Your Body Isn't Lazy, It's Recovering | Episode 458

Your Body Isn't Lazy, It's Recovering | Episode 458

Some mornings, you wake up, sit down for a second, and suddenly you’re nodding off. It’s easy to blame your meds, blame your schedule, or blame yourself. I wanted to slow down and talk honestly about that foggy, confusing space where depression, fatigue, and sleep collide and where the world is quick to label people as “lazy” when something deeper may be going on.

We dig into why extra sleep can be a form of mental health recovery, not a personal weakness. I share what I’ve been noticing in my own routine, including moments where I doze off even before taking any morning medication. That leads to a simple explanation of medication half-life, how long it can take your body to process a drug, and why timing matters when you’re taking more than one medication. We also talk about sleep hygiene, why better habits help but don’t solve everything overnight, and why fatigue can come in waves.

I also connect the dots to older patterns like binge drinking and how alcohol can linger in the system longer than we expect, especially if our body processes things more slowly. The bigger takeaway is understanding: bodies are different, brains need rest, and less judgment makes it easier for people to speak up, ask for help, and track what’s really happening.

If this resonates, share it with someone who needs a little more compassion right now. Subscribe, pass the show along, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.

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Chapter Markers

0:00 Welcome And Listener Gratitude

2:27 Wind Noise And Puppy Cameos

5:14 Milestones Goals And World Unrest

8:18 Depression Sleep And Morning Dozing

20:36 Medication Half-Life Explained Simply

26:12 Party Days Alcohol And Slow Recovery

32:30 Stigma Reduction And Closing Requests

#justiceforjustin #justiceforvoicesforvoicestiktok #VoicesforVoices #ExtraSleep #RestAndRecovery #SleepBenefits #MentalHealthMatters #HealthyLifestyle #SelfCareTips #SleepScience #ProductivityHacks #RestIsProductive #ImportanceOfSleep #WorkLifeBalance #SleepAwareness #MindfulLiving #EnergyBoosting #WellnessJourney #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion  #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #Episode458

