Beat the Afternoon Slump: 5 Easy Ways to Boost Your Energy

It’s 3pm: you’re struggling to stifle those yawns, you cannot keep your eyes open or focus. The thought of doing errands after work, or (gasp!) hitting the gym, makes you want to cry.

What if I told you that this phenomenon that so many of us experience daily is avoidable?

It is possible, and easy, to have balanced energy, everyday.

The circadian rhythm is our body’s ‘master internal clock’. It dictates many of our biological processes, including metabolism, appetite, hormone production and whether we feel tired or awake. And a slight dip in energy in the afternoon is a normal part of this rhythm, but a crash that impacts our motivation, focus and productivity is avoidable. Here’s how:

1.      Get sunlight

2.      Hydrate

3.      Balance your blood sugar by eating protein, fat and fiber at every meal, including breakfast & lunch

4.      Get movement in daily

5.      Get adequate, quality, sleep

Want to know how these things impact your energy? Keep reading.

1. Get sunlight

Especially in the morning. It tells our body to wake up by suppressing melatonin (a hormone that makes us sleepy) and stimulates cortisol production. Cortisol activates and energizes our body, and it is important to have balanced amounts of this hormone. By exposing our eyes to sunlight in the morning, it helps to regulate our internal clock, which ensures we’ll be more ready to fall and stay asleep when it’s time for bed. And even on a cloudy day, the sunlight can still work this magic. Set aside 20-40 minutes for a walk outdoors in the morning or sip your coffee on the porch. And if that crash does hit, step outside for a few minutes. Or you can invest in a light therapy lamp.

2. Hydrate

Did you know that when we are dehydrated, both our short-term and long-term memory functions are impaired? Our brain needs water to function optimally, stay alert and be energized. And when you feel thirsty, it’s actually a sign of mild dehydration. Dehydration can be the sole cause of your exhaustion. Other symptoms include headaches, constipation, high blood pressure, and it can also resemble hunger, causing you to reach for that bag of chips or package of cookies. I recommend drinking water throughout the day before you even feel thirsty. Have a big glass of lemon water before you leave your house and try to get in at least 1-2 glasses between your meals. If you find plain water boring, throw some sliced citrus fruit, cucumber or berries in your glass.

3. Balance your blood sugar by eating protein, fat and fiber at every meal, including breakfast & lunch

A lot of women don’t eat enough. And we tend to under eat protein, fat and fiber in particular. Which means we’re overeating simple carbohydrates or not balancing them appropriately.

When we eat carbohydrates, our bodies break them down into glucose (sugar) molecules which pass into our bloodstreams (creating our blood sugar). Our bodies attempt to regulate our blood sugar by releasing insulin which shuttles the glucose out of the blood and into our cells, where they are used for energy or storage.

Not all carbs are created equal. Simple carbs like baked goods, fruit juice and cereal cause a significant blood sugar spike. And all carbs can create a surge in blood sugar if they’re not balanced by fat, fiber and protein. When this happens, insulin can remove too much glucose from our blood and the result is a blood sugar crash. What does this feel like? Difficulty concentrating, fatigue, anxiety, headaches, irritability, and hunger (even if you just ate). So, when we eat stripped-carbohydrates and sugar at breakfast or lunch, we feel exhausted later that day. And we crave more sugar and carbs, which starts the cycle all over again – blood sugar spike then subsequent crash. This process not only impacts how we feel, but it causes our body to store more fat which makes weight loss difficult.

How to avoid this? Limit your simple carbs and eat protein, fat and fiber at every meal. Start with at least a few bites of protein before you start eating the other stuff on your plate. And eat enough to sustain your energy.

Check that your meal includes the following things & use your hand as a guide for portions:

• Protein like fish, poultry, beef or eggs, add a palm-sized serving (or larger) 

• Healthy fat like avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut or extra virgin olive oil, add a thumb-sized serving (or more)

• Carbohydrate-dense foods like sweet potatoes, rice, oats or fruit, keep to a cupped-hand-sized serving

• Low-starch veggies like broccoli, zucchini or spinach, add at least 1-2 fist-sized portions (the only limit here is your digestive system!)

And watch out for hidden sugar. Always check the nutrition label on the foods you buy. Here are some common culprits to the afternoon slump:

• Juice: With the fiber removed from fruit, fruit juice’s fructose (a sugar) is absorbed more quickly which spikes blood sugar.

