Healthy Ways to Combat the 3 p.m. Slump

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It happens to everyone. You are working hard and accomplishing a lot. You take a quick break for lunch, but still keep churning out work. You are doing great! Then, all the sudden your brain is full of cotton, and your desk is starting to look like a perfectly comfortable spot to take a nap. What happened?

Odds are some version of this happens to you every day at around 3:00 p.m. It may not be so extreme that you debate sleeping on top of your laptop, but you probably notice a decrease in productivity and less focus. This “3:00 p.m. slump” is normal and is the result of a natural low point in your circadian rhythm. It is not due to your caffeine fix from your morning coffee finally running out, eating too much at lunch or not getting enough sleep. A heavy lunch or a late night will certainly exasperate your 3:00 p.m. slump, but even if you ate a perfectly balanced and healthy lunch and got plenty of sleep the night before, you are still most likely going to find a decrease in productivity somewhere between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. So, what can you do to take back control of your afternoon? Here are some healthy ways to combat the 3:00 p.m. slump.

Peppermint Tea or Gum

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Both the smell and taste of peppermint are well known for causing a brief burst of energy. The herb wakes you up and makes you feel alert. It also helps you focus and stay stimulated when you are tired, something you desperately need during the 3:00 p.m. slump. Given that you are often more distractible during the 3:00 p.m. slump, peppermint is even more useful because the scent of peppermint has been shown to make you perform better on tasks that require sustained attention.

Both peppermint gum and peppermint tea are cheap, easy ways to get an afternoon peppermint fix. If you go the gum route, be sure to check the ingredient list. If the gum contains aspartame, as most do, make sure not to chew the gum too late in the afternoon or evening. Aspartame is a sugar substitute that will keep you awake, just like sugar; however, aspartame stays in your system noticeably longer than sugar.

When it comes to tea, again, make sure you read the label. Mint and peppermint teas are often mixed with green tea which is caffeinated. Try to drink herbal tea which is naturally caffeine free, or drink decaf tea. Be aware, however, that decaffeinated tea does contain a small amount of caffeine, so do not drink it in the evening.

Citrus

Citrus fruits include oranges, lemons, limes, clementines, tangerines and grapefruits. Like peppermint, these tropical fruits contain a smell that has been known to increase energy and performance. The smell of citrus is known to increase mental stimulation, and the taste can do the same thing. Citrus scents are also good for those times when you are feeling stressed. The smell of citrus fruits can boost your production of serotonin, one of the hormones that is known to help make you feel happy. Simultaneously, citrus scents can reduce the hormone norepinephrine, one of the body’s stress hormones.

In addition to their energizing scents, citrus fruits are a good source of vitamin C. In the event that you are feeling sluggish because you had an unhealthy lunch, citrus fruits can do double duty. The smell will wake you up while the taste and nutrients of the fruits can help you sustain your energy.

Walk or Stretch

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By 3:00 p.m., you have probably done a lot of sitting especially if you work in an office. All that sitting leaves you tired and foggy headed exasperating the already natural weariness that sets in during the low points of your circadian rhythm. Getting some blood flowing can help fight off the all encompassing fog of 3:00 p.m. slump.

Take a quick break, get up from your desk and walk around. If you work in a high rise building, use the stairs to walk down a couple stories and then back up to your office. If you are on a single level or smaller building, go outside and walk a lap around the parking lot. You can also find an out of the way corner and do some jumping jacks or stretches. Even something as simple as jumping up and down and touching your toes can leave you feeling reenergized.

Decaf Drinks

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If you are the sort of person that absolutely loves the taste of coffee, tea or soda, you can take advantage of that in the afternoon. Normal coffee, tea, soda and diet soda will be a bad idea at 3:00 p.m. due to the high caffeine content in those drinks. Despite popular belief, caffeine does not wear off quickly. It stays in your system for nine hours, and the effects linger even longer for some people. That does not mean that you will be just as energized at hour nine as you will hour one, but the caffeine will keep you awake for those nine hours. So, drinking a cup of coffee at 3:00 p.m. will mean that you will struggle to fall asleep or get deep, restful sleep before midnight. This, of course, leaves you tired the next day and more dependent on afternoon caffeine thus forming a vicious cycle.

Instead of leaving yourself at the mercy of a cruel caffeine cycle, have a decaffeinated drink. The taste of coffee, tea or soda will trigger a Pavlovian response and help you feel more awake and focused.

Water or Food

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If you are hungry or thirsty, you are going to feel more tired. If you skipped lunch, your body has no fuel to use as energy. You are, literally, running on empty. This means that your body is using what little energy it has to fulfill vital functions and has little left for concentration and higher brain functions. Eating just to eat in the afternoon is not a healthy choice, but if you are truly hungry in the afternoon, a light, healthy snack is a good way to combat the 3:00 p.m. slump. Have a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit or some vegetables, and watch your energy levels rise.

There is no such thing as “too much water.” If you are thirsty in the afternoon, have something to drink. Even minor dehydration, which causes the feeling of thirst, can leave you feeling fuzzy headed. This is because dehydration causes less oxygen to reach your brain and forces your heart to work harder to pump blood. The average person needs three to four liters of water a day to avoid dehydration, but few people drink that much consistently.

Sound and Light

Many people spend most of their days working in quiet, relatively dimly lit spaces. This lack of light and sound can wreak havoc on the circadian rhythm. Without bright light in the morning, the body does not know that it is time to be awake. When you spend the evening around bright lights or blue light like that found in electronic screens, your body does not know it is time to sleep. This means that your circadian rhythm is out of wack and leaves you even more vulnerable to the 3:00 p.m. slump.

Bright light means “wake up” to your body, so when you are tired go get some sunshine. Indoor lights are not often bright enough to convince your body to wake up, even though they are enough to convince your body not to sleep. So, go outside and stand in the parking lot for a few minutes, or at the very least, go look out the window. On rainy, cloudy or otherwise dark days, you can also rely on sound. Turn on some quick tempo, high energy music. Put down your work for a few minutes, and focus on what you are hearing. Athletes everywhere can attest to the fact that fast music can “pump you up,” so take advantage of that fact. Listen to your favorite dance song, and then get back to work with renewed energy.