Reset your energy
used to think exhaustion was just the price of ambition. Work harder, hustle longer, collapse into bed, repeat. Then one night, around 3AM in Kuala Lumpur, staring at my ceiling fan spinning like it had somewhere more important to be, it hit me: being tired had become my personality. And if you’re reading this, you probably know that feeling too — the one where fatigue stops being a visitor and becomes a roommate you never invited.
But fatigue isn’t a moral failing or a lack of discipline. It’s your body whispering, then nudging, then screaming that something is off. Resetting starts with understanding why you’re tired all the time — and how to reclaim the energy your life actually deserves.
Your Cortisol Levels Are Running the Show
Cortisol — the infamous stress hormone — rises when your brain senses danger, even if the “danger” is just missed deadlines, WhatsApp messages stacking up, or the simple chaos of existing in 2025.
Sleep specialists like Dr. Jane Mitchell say chronic high cortisol throws your internal clock out of sync. When cortisol spikes at night, your body behaves like it’s still daytime: alert, wired, restless, and absolutely not ready to drift into deep sleep.
That’s why even after 8 hours in bed, you wake up tired.
Deep breathing, slow nasal exhalations, or even a five-minute guided meditation before bed tells your nervous system: we’re safe now. Your body listens more than you think.
Pull-Quote:
“Cortisol doesn’t care about your to-do list; it cares about whether you remember how to slow down.”
Anxiety Is the Brain’s Late-Night DJ
Just when you’re easing into rest, anxiety loves to drop a surprise remix:
“Remember that thing you forgot to do? Want to think about it loudly?”
Dr. Jane calls it the Brain DJ — spinning mental playlists you didn’t request and definitely didn’t want.
Racing thoughts drain energy before you even fall asleep. The mind becomes a projector looping stress highlights from your day, tomorrow, last week, and sometimes 2012.
One simple, underrated reset: write everything down before bed. A worry list. A brain dump. Tomorrow’s tasks. Pen to paper tells your mind, “Thanks, noted,” so it doesn’t wake you up at 2AM to replay the same script.
Your Hormones Might Be Chaotic
Hormones aren’t just about mood swings — they influence sleep architecture, metabolism, temperature, and energy. From menstrual cycle phases to perimenopause to full menopause, hormonal shifts can quietly sabotage deep rest.
Low estrogen, especially during menopause, is notorious for hot flashes, night sweats, and restless sleep. Younger women often feel similar disruptions around their cycles — lighter sleep, irritability, and unpredictable energy dips.
Cooling your room, wearing breathable cotton, and having a calm bedtime routine might sound simple, but they work because they regulate temperature and signal your body to power down.
Sleep isn’t just mechanical; it’s biological theatre, and hormones are part of the cast.
You’re Sitting More Than You Realize
Let’s be honest: work-from-home culture turned many of us into highly functional laptops attached to human bodies.
Sitting for hours slows blood flow, tightens muscles, and tells your brain you’re basically on standby mode. Dr. Jane says sedentary days often turn into restless nights, because the body never actually “uses up” the energy it needs to reset sleep cycles.
Moderate movement — not extreme workouts — helps you sleep deeper. A walk during lunch, stretch breaks every 45–60 minutes, or even standing while answering emails can transform how your body produces melatonin and serotonin.
Just avoid intense workouts right before bed. Your heart may be tired, but your adrenaline won’t be.
Blue Light Is Sabotaging Your Circadian Rhythm
Your body is old-school. It still follows the sun, not Instagram. So when your eyes consume bright blue light at 11PM, your brain delays melatonin release because it thinks it’s daytime.
This is why you feel drowsy but not sleepy — a curse of modern existence.
Warm screen settings help, but the real fix: switch off screens an hour before bed. You’ve heard it a million times. The difference comes when you actually do it.
In the morning, getting natural sunlight — even five minutes — resets your internal clock. People in India and Malaysia get strong sun exposure early; use that to your biological advantage.
Morning light = daytime mode.
Evening darkness = sleep mode.
Your body loves rhythm.
You’re Eating Too Close to Bedtime
Late-night snacks feel comforting, especially after a long day. But digestion is work, and work keeps your body awake internally even when you’re lying down.
When you eat late, your gut becomes the nighttime shift worker you never intended to hire.
Greasy, sugary, or processed snacks make it worse — they cause glucose swings and can wake you mid-sleep. Dr. Jane recommends finishing meals two hours before bed so your body can switch from “digest” to “rest.”
Think of sleep as a full-system reboot. Heavy food is like running a giant software update at the same time — slow, laggy, and prone to crashing.
Your Sleep Routine Is Non-Existent
Consistency isn’t sexy, but your circadian rhythm loves predictability. Going to bed at 11PM today, 2AM tomorrow, and midnight the next day confuses your internal clock.
You wouldn’t set your phone to recharge at random hours and expect peak performance. Your body is no different.
Create small rituals: dim lights, warm shower, stretching, journaling, or reading. They act as neurological cues — a slow dimming of the theatre lights before the main event.
Routine isn’t boring; it’s biological magic.
Localized Section: India, Malaysia & Southeast Asia Sleep Realities
Fatigue hits differently in tropical climates. High humidity, long commutes, irregular work patterns, and late-night screen habits (especially in cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang) disrupt sleep far more than people realise.
Air conditioning on high all night isn’t ideal for your sinuses, but proper ventilation helps. Street noise, buka puasa shifts, traffic, and late-night family routines also affect rest.
In many Indian and Malaysian households, evenings are socially active — dinner late, conversations late, chores late. Culturally beautiful, but biologically disruptive. Tiny tweaks like earlier dinners or dimming lights 30 minutes before bed can make a huge impact without changing the rhythm of family life.
Short Story: The Day I Reclaimed My Energy
There was a morning when I woke up more exhausted than when I went to sleep. I looked at myself in the mirror and whispered, “Is this it? Is tired my new default mode?” I didn’t overhaul my life that day — I simply decided to pick one thing: no screens after 11PM.
The first night felt ridiculous. The second night felt boring. The seventh night felt like waking into a body that finally remembered what energy was supposed to feel like.
Energy doesn’t return all at once. It returns in fragments. And those fragments eventually become your life again.
How to Reset Your Energy for Real (Summary)
• Calm cortisol with breathing and pre-sleep relaxation.
• Dump anxiety onto paper before bed.
• Support hormonal balance during cycles or menopause.
• Move more during the day, even lightly.
• Reduce blue-light exposure at night.
• Avoid late-night eating.
• Keep a consistent sleep routine.
Your body isn’t asking for perfection — just rhythm.
CTA — For Readers of The Lucamm Magz
Your energy is your creative engine. Guard it. Nourish it. Reset it. If you want more deep-dive features on brain health, burnout recovery, and modern living, explore the next feature in our lifestyle section.
