criticism, just my experience), plus you might get rid of the tiredness. Also maybe take time to cool down a bit outside after your ride to work so you're not straight from cold into sleep-inducing warmth?

Have you been checked for diabetes?

mr_eddy

Thanks for the advice, I will try and keep some decent food at work. Not really into porridge but I will leave some fresh fruit at the office and try that. I will also try some different breakfast too, I am quite partial to toast and jam or maybe shredded wheat.

I really do have nothing to do though, I work as IT support for a large company but they shutdown for Xmas about now and I am here just to monitor the systems hence why I am writing on this forum at this time of day !

Cheers for all the advice

Cleat Eastwood

I sometimes do 50+ miles without breakfast. Are you eating well during the day or snacking. Do you feel like that in the warm weather or just during this cold snap?

Finbar Saunders

Are you like the guys in the IT Crowd, down in a basement with no natural light, no friends and no eye candy? Maybe you have SAD

buddha

Next time you're at the doctor or pharmacist, you may want to have a diabetes test. Just to be on the safe side. It's simple, quick and free - even at most pharmacists.

finchy

secretsqizz wrote:

If you work in the private sector I will gladly eat a fugelhelm

mr_eddy wrote:

I work as IT support for a large company

I don't know what a fugelhelm is, but I presume it's something disgusting, so bon appetit!

ColinJ

If "for a while" is from around early October and you've felt like that in other late autumns / early winters, I'd consider the possibility that you suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Take a look at this SAD thread.

bagpusscp

This cheers me up...SAFD :twisted:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... start=4580

Zachariah

+1 on the food. A bowl of Frosties is not a good start to the day. Get a good breakfast in - porridge, fruit, maybe some eggs & beans, give it a few minutes to settle, then set off.

john-e-big-guns

You need more substance for breakfast..a bowl of Frosties...I dont eat S**t like that ...theres more goodness in the cardboard box than in the contents.. made-up commercial ceareal crap is just junk..... porridge made half milk half water with a sliced banana +brown sugar..also 1 or 2 slices of toast[brown multiseed bread] with jam or honey

Ya cannot run a good engine on crap fuel

nolf

I find of my energy is a bit low I'll make more of an effort to get out of my chair. Swap the phonecall to a colleague downstairs for a face to face meeting. Costs a few minutes but can be a lot more effective and really energise you for a while.

+1 on try more sleep and eating at work.

rick_chasey

Is it seasonal?..

As another might have said, it's similar to the SAD symptoms I have.

El Fredster

MichaelW wrote:

This may sound a bit lame but try going to bed earlier. Some people just need more sleep.

Famously, Maggie Thatcher could function on 3 hrs sleep leaving her with enough energy to really do lots of good/evil (delete as appropriate) (The word, not the ex prime-minister)

Also eat a proper breakfast. Museli is grrreat.

More sleep? He's getting 9 hours of sleep a night anyway! I'm sure I've read in the past that 7.5 hours is the optimum amount of sleep.

Crikey, i'd love to be able to stay in bed till 8am...that's a lie in for me!

secretsqizz

johnfinch wrote:

secretsqizz wrote:

If you work in the private sector I will gladly eat a fugelhelm

mr_eddy wrote:

I work as IT support for a large company

I don't know what a fugelhelm is, but I presume it's something disgusting, so bon appetit!

It is an acquired taste monsieur and best served mouth burning temperature with melted gruyerre and little prongs, chomp chomp... . I wanna work for a company that goes awol for Xmas 1st week in December.... its probably Talk Talk customer service it support