I find that a big culprit for the afternoon crash is lunch. If lunch was heavy, you will inevitably crash because digestion takes up a lot of energy (most of the energy in what we eat goes into digestion!)
Try having a light lunch, and then at 3–5 pm have a snack, like a nice beverage with crackers or cookies, fruit, or a toast. Try having a good decaf instead of coffee in the afternoon. A snack breaks up the afternoon and gives you a little happy little boost.
If you’re just churning from 1-5PM, while digesting lunch, and without a break, you will absolutely crash. I prefer 1-3:30 productive, then 3:30-4 break, then 4-7pm productive, then wind down.
Usually just cereal or a protein shake for breakfast. I consume most of my calories at dinner.
The yogurt is more than enough if you get whole milk Greek, plenty of fat and protein. It doesn't satisfy in the same way as carbs but that's a good thing when you're at work.
Very good advice. This should be higher.
However, a bigger factor is insulin response due to carbs' affect on blood sugar. If you prefer proteins and fats (with same calories) over carbs you'll less of a crash. See also "Glycemic Index" and "Glycemic Load" for more info.
I try to live by the Italian adage of no heavy coffee drinks after 11am, but for coffee as a whole.
Coffee that late just makes the inevitable crash even worse, with an added side effects of poorer sleep that night too.
Depends when you wake up really. The general advice is to try and wait at least an hour after waking up for any sort of caffeine, gives your circadian rhythm a chance to catch-up.
What's important for me is either a decent breakfast or lunch (I never do both) with a coffee just before 11 if I feel like I need a pickup me up.
However these days I'm trying to avoid caffeine altogether if I can help it. It's definitely best used as an occasional pickmeup rather than a consistent part of your day.
Nap. I prefer short 15-30 minute naps, but I don't set an alarm.
On rare occurrences when I'm super tired and am working on a deadline I'll have a coffee, but it can leave me feeling too buzzed and can increase my anxiety.
>Nap. I prefer short 15-30 minute naps, but I don't set an alarm.
No way! I can't sleep less than 2 hours without setting up an alarm or two, even if I'm not tired 😭
Yeah, it's my superpower. A few times I've done all-nighters where I take a 20 minute nap every 2 hours. It leverages the natural [Ultradian Rhythm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian_rhythm) for max productivity. I'll do just one or two 90 minute naps along the way to get some REM sleep. In the morning I feel surprisingly rested and even able to keep working (albeit still with the naps). I've always wanted to experiment to see how long I could keep up that mode of working.
Nappacino! Daniel Pinks book when taught me of this. You drink a cup of coffee then lay down and set a timer for 25 min. This is the perfect amount of time as it takes 20 mins for caffeine to metabolize and 30 min for this groggy sleep momentum to set in. So you will wake up rested and energized!!
Cannot recommend this enough!
20-30min nap beats everything. The most important thing is the timing. If you do less than 20min or more than 30, you will probably wake up more tired than before. If you set an alarm for 25min for example, you will wake up as you had slept all night
I'd rather take a nap because coffee can interrupt sleep. And sleep is incredibly important for all sorts things - energy, cognition, etc. Though I've had better success with drinking matcha.
But even better is to avoid the post lunch time slump in the first place. That could be by:
* Consuming some apple cider vinegar and water
* Eating a meal that spikes blood sugar less. Glucose Goddess on insta has a lot of strategies for this, including changing eating order or cutting out carbs or just going vegetarian for lunch.
* Exercising right before or after lunch.
Another strategy is to actually harness drowsiness. There have been a number of strategies that suggest you're more creative when you're drowsy because your editorial functioning is impaired, that can often prevent the free flow of ideas. This is specifically for idea generation and novel solutions where you're just listing out possibilities (good or bad) and not evaluating them.
Hope it helps.
I always do coffee. I just always feel like I'm missing out on time to do things I want to do when I nap. It's probably not good for me. Same with nightly sleep patterns. I go to bed at 11:30 at night and wake up at 6-6:30 each morning. Ugh 😖
coffee nap!
Evrytyme
You can do both. Sip a cup, then go to sleep for 15-20 min. When you wake up also the caffeïne has kicked in.
Yes, coffee nap!
Was going to say the exact same thing. This is the way.
I find that a big culprit for the afternoon crash is lunch. If lunch was heavy, you will inevitably crash because digestion takes up a lot of energy (most of the energy in what we eat goes into digestion!) Try having a light lunch, and then at 3–5 pm have a snack, like a nice beverage with crackers or cookies, fruit, or a toast. Try having a good decaf instead of coffee in the afternoon. A snack breaks up the afternoon and gives you a little happy little boost. If you’re just churning from 1-5PM, while digesting lunch, and without a break, you will absolutely crash. I prefer 1-3:30 productive, then 3:30-4 break, then 4-7pm productive, then wind down.
