It can be frustrating to find yourself starting to lag once it hits the afternoon. Even if you felt energetic all morning, chances are you’ll find yourself feeling less than perky in the afternoon. Try not to beat yourself up too much over it, though, because it’s a perfectly natural phenomenon and even part of our circadian rhythm. Between the hours of 1pm and 4pm especially, we may find ourselves more sleepy than we had been all day. While it is inconvenient, there are ways to help pick yourself back up when in the midst of fatigue.
Is it a Slump or Something Else?
Your circadian rhythm can be partly to blame for your mid-afternoon decrease in energy because, as mentioned already, you may find yourself feeling particularly tired between 1pm and 4pm. However, if you find yourself dramatically more tired than your other sleepy counterparts or find yourself struggling with lethargy for most of the day, then there could be other elements at play. For instance, if you aren’t getting enough physical activity each day you can find yourself becoming more lethargic throughout the day. Exercise induces the production of mitochondria in your muscle cells which will increase your body’s energy supply.
What Else Could Be Causing It?
If not your circadian rhythm, why else would you be feeling a decrease in your energy? As noted before, a lack of physical activity could be playing a role. The food you eat throughout the day can also be causing you to spike in energy and subsequently crash. If you find yourself reaching for snacks with a lot of sugar, you may find yourself peaking in energy soon after you eat it, but this energy won’t last long and you’ll instead find yourself becoming even drowsier afterwards. If you want to curb this, try incorporating protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates to help ensure sustained energy.
Your mental health can also be taking a toll on your energy levels throughout the day. If you find yourself stressed on a regular basis it can drain your energy and leave you feeling exhausted before you’re even halfway through your day. Stress can also negatively affect the quality of your sleep making it a one-two punch of an energy suck. Speaking of sleep, while this one may seem more obvious, if you find yourself falling behind on sleep there is a very high likelihood of you petering off in the middle of the day. If you have multiple days of getting less sleep than you ultimately need, the cumulative effects of this sleep deprivation can leave you feeling drowsy and lethargic by mid-afternoon.
What Can I Do About It?
A lot of us aren’t really able to take a mid-afternoon nap when we find ourselves battling the daily bout of sleepiness, so what can we do to help mitigate the effects of this dip in energy? For one, take a step outside. Exposure to sunlight impacts our circadian rhythm and can promote wakefulness. In cases of dreary weather, a light therapy lamp can mimic the effect. To hit two birds with one stone, get active while you’re outside too. This doesn’t mean you need to spontaneously burst into jumping jacks, but taking a moment to get your body moving whether it be walking around a parking lot or doing some stretches can be enough to reinvigorate your body and give you the boost of energy you need to make it through the day. If all else fails, try chewing some gum. Activating the muscles in your face increases blood flow to the head and can also promote wakefulness.
Additionally, if you want to help lessen the effects of the slump altogether, be sure to take your B vitamins. B12 and B6 can support energy on a cellular level and maintain your cardiovascular and nervous system health, so taking a B-complex vitamin can be useful to help maintain your energy even throughout the afternoon. Managing your stress is also an incredibly important aspect to maintaining your energy throughout the day as stress is a major energy drain on your mind and body. While this one may be obvious, be cognizant of your sleeping schedule and aim to get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night in order to be your best the following day.
Key Takeaways
Nobody likes feeling as if they’ve used up all their energy for the day by the afternoon, but there are some ways of mitigating this feeling. In the moment, you can start to move your body and expose yourself to more sunlight to help promote a sense of wakefulness. If prevention is more your move, then ensuring you get an adequate amount of sleep each night is crucial for maintaining a consistent streak of energy throughout the day. Keeping your stressors in check, albeit easier said than done, is also a major component of staying energized as feelings of stress and anxiety can wear down on both the mind and body over time.
If you find yourself constantly dealing with feelings of lethargy in the middle of the day to the point of becoming unproductive, then it could be a sign that you need a change in your lifestyle. Whether it be to be more active throughout the day or simply getting more sleep at night, the effects of the midday slump ultimately cause more grief than its worth to simply deal with it.
