WHY YOU'RE ALWAYS TIRED: 7 EVERYDAY HABITS DRAINING YOUR ENERGY

Wayne Sutton: You wake up tired, you get through the morning coffee, but by two o'clock in the afternoon you're running on fumes. You get home, you have nothing left for the people you love or the things you actually care about. And you start to think, well maybe this is just what getting older feels like. Or maybe I'm just not built for this. But today on Prosper with Wayne I want to challenge that because in my experience, a lot of time, constant tiredness isn't a character flaw and it isn't just age. I feel better at fifty three than I did at thirty. It's a set of everyday habits that quietly drain our energy day after day until we forget what feeling good even feels like. I'm Wayne Sutton. This is Prosper with Wayne. And today we're talking about energy. If you can't show up with energy, it's hard to prosper in your health, your work, your family, or anything else. So I'm gonna walk you through seven everyday habits that drain your energy and what research says about each one, and one simple step you can take this week. Now an important note before we start, I'm not a doctor. I'm a pastor and a business coach that's done a lot of a lot of studies and a lot of experimenting. And everything I share with you is gonna be general education, not medical advice. So if you're dealing with persistent fatigue, then please talk with a qualified healthcare provider. I'll get to that later on in the episode, okay? Let's get into it. Let's start with the obvious one because it's the biggest. According to CDC in their twenty twenty four National Health Survey, Thirty percent of US adults, roughly three in ten report sleeping fewer than seven hours a night on average. Seven hours is the minimum required for most adults. And it's not just the number of hours. The same report found that staying asleep affected about 22% of adults between age 50 and 64. It's more than one in five. So if you're in that group and wake up at three in the morning with your mind racing, you're far from alone. And here's why that matters. You can eat well, exercise, have a great attitude, but if you're chronically short on sleep, you'll still feel weak. Sleep is when your brain and your body recover. So what can you do? Here's some commonly recommended habits from sleep experts, and I'm gonna tell what I do. Number one, keep a consistent schedule. Go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day, even on weekends. Why? Because your body loves rhythm. Now, sometimes on a Saturday I may get an extra hour in, but I like to keep that rhythm, all right? Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. All right. Put screens away 30 to 60 minutes before bed. Now, I do watch television, but I always take my phone and I'm pushed aside at least an hour before bed. Watch your caffeine. Now, I am sitting here going, hey, I need my second cup. I need my coffee. But many people find caffeine in the late afternoon still affecting them at bedtime. So this is really important. Pick a bedtime that gives you seven hours. Protect it for seven days. Just seven days to see how you feel. Another thing is supplements. Now, there's a lot of studies on melatonin. In fact, there was a book I read years ago called The Melatonin Miracle. Worth reading. But I take melatonin every evening. I take magnesium every evening. and then I pray and I believe that connecting with God and spending that end of your day in prayer is so important as well. Yes, even for your sleep. And then of course track your sleep. So my wife uses the Apple Watch and that tells her how she sleeps. I have the Apple Watch, I have the Oura Ring, and it'll give you your patterns. It'll tell you how much REM sleep you're getting. and it'll really help you notice patterns. Pattern recognition is how you can become better in sleeping because you recognize what you need and when you need it. All right, habit number two, sitting all day. I'm sitting here, I have a stand-up desk, but I hardly ever use it. But I'm sitting here, right? Habit number two is moving too little. I know it sounds backwards. You want you're tired, so you want to rest, right? But for most people, and I learned this from Tony Robbins, movement creates more energy, not less. Okay. the CDC reports using 2020 data that only about 47% of U.S. adults meet the national guideline for activity, and only 31% meet the guideline for muscle strength and activity. 24%. meet both. So what's the guideline? For aerobic activity it's at least a hundred and fifty minutes of moderate activity, like walking. That's about thirty minutes a day, five days a week. I just got back from my walk this morning. And for strength, it's activities that work all of the major muscle groups two or more days a week. You don't have to run a marathon, you don't have to join an expensive gym, but get that brisk 20 to 30 minute walk in the mornings. Great start. Sunlight, fresh air, and your body's moving. If you work at a desk like I do, set a reminder. Now, I have a reminder on my watch. I have a reminder on Oura Hey, it's time to stand up, time to get moving. So stretch. For me, it's hey, walk in a refill water, get another coffee. taking a call on feed. If it's a call that I can do by phone and I'm walking the neighborhood. Okay. Step three, schedule those walks. Put them on your calendar like their appointments. Because they are. If you have a health condition, haven't been active a while, then