How to Beat the Afternoon Slump #1: Head outside

If you're like many people, shortly after lunch your head begins buzzing, your concentration plummets, your eyes droop and the top of your desk begins to look as cozy as a feather mattress. There are many possible reasons for the midday slump: your morning surge of hormones has dwindled down; some degree of boredom has set in. Or it may have something to do with what you ate (or didn't eat); all meals divert blood from your brain to your gut, but some foods will also boost your levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin.

No matter what the cause, this week we are featuring ways to help you avoid the afternoon slump. Follow these tips to stay energized and focused when facing the all-too-common afternoon crash.

How to Beat the Afternoon Slump #1: Head outside

Heading outside and sitting in the daylight for just 10 minutes can do wonders during your busy day indoors. Your office probably has about 500 luxes of light, which is equal to about 500 candles. That compares with the 10,000 luxes of light, which at sunrise and 100,000 at noon on a day in July. So when the afternoon doldrums hit, go outside and sit in the sunlight. It will help reset your chronological clock, keep down the amount of melatonin (the sleep hormone) your body produces during this circadian dip and give you a valuable boost of beneficial vitamin D, reducing your risk of osteoporosis and various cancers.

You can choose to eat your lunch outside or, better yet, take a 10-minute walk. When American researchers compared study participants who ate a chocolate bar or who walked briskly for 10 minutes, they found the chocolate bar subjects felt more tense in the hour afterwards, while those who walked not only had higher energy levels for 1-2 hours afterwards, but also reduced their tension.

Are you able to get outside throughout the work day? Do you notice a difference on the days you take a break versus the days that you are stuck inside all day?