• Beverages, condiments, and processed foods - Did you know there are 56 common names for sugar? Here are typical ones you’ll see on ingredient labels:

• Any syrup, sucrose, molasses, caramel, fruit juice concentrate, honey, barley malt, dextrin, dextrose, maltol, glucose, lactose, maltodextrin, maltose, agave nectar

• Yogurt: Choose a yogurt that only has milk, the bacterial cultures used to turn it into yogurt and nothing else. Add your own fruit and seasonings.

• Fat-free foods: Companies often use sugar to replace the flavor that is lost when fat is removed.

4.  Get movement in daily

Exercise gives us a boost of dopamine and endorphins, both of which significantly lift our mood. Plus, exercise saturates our brain with oxygen, improving our memory, concentration, and focus. It also helps us get a better night’s sleep and research has shown that those who engage in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise spread over the course of a week significantly reduce their symptoms of insomnia.

On the flip side, sitting for too long slows our metabolism and reduces our sensitivity to insulin. This means our bodies are more likely to produce an excessive amount of insulin in response to carbs, yet our cells still won’t get the energy they need from the sugar we consume. The result is low energy and weight gain. This applies even if you workout for an hour everyday but sit the rest of the day, or if you’re a weekend warrior and run for hours but then sit all week.

I am not suggesting you start hitting the gym multiple times a day, rather try to incorporate more natural movement into your day. Here are some easy ways to boost your energy with more movement:

• Stand - One of the easiest ways to get more energy is to stand! Standing engages muscles that boost your metabolism. Try to stand for 50% of your day. Standing desks are wonderful for this. If you can’t get a stand-up desk, incorporate standing breaks in your day; this can be while you’re on a call, in a Zoom meeting or by walking to a co-worker’s office rather than messaging them on Teams.

• Walk – If you can go for a walk for just 10 minutes, you’ll lower your post-meal blood sugar and insulin, plus give your metabolism a boost, help your digestion and make you feel more energetic. Other ways to walk more? Take up a hobby like gardening, golfing, cooking or dancing. Take the stairs. Snag the parking spot farthest from the door. Walk or bike or work.

• Habit stack – Excited to spend an hour bingeing on Real Housewives? Before you do, make a deal with yourself that you’ll do 20 air squats before you sit on the couch & dive in. Do this every time before you watch your favourite show.

• Lift weights – Lifting heavy increases the production of many hormones, including IGF-1, which enhances cognitive function. Weightlifting also improves posture, bone density and sleep. It lowers inflammation, protects against chronic disease, makes us age more gracefully, and boosts our metabolism amongst other benefits. Lifting weights builds muscle, and muscle is an active tissue, so it burns more energy at rest compared to fat, meaning it increases your metabolism significantly, helping with weight loss and maintenance. I’m a 5’1” female who loves to eat. I naturally need fewer calories than someone who is 6’ tall. I don’t know about you, but even if lifting weights didn’t have any other benefits, I would choose to have more muscle on my body simply for the benefit of being able to eat more delicious food while maintaining my weight! In addition to this, strength training and muscle burn through glucose, helping to regulate blood sugar and insulin. So, if you love carbs, lift weights! You’ll be able to eat more carbohydrates without a negative impact on your health & weight. Aim for 3-5 times a week to get the most benefit.

 2.   Get adequate, quality, sleep.

Most of us do not get enough sleep. Ideally, get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to support your next day’s energy levels. To get quality sleep, avoid screens at least 1 hour before bed (if not longer). If you cannot turn off your laptop, phone or tv, wear good quality blue blocking glasses. I love my BluBlox glasses and notice a HUGE difference if I skip wearing them before bed. Make your room pitch black. I use a combination of duct tape & strategically placed scarves to cover all my lights (the alarm, humidifier etc). Remove electronics from your room, including your phone. If you cannot leave your phone in another room, put it on airplane mode. Buy blackout curtains. I’m writing this in 2021 and Ikea has some greats ones that are super affordable this year. And try to get to bed by 10pm to support your circadian rhythm, which is important for sleep quality, metabolism and energy.  Once you get one night of real-quality sleep by doing these things, you will thank me. It’s a game changer for sustained energy throughout your day.

 These are the things I do to have enough energy to get through my day, and they work for me. If you try them out, I’d love to hear from you! Reach out via my Contact page, social or at revelandglownutrition@gmail.com.