hey, start small. Check with your doctor. But for me, those 20 minute walks, 30 minute walks are so important. I could do one mile in a little less than 20 minutes for just a brisk walk. Mile and a half in 30 minutes. So get that walk every morning. Habit three, erratic eating, skipping real food. Habit number three is how and what we eat. Now, I'm not gonna go deep into this. If you want to know more on really how I like to eat, there's some videos inside of this podcast. Check out the one with Dr. Bradley Walter on carnivore. If you're like, no, I'm not doing that, just listen to the vi listen to the podcast first. But when life gets busy, a lot of us skip breakfast, grab something quick at lunch, and then crash in the afternoon. When I was working at a corporate job, it was exactly like that. It was coffee and usually a doughnut or something in the morning. And then there was a mid mid-morning snack that was also full of carbs. And then there was lunch that was full of carbs. And by two or three o'clock, I was exhausted. So what did I do? I got more coffee. I got more carbs in me. And a lot of times that's what happens. We reach for sugar or more caffeine to get through the day and the cycle repeats and repeats and repeats. And again, I'm not a dietitian. I'm not gonna be diet planning, but here's some simple principles that have helped me, all right. Eat regular meals that are one ingredient meals. What I mean by that is whole foods. For me, after this podcast, I'll probably go and I'll have eggs. I'll probably either have an omelet or just some scrambled eggs, but I'm gonna have eggs. It's a single meal, it's a whole food, right? After that, I'm probably gonna have a New York strip, a ribeye, or maybe just a hamburger patty, okay? now I eat a lot of meat. If you d again, this is not a podcast where we're gonna debate the health on that. I want you to go research it. But eating real food. Now, I personally also love fermented vegetables, kimchi sauerkraut. Again, check that out. I stay away from for the most part. For the most part, I do have my cheat days. I do have my cheat meals. But I do not make it a daily routine. Okay? So I stay away from the breads. I stay away from a lot of things that are gonna be high in sugar. Again, within reason for me. Now, for some people, I have friends that are strict carnivore, and that's all they do. Just meat and animal products, and it does well for them. Stay away. In fact, if I could say whether you're carnivore or feel stay away from processed foods. All right. Drink enough water. Mild dehydration can make you feel foggy and drained. And be careful with the afternoon pick me up that turns into a sugar spike followed by a crash. Okay. So me again, I like to start my day with coffee because I love coffee with some cream. And then as I go through the day, I have a drink here. I'm gonna give you my personal hydration. So this is creatine, this is collagen, and this is actually an arginine citrulline supplement. So A lot of cardiovascular health, and of course, also obviously creatine now is one of the top supplements that you can buy. There's a lot of research on that. So here's what I want you to do. I'm not saying go strict carnivore or Mediterranean diet or for those who are going vegan or vegetarian, listen, I don't think it's the strictness immediately. I think you need to walk into it. So pick one meal, just one and make it better. Okay? Add protein for breakfast instead of carbs. Small changes if you can keep that blood sugar level all through the day very, very level, then you will not have those crashes. Habit number four is alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol is thought of a relaxer and it can make you feel drowsy. But many people find that it disrupts the quality of sleep. They wake up feeling less rested. In fact, the Mayo Clinic list alcohol uses one of the lifestyle factors that tie to fatigue. All right, caffeine is the opposite problem. Healthy in the morning, but too much or too late, it can interfere with sleep and then make you feel like which then makes you more tired the next day, which leads to more caffeine. It's a loop. Now, here's an assessment. If you feel like you need caffeine, great. There's a lot of health benefits to that as well. But there's people that it doesn't help. It actually hurts more. So for one week, cut off caffeine by early afternoon. Okay? So, okay, maybe your last caffeine is at lunch. And then you skip alcohol in the evenings. then ask yourself how you sleep, how you feel. Okay. You don't have to commit anything long term, just run the experiment and see what you learn. After a surgery last year, I cut out caffeine for six weeks. And I'm like, Okay, I did good. It's a couple of weeks there I was not a fan, but I'm like, I can do great without it. But then I chose to bring it back in and it doesn't hurt my sleep because I'm keep it in moderate levels. number five is stress with no recovery time. Stress just isn't in your head, it affects your whole body. The Mayo Clinic lists stress, anxiety, depression, and grief among the mental health factors that cause fatigue. Think about people in demand enrolles, business owners, leaders, caregivers, parents, anyone who is always on. The problem isn't stress, it's the stress with no off switch. So how do you build recovery into your day? Here's a few ideas that are free and easy. Number one, take short breaks during the day, even five minutes away from the