I'm 33 and this describes me perfectly too. Some days are clear and sunny while others are dark and cloudy.

I think by the time we're in our early/mid 30s, there's really not much new under the sun in programming. It was all super exciting at 10 years old since I'd seen nothing, by my mid-20s I could build basically everything. Early/mid 30s I have built pretty much one of everything or can visualize a path to doing so.

A lot of what I do at work is the same job of gluing components from vendor A to components ... also from vendor A. Gets a little boring eventually. [edit] This is why I spend more of my time at work doing organizational stuff, people stuff, mentorship and documentation/architecture as compared to how I used to spend my time.

I still have just as much fun with personal projects though.

I had unlimited energy till about 40 and then I hit some sort of cliff. This coincided with covid and being indoors using high velocity media like reddit/insta. I am not sure how much is age and how much is habits that caused this.

Recent studies suggest that counter to popular belief our metabolism doesn't change from age 20 to age 60. There are individual factors that can certainly account for your change of energy and I would certainly look for culprits.

I recently did a big change in myself - adjusted sleep, took specific supplements which I was suspect was deficient in and have found my energy to be much fuller. Do not ignore what your body is telling you.

My ex worked on a study that involved testing people's short-term memory. She mentioned a clear and abrupt change around the age of 45, though that wasn't what they studied and of course was not included in the study results. This issue is highly politically charged.

That's right when your eyes change, too. It's so predictable, optometrists can tell you what age you are.

I heard that was related to memory strategy (i.e. the brain focusing on more important methods and information) and not ability. I'd be curious on the results - clearly they aren't published though.

Our metabolism doesn't change in the technical sense, but in the popular sense of the word "metabolism" people absolutely slow down. At 20, missing a night's sleep wasn't even that big a deal. At 50 it is essentially impossible. I don't know what the underlying mechanisms are, but that's what people mean when they (incorrectly, it seems) say "metabolism".

Sleep quality pretty steadily declines with age - your 8 hours of sleep simply count for less than it used to, and you're actually consistently operating on decreased sleep

And that's even without factoring in children!

Out of curiosity how scientific or not of an approach did you take on the supplements. For instance I can't imagine you did double blinds on single supplements but did you start taking a bunch of stuff at once and assess later you felt ok? Tweak one thing at a time? something else?

A study https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2019/12/17/aging-research-plas... found some blood protein changes at ages 34, 60 & 78.

I think your last sentence is the crucial one. Up until 40, I could pretty much push through whatever tasks I needed to do regardless of how poor my sleep habits or diet had been. Now, as I approach 50, I really feel it on days where I haven't been taking proper care of myself.

Easy enough to test, get off the high velocity media and do normal things like socialize / get out of the house (if you're aren't already) for 2-3 months and see if things change.

yes!! . I am in colorado for a 3 month work/ski trip hoping to ski 3 days/week. I don't use my phone on the slow ski lifts. Its amazing to be phone free for the whole day out in the mountains.

My energy levels drop drastically when I'm doing too much "high velocity media" or bottomless wells, be it Reddit, regular news, tv shows, movies, games, etc.

I think it fries your dopamine and other neurologic circuits. I don't know the science for sure but I have seen enough personal anecdotal evidence on myself and others to be persuaded that the relationship is huge.

Do a screen fast for a couple of weeks and check out what happens.

This is turning into a great thread and this comment is the most impactful one for me. I'm going to give it a go. My daughter is 18 and at least half her peer group are in a dreadful state in terms of mental health. You have to wonder if the impact of the modern media environment is way worse than we've comprehended. Of course that's totally unempirical but is the funding there for the studies we need? In any case it's easy to run the personal experiment, as you've suggested.

I used to be able to work 36hrs straight (random work crunch every few years). Hit 40, launched into such a session, 2am hit a wall... "Can't. do. this..." Laid my head down on my desk and slept for 2hrs. Haven't been able to pull an all-nighter since.

It's a feature not a bug.

If you're male, you might want to check with your physician to see what your testosterone levels are like. You're at the age where it starts declining and it can have a really fatiguing effect.

I've gotten it tested. I am indeed on the lower end of the range. But there is nothing that can be done about it right? I do workout 6 times a week with 3 weight training, eat very decent diet. My weight, bodyfat and muscle tone are in good standing too. All That really hasn't raised my testosterone. I don't want to get on TRT.

