How to Beat a Mid-Afternoon Slump at Work

It's 3 p.m. Do you know where your energy went? If you're like a lot of workers, it began faltering sometime between lunch and that mind-numbing conference call your boss made you sit through. Mid-afternoon slumps are a reality for most of us nine-to-fivers. To get reenergized and refocused, follow these simple tips.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Coffee
• Office with a door
• Distractions, like a chatty co-worker
• Fresh air

1. Grab some Joe. Caffeine made its reputation as a stimulant for a reason—it really works to rev you up. If you notice that your mid-afternoon slump occurs around 3 p.m., aim to have your coffee about 2:30. It takes 15 to 30 minutes for your body to feel caffeine's full effects.

2. Catch some zzzzzz's. Okay, employers everywhere take note: We're not talking about hunkering down for a couple of hours. We're talking about a quick 15- to 20-minute cat nap, which is just enough time to take that drowsy edge off and help you be more productive until closing time. So you're not interrupted, and so—perhaps more important—your reputation as the office's can-do, in-the-know guy isn't tarnished, you might want to close your office door while you snooze.

3. Get involved. Nothing can zap energy like (yawn) filling out expense reports, poring over the company's annual report or listening in on a conference call about new accounting procedures. Whenever you feel like you're sliding into a slump, take a walk to the water cooler for some friendly office banter, make a phone call instead of emailing or hand-deliver a document instead of putting it in inter-office mail. Because it engages your mind and body, walking and talking are a great way to stave off a slump.

4. Go outside. Like a cold shower in the morning, just a few minutes of fresh air and sunlight can be invigorating.

Tips & Warnings

• The stimulating effects of just one cup of coffee can last hours in some people, making it difficult for them to sleep at night. If you're highly sensitive to caffeine, say no to Joe from noontime on.

[bugmenot2]

on 12/29/2007 Well, score one for this article. It gets exactly one thing somewhat correct, which puts it way ahead of most. Everywhere, in all countries, from healthy eating hard laborers to junk food office drones is this a problem. It is simply a part of the natural human sleep cycle and its severity varies like all other human variation. Its not simple sugars, or lack of fluids, though those may make it worse. It's simply the way we evolved, and to fix it you have two choices - stimulants or sleep. The article is wrong, however, in suggesting a short nap. You need to get deep, pre-REM sleep, and for most people REM sleep starts at 45 minutes. So you should sleep that long, and pay attention. If you wake while dreaming you are in REM and should shorten the nap. If you wake groggy you are in deep sleep and should increase it. Get natural sunlight too and have a regular sleep routine.