FIGHTING AFTERNOON FATIGUE
Just twenty, Sarah is in the prime of her life. A Communication’s major at University, she has boundless energy. She loves sports, is vitally involved in several student associations and readily embraces all interesting projects.
Having been a ‘teacher’s pet’ her whole life, Sarah does everything she can to maintain this status. She admits to being a people pleaser, and a perfectionist, and feels it is her job in life to make everyone around her happy.
To accomplish all this and not waste time means that Sarah must schedule her life with meticulous detail. Up early, she does five miles with her running team before dawn, hits classes all morning, does homework in the library all afternoon, works on the student newspaper over an evening sandwich, then hits the gym for another workout before reading textbooks, and finally bed. This jam-packed but well-oiled rhythm of life gives her a feeling of accomplishment, and she would even claim that it gives her balance.
The only downside in this ‘near-perfect schedule’ is her compulsory “Communication and Public Relations” class held every Tuesday at 2pm. For some crazy reason, Sarah can’t stay awake for longer than ten minutes at a time. Concentrating as hard as she can, she still ends up with her head bobbing until it falls forward. Sound asleep, a trickle of drool runs down her chin.
It’s bad enough when the guffaws of her classmates wake her up, but the worst part of this humiliation is that the professor, the one she tried so hard to impress to be chosen to be part of his research group, now no longer meets her eyes.
Once awake again, Sarah activates an iron will, using every trick she knows. She sits ramrod straight, stretches her fingers open and closed. Digs nails into her palm. Rapidly blinks her eyes in rather strange patterns. Cracks her fingers and her neck, which disturbs some of her seatmates, but it does the trick. She’s back!
Three minutes pass. Her eyelids grow heavy. Three more minutes, her body slumps. Three more minutes and she’s out– cold!
Fatigue in the afternoon: Where does it come from?
There is an old saying,
“He who sleeps, forgets his hunger, but he who eats will fall into sleep.”
People commonly complain of fatigue after waking in the morning. They often perk up that feeling of exhaustion with coffee. They will tell you, “I can’t even think before I have a cup of coffee. I need coffee to get going.”
A lesser-known issue of fatigue, but one just as common, is a post-dinner fatigue.
And of course, many of us have fallen asleep in the middle of an afternoon class or have nodded off during an important meeting around three in the afternoon.
There is a reason for this issue, and there are excellent solutions. Knowing the reason, the issues and learning what your body needs, can prevent you from losing face the next time you know you might nod off during your boss’s long afternoon presentation!
The afternoon fatigue problem is often similar in origins to the morning moodiness issue. They both can originate from an imbalance in the digestive system.
Findings on afternoon fatigue:
It is not likely that Sarah’s class is boring to the point of putting her to sleep. Not able to stay awake, despite best intentions, points to other factors operating in one’s body. It may simply be related to poor management of meals and or snacks.
One easy rule to follow is to avoid carbohydrates at noon. Instead choose proteins and vegetables. For most people it is also advisable to add a mid-afternoon snack.
Small changes can make a huge difference.
Learn about your body and how it speaks to you about what you need in the First level of ANDA courses. When you learn the universal Language of the Body, this will help you and your loved ones to optimize your chance to live a better, healthier and more vital life.