Do NTs have more energy then Auts? Seems like 5x the amount

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Many NTs are top of their classes and doing sports on the side, then have a fruitful social life, and have good money,

Why is it that they have all of this energy? what part of the brain or body is specifically different/?

I think the energy thing is the hardest to get NT people to sympathize with, and I think it is the most destructive thing to our ability to succeed in work and at school. An autistic child just can't be in an overstimulating environment for that many hours a day.

My theory as to why things take so much more energy for us is that we are always translating between the way our brains work and the ways things work in the outside world. The world is set up for people who are comfortable with change and social interaction in ways that most of us just aren't. When you're always having to figure out what's going on, and then translate it into terms that make sense to you, then figure out what to do, then do it, and other people can do all that unconsciously, it's not surprising that we get exhausted.

Also, I think hypersensitivity plays a huge role. Because of my autism it is difficult to do many of the things that give people energy:
-- it's hard to eat a balanced diet because of food sensitivity
-- it's hard to learn to play sports because of clumsiness, slow learning curve
-- many people are lured to physical activity because they get to socialize, but that's not fun for many of us
-- intense exercise like weight training is harder due to hypersensitivity
-- we are often busy catching up on other learning when NTs are learning to care for their bodies
-- most people who care for their bodies well are largely motivated by vanity, which can be less motivating for us

It was really hard for me to learn to exercise on a regular basis. Really hard. But it's one of the things I'm most glad that I did.

energy really isnt much of an issue for me, in fact I know plenty of NTs that are far more tired than the "spectrumite" stereotype.

I have the same thing. I never understood how the girls at my secondary school (unfortunately I was sent to a girls only secondary school) had time to go clubbing, play team sports, be members of several different clubs, and still get good marks

Fortunately I have no interest in clubbing, team sports and clubs (although I do like solitary sports like running and weightlifting)

My AS friend said to me "but you got 96.5% average in your A-levels, they got in the 80%s"

I do spend a lot of time studying

I had a lot less energy when I was eating meat and not a lot of fruits and veggies. Now that I eat a potassium/calcium./ magnesium based diet, I have tons of energy and can do things I never thought I could before, like walk ten miles. I used to dread physical activity because I would feel bad while doing it. Now, I have much more stanima. Good nutrition helped me!

I'm definitely lacking in energy but I think it's an introversion thing more than anything else. I have energy to do all kinds of things when I can spend days alone. But being around people completely drains me, so most of the time I lack the energy to get much of anything done. Because of the way the world works, we have to spend a lot of time around people. I think that makes it kind of rough for introverts because we get our energy from recharging during alone time.

I think we and NTs wake up with more or less the same amount of energy on average. But, our proportionately more rapid decline starts pretty much immediately. Lots of us have little OCD-like routines in the morning that start robbing us of energy. From there on, almost everything takes more effort -- to go into, to get through, to process, to assess, to reassess. NTs seem to do a hell of a lot of what they do -- almost everything, it sometimes seems -- with little to no conscious thought. Their actions are natural and spontaneous and not all that taxing. At least for me, it's pretty much the opposite. Almost everything I do entails a preset routine, much rule-following, lots of stress and anxiety, and seemingly required self-assessment afterwards. And if I conclude something wasn't done perfectly or as close to it as possible under the circumstances, then it must be done over again. That's exhausting!

in the end I don't think the major problem is energy, some tasks are much easier for them to complete. Yet I think the majority is that they are much better at managing and balancing a large number of tasks simultaneously.

Also they get energy from one success and apply it to achieving the next.

This sounded very sensible. It suggests that autists do not in fact tire more easily, but simply have to expend more energy with certain tasks, like social interaction. One would naturally conclude that we'd have at least equal energy to NTs for activities involving simple movement and academic study.
This fits me - I become tired over-thinking, and perhaps social interaction can tire me - I'm not sure how I'd test that. Certainly thinking on academic matters can tire anyone, I think. At the same time I do better than most in studies and I'm more physically energetic. I can run faster and jump more readily and accurately than the majority - so there's no energy problem with non-social activities.

Yet at the end you note that it was difficult for you to exercise. Surely if autists tire from social interaction but are not simply tired people, this would have nothing to do with autism.

