I’m always feeling a little tired after lunch and generally find this fustrating. Not only because I have feelings of sleep but I want to impress my boss and get work done.

Stumbling through Google as I do, I found a brilliant article written by Phyllis Korkki from the International Herald Tribune (IHT). Phyllis explains why you feel tired after lunch, how you can prevent it and ways of becoming just that bit more proactive.

Feeling tired after lunch or commonly known as “post-lunch dip” is a result from a few factors. The first being, you guessed it, food. Food is a natural drowsiness as our body needs energy to digest it. The more food you put in, the more energy you will need. Secondly, the body is in a natural rhythm to regain energy at this time, this is known as “circadian rhythm”. And finally, our physiological cycle, known as homeostatic, which measures how long you’ve been awake and how much more you can push.

It’s very interesting to read from my point of view, especially typing in post-lunch dip as it explains why productivity is so low after lunch and of course, not to mention its half way through the day!

Phyllis also speaks about why certain people need longer periods of sleep and simply give into their bodies. People have been known to find a place in their office or car to have a nice quiet nap because they can’t resist the urge of sleep. This isn’t always caused by lack of sleep, just the need of it. Factors like growing, stress, over eating and pain are big contributers and many to this day still don’t see this.

Last night, reading my daily mX (Train Newspaper) on the train, I discovered a survey they performed with over 10,000 people. Many stating 4:33PM was their worst time to feel creative and productive. Why this exact time is unknown, it does makes sense – 30 minutes before work is over (for most) and you don’t really want to start something and not finish it. So – is it best to wait it out? Not from my experience, it’s better you continue working on something or start a new and work a bit over, to make up for lost time. There is no point in fighting your mind on natural behaviours like this, you will surely lose.

44% of that 10,000 also stated they felt having a shower helped boost their creativity, allowing them to think clearly. In my younger years, I always wondered why my Dad always had continuous showers and why I to also had a large amount, now, I have a much better understanding…

I’m going to put up a poll with different questions on what helps your creativity, if showers help, taking a walk or simply zoning out in utter silence. This will be interesting.

I would recommend Phyllis Korkki’s article as it’s truly a tremendous read. You can view it here.

“Your mind is a vessel, treat it right and it will take you where ever you want to go.”
- Andrew Knight