Things You Can Do When You Experience Afternoon Slump

I always felt sleepy and bored specially after lunch or in the afternoon.  In English, this is what they called "Afternoon Slump". In the Philippines, its what we called "hapontukin" syndrome or the "katamaran" moment due to "wala ng magawa sa office". Sometimes, I always get caught sleeping in my table or station by my boss maybe because she hears me snoring from her office which is just a cubicle away from my table. I really don't understand why I have this afternoon slump even if I have regular sleep schedule. 

According to David F. Dinges, Ph. D. associate professor in the psychiatry Department at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphi, "This sudden slump is a normal, healthy, expected function of our circadian rhythms, the built-in biological clocks that regulate our sleep/wake systems". He added that there is dip in the middle of the afternoon when sleepiness reappears, our natural nap zone. 

So since I have this afternoon slump problem almost everyday, I figured some techniques to prevent me from being caught sleeping or snoring. Here's some:

     ► Take a walk. You can go outside the office (if possible) or stay in your station and just walk in place. Or better yet, use the stairs in your building and then walk up to the top floor and then go down, still using the stairs. 

     ► Don't skip breakfast as this will creates a big energy gap that you'll feel all day, even if you eat a good lunch. 

     ► Eat a balanced lunch. The ideal lunch is a balance of proteins and carbohydrates. If you really want to fight afternoon slump, you can eat high energy lunch like a combination of fish, pasta, rice,baked potato, fruit salad, vegetables, lean mean or soup. 

     ►  Drink Coffee or Soda. Caffeine is a powerful stimulant but be careful not to overdo the coffee in the morning, the lift you get from more than four cups can send you crashing down in the early afternoon, making the dip even worse. So, just limit your caffeine intake.

     ► Listen to some music. This is one of the best and effective way so far. I usually listen to those heart beating, non stop jamming music, like a hard core one. Rock and Roll! 

     ► Clean your desk or your mailbox. Delete unnecessary emails or linisin ang desk mo. Itapon ang mga bagay na hindi kailangan. After you clean your desk, dumihan ulit at linisin. In that way, mawawala antok mo. 

     ► Take a look at the pictures of your office mates, like the last group outing that you have or the latest team building, then edit the pictures and then send or put it in your blog. I always do this when I am totally bored and sleepy. In this way it will motivate my mind and will bring out the creativity in you. See some samples below: (DISCLAIMER: Peace to my friends in the picture. Consider this as an opportunity. Be happy and thank me because I featured you all in my blog...Lol ☻☻☻.. Love you guys! ♥♥♥)

Girl 1: Ang sarap ng alon!

Girl 2: Ows talaga? baka naman patatas yan with bbq...

Girl 3: Teka! Parang may kakaiba sa paa ko. Parang magkakabuntot na ako...

 

Girl 1: Oo nga eh! Ang tagal, Di pa ako nag transform.

Girl 2: Hmpf! Ako din. Ang tagal ko magkabuntot. Gusto ko na maging kamukha si Marian Rivera.

Girl 3: Sa wakas! May buntot na ako! Kayo wala pa!?

 

Girl 2: Ay ano yun? May fafa oh! Habulin natin ang fafa!

Girl 3: Saan!? Di ko makita? Tara Sisirin natin ang papa!

Girl 3: Di ko na makita ang fafa..san na kaya yun???

Girl 2: Andun lang yun sa dako pa roon...

Girl 1: Ay nasa ilalim pa.. Sumisisid na.. weee..

Girl 4: Sana magkabuntot na ako

Girl 1: Your wish is my command.

(I know my friends will get mad at me when they know I posted this one.. Hahaha.. But they will surely love it.. Lol)

     ► One last and best thing you need to do to eliminate afternoon slump is to Run Away from your friends, if you did the tip above. I'm sure, they want to strangle you to death. Just run as fast as you can. Lol.

I believe with these ideas, I can assure you that afternoon slump will surely go away...