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Energy & Fatigue

4 questions answered about energy & fatigue for people who work with their hands.

Twelve-hour shifts. Six-day weeks. The energy demands of construction work are different from other jobs because they're physical AND sustained. You can't just push through with caffeine forever—your body adapts, your sleep suffers, and eventually you crash.

The Problem

Energy drinks are the default solution, but they're making the problem worse. The sugar spikes insulin. The caffeine tolerance builds. By year five of daily energy drinks, you're drinking them just to feel normal—not to get ahead.

What You'll Learn

How to pace yourself across a 12-hour shift, alternatives to energy drinks that actually work, managing caffeine tolerance, preventing the 2 PM crash, and strategies for consecutive long days without burning out.

A millwright named Teresa worked 12s for eleven years straight. Refineries. Paper mills. Shutdown work where the schedule was non-negotiable. I asked her how she did it without burning out. "Most guys sprint the first six hours and die the last six," she said. "I run a marathon, not a race." Here's her system. ## The pacing principle The biggest mistake Teresa sees: Guys going hard from the start. By hour eight, they're dragging. By hour ten, they're dangerous. **The 12-hour rule:** Your e...

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An electrician named Kevin drank four Monsters a day. For eight years. He was 36 when his doctor told him his heart was skipping beats. "Cut the energy drinks," the doctor said. Kevin's response: "How? I'll fall asleep on the job." Here's what nobody tells you about energy drinks—and what actually works instead. ## The problem with energy drinks Kevin's daily Monster habit: - 54 grams of sugar per can × 4 = 216 grams - 160mg caffeine per can × 4 = 640mg - Various B vitamins (not harmful, ...

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A framer named Doug called coffee "the only reason I'm still employed." Then it stopped working. "I'd drink three cups and feel nothing," he told me. "Like I was drinking brown water." Doug had hit caffeine tolerance. Here's what that actually means—and what to do about it. ## How caffeine actually works Caffeine doesn't give you energy. It blocks the thing that makes you feel tired. Here's the mechanism: Your brain produces a chemical called adenosine. Adenosine binds to receptors and tel...

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A glazier named Mike called 2 PM his "zombie hour." "Doesn't matter what I eat, doesn't matter how much sleep I got," he said. "2 PM hits and I'm useless for an hour." Turns out, there are three things happening at once. ## Thing one: The circadian dip Your body has a natural energy rhythm. It's not linear—you don't start at 100% and slowly decline. There are peaks and valleys. One of those valleys hits between 1 PM and 3 PM. It's biological. Your core body temperature drops slightly. Your ...

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