Exhaustion from Internship? Advice
Hey all, would appreciate any advice.
I’m doing my SA at a EB/BB with long hours. I’ve done several days of working until 3-4 am and will get up at 10 the next day, but I’ll absolutely feel like trash. I’d be extremely tired still, slow and sleep-deprived as I do the next day’s work. Sometimes I’ll take a nap during my lunch break when I feel extremely bad, but I’m pretty scared of oversleeping.
Any advice on how to combat this? I’m still getting a good amount of sleep even on late nights - 7hrs/night, and I never feel this way when I sleep 12-7 am. Not much I can do in controlling my hours as SA, so not sure what to do. Thanks a lot.
There's no magic cure to sleep deprivation. Sleep more (5/10 min naps several times throughout the day), drink more water, eat less carbs, do drugs.
YES.
I’d say just drink and eat enough, and give up some sleep for 20 min of exercise every few days if possible. It’s worth it and will keep your body operating semi-well, and you’ll sleep better. Also, try to budget your focus level a bit so you aren’t doing deep strategic thinking for 18 hrs everyday; it’ll catalyze your burnout.
As far as FT, which I know will be a question in your mind, if you are a social person and are pretty isolated, that can also be a big contributing factor to being exhausted and not at a stable equilibrium, so keep that in mind for full time. Being surrounded by lots of people your age will make the FT experience much better, even with sleep deprivation.
Doubt anyone in IB at any level from intern to MD has done this ever
Adderall
curious, has anyone had good experiences with adderall? Everyone i've known who's taken it has said it only helped them focus on the wrong things and heightened anxiety to extreme levels.
It's a slippery slope for sure. It depends on the amount of mg you take and how well you prepare before it hits but imo you're better off avoiding it if you haven't done it before.
I have ADHD and I’ve had both good and bad experiences. You just need to make sure you take the right dose at the right times for the most part
Does this work for exhaustion from life too?
Don't answer that - I know it does.
Here's what I do: - Eat healthy - I pretty much only eat greens and protein - Drink water - I try to drink 0.33L every hour, consistently, its not about just downing 1L very 3 hours (my first thing in the morning is 0.5L of water with the juice of a lime, helps wake you up and its good for the body) - workout or if you cannot, go for walks when on calls, if you have to take notes just do it on your Blackberry and send them to your computer where you'll make edits - strech and stand up whenever you get time, ie you dailed into a call and it's not kicking off yet do that - strech and slow down (meditation, whatever floats your boat - I use headspace relaxing sounds) before sleep so that you pass out faster in bed - don't drink coffee, yeah sure cool it wakes you up but then when it dies down you feel shit
+SB for the ASMR, this works like magic to calm your brain
My guy really said take notes on your BLACKBERRY
$20 his LinkedIn headshot has the super dark-blue gradient background
Too much water, your veins won't pop on your forearms and you'll never get the MD or the interns' attention.
Drink what feels right. Don't blindly follow water advice.
You have to push yourself doing HIIT or a quick 2mi run in the mornings to jack your HR up.
Also, you will eventually get used to the stuff that is wearing you out in the day that you're not used to and will become less tired.
Also, hit your morning workout hard with caffeine. Wake you the fuck up and get going. 4-8oz of espresso with dark chocolate almond milk (or whatever creamer you prefer). Get some good preworkout going (I prefer Nitraflex) for 325mg powering into your workout.
Don't eat heavy foods during the day. Chug green tea. Always stay super hydrated.
Why do you like Nitraflex? I've never found a preworkout I really liked but I do hate the standard ON Amino Acid energy and Vintage Blast, I just default to C4 but I feel like you're the person I'd trust most on this.
I feel like Nitraflex packs a good punch for motivation and I like 325mg caffeine.
Lot of posters above with NT advice, let me provide some LT thoughts:
Look for a different career than IB. This will not get better when you are FT.
Offering this advice as I also did the intern in IB thing, hated it and moved over to AM where hours are much more manageable. Lot of careers in finance that offer 60
Amen
a few things
1) over-hydrate...drink lots of water 2) cutout all simple carbs...they make you sleepy. replace with complex carbs (for example, black beans) 3) no electronic screens 30 minutes before you goto sleep...read something on paper for 20-30 min before you goto sleep that engages your imagination....some kind of fiction (i enjoy the Gorean book series) 4) do some physical exercise during the day...20 minutes is fine...but you got to get your heartrate up and sustain that for 20 kinutes. almost any combo exercise is fine...pushups, pullups, bodyweight squats and lunges, squat thrusts / burpees and planks....just do a circuit of that for 20 minutes a day and you'l be fine. Don't need any weights for a workout..your bodyweight will do just fine.
