If I sleep less than six hours (my optimum sleep time period), I feel really, really woozy in the afternoon. Sometimes I give in and go for a nap, sometimes I brave it and take a break from my work and go to Facebook instead. But I have read that our food habits can be also be the culprit behind our midday crash. Makes perfect sense, because we get most of our energy from the food we eat. And if we don’t get enough to jump start our day and/or during lunch time, chances are, afternoon drowsiness sets in. Although sometimes we still get sleepy after a full meal. And kids. Well. There’s another story. My daughter Svet, no matter how much she eats for breakfast and/or lunch, still has a lot of energy in store, hopping around the house like she has several honda generators on sale inside her body.
Now what to do to beat that mid-afternoon slump? Obviously, a sensible breakfast is the first answer to the question. Sometimes, though, we can’t help but skip breakfast or not eat it properly because of one reason or another. So lunch should be made time for, and made sure that you are fueled for the rest of the afternoon. But what if you really had a super busy day, and skipped lunch as well? And you have an important presentation in the afternoon and cannot afford to take even just a quick nap? Uh-oh. That could be a serious problem.
Of course, hope is still not completely lost. What you can do: get your blood pumping. Brisk walking does the trick. Drinking a big glass of water to freshen you up can also perk you up a bit. Snacks, of course, are the most sensible option. What snacks, you ask. Fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, lean protein and dairy, those are the perfect afternoon energy boosters.