Just curious why you don't want to get on TRT?

Even worse: high velocity work distractions, Teams, Slack, etc.

Energy yes, and focus. When an interest is lost, it's harder to focus. Like why the hell would I still have to write this algorithm, it would be exciting when I was younger, now it's meh lets find out if there's a lib for this. And then every piece of software is garbage through lens of experience .. why would I write software at all .. of course because I need a job and money. Now I may think I'm not sharp as my young self.

Diet and physical activity play a huge role in mental clarity and energy level. The diet part of that we're only beginning to really understand in the last 10-15 years after some research breakthroughs in looking at our gut.

Western diets (e.g. the standard american diet... what we actually eat) is fairly bad for our health which impacts our abilities.

I would recommend folks look into the Blue Zones. Where people live the longest and thrive for the longest. Look at their eating and lifestyles. One of those zones is in the US where people have work/life balances similar to folks here.

In my case, changing my diet and activity level caused my energy to go up and mental clarity to improve.

Me too, I'm 37, and I did a radical diet change -- No sugar, no carbs, no dairy, no gluten. Only meat and vegetables and fish and some fruit.

After a year of this I've dropped 20kg, and my mental clarity is back where it was when I was early 20's.

I think it was mostly the no sugar that did it.

Exercise too - I walk 2-5 km a day

Oh and cutting down what I eat too -- I only have 1 meal a day, and a smoothie in the afternoon

That's pretty radical on the diet. Was it difficult to adjust? I'm pretty thin as it is so I'd be worried I'd waste away!

I did a radical diet change, too. I'm wired where I can just do that. I've read most people can't and trying often leads people to failure. If you aren't wired to just pivot on a dime you might try a system that works for you.

My major diet change was to eat like the healthiest of the Blue Zone folks. I wanted great energy now and longevity of it and my life. A diet that gives me energy now but leads to heart disease wouldn't cut it.

For that, I went plant based whole grain.

How much you eat matters, too.

A good technical book on diet is The Proof is in the Plants [1]. It covers what we need in our diets and why. For example, how much selenium do we need and what are sources of it. Despite the book title talking about plants it also covers meat and dairy. Everything covered in the book is based on the latest scientific research. It's written by a dietitian who can reference the studies.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Plants-science-plant-based-plan...

Yes it was difficult - giving up sugar was very tough, everything has sugar in it and the cravings were strong.

After a month though my taste buds changed, and I really enjoy the taste of meat and vegetables now.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to eat some vegan ice cream, and I thought I would treat myself to a couple of scoops in a cup thing, and after just 2 bites it was sickly sweet, the amount of sugar made me feel really ill, and it felt like I was eating poison, so I threw it away.

Quite interesting. I do miss some foods (pizza :( ) but the mental clarity alone is worth it.

Vegan processed foods are often just as bad as regular processed foods. So sweet. The vegan label may mean there's no meat or dairy but it doesn't mean it's good for you. Most processed food isn't.

Plant based whole grain is usually a diet of the real foods themselves. Take a bean burrito that someone makes fresh. Or a stir fry using fresh veggies. So different from processed foods.

I still eat pizza. Love them carbs :)

Similar results for me. Was basically stuck in bed most of the day. Finally went AIP diet, which is roughly the same diet. Few months later I was kayaking a couple times a week.

> Based on my own experience (I'm 50) it's all about energy levels. When my energy is high, I can code like I did two decades ago. Probably better. I guess the difference is that in your twenties, energy is almost for free. As you get older, you've got to be smarter about it - all the usual things - diet, exercise, avoiding stress...

This is an amazing insight. I’m almost 46 and feel like I’m at the top of my game, programming-wise, but also, I’m probably at my healthiest. And that’s worked-for health, not the kind that comes for free in your 20s (generally). And I think about and pay attention to energy levels during the day, and just know when I’m toast for the day and time is better spent elsewhere. I take a brief afternoon nap before coffee most days. I pay attention to when my mind is receptive to new information. I let some things bubble away in my subconscious and sometimes make new insights on walks, in the shower, or while making coffee.

>I guess the difference is that in your twenties, energy is almost for free.

Where can I obtain this for free energy?