Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

10 Tips to Prevent The Afternoon Slump

10 Tips to Prevent The Afternoon Slump

TIP #1: Drink your water. Even if you are simply working behind a desk all day, your body still uses water. So don’t wait until you get that thirsty feeling in your mouth. By that point you are already dehydrated, which can impair your physical and mental functioning. If dehydration is one of the factors attributing to your afternoon slump, you now are experiencing both a brain slump and a body slump.

To prevent this, drink a minimum of eight glasses of water a day, more if you are physically active. Keep a water pitcher and a glass on your desk so you can easily sip water all day. Don’t fool yourself into thinking any type of liquid counts toward your water intake. Liquids like coffee or cola dehydrate you and worsen the slump.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #2: Avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates. While a candy bar mid-afternoon may give you a quick sugar rush, in the long run, it actually worsens the slump. Sugar and simple carbohydrates get absorbed immediately into the bloodstream. In response, your blood sugar rises, and your body secretes insulin to bring your sugar level back down. Unfortunately, your body doesn’t know when you’ve stopped eating the candy, so it drops you down into a low blood sugar level by taking too much sugar out of your body. This is why people who rely on sugar for energy have highs and lows throughout the day.

But candy isn’t the only culprit. Simple carbohydrates, such as a white bread sandwich and some dessert at lunchtime, can cause your blood sugar to drop after an hour or two, causing the afternoon slump. To avoid this, incorporate more proteins and complex carbohydrates into your diet, such as products made with whole-wheat flour, brown rice, etc. They won’t trigger blood sugar highs and lows, putting you more on an even keel.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #3: Eat small meals. Have six small meals over the course of the day instead of three large ones. When you eat a big meal in one sitting, it overwhelms your body, causing it to work harder to digest the food. As a result, the digestive process diverts blood away from your brain and your extremities and uses it in the digestive track. With smaller meals, your body doesn’t have to work as hard.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #4: Evaluate your lighting. Most offices are lit with cool white fluorescent tubes, which have a terrible effect on how people feel and function at work. A better option is full spectrum fluorescent tubes, as these simulate the wavelength of sunlight. Studies have shown that full spectrum lighting provides many benefits: headaches disappear and afternoon fatigue declines, while productivity levels actually rise.

If your office doesn’t already use full spectrum fluorescent tubes, you might want to replace the tube just in your office. Your company may want to replace the tubes company-wide because it is an investment in your company’s human capital. As everyone’s productivity increases, the company will quickly recoup its investment. The gains will certainly outweigh the expense. After one company re-lamped their offices, they started referring to their lights as their “happy lights” because employees feel so good being under them.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #5: Take walking breaks. Walking gets your blood circulating, helps you breathe better, and stimulates your brain due to the increased blood flow. Take a five or ten minute walk during the day. Walking outside will give you the extra benefit of fresh air, but walking around the office is okay too. If you don’t have time to take a walk, run up and down the stairs for two minutes. That will give you the same benefits in half the time.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #6: Meditate. Meditation is great for rejuvenating your body. Each time you meditate, you’ll feel like you just took a six-hour nap. By meditating for fifteen to twenty minutes twice a day, you’re keeping your body continually energized. If you do run into the afternoon slump, meditating for a quick five minutes can immediately re-energize you.

Physiologically, when you meditate, you go into a state that’s similar to deep sleep. Your heart rate, breath rate, and vital signs are lower than the normal state of sleep, so in effect, you give your cells and your body a tremendous amount of rest in a very short period of time. You may even find that you require less sleep at night since you are giving your body much well needed rest twice a day.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #7: Take your vitamins. Several vitamins have an energizing affect on your body, such as B-complex and Ginseng, so take them every day. You get the maximum benefit from your vitamins when you divide your dose throughout the day and take them with a meal. For example instead of taking 100 milligrams once a day, take fifty milligrams with breakfast and fifty with lunch. By doing so, you get much better absorption and greater benefit.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #8: Listen to some music. Music can energize you, but choose carefully. Some music can actually weaken your system and fatigue you. For example, hard rock can make you feel jittery. Find some music you enjoy. Upbeat music can get your body into a more upward stance. If you are listening to music with lyrics, make sure they are positive and motivating.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP # 9: Take time to breathe and stretch. Deep breathing is another way to give yourself an energy boost. Your cells require an exchange of air in the lungs to get the waste products out of the body. If you’re not breathing enough, you’re getting a build-up of waste products. By doing some breathing exercises during the day, you’ll get a lot more fresh air into your system, your cells, and your brain.

