Top 9 Tips To Avoid The Afternoon Crash And Burn

by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

I hear it all the time from my clients through the years. So many people crash and burn in the afternoon every day and you may be thinking that this happens to you too.

If this is the case, there are simple solutions and manageable action steps that you can take to turn this around and actually enjoy increased energy, improved mental clarity and balanced emotions in your afternoon.

By following the simple action steps in this book you can find this for yourself more productive in the afternoon and simply feeling alive when you would typically crash and burn.

Enjoy your new found energy and focus!

Tip One: It Starts When You Wake Up

Unfortunately most people start their day something like this. You wake up after hitting your snooze alarm several times and drag yourself out of bed, already running late because of the extra sleep you grabbed with the snooze alarm.

This leaves you short on time so you have time for a quick shower and only enough time to grab something quick to eat, or nothing at all.

As you drive to work, you stop at the local coffee shop to get yourself your morning caffeine boost and some type of muffin or breakfast sandwich.

Breakfast of champions right? Not likely….

You finally get to work and likely add a second cup of coffee to stimulate your energy and start your work day.

Does this sound like someone you know?

The problem here is that this sets you up for the crash and burn later in the day, so what can you do differently.

Let’s start with waking up.

Don’t leave yourself running late every morning because this sets you up to fail.

Set your alarm a bit earlier recognizing that you are likely to hit the snooze alarm.

I would also suggest setting a timer on your lamp next to your bed to turn on a low wattage light bulb, something like a 15 watt bulb, to turn on about five minutes before your alarm is set to go off.

This will help shift your hormones in the morning to allow you to wake with a bit more ease.

Now once you get up, the best thing you can do right away is to drink about 20 ounces of water. After all, you are sitting there dehydrated after sleeping all night.

The next thing you can do is do a very quick burst training to naturally increase your morning cortisol.

Cortisol is the hormone that will help kick start the function of your body and mind in the morning.

Think of it as your coffee without the coffee.

To do this you simply complete some type of movement to an extreme for only 30 seconds, such as jumping jacks as fast as humanly possible.

After completing this, simply walk in place casually for 60 seconds.

This completes one sequence of burst training and the good think is that this only takes two minutes and 30 seconds.

The best part though is that it completely shifts your energy to start your day and improves your daily energy pattern eventually leading to increased energy in the afternoon.

Just think of what your afternoon will be like with energy to function now.

*Please note that is you have any limitations that would not allow you utilize burst training in the morning, you should reach out to your medical doctor for clearance to do so.

Tip Two: You Need to Hydrate

I had mentioned drinking 20 ounces of water in the morning when you wake up but that does not mean you stop there.
If you want to maintain energy throughout the day you have to properly hydrate your body.

A simple rule of thumb is to drink approximately one quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight on a daily basis.

So if you weigh 150 pounds, you would drink three quarts of water daily throughout the day.

Now some people are more active than others so you may have to adjust this a bit.

A great way to gauge if your water intake is adequate is to pay attention to the color of your urine.

If your urine comes out clear, you are overly hydrated and you would likely be losing your electrolyte minerals, thus leaving you with low energy.

If your urine comes out a bright yellow or orange color, you are likely dehydrated and your energy will suffer simply due to this dehydration.

So check your urine to make sure it is has just a slight tinge of yellow to confirm that you are properly hydrated.

One side note with the color of your urine, if you are taking B vitamins you may notice an orange type color to your urine after taking these vitamins.

Tip Three: What About Breakfast  

When I had mentioned the old pattern earlier it was recognized that there was not time for breakfast at home and typically this meal was some coffee with a muffin or breakfast sandwich.

Unfortunately the caffeine sets you up for the crash and burn later in the day and the consumption of the flour based carbs in either the muffin of the flour in the bagel of English muffin on your sandwich will also put you in this negative energy pattern.

The good news that you will now be getting up a bit earlier and already have increased your energy and function because of your water and burst training, you’ll actually have time for a higher energy breakfast.

Now most people do not want to put too much time and focus on their breakfast  but there are still simply choices you can make that will begin a very health energy pattern for your day.

