So a couple of years ago I graduated college and was starting to send out my resume to start my “real career”. I did a little check on my social media to see what a potential employer might see and I realized at least twice a week I would post about how tired I was. 

I created all new accounts because of this because it would be way too much work to go through and delete ALL of these posts about being tired. I mean I didn’t want a potential employer to think I was too sleepy to do the job. But that doesn’t mean I stopped being tired all the time. I just stopped talking about it. 

I went to several doctors and talked to them about being tired and they would ask about my typical day. It consisted of working, going to school, volunteering, hanging with friends...normal college kid stuff. And every doctor would say to me “You’re just doing too much. That’s why you’re tired.”

But the thing is I LOVE SLEEP. I’d sleep 8-10 hours a night. And I was still tired. So like was I really doing too much? 

I didn’t think so but I didn’t know how to do anything about my tiredness either.

Until I met my now Sister in Law (Tricia). At the time she worked at a company called Life Extension and would talk about the different tests they offered. I’ve always been super interested in studying myself and figuring out how to improve things and the tests that Life Extension offered seemed like a way to do that. What I really wanted was some way to help me lose weight, but what I got was some answers to my sleepiness! 

I’m going to get into the tests I took but I’m not going to talk about my results or the supplements I took due to those results. 

WHY? Because I don’t want you to just take the same supplements I took and to expect the same results. You have to find out what you’re deficient in and take the supplements that will help with that to see any results. Taking what I’m deficient in isn’t going to help you! 

Okay here’s all the tests I took:

Chronic Fatigue Profile Blood Test by Life Extension

This test checks a bunch of different levels, things like Lymphs, EBV, Vitamin B12, Testosterone, and DHEA. It’s a blood test so you’ll get the paperwork to go to a place that does blood drawing, get your blood drawn and wait! 

Once you get the results back it’ll tell you how you score in each of the areas. Having any of these levels off can make you feel tired but having multiple of them be “off” can make you feel super tired! I had NINE of the results that were off. Taking the supplements to balance these levels has made a HUGE difference.

Get this test by searching for "Chronic Fatigue Profile Test" here!

Food Safe Allergy Test - Combo Finger Stick Test by Life Extension

Okay, I hated this test. This is a blood allergy test but (as the title suggests) it’s done through pricking your own finger and then “milking” the blood onto a bunch of little circles. It hurt pretty bad. I had to prick myself twice to get enough blood for it. They have a test that tests for less allergies and that one would of probably only taken one prick. 

You fold up the little circle sheet that has your blood on it, put it in a bag, and mail it off. Then you wait to get your results.

Eating foods that you’re allergic to can cause all types of weird reactions in your body including tiredness and weight gain. So I was eager to get these results. 

This test tests for 190 food sensitivities and breaks up your results into “low”, “moderate”, and “avoid”. It suggests only eating the “moderate” foods once every 4 days and never eating the “avoid” foods. 

I had 10 “avoid” foods and 22 “moderate” foods. I’m a Pescetarian and a lot of the foods listed were pretty much staples in my diet (no wonder why I felt so crappy) some of these foods include cow’s milk/cheese, shrimp, almonds, wheat, and onions.

Again, your results will be completely different than mine so please don’t cut out almonds because of me!

Get this test by searching for "Food Safe Allergy Test" here!

Viome Gut Intelligence Test by Viome 

Chalene Johnson told me about this test and it’s SO COOL! Okay, she told me in a podcast but whatevs...

Taking the test is a little weird...you have to send them a chunk of your poop in the mail. And that collection process is gross but totally worth it. 

So you send it in and it takes a while for them to analyze (it felt like forever). Using your "sample", they check out your gut microbiome to figure out which foods cause issues with your specific microbiome. They have this cool app that you can download and track your poop sample and it’ll give you your results once they’re in!

They list foods to “avoid” and foods to “minimize”. I had 10 foods to “avoid” and one of them is corn which has definitely been the most difficult for me to cut out. It’ll tell you exactly why you shouldn’t have it. So for me, for corn, it says: “Analysis of your data predicts that you are likely to have an increased blood sugar response to corn. Try substituting Buckwheat instead.”

I had 99 food on the “minimize” list. YES 99. Some of these foods include avocados, asparagus, black beans, black tea, couscous, garlic, goat cheese, kombucha, oats, onion, tempeh, and tofu.

You’re supposed to take all the “avoid” and “minimize” foods out of your diet for 45 days, then slowly bring them back into your diet. When you take out the foods they also have some supplements they’ll recommend for you to take. 

They list your “Superfoods” which are supposed to be the foods that are best for you. I had 8 Superfoods and they included chard, cranberry, ghee, olives, olive oil, oregano, salmon, and tumeric. 

I’ve definitely focused more on taking the food out from the allergy test than the Viome test. But it’s definitely something I want to do soon. Your microbiome is also always changing so they recommend that you retest your gut regularly. 

The Viome test also gives you “My Results” and breaks these down into “scores to focus on (needs improvement)”, “scored within range (average)”, and “scores that are good (Good)”. I got 3 in the “Needs Improvement” range. These included “Sulfide Gas Production Pathways”, “Oxalate Metabolism Pathways”, and “Uric Acid Production Pathways”. So I guess I have a thing with pathways haha. The food suggestions are made to improve these scores. 

Get Viome here!

OKAY, that got super long and technical LOL. 

All these tests are amazing to really pinpoint what’s going on with you and stop “trying to figure it out”. BUT I know they’re on the expensive side. I LOVE the Viome test but if I had to pick 2 I’d definitely do the other 2 tests first (because your microbiome can change so quickly). If I had to pick 1 I’d probably do the allergy test first because that won’t really change so the results will pretty much last you forever vs the fatigue test, a year from now everything could (and should) be completely different. 

I think testing is the best way to stop feeling so tired because it gives you the information you need to fix the problem at its root cause. BUT if that’s not currently an option for you, I do have a few suggestions that would help most people have more energy.

Ways to WAKE UP Without the Testing

Energy Vitamins - Vitamin B and D

A lot of people are low in both these vitamins and they both support your energy. So try them out and see if they wake you up!  

Get Vitamin B here!

Get Vitamin D here!

Nootropics 

Nootropics, according to Wikipedia, are “drugs, supplements, and other substances that may improve cognitive function, particularly executive functions, memory, creativity, or motivation, in healthy individuals.”

I’ve started experimenting with these recently and so far the one I’ve found that I like the best is B.LXR BRAIN FUEL by Beekeepers’ Naturals. It’s just a little shot and it’ll keep you focused for hours without the headache or crash of caffeine. 

Grab your brain fuel here!

Improve Your Sleep

If you’re feeling tired, you might want to check out your sleep.

Read our post, How to Sleep Like a Queen to get all our best sleep hacks. 

Read the post here!

131 Method 

The allergy test and the Viome test will help you remove things from your diet that are making you sick. BUT if those tests aren’t currently an option for you, the 131 Method is a DIY way to know which foods are making you sick. It’ll also help you heal your gut, similar to how Viome can help you heal your gut. 

Join the 131 Method here!

I hope one of these tips helps you to be less sleepy!

Love,

Azalee

PS - Which tip are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below!