Transcript

Welcome And Listener Gratitude

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes 0:01

Hi everyone, it's Justin here with Voices for Voices. Thank you so much for being with us. We're grateful and thankful to have you watching and listening. Whether you're here in the United States or across the world, it's because of you. We have a show, your demand. We're grateful to bring the show to you. We hope everybody had a uh safe weekend, uh fun weekend. Uh we're able to spend some time with family and friends, uh and uh just glad to be back with you. We're uh heading towards that 460 uh episode total in our uh in our portfolio. Um and it's uh it seems like every time we turn around we're we're hitting uh or getting closer to another milestone. And we want to thank you for that, because without you, we won't have a show to to do. And thank you for helping us get closer and closer to our ultimate goal of helping and reaching at least three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. Uh, if you could reach out to maybe 25 or 50 of your uh contacts uh in your phone, let them know about the voices for voices, TV show and podcast. We would greatly appreciate it, and it is free. What else is free is giving us a thumbs up, like, follow, subscribe, share, all those things, following our social medias. Uh, those are free, and we would greatly appreciate that. So, welcome to the show. Whether this is your first show or you've been with us from the the beginning, it's been quite uh quite the ride. So thank you for giving us the uh the opportunity. If you do see uh a little movement behind my head, uh our uh our our puppy Lucy, uh she likes to get on camera, so I wouldn't be surprised if she jumps in here in front of me. Uh and also we have one heck of a uh uh a wind event that we've had for the last couple of days, and it is just uh just out of control, man. Um we had one uh earlier uh in in in the year, I believe it was, or maybe it was late last year, and it really does a number on siding, it really uh really kind of uh takes some parts off, which I didn't know it would be that easy to to do that. So if you hear a lot of wind, that is just the wind uh where we are recording. And if you see a puppy, that is uh not uh a problem. Uh Lucy likes to uh make her presence known. Uh or if you hear a jingle bell, because she's got a jingle bell on her collar, so it it makes it a little easier uh for us to know where she's at for trying to find her because she's quite quite a quick uh quick quite a quick puppy. That is for for sure. So we have a lot of great a lot of great things that uh we have in in uh uh in the organization that uh you will be seeing here as the year progresses, it's hard to believe it's already the middle of March. Where did the time go? January, February, middle March. So before you know it, uh you'll be uh you'll be able to uh find out what that actually is. Uh and there's multiple things, and we're so excited to bring those all to you uh because it's uh the inspiration of uh of you, it's the inspiration of uh every listener, every viewer, uh, organizations. It's it's really uh it's uh it's fun. Uh so we're we're gonna we're gonna be uh bringing some things to you that uh I think are gonna I think they're gonna surprise you in a good way. And so we're looking forward to that. As we go through the show, uh we hope you're having a good year so far. Uh the year 2026. Uh there's a lot of I guess instability in certain parts of the world. And you know, we're we're playing praying for everybody, uh, whether you're a believer or not, you know, we're just sending good vibes your your way. And so we you know, we uh we pray for peace, we pray for health and safety and security of everybody, uh, wherever wherever you may be residing. Uh and a lot of these, almost all these uh different events, they're they're without our they're outside of our control. And and so we can uh we we can we can come at it from the uh you know the prayer level uh and and and sending good vibes and support and love your way because uh because of you, you have sent your love and your support our way. So thank you for for that. Uh wow, okay. Here we are. So we're here, we're getting closer and closer to again episode number 460. We will be hitting the uh the number 500 total episodes here in uh 2026. Uh we're not making predictions on where we're gonna end up or where we're gonna land. Uh so uh but there's one thing I can assure you that we will uh we will hit and surpass 500 uh total episodes in our portfolio uh before the end of 20 the year 2026. Uh I just want to I want to bring up here at kind of the outset or you know a few minutes, and uh one of the guests we had on, all our guests are fantastic, and we want to thank each and every one of them for uh for joining us on on the show. And there's one uh in in specific that I I just wanna uh I wanna want to call out. I'm not gonna call out by name, it's gonna call out by content here. Uh and and this this guest uh like uh like so many have chosen to write about their experiences and to help people. And this guest was they they wrote about you know depression. As we know, I have depression and one of the areas that this particular guest was talking about, and I I'll just call it what it is. So uh that this guest came out and said, you know, it's okay if we if we need extra sleep, you know, from time to time. Uh it's okay if we need you know rejuvenation from time to time, that that's okay. That's our body's sign that we need rejuvenation in in that uh in the brain, mostly, uh, other parts of the body, you know, for injured, you know, of course that falls into play. But this isn't specific to depression, that there's a lot of heavy things that go on from time to time. Some things we think we have um addressed or worked through. And and next thing you know, I we're taking a nap here and there that we usually don't take, or we're sleeping in, you know, a little bit uh a little bit more than we usually do. And okay, Lucy, be gentle, yes. Um and so this this this weekend and this morning for me uh was a time, were times and was a time this morning, uh, where I found myself taking and I don't