A couple years ago, I went through a long stretch where I had a hard time staying awake in the early evenings. I would sit down in my chair after supper, and I’d zonk out. It didn’t matter if it was 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. Reading would put me out. Ditto for watching TV. Sometimes I’d only doze off for 10 or 15 minutes, but suddenly I’d feel my neck bobbing (sleeping while sitting in a chair is a terrible thing for a bad neck) or more embarrassing, hear daughter sighing or giggling.

The early evening power naps finally became less of a regular occurrence. I don’t recall that I did anything differently; the tiredness just went away. Until lately. For the past couple weeks now, I’ve had a hard time sitting down at night to relax without falling asleep in my chair. And I don’t know what the problem is. I feel like my diet is pretty good (I suppose it can always be better), and I’ve been taking vitamins suggested by my chiropractor after suffering from leg cramps/restless legs that got worse when I started exercising regularly again.

I could understand if I had just started exercising and was feeling tired. It had been a long time since I took part in a regular exercise routine, so fatigue would be normal. But it’s been four months since I started and the early evening fatigue started just a couple weeks ago.

What’s worse is that even though I nod off for just 10-15 minutes, I’m so tired afterward that it’s hard to focus and I get nothing done for the rest of the evening. I’d like to go outside and garden when it finally cools down closer to sunset, but I just don’t have the energy. So I end up getting very little done. Which is a bummer because it’s summer and I should be enjoying it more.

What a drag! I need suggestions to get my energy level back up. What do you do?