“I Slept to Save Energy”: Student Recounts How Hunger Forced Him Into ‘Calorie Hibernation’ During Hard Times

In a story that perfectly captures the silent struggles of many students across Nigerian universities, an X (formerly Twitter) user, identified as @delachimes, has stirred a wave of emotion and laughter online after recounting how extreme poverty once pushed him to literally “hibernate” like an animal in his first year just to conserve the few calories he had. His post, though shared with humor, shed light on the harsh realities of student life in a country where surviving each semester often requires more than intelligence—it demands resilience, creativity, and sometimes, a bit of dark humor.

In his viral tweet, @delachimes wrote, “I remember one time in my 100 level, I was very broke, I started hibernating to conserve calories. Like I go lie down on bed from morning to night and limit my movement so I no go burn the small food I chop.” The short post quickly caught fire, drawing thousands of reactions from Nigerians who could relate deeply to the experience of being so broke that even the simple act of moving felt like a luxury.

Many people laughed, others empathized, and some even shared their own survival tales from their undergraduate days. One user replied, “Omo, I did this one too. Hunger will humble you. I used to avoid talking too much so I won’t burn energy.” Another commented, “You never truly know suffering until you start calculating how many steps you take in a day because you’re managing garri.”

Behind the jokes, however, lies a painful truth. University students in Nigeria have, for years, battled rising costs of living, unstable academic calendars, and the ever-increasing prices of basic commodities. Many depend on limited allowances from home, which often get delayed or slashed due to their parents’ own financial struggles. For those whose families can barely afford tuition, feeding becomes an optional expense—something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

In several campuses across the country, the phrase “student hustle” has evolved from being a slang into a necessity. Young people have turned to small-scale businesses, freelancing, and even betting to make ends meet. Yet, for some like @delachimes, there were moments when even that was not enough. His story reflects the extreme end of survival—where the body is forced to adapt to scarcity through inactivity, a concept that feels both tragic and absurd.

When contacted by curious followers who wanted to know if he was joking, @delachimes clarified that he was being serious. “No jokes, I really used to lie down almost the whole day so I won’t feel hungry fast,” he wrote in a follow-up post. “I used to calculate the food I had left and plan my movement around it. That was the semester I realized that hunger can make you philosophical.”

That confession struck a deeper chord. Many commenters noted that such experiences are not isolated but part of a broader crisis among students struggling with economic hardship. A medical student from the University of Lagos chimed in, saying, “People don’t talk enough about how malnutrition affects academic performance. Some of us have written exams on empty stomachs for days. We laugh about it, but it’s tough.”

Indeed, Nigeria’s inflation rate, which continues to rise, has made even basic items like rice, beans, and garri harder for students to afford. Feeding on campus hostels or nearby cafeterias has become an expensive task. Some students now rely on “survival packs” from home—small quantities of foodstuff that must last weeks or months. The result is a lifestyle built on rationing, improvisation, and emotional endurance.

In many ways, @delachimes’s story is more than just a funny post—it’s a mirror of what countless young Nigerians go through in silence. The laughter that followed his tweet carried an undercurrent of shared pain, the kind that only those who have counted grains of rice before cooking can truly understand. It also shows how social media has become a kind of therapy space for Nigerians, where humor becomes a coping mechanism for harsh realities.

Interestingly, several people who commented on the post shared creative strategies they used to survive their broke days. One wrote, “When I was in school, I used to brush my teeth with garri water because I couldn’t waste it.” Another said, “I once survived on cabin biscuits and water for three days. I even convinced myself it was a detox.” The thread became a collection of survival tales, turning hardship into community storytelling.

What stands out in all of this is how Nigerians often find humor and resilience in suffering. Even when recounting moments of hunger and deprivation, the tone is rarely defeatist. Instead, there’s always an undertone of pride, a sense of “we made it through.” In a country where many students face systemic neglect—poor infrastructure, strikes, and lack of scholarships—these small stories of survival become proof of strength and determination.

The reality, however, remains that hunger should never be a normal part of student life. Education, as a basic right, loses its purpose when students are too weak or too hungry to focus. Experts have often warned that poverty-driven malnutrition can severely affect learning capacity, emotional stability, and long-term health. Yet, year after year, little changes. Universities struggle to provide affordable meal options, while government bursaries and support systems remain inconsistent or inaccessible.

Perhaps what makes @delachimes’s post resonate so much is the honesty and simplicity of it. He didn’t dramatize his hardship; he stated it plainly, even humorously, as if it were just another day in the life of a struggling student. But that raw truth cut deep, reminding everyone that beneath the jokes about “hibernating to save calories” are real human stories—of students who endure hunger just to earn a degree, who lie still not because they are lazy but because movement has become a privilege.

As the post continues to trend, some social commentators have suggested that it should spark broader conversations about the conditions of Nigerian students and the need for institutional support. “These stories are funny until you realize they’re cries for help,” one user wrote. “We normalize suffering so much in this country that it becomes comedy instead of tragedy.”

In the end, @delachimes’s tweet does what great storytelling often does—it holds up a mirror to society, showing both its humor and its heartbreak. It reveals the paradox of being young, ambitious, and broke in a country where survival often overshadows dreams.

For every laugh his story inspires, there’s a sobering reminder that many are still living that reality—hibernating, rationing, and hoping that someday, their struggle will only exist as a funny tweet about the past. Until then, the story of “hibernating to conserve calories” remains both a symbol of Nigerian resilience and a quiet indictment of the conditions that make such resilience necessary.