How to avoid afternoon sleepiness

A common problem that many people have is the feeling of being tired in the afternoon. This simple problem can lead to numerous difficulties. The first being that people often grab a high calorie caffeinated beverage, or a snack, which can lead to weight gain. There are other problems in poor work performance, clouded thinking and falling asleep at inappropriate times.

There are several different reasons for this type of situation, the most common cause is a lack of a good breakfast. The analogy in traditional medicine is that the digestion can be seen like a campfire. Eating puts fuel on the fire. If the fire is too low when the fuel is added, then the fire is smothered, requiring lighter fluid (caffeine, sugar) or time to allow it to fire up again. Sugars and carbohydrates burn quickly, but provide little long term fuel. Heavier foods like proteins, burn slower but longer.

The way to look at this is that if you skip breakfast or only have a carbohydrate/ sugar breakfast (donut, toast, etc) then you run out of energy (fire gets low) before lunch. This results in not enough energy to process what you eat for lunch (low fire). Because you are hungry you will tend to overeat at lunch. Wisconsin also has a farming and northern European bias that leans toward heavy calorie lunches. The overloaded digestion forces the body to put all energy towards digesting lunch. Energy is diverted from consciousness (you get sleepy) or you develop a craving for sugar to help fuel the digestion.

The answer to afternoon sleepiness and snacking is to eat a solid breakfast that has protein and low glycemic carbohydrates (an example would be a egg and oatmeal). A good breakfast will provide enough energy to make sure there is enough energy left after a busy morning to digest lunch. If lunch is easily digested then that energy is available for the afternoon and then there is little reason for the sleepiness or the need for the afternoon snacks and beverages. By balancing out daily calories in this way, it makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.