Low energy in the afternoon.

[mosdef]

Almost every day in the afternoon I start feeling sluggish and tired, and this is starting to really concern me. I leave work around 4, and when I get home I usually feel it necessary to take a nap. Sometimes it's so bad that I feel my eyes shutting on my half-hour drive home - falling asleep at the wheel would definately not be a good thing. I could get more sleep, but I'm definately not deprived of sleep - I get about 6-7 hours a night. I regularly eat lunch, though my breakfast is usually small or nonexistent, though I do drink a glass of water. Can anyone offer any advice to my problem?

-mosdef

 

[yakko]

Does your lunch consist of a high number of carbohydrates? If so this may be the problem. Carbohydrates that are not balanced out with protien cause your body to produce melitonin which is the chemical that helps you sleep. Protien produces seritonin which is what keeps you awake. Once I found that out I changed my eating habits and do not have that problem any more.

 

[mosdef]

I eat a pretty balanced lunch. I don't eat any sugar throughout the day, and only drink water. Would eating a footlong sub at Subway, for example, constitute "too much"? Does the speed at which I eat matter? I do notice that I eat pretty quickly.

-mosdef

 

[Carbo]

Hmmm......could be any number of things. The most likely being insufficient sleep or poor quality sleep. 6 or 7 hours may not be enough if you find yourself tired every afternoon. If you are getting, say, 7 hours at night, is it a sound sleep or are you awakend several times during the night?
Your metabolism may be sluggish because you're not stimulating it with any exercise. Just 15 minutes of stretching and a one mile walk would cause a noticeable difference in your energy levels.
Finally, diet will play a big part in how you feel. Are you drinking coffee in the morning? If so, could be the caffeine high is wearing off around mid afternoon. Are you having a heavy lunch? This will definitely make you sleepy, as will an afternoon glass of wine or beer.
Just one dope's opinion...............

 

[bacillus]

is it hot in your office??

 

[bigredguy]

i believe they have a pill for this, no-doz(sp?) hehe, i am not a doctor so this was my best idea.

 

[beer]

I know what you mean. I however get tired immediately after lunch at around 2 PM or so. A Smoothie King around 3 tends to help that - and they're VERY good for you too.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

How much sleep do you get a night? You may just be running out of fuel by the time you leavev work

 

[tontod]

I have the same problem and sleep about 7 hours a night.

 

[PG]

Do you snore at night? If so, maybe you aren't getting enough real rest even though you get a decent amount of sleep.
If you don't snore, try to get about 9 to 10 hours of sleep for about a week and then see how you feel. Maybe you just need more than 7.

 

[mosdef]

Carbo - I was planning on setting up a quick morning work out, so I'll start that next work week. And I never drink coffee. Also I'm a deep sleeper, so unless it's an alarm in my room I won't wake up - even my own alarm takes a little bit of ringing to wake me up hehe. Lunch isn't heavy, unless you consider a 12" sub a lot. No alcohol until the weekend.

bacillus - No, it's not hot.

bigredguy - I don't want to solve this with pills, but I will check it out.

Elemental007 - Where do you work? There's a Smoothie King right next to where I work.

PG - No I don't snore. I'll try to get 10 hours a sleep but my computer keeps call me for late night Ananadteching .

-mosdef

 

[damac]

Figure out what your maintenence calories are and what you eat in a typical day. It is very possible you are not hungry and aren't the type of person attached to food and your not getting a balanced diet which is going to directly effect your energy level. You may not be getting the calories you should.

exercise with weights and cardio 6 days/week if possible

balance your meals with protien and carbs and of course eat healthy stuff if possible.

get a bunch of veggies in every day also

if your an average guy drink atleast a gallon of water/day

spread your meals throughout your waking hours so like 6 small meals with protien and carbs and eat every 2 1/2 hours or so

take a couple vitamins for extra measure.



I have found your body can adapt to things. for example I was dieting heavily up until recently for a long time. I broke myself into eating with a calorie deficit of almost 1000 calories/day and was exercising hard 6 days/week. I did it slowly and my body adjusted.

also i notice now if I eat a large meal at once it will bog you down because your blood surges to digest things.

then of course the healthy foods like slow burning carbs and good quality sources of food, and cardio and weight training is just for general health. I also found exercising and the whole package to make my sleep problems go away.

 

[Colt45]

i have a similar problem, i usually get up at 8 am, and dont *really* have energy until at least 6 pm (when its time to go party, hang out with friends, etc.)

oh yeah, its hot as hell today on top of it, makes you wanna just sleep!

 

[Tsunami1]

Hmm I'm not a Doctor and, do not wish to alarm you but it could be a sign of low blood sugar(Hypoglycemia). Excercise as mentioned before and diet contribute greatly to energy lvl.

 

[cmv]

I would focus on exercise and diet in that order (providing sleep is taken care of).

 

[Quickfingerz]

It's pretty normal. Most people's body temperature drops during the afternoon. This is why lots of people take naps (i reccomend a 20-30 minute nap).

 

[mosdef]

I'm like 5'11" 157 lbs. I pretty much watch what I eat, but I definately should eat more greens. Also, I exercised for an hour or two at the gym today and I noticed I was actually a little hyper as I was going home, so maybe you guys are right about all that stuff after all!

-mosdef