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It’s a feeling you probably know only too well: the mid-afternoon slump.
That time of day when you find yourself zoning out at your desk, succumbing to the temptation to sink down a social media hole or heading for the vending machine for a sugar fix to get you through the day
You can take comfort from knowing you aren’t alone: a recent survey of British office workers found 2.55pm is the twilight zone of productivity.
But pushing through the dead zone is crucial if you want to maximise your work day – and stay in your boss’ good books.
Here are several tips and tricks to try:
Eat low-Gi foods
Instead of tucking into a choccie or loading up on wine gums when the slump hits, go for something that will maintain your blood-sugar level, not cause it to spike – which will make you feel even more sluggish when the high drops. Think eggs or nuts, not doughnuts and cake.
Play a (quick) game
Research has shown that challenging your brain to learn new skills can help keep you sharp. Productivity- boosting activities such as Sudoku, a 10-minute crossword or a memory game should help you banish the mid-afternoon grey-matter grogginess.
Sip green tea
Rather than a mid-afternoon coffee – which may interrupt your sleeping patterns and make you even more tired the next day – opt for green tea. You’ll still get a caffeine boost as well as the additional benefits of antioxidants and a brain supporting blood-flow boost, Greatist reports. In a Swiss study, scans revealed that people who drank green tea had greater activity in the working-memory area of their brains.
Take a brisk walk
Sitting all day negatively affects our ability to think creatively, stay motivated and solve problems. A quick walk in fresh air helps your mind spring back into action, stimulating it into releasing feel-good endorphins and a protein called brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which helps repair the neurons responsible for memory. It also brings down stress levels.
Chew gum
A team of psychologists at New York’s St Lawrence University found chewing gum can make you more alert and increase your energy levels. More than 150 students were given a series of demanding cognitive tasks. Half the participants were given chewing gum, while the other half were given nothing.
Those randomly assigned to the gum-chewing group significantly outperformed those in the non-chewing group in five out of six tests.
Switch it up
Struggling to concentrate? Stop what you’re doing and do something completely different. Jot down a to-do list for tomorrow or make a phone call you’ve been putting off. The change of pace will hit the reset button on your sluggish, overloaded mind.
Take a catnap
Sometimes the best remedy for fatigue is simply to get a little shuteye, Psychology Today writes. Napping has been known to enhance creative thinking, improve memory and aid learning. The ideal length for a power nap varies from person to person, but somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes is the general recommendation.
Any longer and you enter the deeper stages of sleep, which can lead to a terrible grogginess when you eventually wake up.
Sources: Greatist, Under 30 CEO, Fast Company, Psychology Today
