Some cultures actually make leeway for the phenomenon and businesses will actually shut down for “siesta time”. Unfortunately, most of us have work places that are not so lenient. So what can you do to overcome the afternoon slump and keep you productivity from going down the drain? Here are a few tips that may help.

1. Don’t Overdo Lunch

Eating a big meal at lunch-break can make you feel sleepy because your body’s energy will be diverted to the task of digesting your food. We all know that drowsy feeling after a full meal and the temptation to nap can be very hard to resist.

Because of this, it is best to eat a lighter lunch and also to make sure it’s balanced. A good lunch should include at least 3 of the major food groups. This should give you the energy you need to continue your day, without weighing you down and making you feel sleepy.

2. Move It!

One way to overcome your body’s natural tendency to drift off to La-La land during the afternoon is to incorporate a little physical activity into your day. This will speed up your circulation, warm up your body  and help “fight” the processes that are making you feel drowsy. Taking a short walk around the office or even just doing some stretches at your desk can help to alleviate the grogginess.

Moving your body gets your blood flowing and helps to deliver oxygen all throughout your body and especially to your brain. When you lack oxygen, due to inactivity and improper breathing or posture, your body exhibits it by slowing down and you may even experience headaches and other signs of oxygen deficiency. Doing some light stretches or exercises can help to undo this.

3. Open Up The Blinds

The lighting in your office can also contribute to how groggy you feel in the afternoon. The afternoon slump is largely the fault of our internal clocks. Circadian rhythms dictate when we get sleepy and this allows us to get proper sleep at night. But the same internal reaction that happens at night also happens to a lesser degree during the afternoon.

There are a few things we can do to “trick” our internal clocks and one way is to get enough daylight. Opening up the blinds or changing out the old light bulbs for brighter ones can help keep you more active and awake. This will signal your body that “No, it’s not time to sleep” and eliminate eye-strain which can also lead to drowsiness.

These tips should help you to feel more active in the afternoon. But the best remedy for the afternoon slump is simply to take a nap! There is a lot of research that proves taking a short nap (no more than 20 minutes) can greatly increases productivity, so if you and a number of your co-workers feel the same, it might be worth it bring it up to your boss.

Before Fasting

Fasting is known in ancient traditions as a holy time, for cleansing the body and clearing the mind of sluggishness.  Even now it clears the mind.  Thinking of it for a mental purpose makes it much easier to fast than thinking you’re doing it to loose weight.  It makes it more like a mystical experience.

If you don’t believe me, try it for 2-3 days and see if you don’t have a surge in creativity and a sense that you are wise, confident and even a bit smarter.

Its well known that great inventors and composers often went days without eating when they were in the midst of creating their masterpieces and innovative breakthroughs.

Fasting wakes up the genius in you.

After Fasting, Lookin' Hot

To fast safely, follow these simple tips: If fasting more than 2 days, you should seek further reading on the subject.  If more that five days you ought to speak to a health professional.  Don’t just “not eat”—drink 8 oz of water every 2-3 hours, and consider drinking vegetable and diluted fruit juices (natural, no sugar).  Set aside time to collect your thoughts.  When you first try fasting pick a week end or day when there are not a lot of demands on you, when you can read, take a walk—or do some gentle exercise, sit outside in a favorite spot…think of it as a time for self-nurturing.
Provided you drink plenty of water and fresh juices, your body will flush out toxins, and after the fast you may experience relief from headaches, allergies and muscle aches and pains.

After your fast, the body will naturally not need as much food.  You body wisdom will reset your attitude about food, only desiring the actual amount you need for subsistence, rather than eating for emotional comfort or as recreation.

Some people are terrified by the fact that strokes seem to happen to healthy people with no warning, like a bolt of lightening. Often this is not the case.  There can be an pre-stroke episode called a “transient ischemic attack” (TIA).

Signs of a TIA include:

• Vision loss or blurring in one eye
• Loss of feeling or weakness in an arm, leg, or one side of the face
• Slurred Speech
• Vertigo or nausea

Studies show a TIA occurs in almost 15% of stoke cases. The TIA may go away in a day.  It may not be followed by a stroke.  But as soon as any of the above symptoms occur, seek medical help immediately. The stroke is most likely to happen within hours or 1-2 days of a TIA.

There are underlying health issues that stroke sufferers and those around them may be unaware of;  You can do something about these, to help reduce the risk of a stroke.

Following are the AMAs recommended steps for reducing chance of stroke:

• Get your blood pressure checked . If high, take steps to lower it.
• Avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs
• Quit Smoking
• Diet:  Should be low in fat
• Physical activity:  get as much as possible
• Prescribed drugs:  follow doctors directions

The worst thing is to ignore a TIA, or to ignore the 6 factors above:  You can be active in protecting yourself from stroke and other health problems.Remember, if you’ve got your health, you’ve got everything.

Summary:  Exercise is vital, you know it , I know it, the whole world knows it.  If you’ve tired over and over and fell off the wagon, read these ideas for overcoming mental blocks, and lots of other information on keeping fit and healthy

KEEP IT UP, YOU'RE DOIN' FINE

First of all is The Plan – when we fail, we have often failed to plan – a realistic plan accounts for your fitness level, what you enjoy, access to places, time of year, schedule and everything else you can think of effecting your access and time to work out.   So, write up a plan covering all contingencies.  Think of it as “Operation Great Body” and be like a military strategist—planning how to defeat the enemy—your mental hurdles—and assure a successful operation:  Your country is depending on you.

Then, listen to your body and your emotions as you exercise and afterward:  you’ll know if that type of exercise is right for you.  If you don’t enjoy it try another, you will do what you enjoy most.  And notice how your body feels, as pain is not supposed to happen.  If it does, take smaller steps and/or reduce time of work out so you won’t overtax the body.

Be ready for negative self-talk, and talk right back:  “You don’t feel like it? Too bad cause I’m doing it, and I’ll look better and feel happier afterword, I DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU!”  This is managing mental hurdles that stop your success.

How many times you’ve tired and stopped in the past doesn’t matter, because there is today, tomorrow and the rest of your life—past be damned:   There is light at the end of the weight loss tunnel.