screen. So again, me personally, I may go get a cup of coffee, sit out on the back deck, or have lunch with my wife, or just do a quick, maybe five minute walk around the block, really quick. Slow breathing. a few minutes of slow deep breaths can calm your body's alert system. Now, there's actually whole trainings on breathing techniques. Again, just take some deep breaths. And spend time with people you trust. Isolation makes stress heavier. Me personally, Monday nights I spend with some men from my church and other churches, and we just talk about life and helping one another out. And that isolation doesn't have a chance because I'm with other believers that are seeking out greatness in their life. Wednesday evenings, I'm at church again with my church congregation. And then of course I'm there with family and friends throughout the week. Spend time with people you trust. And set boundaries. Decide when work stops. Put your phone in another room at night. And if you feel persistently overwhelmed, hopeless, anxious, then talk to a counselor, talk to a doctor. That's strength, not weakness. And again, I'm gonna say this because I've just had a really good friend that lost his life to suicide. If you're ever having thoughts of harming yourself, just call or text if you're in the US 988 or nine one one. Nine eight eight will take you to someone that can help you or nine one one. Now, your step this week schedule one recovery block every day, even if it's just ten minutes. Ten minutes where you do nothing productive. Walk, breathe, pray, sit quietly, protect your time. Habit number six is like a routine, especially in the morning. Your body runs on a rhythm. Again, many sleep experts recommend getting outside or at least near a bright window in the first part of your day. Natural light helps signal to your body that it's daytime, which supports a sleep wake rhythm. And beyond that, the routine gives your body predictability. Consistent wake up times, consistent meals, and movement help your body know what to expect. Again, a simple morning routine might be get up at the same time, drink a glass of water, step outside for five or ten minutes, eat something with protein before you dive into your email. And again, me personally I like to get up and I like to do that walk. Okay. I don't do it first thing in the morning, I have my coffee, I spend some time with my wife, and then I go walk and get that fresh air and sunlight. So this week, schedule it, do it. And habit number seven may be the most important one. It's ignoring a possible medical problem. Sometimes tiredness isn't about habits. There's a wide range of possible medical contributors to fatigue. Thyroid problems, diabetes, anemia, sleep apnea, low vitamin D, lung conditions, infections, depression, anxiety, side effects of certain medications. I think you get the point. And I'm not saying you have any of these. I'm saying if you've tried the basis and you're still exhausted, don't don't just push through. Get checked out. and here's the guidance for Mayo, if your fatigue hasn't improved after two or more weeks of rest, stress reduction, healthy eating, fluids, then schedule a visit with your doctor. And please treat these as emergencies. If your fatigue comes with chest pain, shortness of breath, you know, irregular or rapid heartbeat, feeling like you may faint, call nine one one. Now, all right. So your step this week. If you've been tired for a long time, make the appointment. Just call the daughter. Get the blood work done. Have them check it out. Write down your symptoms, your sleep habits, and any medications and bring that with you to the doctor. So let's pull all of this together. All right. The point of this podcast is creating health, wealth, and happiness. Today we're talking about health. And if you do nothing else for the next seven days, try this. Protect your seven hours of sleep. I am very protective over my sleep. Now last night, because I was out with some friends and I was doing some things. I didn't get into home till late and it was after midnight before I got to bed. So I added another hour of sleep today. Make sure I got my seven hours. So protect your seven hours of sleep. Number two, schedule those 20-minute walks. Maybe you just start with two or three a week until you get up the daily. Three, improve one meal. All right. Cut out processed foods. That's the number one thing I can tell you. Cut out processed foods. Four, set a caffeine cut off, and take a few alcohol-free evenings. Five, schedule one recovery block each day. Get outside. Pray. Meditate. Whatever you need to do. Take a nap, whatever you need to do. Six, get outside in the morning. And number seven, if you're still exhausted, book that doctors of home. You don't have to overhaul your whole life. You just have to start with one change and build it from there. I am going to ask you to go back and listen to the podcast with Dot the with Dr. Bradley Waters. It's going to be great for you. Just scroll back in our podcast list here. And understand this energy isn't a luxury. It's the fuel for everything you want to do. And you're worth taking care of. If this episode helped, share it with someone who's running on empty. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one. And leave a comment, leave a comment, let me know what you want us to cover in health, wealth, and happiness here on Prosper With Wayne. I read every comment. Say take care of yourself and God bless.