Why You're Always Tired (It's Not Sleep)

Ever feel like no matter how much you sleep, you're still drained? The truth is, your exhaustion has nothing to do with sleep quantity. In this episode, I reveal the four hidden energy killers—from sugar spikes to decision fatigue—that keep you feeling tired all day. I'll give you simple fixes you can start today. Ready to finally feel energized again?

What is The Unstoppable U Podcast?

The podcast that teaches tweens and teens necessary life skills to achieve their goals, develop unconditional confidence, cultivate positive habits and become UNSTOPPABLE in all areas of life!

Will (00:02.742)
If you are always feeling tired, this episode is for you. I feel like this actually help you because here's the thing. most people don't realize that getting eight hours of sleep every single night won't fix your exhaustion. Won't fix your always being tired. You can sleep 10 hours tonight and still wake up drained tomorrow. And some of you on the other side of the device right now have probably experienced that you can, you could sleep two hours or you could sleep 12 hours. It don't matter.

you're still going to be feeling the exact same way and the feeling is tired. Right? So here's the thing, everybody. The real problem isn't how long you're sleeping. It's what you're doing when you're awake. And if you don't sleep a lot, then that's probably not helping you. Right? I'm going to break down for real reasons why you're always tired and what you can actually do about it. And by the end of this episode, I want you to pick one of the four things and

try your best to improve on them over the next one or two weeks. So let's start with sugar. When you eat sugary foods, when you drink sugary drinks, which let's be real, there are a lot out there and they are really, really good. Okay. Your blood sugar spikes really high and it spikes really, really fast, not to get all scientific on you. And what goes up must come down. So about 30 minutes to an hour later, you crash and you crash really hard.

Your body goes from having all of this energy to basically having none. And when that happens over and over throughout the day, breakfast, cereal, energy drink, candy, donuts. I mean, I'm just thinking about all my favorite things in the world because I know they have sugar in them. Then you are putting yourself on an energy roller coaster. You're never actually energized. You're just bouncing between sugar highs and crashes. Not ideal. The second thing is

not just sleep quantity, but sleep quality. You might be getting eight hours of sleep, but if you're scrolling on your phone right before bed, that blue light is really messing with your melatonin, the hormone that makes you fall asleep or that helps you fall asleep. So even though you're in bed for eight hours, again, you could be in bed for 13 or 14 hours. The quality of sleep that you're probably getting that I at times am getting is kind of terrible.

Will (02:26.83)
You know, it's kind of trash. You're just not getting into that deep and I'd say restorative sleep that your brain actually needs to recharge and feel energized throughout the day. So we got two things that can already, you know, be a focus for you that are very natural things. I mean, this is what I'm, you know, kind of getting more and more convicted on, meaning I'm just, I'm just seeing it be more and more important in my own life is just like the natural things that give me energy. You know I'm saying? I talk about energy management a lot.

and sugar and sleep are two of the biggest things. The third one, and this is huge scrolling negative ish. I'm not just talking about scrolling. Okay. Scrolling positive ish. has a better impact on your energy than scrolling negative ish. Every time you open social media, you're hit typically with bad news, people arguing comparison, drama, negativity. And here's what actually happens in your brain when you are seeing and consuming all that stuff.

your body releases the thing called cortisol, which is your stress hormone and cortisol is exhausting. That's why when you're feeling your most stressed, you know, it's pretty much always it's typically leading to a lot of, which it's typically causing you to procrastinate and not want to feel those stressed out feelings. It's kind of like draining your energy tank. So if you're even sitting on the couch and you're scrolling, your brain thinks that at times you're in danger, right?

Now you guys get what I'm saying. Maybe you don't, but it's not like you're in danger. Like, Oh my gosh, someone's going to like break into my home right now. But the negativity, your body feels as danger. It's preparing you to flight. It's preparing you to fight or flight. And that takes massive amounts of energy, even though you're not actually doing anything physical. And the fourth one is decision fatigue. And this is a huge one.