know, I was like dozing off. And I had thought it was the medication and that uh I I was taking and uh you know come to find out that sometimes I doze off in the morning when I haven't even taken my medication or any any vitamins. And and so it's easy to say, oh, it's your medication that is that's causing this, and that's what I had thought um that that was the case. Um and I I guess I'm I was wrong, uh at least partially, and this guest that we had on, you know, they were talking about how our our brains, you know, because we're we go through so so many different events and experiences throughout the days that it may feel like you know we're doing we're doing okay, uh, and then come to find out, it's like why am I dozing off here and there? Uh you know, I went to bed early, especially now. Like I'm my bed, my sleep hygiene is so much better than what it was before. And so I'm like, well, is it that I'm tired? And and then the other part is well, maybe it's the medication I'm taking in in the morning, and what I've realized, not every time, but sometimes, I'd say a good majority of the time, where I haven't even taken my morning medication, and I'll doze off for half hour or an hour at home, not driving. And and so it gets me thinking, like, what's what's the deal? And and then I'm reminded about the this previous guest we had on uh in their book, uh they're writing about depression and did so much so much research into it, yeah, besides saying, you know, we're not we're not a we're not alone, we're not by ourselves, uh, we are um we're just human beings, and we're just going through this thing called life. And in this this book of this guest that says, you know, our brain needs rejuvenation and and having rest no matter when it is, helps our brain kind of reset. And uh yeah, I guess reset's probably the best word that I can think of at this moment. And so I'm trying to kind of come to grips with that, uh, because again, I I I thought it was medication related, uh, but then when I you know start to look back, I'm like, I hadn't even taken my I didn't even take my mortgage medication or any vitamins or anything like that. Uh so for those of you out there that have or know somebody that that's experienced, experienced or is experiencing this, uh you know, just just supporting them, uh and and not going, oh, this person's lazy. Because it's easy to say, right? It's easy to oh they're lazy, they're just sitting there, they're dozing off, and then uh trust me, I've been there a lot, unfortunately. And and so we don't wanna we don't wanna tell people or you know start labeling people uh when these are you know kind of biological processes that are happening within our uh within our body. And I've experienced that a little bit more uh as of as of late. And and so it's got me thinking uh because there's there was a period of time when that wasn't happening. I wasn't dozing off um I'll say as much. Um and so I it really didn't you know creeped into my mind. But like I said, this you know the this last probably weekend or so, uh it it it definitely has you know kicked itself. Um I got you there, you see her. She loves seeing herself on camera. Okay. Thank you. Um and so I don't want if if you're a person that is experiencing this, don't feel bad. Don't think you're alone, you're not. I'm going through it. It kind of comes comes in waves, I I guess is the way I think about it. That there's times where it happens and then there's times when it doesn't. So kind of the the wave comes in hi. No, don't you scratch our no, don't don't scratch furniture. And you got our our um our dwelling here with with the wind. It's just so amazing. I it's it's life. So we go through, you know, these we go through these times in our lives and we try to make the best of it that we uh that that we can. Uh and so this is specifically again for people who are you know going through these these times in our lives. Uh this doesn't define us as a as a person. It's it's a it's a point in time. And and it can be hard because if if somebody tries to label anybody, it's hard. Right? We're trying the best we can. And it may seem like we're not to some people. Just like, oh you're you're lazy, you know, or you know, you're uh you you you sleep a lot. Well, I it just m it uh given this person prior guest that we've had on, uh it's just our body kind of rejuvenating itself, and it just means that it's not rejuvenated enough if if these uh these times uh happen where where we do uh and we are experiencing especially the dozing off, because that's that's an easy one for s anybody to say, oh you're just lazy. You're just it's like I haven't even taken my medication. So is it that? Now I can see a little bit, so let me back up. I back up into oh, I don't even I don't even remember when my I my sleep hygiene really came to be better. But prior to that, I was I was awake later at night, going to bed earlier in the morning like earlier the next morning, and so it would make sense that maybe my medication from the night before hadn't worked its course through me, and so maybe I'm still feeling or that I was still feeling some of some of the effects of of that medication from the night before. Uh you know, we talk about half-lives. I don't mean like we're living a half-life, talking about it in the scientific realm, and I this is probably the extent of my my knowledge as it comes as it comes to this, but a half-life, so a half-life when you talk about medication is the amount of time it takes for our body to process half of a medication, and if we're taking one or two or three or however many medications we're taken, that may affect how long the half-life is. So, for instance, one of my medications, if I take nothing but that, the half-life is around eight hours. So it takes eight hours for one of my medications, if I wasn't taking anything else, or you weren't taking anything else, takes eight hours for this one medication to work itself halfway through my. System. So if I go to bed at three in the morning and I wake up at nine, nine minus three equals six. Half-life is eight hours. I've only been at rest, give or take, six hours. So there's two extra hours for my body to hit that