Started on the desk this summer and have been enjoying the job so far but consistently wake up tired. In the past I was always good on 6-7 hours of sleep and would usually wake up at 5 am to go work out, always had energy in the morning and felt good.
Over the past couple of months I wake up groggy with no energy and just fighting to get out of bed. It's not like I'm in a group that's grinding super hard, I still generally get 6-7 hours of sleep. I'm not sure if it's a result of me not working out much since I started or that I'm eating out all the time (free lunches at the office and dinners past 6). I'm only drinking one cup of coffee a day and drink water the rest of the day so don't think I'm overdoing it on caffeine. Maybe the job is just that mentally draining that it's wearing me out more, I'm generally pushing to get a few deliverables out everyday under a tight timeline. I'm usually only having a few beers on the weekends, never drinking during the week so don't think it's alcohol related.
Anyone else feeling the same way? Any thoughts on how to feel better with more energy?
Could be the workouts
From my experience it’s working out and a good diet. When I was averaging 5-6 hours of sleep but going to the gym 5 days a week plus sauna every workout and eating pretty clean (excluding a few handfuls of chips or cookies) I felt great. Now getting like 7-8 hours of sleep but working out maybe 1 day a week and eating maybe 1/3 to 1/2 as clean before, I feel terrible
Agree with this approach, same thing happened to me
Is your struggle the 15 second act of getting out of your bed, or do you feel tired throughout the day? The former is actually a pretty simple sacrifice-just give yourself a 10 second countdown after your alarm goes off and then quickly rush to get up (get it over with as fast as possible)
If you’re tired throughout the morning and day, one thing that helped me was to skip breakfast. This might not make much sense, but eating any type of sugar spikes your blood glucose levels and causes fatigue later. Skipping one meal a day actually has various unrelated health benefits as well. If you do have to eat in the morning, only eat things that have very low sugar like nuts. This will help your energy levels stay more constant over the course of the day.
Second ^^, skipping breakfast helps me but to each their own.
Sounds like you're hydrating, getting decent sleep. How's the diet?
Outside of that, will say that stress has an outsize impact on quality and duration of good sleep, def for me. The job really is that mentally draining, especially if you're consistently on multiple deliverables with tight timelines.
Yeah, I only eat dinner most days. I have a lot of energy throughout the day.
Think it may also be quality of sleep. Are you going to sleep stressed and waking up checking your phone to see if you missed anything? On weekends when you drink how many hours are you getting recently read that is a huge component of it?
Agree with a lot of the statements made above, I'd also say try going a month or two without drinking. Makes you feel much better, especially at the start of the week when you're not dealing with lingering hangovers
Try to eat healthier too. More vegetables/fiber, less takeout meals. For me this made a big difference in how I felt throughout the day
How is your commute? Maybe during rush hours you feel like you're in a can of sardines which is causing you to feel more tired?
If you don't workout in the morning, you don't need to eat until after work. You'll feel more energized.
Some people be like:
It might be the timing of when you get into bed to fall asleep to when you wake up. You go through a few rem cycles and if your alarm wakes you up in a deep sleep rem cycle then you’ll wake up tired and groggy.
There’s calculators out there that tell you when you should go to bed according to when you want to wake up. Being in IB you won’t have much control over that but it’s worth looking into.
Get to bed as early as possible, skip breakfast, have a Red Bull or high caffeine tea around 10:30am
When do you end work? Can you work out after work? If the only time you can work out is in the morning I would start waking up earlier or just get a Peloton bike. I personally work-out after work and it's done wonders.
A lot of guys will keep caffeine pills with them (each tablet is 200mg caffeine) as a more efficient way to stay caffeinated, rather than Red Bull or coffee.
Also, I think some guys take B-complex supplements (e.g. that's what "5 Hour Energy" actually contains, I believe).
A question you might consider it whether you are getting quality (REM) sleep; because if you wake-up a lot, are overly stressed, or otherwise don't get the most restful sleep (REM sleep, etc), that will also contribute to feeling tired.
I think in the case of the OP, the focus should be to figure out what might be the actual issue -- stress, quality sleep, perhaps supplements, comfortable bed/pillow, etc. Each could be a factor in the situation.
The most restful sleep is deep sleep.
Given what you shared, it's likely your change in diet and physical activity.
Usually, the #1 factor is hydration. Bankers drink everything but water, but you mentioned you're doing a cup of coffee and water throughout the day so that should be fine.
Diet is the next biggest. Bankers get hooked on the office meals / stipends and suddenly your body thinks it's being prepped for a long winter of hibernation with all the fatty foods coming in. This is also one of the hardest to change in banking. Without knowing anything more about you, I would just generally recommend sticking to lighter meals with less fats, good carbs, and plenty of protein.
As for exercise, I wouldn't overdo it, but you need to include something in your routine ~3 days per week imo. Just 20-30 mins of whatever workout you like. Can be anything, lifting, running, swimming, you name it.
Last but not least, I'm glad you recognize the mental side of the job. Banking is stressful, your first 1-2 years your brain is in fight or flight mode most of the time. I would feel sick whenever my work phone chimed. Whatever your level of stress, find a way to mitigate it. My thing was I would just pop a beer and play video games for ~30 mins no matter how late I got home. The more responsible recommendation is to try a meditation app for ~10-15 mins in the morning or evening. Whatever it is, just take time to consciously mitigate the stress of the job.
Banking is hard. It's a lot harder if you don't look after your health while you're there.
Consider leveraging nootropics or any prescription wakefulness drugs you can get from your doctor (you may qualify as having "shift-work sleep disorder").
Et tempora quo voluptatem. Et impedit nulla ex labore dolores neque enim ea. Eum quasi recusandae omnis maiores ea ullam.
Autem voluptas qui et et. Adipisci sed inventore vitae autem. Ipsum et quia autem porro eos esse earum. Quae nesciunt qui aspernatur aspernatur quo libero numquam. Inventore error possimus pariatur tempora cumque nesciunt sit. Dolor corrupti consectetur est dolorem rerum hic.
Necessitatibus laboriosam eos sit libero qui maiores. Debitis sed molestiae nihil tempora vel. Consequuntur ratione dolor quae doloremque quibusdam. Nihil sed nostrum est dignissimos error nihil.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Sint rerum et debitis cum consequatur aut. Dolorem saepe voluptatem alias dolore quis. Quo qui culpa molestiae nulla. Sint sit odit aut magnam ad omnis. Earum blanditiis est architecto iste.