This one is, it's really sneaky and I feel like it's becoming more and more of a struggle for me. And if it's a struggle for me, then it might be a struggle for you too. Every single decision that you make throughout the day, even really small ones like, should I wear this outfit or should I wear this hat or you know, what is this girl going to think about me or what is this guy going to say about my acne today? Right.

Will (04:43.756)
Should I start my homework now or should I start it in 10 minutes? All of those things uses up mental energy. And when you're overthinking every single little thing, then you're burning through your energy before you even get to decisions that actually matter. And this happens to me all the time. when I'm trying to like worry about what I'm going to wear throughout the day, I think that's the best example. Like if I, you know, try on three different fits in the morning,

And I'm just like, screw it. I'm just going to, you know, throw on some hoodie and, and sweatpants. Then I used decision making energy before I needed to actually make really important decisions. I'm not saying drip and your, your fits are not important, but you know, I would say for me, they're less important than like big business decisions. So by the time that you make, you know, so by the time that you need to make a real decision, like, should I study for this test?

Should I have the conversation and should I go and approach my crush? You have nothing left, right? You're mentally exhausted. And that's why, you know, we all default to scrolling, to procrastinating and to doing nothing. But here's what you guys can do about it. So those four things are all four things, not, they're, not like, I mean, there's more than just those four things, but those are four things that I see all the time. And here's what you can actually improve on it. Cut back on the sugar. All right. Drink more water.

great candy for you know fruit or something like that right give your body some steady energy instead of these crazy spikes and crashes that's the first thing the less processed foods that you have the more energy you will feel that science it's not just me saying hey do that for the sake of a podcast the second thing put your phone before the second thing put your phone away 30 minutes before bed put your phone away

And second thing, put your phone away 30 minutes before bed. Seriously, your sleep quality is going to skyrocket. Just this morning. I've had kind of a weird day today. I've got to admit this morning I played or like kind of like set my line. It's for fantasy football for a solid like 60 minutes while I was still in bed. And when I actually got up, not only did I feel my dopamine crash when I was trying to do important work, but remember that decision fatigue thing that I just mentioned?

Will (07:00.106)
I had already made 35 decisions and I can't make big decisions today because I had such decision fatigue. So I really feel putting your phone in a different room, putting it away 30 minutes before bed, not using it 30 minutes in the morning, right? When you wake up, change everything for you guys, right? It'll make you feel more energetic throughout the day. The third one, limit your scrolling time, especially the negative content. If you have negative people that you follow on social media,

unfollow those people chat on the phone because they are getting you all riled up and when you get all riled up then once again you're on a crazy emotional roller coaster and you just feel like absolute dog doodoo all day. All right. So make and follow accounts that actually make you feel good. Not not drained. Hopefully you know if you guys are

Will (07:57.26)
If you guys are looking for a positive social media account, we're starting to post more on unstoppable you coaching. at unstoppable, you coaching a lot of student oriented tips, just like this. And the fourth thing, reduce decision and fatigue by simplifying your life. know, pick out the outfit the night before you go to school so that you're using your decision making energy right before you go to bed or something. Right? So you don't have to start your day with that. Something that's really, really helpful for me.

Make fewer decisions about small stuff, right? I know it's very easy for me to just say stop overthinking I have more podcasts about that and posts and everything like that But that's one of the best things that we can do is just simplify our decision-making process Chat your energy isn't just about sleep. It's about what you're putting into your body It's about what you're putting into your mind what you're consuming and how you're spending your mental energy throughout the day All right, you've got more control over your energy than you think

So let's be mindful of the things that we can control like these four things. And I promise you, you're going to feel way better throughout the day. And when you do that and when you feel way better throughout the day, life is just going to feel easier. It's going to feel lighter and you're just going to walk through life with more joy and better relationships, which is always an awesome thing. Love you guys. Lots. Have the best day ever. And love you guys. Lots. Have the best day ever.

Will (09:32.984)
Love you guys lots. Have the best day ever. And hopefully see you on our new Instagram page.