Well, the good news is that you’re not alone. The other good news is that you’re not necessarily to blame! It comes down to how our circadian rhythms work. Our “sleep signals” (impacted mainly by cortisol, the master-hormone responsible for alertness) peak twice in a 24-hour period: the big one is obviously at night, and the second one is in the afternoon, right around 2PM (yep, just in time for that darn meeting).
Although this varies from person to person, the dips in energy level are totally natural.
Luckily, there are some great ways to fix the fatigue and get back to feeling alert. Here are few:
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Cat nap – For those of us that are lucky enough to work from home or work for a company that allows it, naps are a great way to recharge, increasing productivity later in the day. (For example, The Huffington Post provides its staff with napping pods so that they can recharge their brains if they’re feeling drained. Would be great to get in on that!)
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Move around! – Take a walk, stretch, do push-ups, sit-ups, take a midday trip to the gym – whatever you can to get your blood pumping. That’s ward off the fatigue. Start the movement at your work place – soon you’ll get followers!
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Take a break – Step away from your screen. Talk to a friend. Play some music. The change of pace will give you a recharge.
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Get enough sleep the night before – Get your 8 hours of good sleep the night before. Sleep deprivation tends to hit after lunch.
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Choose water over coffee – Caffeine in the afternoon impacts the quality of your sleep the following night and sets you up for the crash the next day. Drink water instead. (You can add a slice of lemon and raw ginger to it for a bit of appreciated flavor.) Good hydration will wake you up.
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Avoid bread, pasta, white potato and desserts for lunch - These lead to a sugar high that later on will only lead to a crash. Replace them with good salad or steamed veggies.
<img height="22" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5e9922_0769ff30a359428f90b3864c78f4b682.png_256" width="22">Have a healthy snack - That helps boost energy levels and keep it up. Combination of fruit with nuts will serve you much better than cookie.
Apple Slices with Almond Butter
This is one of my personal favorite afternoon snacks. Cinnamon not only adds flavor and aroma, but also is a good-old-remedy for stabilizing sugar level. Read more...
