The Afternoon Slump

Why you feel so sleepy and tired at work or home in the afternoon, what is the ideal amount of nap time and how organizations are incentivizing napping

Do you relate to this picture? If the answer is yes then read on to know why it is happening and what you can possibly do to avoid it

After a nice meal with colleagues you get back to your desk and are battling to keep your eyes wide open. Well, my friend, you are suffering from what is known as an “afternoon slump”. 

A typical lunch meal is predominantly made up of carbohydrates. It often consists of a vegetable or curry along with some a roti and rice. This is the perfect cocktail for a glucose spike and crash. 

Glucose Spikes and Crashes 

Eating carbohydrates beyond their required capacity could lead to what is known as a glucose spike subsequently followed by a glucose crash. 

What is a glucose spike? 

When blood glucose levels rise beyond the upper limit range, glucose spikes can occur. 

Glucose spikes beyond 120 mg/dl can cause hyperglycemic events in the body. These glucose spikes cause feelings of tiredness and lethargy and lowered cognitive functioning. Elevated blood glucose levels lead to an event called Hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia in the long term can elevate the risk of disease such as strokes, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases

There are several ways you can avoid glucose spikes:

1. Eat foods with low GI to ensure that your glucose levels do not spike beyond recommended levels, but remember to eat in moderation

2. Go for a short walk after every meal to stabilize glucose levels 

3. Maintain lower levels of stress

4. Ensure that you are doing regular exercise 

5. Get adequate sleep to ensure stable response to glucose 

What is a glucose crash? 

A drop in blood glucose levels in the body below recommended levels can lead to an event called hypoglycemia. During such an episode, there is excess production of insulin in the body, causing the cells to absorb more blood glucose than is required to maintain the optimal level. It is marked by a blood glucose level below 70 mg/dl. Some symptoms include tiredness, shakiness, anxiety, sweating, hunger, irritability, fast heartbeat, pale skin, hunger etc.

You are providing your body more glucose than it requires hence you feel a sense of sluggishness as your body tries to compensate for the glucose spike and crash.

Eating an adequate amount of good quality proteins and fats with adequate fiber is an easy way to feel satiated and smoothen out the response that you may get by binging on a carb heavy meal and doing so you will not even feel the need to binge on those additional carbs. This is a technique that works wonderfully for me. 

That being said, even a protein and fat dominated meal which is very heavy can cause feelings of tiredness as the body will have to work longer to digest the meal. A heavy meal can lead to what is known as a ‘food coma’ or in scientific terminology- ‘postprandial somnolence’

Studies have also shown that the average time that working individuals feel sleepy is during the 2-5 PM period due to the circadian rhythms of wakefulness, therefore it is important to optimize for the afternoon.

Let me show you two illustrations depicting the effect on my blood sugar level caused by a high protein low carb meal (Pic 1) and a high carb low protein meal (Pic 2).

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 1 shows a stable response because I kept the amount of glucose through the intake of carbohydrates I needed at a minimum. I also ensured that I walked post the meal to ensure that my blood glucose maintained a stable level. 

Pic 2 shows an elevated response because I ate more carbohydrates than required and went straight back on the office chair without the post meal walk. This led to my glucose level remaining elevated and me being sluggish, thereby affecting my cognitive ability and me fighting a battle to keep my eyes open. 

Caffeine Crash 

How many of us drink tea or coffee the second our eyes open, before drinking any water? 

Well, this too causes certain issues. 

The optimal time to drink your morning coffee is 60+ minutes after waking.

When you wake up, your body releases cortisol (stress hormone) to enhance focus.

Your cortisol levels peak around 45 minutes after waking and decline throughout the day.

Andrew Huberman, a renowned professor of neurology and ophthalmology recommends waiting 90 to 120 minutes before your first cup of coffee!

By doing this, you are able to ward off late afternoon crashes and allow for cortisol to follow its regular pattern.

Adenosine builds up during the day and peaks towards the night, thereby inducing sleep. This cycle begins in the morning again, when adenosine starts from zero. Caffeine has the effect of blocking the adenosine. Once the effect of caffeine wears off, adenosine comes swooping into your brain, thereby causing what’s known as a caffeine crash which causes a sudden rush of tiredness.

Dehydration 

When you’re dehydrated, your body loses fluids and electrolytes and finds it difficult to replace these nutrients. This can result in fatigue, reduced short-term memory, headaches, and poor concentration.

Sleep

And of course something that I don’t need to say, but I'll say it anyway. Get your regular hours of SLEEP, go to bed at the same time and wake up around the same time to align your circadian rhythm.

Ways To Avoid the Afternoon Slump 

Consequent to what is stated above, the following are ways to avoid your afternoon slump concisely stated: 

• Eat more protein and less carbs at lunchtime. It will help to keep you satiated and to avoid glucose fluctuation. For someone too overwhelmed to reduce carbs, here is a simple way: reduce 3 chapatis to 2 chapatis; reduce a handful of rice to half a handful of rice and so on till you eliminate the carbs or keep them at minimal levels. Simultaneously increase the proportion of dal, chicken, paneer, soya or whatever protein that you consume at lunch. Take it slowly step by step. I tend to go zero carb at lunchtime.

