Post-Lunch Laziness? Simple Habits To Get Energized!

Have you ever felt the post-lunch laziness destroying your office afternoons?! If yes, then this article is for you! In the article, we will talk about why do we feel lethargic after lunch and habits we can inculcate to avoid such sleepiness. So let’s get started!

Why do we feel sleepy after lunch?

Who doesn’t love a hearty lunch, right?! But when you have an important meeting just post-lunch, you don’t wanna be sleepy, groggy, and yawning during your presentation! Keeping energy levels high post-lunch is a challenge we all face. Well, fikar not! We have found some habits which will not only eliminate the sleepiness but also keep you up and running throughout the day!

But before getting to know the solution, it’s necessary to know the cause. Let’s dive into some old school biology to understand why exactly do we feel sleepy after lunch!

So here’s the real deal. When we eat food, blood flow in our stomach and intestines increases for digestion. When this happens, our body decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain as it’s focusing on digestion. Consequently, this reduced supply of oxygen makes you feel sleepy after eating. Simple ain’t it?! Well, there’s more to it!

Prevention is better than cure. The best way to avoid sleepiness and lethargy is to eat right. There are certain foods that induce lethargy and others that will boost your energy but not make you lethargic.

What should you eat to avoid post-lunch laziness?

The most important part is to avoid foods that contain the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan. Foods containing it can be an excellent dinner option as it will give you proper rest and a good night’s sleep. But for lunch, let’s skip them! Here’s a list of common foods you might be having in your lunch that results in laziness and drowsiness:

• Milk
• Meat: pork, chicken, beef
• Fish: tuna, mackerel, salmon, halibut, trout
• Cheese: Parmesan, Emmental, Edam, Brie, Camembert
• Cereal products: oats, products with spelt flour/millet/(buck)wheat
• Nuts: hazelnuts, cashews, walnut

With all these out, you can always have a healthy and filling salad along with soups. Vegetable quinoa is also a great tiffin option! Also, try switching from wheat Rotis to multigrain rotis. They’re light on the stomach and so will keep you energized. Furthermore, they’ll also help in weight loss, if you’ve some extra kilos to shed!

Habits To Energize You After A Lazy Lunch

All things said, we all love a good delicious lunch, don’t we?! So here are some habits that can help you overcome the post lunch laziness!

1) Breakfast is the key

A good, carb-filled breakfast will help you get through the lunch without overeating. A heavy breakfast not only ensures a slow release of energy which will keep you energized through the first half of the day but also keep you full which means, you don’t overeat your lunch! And it ultimately leads to less laziness!

Avoid eating Carb filled, heavy lunches. This might make you feel sleepy, groggy, and lazy. We would rather suggest that you eat a good breakfast like aloo paratha, cheela or even the classic bread and omelet! Furthermore, stick to a medium-light lunch to maintain the energy levels. Try to include foods like chicken, paneer, salads, nuts, and even some juices in your lunch plan. You’ll surely notice the changes within a week!

2) Walk the post-lunch laziness out!

if you think about it, Exercise is actually the easiest and the most obvious answer to the universal problem of laziness! Lunchtime generally marks the half-time of our day. Our body is undoubtedly worked up and tired. But time and tide wait for none! So the easiest thing you can do to wake your body from this lazy slumber is, exercise!

we aren’t asking you to run a half marathon in your lunch break! All we’re suggesting is that you wake up from that chair and take a stroll! take the stairs, office ke bahar ka nazaara Dekho, chill and unwind a little and come back up! This will not only give you a change of scenery but also boost up your metabolism. A brisk walk will help boost up the oxygen levels in your blood. Also, it will enhance the alertness and leave you feeling as fresh as a daisy!

So get up, walk and get rid of that post lunch laziness!

3) Hydrate that body!

A well known fact: 70% of our body is made up of water.

So the question then is, do we drink enough water? Most probably not. water not only helps our skin keep glowing and healthy, but also improves our digestion and flushes the toxins out. But here’s a fun fact! What if we tell you that a task as simple as drinking water can help you get rid of your post-lunch laziness?! Yes, that’s right! Read on to know more about the science behind it!

A Journal of Nutrition study found that being dehydrated can cause fatigue, low mood, and difficulty in concentrating. We recommend starting your day with a BIG glass of water. This will rehydrate your body after your night’s sleep. Furthermore, you can have some juice or even coconut water as a part of your breakfast or evening snack. Also, continue drinking water at regular intervals as it helps maintain the energy levels. 3-5 liters of water per day should be your goal. Water alarm apps can help you reach these goals ( in case you’re as forgetful as me!).

So hydrate your body with some fluid that will help retain the post lunch slump!

4) Time the coffee breaks!

Everyone craves for that Shaam ki chai aur coffee…don’t we?! Well here’s the real deal. Drinking coffee and tea isn’t bad. Having a cup of coffee helps in boosting the adrenaline and thus gives you the boost of energy that helps you get through the rest of the day. But over drinking these drinks surely is! An excess of caffeine in your body may make you feel tired and groggy instead of energized.

Not only this, but It takes most people three to five hours to get rid of half the caffeine they consume. So time your coffee breaks accordingly. we would highly recommend you to have your drink soon after lunch and not wait long. This ensures enough time for your body to flush out the caffeine and thereby ensuring a good night’s sleep!

5) Sleepout the post-lunch laziness with a nap!

I know, it may sound lame! But sometimes a small nap is all your body needs to re-energize and focus. You might have hydrated yourself, eaten the right foods, got a good night’s sleep. But sometimes, stress and workload can get the better of you. In such cases, it’s best to give yourself a break!

Not everyone has this luxury, but many offices have started providing quiet rooms for the employees to relax and rejuvenate. Take a short powernap of 10-20 mins only. This is the ideal amount of time your body needs to energize. Over-sleeping will only lead to a sluggish and dull afternoon.

There are several other tricks like chewing gum to keep your muscles working, practicing portion control, and avoiding fast foods to help fight that post-lunch laziness. Inculcating these habits in your daily routine can prove to be effective in reducing post-lunch laziness and thereby giving you a productive and energetic evening.

These were our suggestions to give you a productive afternoon. Let us know what tricks you apply in order to get through that sleepy phase! Help your fellow office worker by commenting any ideas you might have to deal with this issue!

Till then, stay healthy, eat light lunches and … Don’t get lazy!