My spell checker doesn't like 'autist'. Is this not the proper noun?

On another note, perhaps the issue is one of getting started. This is certainly not an issue solely affecting autists, but if the group stereotypically love habit then perhaps getting started with something different, or having days permanently filled with new activities could be the tiring element. New people, new streets, new authors, new formula, NEW NAMES, new foods and new music all suggest challenges.
These things are certainly difficult for me but not terribly so. I also like to break habits intentionally, but I'm pretty high functioning. In fact I'm not sure how autistic I am really (I'm diagnosed, but people make mistakes).

Does anyone else go out of their way to act randomly, just to make sure that ingrained habits don't set in?

This sounded very sensible. It suggests that autists do not in fact tire more easily, but simply have to expend more energy with certain tasks, like social interaction. One would naturally conclude that we'd have at least equal energy to NTs for activities involving simple movement and academic study.
This fits me - I become tired over-thinking, and perhaps social interaction can tire me - I'm not sure how I'd test that. Certainly thinking on academic matters can tire anyone, I think. At the same time I do better than most in studies and I'm more physically energetic. I can run faster and jump more readily and accurately than the majority - so there's no energy problem with non-social activities.

Yet at the end you note that it was difficult for you to exercise. Surely if autists tire from social interaction but are not simply tired people, this would have nothing to do with autism.

My spell checker doesn't like 'autist'. Is this not the proper noun?

On another note, perhaps the issue is one of getting started. This is certainly not an issue solely affecting autists, but if the group stereotypically love habit then perhaps getting started with something different, or having days permanently filled with new activities could be the tiring element. New people, new streets, new authors, new formula, NEW NAMES, new foods and new music all suggest challenges.
These things are certainly difficult for me but not terribly so. I also like to break habits intentionally, but I'm pretty high functioning. In fact I'm not sure how autistic I am really (I'm diagnosed, but people make mistakes).

Does anyone else go out of their way to act randomly, just to make sure that ingrained habits don't set in?

i agree with above mentioned theories completely.
Also, i need time to evaluate a busy day. I have to sit down and let it all flow off me, usually for about an hour or two. If i dont do that i get really grumpy and agitated. NTs dont seem to have that much. If they can have one break per week then its all cool.

But sometimes i think they dont live life that consciously as i do. Being conscious/aware of things in general requires so much mental concentration energy.
Which is something i have in plenty. I can stay concentrated for hours on end.
However when i'm around a regular NT, they cant stay concentrated for longer than 20 minutes at the time :')

I once read that the brain is the organ that consumes most of the energy in general. If that brain is constantly overclocked there no energy left.

I can work on special interests day after day, with seemingly boundless energy.

Social interaction requires a lot more energy, so I am often tired after putting in a full day of work. On a really bad day I'll take a nap when I get home.

I'm sure the situation is reversed for NTs--they would be exhausted after doing all the special interest activities I can fit into a day, left to myself.

Corp900 posted: Many NTs are top of their classes and doing sports on the side, then have a fruitful social life, and have good money, Why is it that they have all of this energy? what part of the brain or body is specifically different/?
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Good question. It's because NTs do not have unwanted neurological challenges such as: concussions, brain injuries, autism, post-polio syndrome, hemiplegia, dyspraxia, and so on which are associated with lower levels of energy. Part of it may come down to how the Krebs energy cycle works at the level of a neuron when the neuron is not working ideally at a 100% uninjured rate. This idea of reduced or limited energy levels/natural stamina levels is very commonly reported and is very real for a lot of persons. There are cases where athletes would bicycle over 100 miles a week easily, then were involved in a car rollover with no visible head damage at all (aka a closed head injury) and then completely lost their ability to bicycle due to a lack of energy/incredible fatigue. Their lack of energy still persists eight years plus later. The topic of energy/stamina is often dismissed when brought up but it is very real - exactly as you describe. With some kinds of brain injuries, a term like DAI (diffuse axonal injury) may be mentioned.

Executive dysfunction makes most other things more difficult as well.

Seen.

all my life i had to run as fast as i could but i still never got anywhere. all my life i've just been treading water, with lots of spray but no forward progress.