Why We Get Tired — And Why the Answer Isn’t Just Food or Sleep

By “Me” John Allen Mollenhauer “JAM” | Founder, Regenus Center

When I started the Regenus Center, I had long been obsessed with one deceptively simple question:

Why do we get tired?

I wanted to know because getting tired wasn’t just inconvenient as an entrepreneur—it was a crush on the day.
And like most strivers, I didn’t always have time to recover fully.

I didn’t like the feeling.
I didn’t like the consequences.
I liked being on.

But when I got tired—especially midday—I was off. My clarity dimmed. My drive dropped. Momentum stalled.
And the worst part? I was doing everything “right.”

I valued my health. I didn’t drink coffee. I wasn’t looking for a stimulant.
But I had no idea what to do about the fatigue that still showed up.

Sure, everyone had an answer.
“You need more sleep.”
“Eat better.”
“Breathe deeper. Move more. Think positively.”

And I did all of that. I was a bodybuilder, a gym owner, and a performance coach.
I knew how to stack habits and train like a pro.

But even with dialed-in sleep, top-tier nutrition, and laser-focused mindset work—
I still hit walls, not once. Constantly.

No one answered the question, Why do we get tired!

ATP: The Real Reason We Get Tired

Let me simplify what took years to decode, and I mean years!

You feel tired when your cells don’t produce enough ATP.

But then the next question is:
Why don’t we make enough ATP?

ATP—adenosine triphosphate—is the cellular currency of energy. It powers everything: thinking, digestion, healing, breathing, movement. And your body burns through it at astonishing rates.

According to the NIH, a typical cell turns over 1 billion ATP molecules every 1–2 minutes. Multiply that by your 30–40 trillion cells, and you’re looking at more than 2 × 10²⁵ molecules of ATP produced every day.

So no, it’s not just that you “ran out of energy.”
It’s that your mitochondria—your cellular energy factories—can’t keep up with demand. And if you don’t know how to stimulate and restore your energy system, no amount of smoothies or sleep is going to fix the crash.

The Breakthrough: Light Moves the Dial

This is where everything changed for me.

While experimenting with countless recovery modalities, I found the missing piece not in a supplement or a stimulant, but under the sun itself.

Light.

Specifically, red and near-infrared light wavelengths that directly target the mitochondria through a process known as photobiomodulation.

These healing frequencies stimulate cytochrome c oxidase—a key enzyme in the mitochondrial energy process—and here’s what happens:

• Nitric oxide (which blocks ATP production)? Released.

• Mitochondrial potential? Restored.

• ATP synthesis? Increased.

The result?
More energy. Faster recovery. Better mood. Sharper mind. Full-body regeneration.

That was the real lightbulb moment for me—pun absolutely intended.

Energy Isn’t Just Biochemical. It’s Bioenergetic.

This is the foundational insight that led me to create the Regenus Center:

We don’t just get tired because we lack food or rest.
We get tired because our energy systems are in debt.

To recover, we have to stop thinking only in terms of calories and hours of sleep—
and start thinking in terms of light and life force.

Everything changed once I began using photobiomodulation regularly, not just as recovery but as a daily practice. I wasn’t relying on caffeine (I dropped that decades ago).
I wasn’t surviving through willpower or sheer discipline. And I wasn’t dependent on perfect sleep anymore.

I was living charged.

The Real Flow of Energy

Let’s break it down:

1. Light enters through your skin and cells.

2. You stimulate electron activity when you experience light in a state of rest.

3. It activates cytochrome c oxidase in your mitochondria.

4. Your mitochondria produce more ATP.

5. ATP fuels everything—brain, body, resilience, performance.

6. You stop surviving. You start regenerating.

At Regenus Center, We Don’t Just Treat Fatigue—We Restore Your Charge

Our protocols are built on a single, game-changing truth:

You can’t perform from an energy deficit. And if in a deficit, you will sacrifice your health. 

You need to restore your cellular energy. And the fastest, most reliable way to do that is by stimulating your energy system with light.

That’s why we start nearly every client with red light therapy.
Because that’s where energy is restored—at the source.

Bottom Line: Your Light Is Your Life

You’re not just a physical body. You’re a field of energy and information. When you treat that energy like a system, not a symptom, everything changes:

• Fatigue disappears
• Recovery accelerates
• Performance elevates
• And your true potential finally turns on

So the next time you ask:
“Why am I so tired?”
Don’t just look at your pillow or your plate alone.

Look at your light.

RegenusCenter.com | #RegenerateYourLifeForce

Ready to recharge your system from the inside out? Learn more about Red Light Therapy in East Hanover, also known as photobiomodulation. 
Experience what it’s like to live from a full body battery.