If you measured everyone’s productivity in your workplace, do you think you would see a slump in the mid-afternoon, between 2:00pm and 4:00pm? The post-lunch dip is a real thing and it is natural for people to want to sleep about seven hours after they have been awake, as the body’s temperature decreases and alertness declines. Factor in the effects of food, which can also induce drowsiness and sitting at a desk for extended periods. It is no wonder that people find themselves yawning and reaching for a caffeine fix or sugary pick me up.
As an employer what can you do to help employees that experience this post-lunch dip?
Experts suggest a short nap
One suggestion from experts is to take a 10 to 20-minute nap, this is apparently the optimum time to restore energy, as longer naps can leave you feeling drowsier. When you wake from a nap, drink some water and do some quick stretching or jumping jacks to help you wake up.
Of course, it may not be possible to offer employees a place to take a nap! So here are some of our suggestions:
Food
Offer your staff information about eating and drinking that can help them. For example, overeating and eating carb rich foods at lunch time can really add to the dip. Reaching for a sugar fix will only give us a short burst of energy leaving us feeling tired again shortly afterwards.
Instead foods with protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates will help to maintain energy levels for much longer periods. Perhaps you could make available in the workplace snacks to help, such as almonds, apples, oranges and blueberries. For those with a sweet tooth dark chocolate is a smarter choice. Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water or try drinking green tea and black tea which are good for boosting energy.
Book a meeting
Many of us book meetings in the morning but taking people away from their usual work space during the post-lunch dip can help to keep them focused. Could this be the optimum time to schedule in one-to-one catch ups or a team meeting?
Work tasks
People should perform more routine tasks during the dip. Encourage employees to organise their paperwork or sort emails during a dip rather than taking on projects and tasks requiring a higher level of mental alertness and accuracy.
Keep active
For workers that are sat for extended periods it can cause boredom and drowsiness. Encourage employees to take a walk, either a short walk outside or within the workplace. Whether it’s to make a drink or rather than emailing a colleague take a walk to their desk it can be beneficial and help to stay alert. Stand up for a few minutes, they could even try doing a few simple stretches at their work station.
When we are busy it is easy to skip lunch or grab some food at our desk. Encourage people to leave their desks or place of work at lunchtime, even just for a short time, as this will help to re-energise and refocus them on their work tasks.
Additional clothing
When people’s internal temperature drops they tend to feel drowsy, so suggest people have a spare jumper or cardigan at work.
Workspaces
Natural sunlight can really help with limiting drowsiness. If people are not by a window, then keep workplaces brightly lit.
Listening to music can be very motivating and can help some people to focus, suggest staff bring in headphones to listen to music.