Try this exercise: Breathe in slowly, filling your stomach first, then the chest, and finally the shoulders while counting to seven. Then exhale slowly, starting to exhale at the shoulders first and finish with the stomach, again while counting to seven. Do this three to six times. When you do, you are dramatically increasing the exchange of fresh air in your body.

Equally important is to stand up and stretch. When you stretch and move, you not only increase the blood flow in your body, but you are also stimulating the lymphatic system, which removes waste products from your body and only functions from muscular contractions. So if you are sitting for hours at a time, you are actually building up waste products in your body. Do some stretches mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

-------------------------------------------------
TIP #10: Handle negativity. Negative people and images can have a draining effect on your energy. Conversely, if you spend the day surrounded by positive people and images, you can feel energized by them. If negative people surround you at work, use your mind to go into the positive realm when they’re going into the negative. Make a conscious effort to stay positive even when others are negative around you.
-------------------------------------------------

Beat The Slump and Enjoy Your Night!
No one enjoys feeling tired and drained. So incorporate these ten tips into your day and encourage others in your office to do the same. When you do, you can turn the mid-afternoon hours into a time of increased productivity. And when you feel better at the end of the day, you will have the energy to enjoy your evening.





10 Tips to Prevent The Afternoon Slump - To learn more about this author, visit Jerry Teplitz's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Jerry Teplitz
(Visit Jerry's Website) Dr. Jerry V. Teplitz' background is as unique as the techniques he teaches. He originally graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and holds both a Master and Doctorate in Wholistic Health Sciences. Jerry is the author of the book Managing Your Stress: How To Relax and Enjoy, and his two latest books are Switched-On Living and Brain Gym for Business. Articles on Jerry have appeared in such publications as Successful Meetings, Prevention Magazine, and T&L Golf Magazine. As a professional speaker, he has spoken to over one million people. Dr. Teplitz has also been honored by his peers in the National Speakers Association by receiving the title of "Certified Speaking Professional" and has been selected as "Top Rated Speaker" by the International Platform Association. Dr. Teplitz is listed in several editions of Who's Who in America, and served eight years on the faculty of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management.

Jerry Teplitz is a Silver author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Jerry Teplitz's

Complete
List Of
Women-Entrepreneurs
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Jerry Teplitz's Complete List of Women-Entrepreneurs Articles For FREE!

More Jerry Teplitz
Beating Travel Stress The Art of Surviving on the Road
Selling Effectively The Buyer Blending System
SwitchedOn Selling Balancing Your Selling Brain
10 Tips to Prevent The Afternoon Slump
ROAD WARRIORS Managing your Time Away from Home
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Cheryl Matthynssens  
David Acheson  
Dianne Crampton  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Sample Credit Application Icon Sample Credit Application
Workplace Violence Icon Workplace Violence
4 QuickBooks Blunders Icon 4 QuickBooks Blunders
Woman business success Icon Woman business success
Powerful Living Icon Powerful Living
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Social Entrepreneur Blogs of 2009
Top Social Business Blogs
Top Social Entrepreneur Blogs
 
Email The Reporters
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Agnes Twum Cape Coast, Ghana,
Agnes Twum
Cape Coast, Ghana
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Razor Suleman, $143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
Razor Suleman
$143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
Geoff Whitlock, $53k to $507k in 3 years
Geoff Whitlock
$53k to $507k in 3 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Sam Walton, Wal-Mart
Sam Walton
Wal-Mart
Vera Wang, Vera Wang
Vera Wang
Vera Wang
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone
Keith Ferrazzi
Never Eat Alone
T. Harv Eker, Millionaire Mind
T. Harv Eker
Millionaire Mind
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Where to Advertise Your Small Business Online…Without Paying a Penny!
By Caroline Melberg
     Would You Rather be an EEL or a Shark?
By Caroline Melberg
     What Beer PopTarts and Hurricanes Have to do with YOUR Business
By Caroline Melberg

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information