No matter how much effort you put into getting enough sleep every night, there are going to be days when you wake up exhausted. You’ll still have to survive the work day, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. Here’s how you can get through your day and actually be productive, too.
Before we get started, let’s get one thing straight: this isn’t going to be a cakewalk. When you’re really tired, working is tough no matter what you do. that said, there are ways to help make the day easier and actually get things done. You’re not going to feel bright and cheery, but you can avoid turning into a zombie. We’ve looked at quick fixes for feeling tired, but in this post we’re going to examine what you can do to help yourself during the entire day. Essentially, your goal will be to give yourself extra energy and avoid behaviors that will make your exhaustion worse. With a little bit of effort you’ll be able to avoid passing out.
Be Diligent About What (and How Much) You Eat and drink
When you’re tired, food is a difficult affair. You need to eat enough to provide your body with the energy it needs to get through the day, but you also need to be sure you don’t overeat or you can end up feeling worse. Exhaustion makes somewhat harder to tell when it’s time to stop eating. Rather than waiting for your stomach to give you the signal that you’re full, pay attention to the food you put on your plate. Only take as much as you’re going to need to eat and nothing more. Eat that, and drink plenty of water. If you end up getting dehydrated during the day you’ll worsen your situation as well.
When you’re choosing what to eat, you’ll want to start out with a healthy breakfast. The food that starts your day can have a big impact on the rest of it. Avoid sugary foods—which you should do all day anyhow—and stick to things like eggs and whole grains. Focusing on proteins and fiber, rather than carbohydrates, will serve you better. Basically, your goal is to eat how you’d probably eat if you were opting for a healthier diet. That doesn’t mean you can’t have carbohydrates, anything with sugar, and so on, but that your focus should be on healthier food that will provide your body with easy energy. Aim for a balance and it’ll make it easier to get through the day.
Perform a Few Quick and Simple Exercises to Get Your Blood Flowing
Not all exercise will wake you up. Some will wear you out and expend the energy you need to keep going. But doing small amounts of specific exercises during the day can help keep your blood flowing and help you stay alert when you’re tired. The easiest option is pushups. Just do three sets of as many pushups with 30 second breaks in between. Do as many as you can in each set. This shouldn’t take you more than five minutes, you shouldn’t sweat too much in the process, and it’ll wake you up. If pushups aren’t your thing, however, check out this simple core routine instead.
Work Standing Up
We all know that sitting down all day is bad for us, but standing up isn’t an exciting prospect for most people. You’re probably used to working in chair because it’s more comfortable. When you’re tired, you don’t necessarily want to be comfortable—you just don’t want to fall asleep. This is another good excuse to work in a standing position. You may not have the desk for it, but generally there’s a way you can shift your workspace so that you can keep your monitor and keyboard at standing height. You’ll have a much harder time falling asleep on your feet, rather than your butt, so find a place to stand and work that way for the day. It might feel too uncomfortable at first, as you’re already tired, but after a little while you should adjust all the same.
Use Caffeine Intelligently (if Necessary)
Caffeine is what most people use to stay awake when they’re tired, but overuse can lead to problems like headaches. If you’re a frequent coffee drinker, or you consumer caffeine regularly, this section isn’t going to help you. Caffeine is only really a useful tool if you use it sparingly and intelligently. If you’re not a regular consumer, starting your day off with a reasonable amount of the stuff (around 65-100mg) can help prevent you from feeling more and more tired as the day goes on. This is because your active brain is constantly producing adenosine as a byproduct of its activity. When your adenosine levels are high enough, your brain knows it’s time to get some rest. Caffeine can, essentially, impersonate adenosine and bond with its receptors, putting off your brain’s job of letting you know it’s time to sleep. This works perfectly well if you’re not a constant consumer of caffeine, but won’t do so much for you if your body expects it. The important thing to remember is to avoid caffeine in the later hours of the day, as you are going to want to sleep eventually. So long as you utilize the stuff before 2:00 PM, and not after, it can help.
Plan a Well-Timed Power nap
Just because you’re at work doesn’t mean you can’t find a little time to sleep. Hopefully your boss is understanding enough to let you escape for 20 minutes to take a quick nap, but even if not you can still fit one in. Napping at the wrong time of day can throw off your circadian rhythms, but if you keep that nap to 20 minutes and take it between 1:00 and 3:00 PM you can actually boost your cognitive ability without screwing with your sleep schedule. Presumably you have a lunch break, so go take a 20 minute nap in your car (or somewhere more comfortable if you’ve got it) and take your lunch back to your desk. You can eat it there feeling a little less exhausted.
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