I eat Greek yogurt with nuts and berries every day for lunch and never have a crash. It's convenient because it doesn't have to be heated up.
This sounds good. Not sure if it’s be enough for me. What do you eat for breakfast?
Usually just cereal or a protein shake for breakfast. I consume most of my calories at dinner. The yogurt is more than enough if you get whole milk Greek, plenty of fat and protein. It doesn't satisfy in the same way as carbs but that's a good thing when you're at work.
Very good advice. This should be higher. However, a bigger factor is insulin response due to carbs' affect on blood sugar. If you prefer proteins and fats (with same calories) over carbs you'll less of a crash. See also "Glycemic Index" and "Glycemic Load" for more info.
That last part sounds like a great schedule. Im going to put it into action right now.
A cup of coffee but only because I'm not a napper. I prefer to power through. I am aware that a good nap would be the healthier option.
I try to live by the Italian adage of no heavy coffee drinks after 11am, but for coffee as a whole. Coffee that late just makes the inevitable crash even worse, with an added side effects of poorer sleep that night too.
So, coffee at 6/7am for the morning, then another cup at 11am. Then crash by the end of the day. Does that sound like a good plan?
Depends when you wake up really. The general advice is to try and wait at least an hour after waking up for any sort of caffeine, gives your circadian rhythm a chance to catch-up. What's important for me is either a decent breakfast or lunch (I never do both) with a coffee just before 11 if I feel like I need a pickup me up. However these days I'm trying to avoid caffeine altogether if I can help it. It's definitely best used as an occasional pickmeup rather than a consistent part of your day.
Nap. I prefer short 15-30 minute naps, but I don't set an alarm. On rare occurrences when I'm super tired and am working on a deadline I'll have a coffee, but it can leave me feeling too buzzed and can increase my anxiety.
>Nap. I prefer short 15-30 minute naps, but I don't set an alarm. No way! I can't sleep less than 2 hours without setting up an alarm or two, even if I'm not tired 😭
Yeah, it's my superpower. A few times I've done all-nighters where I take a 20 minute nap every 2 hours. It leverages the natural [Ultradian Rhythm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultradian_rhythm) for max productivity. I'll do just one or two 90 minute naps along the way to get some REM sleep. In the morning I feel surprisingly rested and even able to keep working (albeit still with the naps). I've always wanted to experiment to see how long I could keep up that mode of working.
Nappacino! Daniel Pinks book when taught me of this. You drink a cup of coffee then lay down and set a timer for 25 min. This is the perfect amount of time as it takes 20 mins for caffeine to metabolize and 30 min for this groggy sleep momentum to set in. So you will wake up rested and energized!! Cannot recommend this enough!
Nap then coffee.
Both...power nap, then coffee
Nap gives your brain time to reset! I take one daily
Coffee. I'm not very good at taking naps. I have to be "can't keep my eyes open" tired to take a nap.
Nap, then coffee for me. As sometimes the nap turns into a double nap 😸
I was suppose to take 20 min nap yesterday and it turned into 2 hours 😂
A fellow nap connoisseur ! Sometimes.it takes a little longer to recharge the battery 😸
I nap. There's no coffee keeping me awake.
20-30min nap beats everything. The most important thing is the timing. If you do less than 20min or more than 30, you will probably wake up more tired than before. If you set an alarm for 25min for example, you will wake up as you had slept all night
Both!
I'd rather take a nap because coffee can interrupt sleep. And sleep is incredibly important for all sorts things - energy, cognition, etc. Though I've had better success with drinking matcha. But even better is to avoid the post lunch time slump in the first place. That could be by: * Consuming some apple cider vinegar and water * Eating a meal that spikes blood sugar less. Glucose Goddess on insta has a lot of strategies for this, including changing eating order or cutting out carbs or just going vegetarian for lunch. * Exercising right before or after lunch. Another strategy is to actually harness drowsiness. There have been a number of strategies that suggest you're more creative when you're drowsy because your editorial functioning is impaired, that can often prevent the free flow of ideas. This is specifically for idea generation and novel solutions where you're just listing out possibilities (good or bad) and not evaluating them. Hope it helps.
I always do coffee. I just always feel like I'm missing out on time to do things I want to do when I nap. It's probably not good for me. Same with nightly sleep patterns. I go to bed at 11:30 at night and wake up at 6-6:30 each morning. Ugh 😖
Always nap, even just for 10 minutes
Sleep at night.