half-life of processing that one medication. And so it made a little bit more sense when my sleep hygiene wasn't like it is now, where I was going to bed late, and then I I wasn't hitting that half-life. Um and and I you know I take a couple couple different medications at night. And so when you when you start stacking, you know, it starts to have an effect on the body as a total. So one has one medication has a half-life of eight hours, but one taken with another medication, altogether, the total half-life may be 10 hours. So if I go back to that example, going to bed at 3 a.m., waking up at 9 a.m., that's six. And if the half-life for two medications taken at the same time is 10 hours, 10 minus 6 is 4 hours. So it would make a little bit of sense to me that I could have, I don't say, like bounce back effects of the medication that I'm taking. But when I'm taking the same medication and I'm giving my body the proper closer to the proper amount of sleep, of rest, and then I wake up and then I haven't taken my my morning medication, that's where it gets to be baffling to me. Because I know I've I've gone past the half-life, and I know I went past or around the eight-hour mark of resting. So how many of you have had this feeling or know somebody? Our bodies in general work the same way. But maybe it takes my body, even though a half-life is 10 hours or eight hours, maybe the way my body is, you know, from my past uh takes longer to process medication. And if it would do that, then the half-life would really be extended for some amount of time. And I'll just hearken back to I'm gonna see if I can get this okay, here we go. Much better. Uh I'll hearken back to, you know, my party days and all that to just talk about what we've been talking about with the medication and the half-lives and and all that. So back in my party days when I was binge drinking, you know, on weekends and you know, alcohol, I believe, also has a half-life. Again, it depends on how much and what proof, and we're taking shots or we're drinking beers or whatever that is. And there were so many times where I wasn't able to like wake up at like a half decent time. I was asleep until 11, 12, sometimes 1 p.m. the next day. And so I I think that what was happening was my body, because of what I've put it through, uh, takes that half-life of what you know, a certain amount of alcohol should take to get out of the system. That my body was sluggish to process that amount of alcohol. Hear the wind. Like I can't even talk over it so loud. Sorry about that, everybody. Um and so with that alcohol taking longer than the average half-life to get out of my system, it's kind of the same thing with with the medications, where my body, it just takes extra, takes extra time for my body to process the medication. So what the average is, I have to really add, I don't even know what the number is, if it's hours or minutes or or what, for my medications to hit that half-life. So again, I'm just thinking out loud right now. Like I'm no doctor, I I'm no I I I don't know, I don't know things for sure. This is just what I've kind of concluded with how I've treated my body in the past, and it taken a little bit of a little bit of time to um to figure this out because yeah, there's Lucy. Hi Lucy. Yeah, you're on TV. Okay. I'm gonna need you to exit stage right. Lucy. Down, down, down. Okay. Uh, so yeah, that that's kind of what I wanted to share on on this particular episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. Uh, is is to share the half-life, how you know we could be um how our bodies can be affected by medication, by you know, alcohol, and different hey Lucy, Lucy, can we climb up here? I know we can. Uh it's why I wanted to share in case anybody anybody's gone through or knows somebody that may be going through something similar, um, then to what to what I have and am. Uh and so this is one of these shows where you know I'm kind of just talking through, you know, the events of like what what what's happening, and then trying to figure out if I can figure out anything because of others, and I don't want people to feel any more any any stigma. I don't want anybody to feel um like I I don't want anybody to feel bad. I I want people just uh maybe have a little more understanding that hey my body processes food and drink and medication a little bit different. Nothing wrong with that. You know, the more we learn, I think the better off we are, and given the popularity of our show reaching so many people, I know there's gonna be at least one person, if not more, that's gonna say, yeah, I'm going through that. I've had that happen to me. Or I, you know, my son, my daughter, uh, they you know, that they they're the that same way that you're describing, and so we can start to at least understand a little bit better. Doesn't mean that we're gonna be able to change everything. It just means that we can maybe have a little bit better understanding and we can have less judging. So thank you for joining me on this episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I've been your host, Justin Allen Hayes, founder of Voices for Voices. If you can do us a big uh a big uh big help and give us a thumbs up, like, follow, subscribe, share. Uh that's all free. Follow us on our social medias, we're everywhere. Uh, and if you can reach out to at least 25, maybe 50 or 100 of your contacts uh in your phone, let them know about the voices for voices, TV show and podcast, because our show's really blowing up in a positive way, not in a negative way. It's uh we're we're we're we're really I'm I'm just uh so grateful to have this opportunity to be able to talk about anything, you know, any any topic, you know, that that comes up that our guests talk about. And it's all because of you. So thank you so much. You're sending love and support, we're praying for you every day, even if you're not a believer, uh, we want to send good vibes your way. We'd appreciate a prayer or at least a good good vibe, good thought coming back our way as well. So until next time, let's celebrate the voices of everybody in the world and let's be a voice for ourselves and those in need. Bye bye. We'll see you next time.