> Stop drinking alcohol, as said elsewhere. It takes about 2-3 weeks of sobriety to regain 80% of the capacity you lost.

Capacity of what? And have you got any source on that?

The question was phrased toward the individual's anecdotal experience rather than clinical studies, and this was my experience. I phrased my answer with "you" in a casual manner. In my experience it took about a month of sobriety to restore both an ability to enjoy life even at times when I normally did not drink(from things like more interest in conversations to more patience) and fully participate mentally, but the most drastic gains were made in the first 2-3 weeks. It's impossible for me to tease out which aspects were psychological versus physical.

It likely affects different people differently. Moderate alcohol consumption doesn't seem to have a long term cognitive affect for me. No difference in cognitive abilities if I had 2-3 drinks the night before or a few months before. I'd imagine heavy drinking has a different impact, but have much experience on that. Overall, it would likely be healthier to not drink.

Hangovers and negative cognitive effects of drinking increase dramatically as people age. I’m guessing you’re 30 or under.

I noticed a dramatic drop in my memory which I attribute to drinking. I stopped two years ago but I’m probably not back to where I would be if I hadn’t been drinking.

> Stop eating carbs, namely because it makes you sleepy and unmotivated. I replaced carbs with tons of fiber and vegetables, like red cabbage, matchstick carrots, and expensive fermented foods.

There's nothing with carbs, just that you may have been eating too many to begin with. Many many vegetables contain carbs. People shouldn't stop eating carbs, but should reflect on their intake and adjust such that they're not consuming too many, particularly simple carbs as its so easy to do.

I find the problem is more that processed foods tend to be overloaded in carbs. Most flavored drinks have lots of carbs. BBQ sauce and ketchup is basically carbs and water. Low fat food replaces fat with carbs. Hot dogs and burgers replace meat with carbs.

And then you eat a hot dog with the bread and feel like it's the bread that makes you feel bad, when it's really both of them together.

I agree, high carb and high fat food are so palatable and available everywhere, which makes them convenient.

It doesn’t take much to go above your RDI. Unfortunately to support a healthy diet you really do need to cook your own food most of the time.

When most people say "stop eating carbs", they are usually referring to the foods that have extreme amounts of carbs/sugars - "fast/junk foods", bread.

I know, but it frustrates me when people blanket say "stop eating carbs" plenty of instagrammers say that they've "quit sugar". When its just that they've quit simple processed sugars.

It sends the wrong message that carbs and sugar are bad, then they're not as long as you're not eating multiple chocolate bars.

Replying to 2 of your comments. I phrased "stop eating carbs" in the manner I had to speak to myself when first improving my diet because I HAD to use that kind of casual/humorous/forceful language. I agree I should have clarified that I really meant to restrict high glycemic index foods, but my comment was already very long and wasn't aware this specific phrasing would be so heavily scrutinized.

> Many many vegetables contain carbs.

Nobody is saying to stop eating the dietary fiber subset of carbs.

They said "stop eating carbs", there's no distinction being made, which is the point I'm calling out.

My frustration is with people and instagrammers who sprout "I quit sugar", "I quit carbs", when they haven't. They've just cut eating too much simple or processed sugars/carbs.

It sends the wrong message.

You sit on the Sugar Cane Council?

Im on the balanced diet committee. But I actively lobby against the ‘cut all of x because I can’t control myself and you should too’ Union.

Yes I probably oversimplified my stance. I still eat carbs, just drastically reduced my intake. Especially highly processed carbs, and now aim for complex carbs as much as possible.

it's impossible to fix sleep schedule when you want to make more money.

Or just if you're not somewhat privileged

Sufficiently privileged to know about the importance of sleep?

To have the time to focus on things like that

You will be more productive if you get enough sleep. If your compensation is a function of your value you can afford to sleep.

Most of my experiences with late nights have been due to: Watching Netflix Playing video games Drinking

I find that if I skip those things I can go to bed early enough to get 8 hours and still wake up early enough to get to work first thing in the morning. Your mileage may vary especially if you have kids

Can you explain more your comment about carbs? Maybe some farther reading.

It's well established that foods with high glycemic index can cause tiredness. As for your original question, it's directed toward my own experience but I phrased my response with "you"... either way refined carbs reduced my energy levels.

> Perfect your sleep schedule. I used 10mg EXTENDED RELEASE melatonin about 1 hour before bedtime.

Why are so many Americans reliant on melatonin? I don't know anyone who has significant sleeping issues, and no one who takes melatonin. However it comes up quite often in conversations with folks from the US.

Are people there more likely to be stressed because work doesn't let them switch off?

Some people can't get good sleep in the US mostly because of non-stop noise/parties at night. Dogs barking, sirens, people fighting, etc. In Germany you can call police on your neighbour if they are louder than a ceiling fan. No such laws in the US.

It's rooted in American marketing and lack of regulation. Many people don't view melatonin as the hormone it really is. Kinda wild we can buy unlimited amounts of it with no regulation. Pretty cheap too.

I have yet to hear a clinical neurologist actually recommend melatonin for sleep management. It is highly disruptive and while you may feel you slept well, there will be nagging consequences which result in negative net gain.

>>I used 10mg EXTENDED RELEASE melatonin about 1 hour before bedtime

Alright this point of yours is not like the others. Using drugs to sleep is always ill advised unless really medically necessary