• Go for a 10-15 minute walk after a meal - whether you are at home or at work - to help regulate the glucose efficiently 

• Drink 2 liters of water a day and keep at least a 20-minute gap post a meal before washing it down with water 

• Avoiding overconsumption of caffeine 

• SLEEP well at night

• Work on reducing your stress levels. To do this, you have to work on numerous factors collectively to reduce your overall stress level. For a quick breather try the psychological sigh

Benefits of Naps 

I have highlighted ways to avoid the afternoon slump at work. Now I will turn to a distinct but cognate topic and tell you the benefits of naps and what companies are doing to help with this cause. Napping itself has multiple benefits so if you do have the time to do so, it is recommended. In this section I would also like to highlight the initiatives taken by companies across the globe to incentivize napping. 

Napping offers various benefits for healthy adults, including:

• Relaxation

• Reduced fatigue

• Increased alertness

• Improved mood

• Improved performance, including quicker reaction time and better memory

Naps have also been shown to improve memory consolidation. Studies have also shown how naps can lead to improved learning and improved immunity.

Now if napping has so many added benefits, why not nap everyday? 

Well here is the caveat. 

Ideal amount of nap time? 

You may have heard that 15-20 minutes of napping is the best way to get recharged. Ever wondered why this particular number? 

Sometimes when we take that afternoon slumber we wake up feeling groggy and even more tired than before we slept. This occurrence is called sleep inertia, which means your brain wants to continue sleeping and complete its sleep cycle. Typically 30 minutes into your sleep, your body goes into the deepest form of NREM or Non Rapid Eye Movement Sleep, NREM Stage 3.

Here is the progression of various of sleep: 

1. 5-10 Minutes- Non REM Stage 1 

2. 10-20 Minutes- Non REM Stage 2 

3. 30 Minutes- Non REM Stage 3 

During this period of NREM Stage 3 sleep, your muscles relax, your blood pressure and breathing slows down and your brain starts to go into a state where slow brain waves take over. While deep stage NREM Stage 3 sleep is crucial because this is the part of sleep which is responsible for memory consolidation in our brains, it is also the part of sleep where your brain goes into the dreaming stage.

Now notice how sometimes you feel groggy and even more tired when you wake up from that 30 minute nap than before you took the nap. This is due to the process happening above, your brain is in the dream stage and snapping out of it could lead you to feeling tired and groggy. This happens towards the last leg of our night sleep as well. 

Unless you are a sleep tracking maniac like me and know exactly when to wake up, the option is to sleep for 15-20 minutes or do the entire cycle of 90-120 minutes of sleep where you go past the dreaming stage and can complete the entire sleep cycle without waking up feeling groggy or tired. 

In case you have had a poor night of sleep the previous night, it is recommended to take that nap in the afternoon to feel recharged again, however napping for too long in the afternoon close to bedtime can hamper the quality of your deep sleep at night time. This is an exception if you are one of those lucky individuals who can get deep sleep on demand. 

Over the last few months I have been tracking my sleep and napping data through the Oura Ring like the data junkie that I am

The Global Napping Landscape 

Here is a cool picture of normalizing napping at work, that I came across on Twitter 

Aashi @aashi__02

Normalise naps at work.

In Japan napping during afternoon hours is referred  to as “inemuri” or “sleeping whilst present” and is commonly attributed to a sense of hard work, thereby requiring the person to take a nap. 

Spain also has a tradition of afternoon siestas. However, due to business laws that came into effect in 2016 which reduced the number of hours required by employees to put in at work, these naps are coming under threat but more time is getting freed up for a good night’s sleep.

The Italians have what is called “riposo” which takes place after lunch, however this is also coming under threat due to new laws. 

Nordic countries have arguably the most unique afternoon sleep schedules. 

When you walk through Norwegian cities like Helsinki, Oslo or any other Nordic town, Denmark or Finland you may find infants sleeping in -5 C temperature, which is considered good for their health. In Denmark the weather can go as low as -37 C and -16 C in Finland/ Mothers often put their babies to sleep in the open as they are exposed to less germs and high quality air. 

Studies have also been conducted with Finnish babies on this and how mainly positive experiences were seen through this practice. There are also risks. If one leaves a baby sleeping for too long, it may develop hypothermia or even worse, stop breathing. Mothers put video cameras for constant monitoring to see how the babies are sleeping. 

This practice caught the attention of the world when Danish musician Amalie Bruun posted a picture on Instagram with her 4-month-old son, stating that she leaves her baby to sleep in the outdoors most often

myrkurmyrkur

A post shared by ᛗYᚱᛕVᚱ (@myrkurmyrkur)

In Nordic culture, children are encouraged to be in the great outdoors for as long as possible. Parents there often state that “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing” 

There was a case back in 1977 when Nordic culture clashed with US culture. This happened when Annet Sorensen was arrested and put in jail for 36 hours for leaving her baby out in the open for a nap.

People in Mediterranean countries regularly nap in the afternoons and a study has shown correlation with heart health and higher longevity.

I covered the innovations that global companies and leaders are doing to incentivize sleep in an earlier article. Here are two such examples

USA Silicon Valley 

Uber

Uber has dedicated nap rooms in its San Francisco headquarters. On days when the workload is at maximum levels, these rooms serve as a means for employees to rest and recover, and thereby become more productive in their work.

Google

Google is one of the companies known to provide a multitude of perks to its employees and one of them is freestanding nap pods in their Mountain View headquarters in California.

Conclusion

Avoiding slumps during the day is something that is definitely under our control which we can work towards and that can be achieved by optimizing your diet, ensuring you getting adequate sleep, regularly including activity in your lifestyle and taking less stress. Companies are also optimizing the work place to alleviate this cause and those not doing so can take tips from this newsletter :)