You know what its like come 3pm after that big lunch we go into a big slump which is hard work to snap out of depending on your job, but if you are office based this can be a killer. It’s at this point we reach for the coffee, get that caffeine hit and continue with our afternoon. The only problem with this is, caffeine has a half life of 6 hours which means that if you have a large cup of coffee containing around 200mg you will still have 100mg in your body at 9pm. You may be able to sleep but you will not be able to enter a deep sleep which causes you to miss out on a number of benefits and makes waking up the following day a little harder and causes you to hit the caffeine cycle.
Well apart from eating less starchy carbohydrates for your lunch and keeping yourself well hydrated there are a couple of things you can do to fight this without entering the naughty caffeine cycle.
1. Have a break. Take 15 minutes out and try to find a dark quiet room, have some deep relaxation sounds or music on your ipod. Play the music, close your eyes, relax every muscle in your body starting from your head down to your toes. Take 3 big deep breaths, breathing through your nose and visualize a nice quiet warm beach or country meadow and relax. Try making the length of the music for 15 minutes and bring yourself back slowly when finished but set your alarm for 20 minutes just in case you fall asleep.
2. Make yourself a cup of fruity tea, Twinnings do a great selection. (ensure it is caffeine free)
3. Eat a piece of fruit – apples and pears work best due to lower sugar content.
This will give you a massive lift and help you maintain focus for the rest of the day. Your energy levels will give you a boost without going into the caffeine cycle.
So try these 3 simple but extremely effective tips to beat that afternoon slump. If you want to find out more about our Holistic Personal Training programme then give us a call on 07771 533 408 or e-mail info@elitefitnessconsultants.co.uk