5) take a mid-day 20 minute nap (experiment with before and after your workout)
A bowl of oatmeal in the morning with some nuts and fruits do the trick for me to jolt up.
Also... HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE. Water is underrated. follow r/HydroHomies on reddit
Pick up a nicotine addiction. I’m working about the same hours you are and high-nic vaping has kept me alive
Jerk off - help for me
Do you think it might be quality, not quantity of sleep? try sprinkling lavender essential oil on your pillow when you sleep.it will knock you out in a deep, restful slumber & it also calms the mind. Also recommend sleepy tea and Bach remedy night time drops.
Stop masturbating. It increases your testosterone levels by literally multiples, and gives you lots of energy.
Every time I post this people pile on the monkey shit. I was skeptical at first too, but it really does do wonders for your entire life. It makes you feel like you're ten years younger.
I would suggest doing research on the benefits of going without it online, instead of automatically going along with the consensus that it is "healthy."
I shudder to imagine how much a dude has to masturbate to make the simple act of not masturbating “do wonders for your entire life”
I only beat it to JEFFREY EPSTEIN
Testosterone only increases during nofap the first days, but actually decreases under normal levels after a week or so.
I actually do the exact opposite, since I wank 2 to 3 times a day. You feel good and full of energy. Honestly, nofap is a meme invented by Redditors who have to abstain from watching porn during extended periods of time to even be able to look a girl in the eye.
If you say so, believe me I was skeptical at first too. I used to want 2 to 3 times a day. Ever since I quit, people were telling me, "What's up with you? I haven't seen you like this for years."
Good lord is there some dumb shit posted on this website
There was a study that found not ejaculating for 7 days increased testosterone levels by 45.7 percent. "On the 7th day of abstinence, however, a clear peak of serum testosterone appeared, reaching 145.7% of the baseline."
You can find the study here.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12659241/
Of course, this is not "multiples," but this is just one of many studies I have been reading.
in a similar situation...I’ve found going on a 25 min run instead of a nap around 6ish really helps me, might try for yourself. A nap might feel better and seem more rational but the run helps me kill any victim mentality that may be tempting to adopt, always have clear thoughts after, and finish with a cold shower (do it, only hurts for 3 seconds) to stop sweating and wake back up. Feel wide awake after that and turn on the afterburners with coffee around 9-10 when need be. this is just what’s worked for me so far but also an idiot intern still too so do with this as you please
The most important hours for sleeping are 11 pm to 2 am. You've been missing out on all of those hours. With WFH making face time less obvious, maybe you can get some incremental sleep during some of those key hours.
Link to studies on this? No way any IB analyst at a busy shop is sleeping during those hours anyways
https://time.com/3183183/best-time-to-sleep/
"What does this have to do with the perfect bedtime? The shift from non-REM to REM sleep happens at certain times of the night regardless of when you go to bed, Walker says. So if you hit the sack very late—at, say, 3 AM—your sleep will tilt toward lighter, REM-heavy sleep. And that reduction in deep, restorative sleep may leave you groggy and blunt-minded the next day.
"That’s unfortunate news for nightshift workers, bartenders and others with unconventional sleep-wake routines, because they can’t sleep efficiently at odd hours of the day or night, Walker says. Shift work has been linked to obesity, heart attack, a higher rate of early death and even lower brain power."
Agreed with above answers. Some things I follows are:
Try to stay away from carbs, at least for lunch. When you are extra stressed and sleep deprived I can get some huge cravings, indulge in them sometimes but not too often.
Hop off a station early on your commute to work and walk the last bit. Listen to the news, or something of your choice.
Only diet sodas if you need to have them. Also very little or skim milk in coffee. Minimum caffeine after 4PM.
This one is my favourite; hit the gym in half-time, I.e. during the dinner break. I like to run outside but some colleagues prefers weights. You will feel refreshed, get some anger out, a shower, fresh underwear and maybe a new shirt. You feel so prepared for the night game.
^ I find it easier to hit the gym mid day than in the morning when I’m still convincing myself I need to work
Totally agree. Granted I am not required to work early market hours. I'm up earlier than usual anyway to get started on my day and then take a break around 10:30/11 for an hour to workout everyday. Helps a ton. Waking up early to get started on some work helps me.
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