Here are some examples of quick and easy breakfast choices for your morning:

Quick and Easy
– Almond milk with a Prime Protein Plus chocolate or vanilla (pea protein powder) and feel free to add a small handful of blueberries
– Hardboiled egg with a celery stalk and cheese
– Any protein, veggie left over from the night before (be sure to include some fat such as half and avocado)
– Veggies and nut butter
– Handful of almonds with radishes or other veggie
– Keep this meal simple and be prepared the night before.
– If you’re scrambling in the morning, you’ll likely fall into the old habits of picking up some carb laden meal.

Tip Four: Lunch is the Culprit  

So often one of the big factors that you crash and burn in the afternoon is due to what you eat for lunch.

It is so typical for most people to eat a lunch that is high in carbohydrates and stimulants such as sugar and/or caffeine.

The problem with this is that these choices stimulate your bodies energy very quickly because of a high intake of glucose (sugar) and this leads to a high production of insulin.

The job of insulin is to normalize your blood sugar but when you take in too many higher glycemic carbs, such as flour products like bread or pasta, the glucose and insulin levels spike.

This will lead to an abrupt decrease in blood sugar, leaving you tired and mentally sluggish and fatigued in the afternoon.

Hence your crash and burn…

So instead of the typical lunch of a sandwich, fries and a soft drink or the plate of pasta with a cup of coffee, I’ll provide some higher energy ideas for you here.

Ideas for higher energy lunch choices:
– Salad with chicken or salmon with a generous amount of olive oil and avocado
– Burger without that bun with cheese avocado, tomato and onion
– Salmon filet with veggies and a side of avocado
– Burrito bowl easy on the rice with guacamole and your favorite fixings

*Note that all of these meals include a protein source, a veggie and fat without adding any flour based products.

Tip Five: Get Some Sun

This will be a quick tip yet it may be very beneficial to you.

Many people go from home to their work environment and never really get much sun exposure.

If you are the person that is working under fluorescent lighting all day or other artificial lighting, this is likely adding to your depleted energy.

When it is lunch time for you it will benefit you to get some sun exposure.

If you are eating out at a restaurant, eat outside if you can or at least eat your lunch at a table that is next to a window.

If weather allows, get outside in the sun for at least 10 minutes to enjoy the rejuvenating experience that the sun provides for you.

If it simply is not an option for you to achieve this sun exposure I would recommend purchasing a full spectrum desk lamp for your office or work space.

This will provide the next best option for you to help improve your energy when sun exposure or natural lighting is not available to you.

To find yourself a full spectrum desk lamp or stand up lamp you can simple search the Internet for this easily or with little effort.

So please, get some sun exposure and enjoy the positive energy shift from this.

Tip Six: Assist Your Digestive System

You are what you eat.

You have likely heard this saying about 1,000 times and I am here to tell you that it has been a lie every time you’ve heard it. You are not what you eat, you are what you absorb and assimilate.

Understand that your body does not get hungry to fill your stomach, it actually get hungry to produce energy. Now while it is important to put good food in your mouth, it is actually just as important, and perhaps more important, to make sure you can digest this food properly.

With proper digestion you can pull the nutrients from your food and help your body in increasing energy on a regular basis.

Here’s a little self assessment that you can use right now. Get to a mirror or take a picture of the top of your tongue with your smart phone.

Do you see a crack or crease going down the middle of your tongue?

If you do, this is likely tied into a longer term digestive issue.

You can also look at your fingernails. If you see vertical ridges going from the base of your nails to the tips of your nails, this could be due to low stomach acid. Stomach acid is essential to break down your protein and also plays a role in the absorption of minerals and B vitamins.

Hence another digestive issue.

I am not going to go as deep as discussing the possibility of food sensitivity and gut infections. Rather, let’s look at the most basic way you can support your digestive system.

This is by taking a high quality prebiotic/probiotic formula and a comprehensive digestive enzyme. I typically recommend that my clients take two prebiotic/probiotic formula upon waking and one digestive enzyme with each cooked food meal.

Simply yet effective for you!

Tip Seven: Support Your Stress Hormones

OK, who isn’t stressed out these days?

I know I am and you likely are too.

So what does this have to do with the afternoon crash?

Well, everything to be candid with you.

Stress triggers a stress hormone response in your adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are essential for energy production in your body, thyroid function, blood sugar balance, metabolism of fat and protein, proper sleep, proper brain function and more.

All of which are directly related to you hitting that afternoon crash and burn.

So what do you have to do?

Eliminate all your stress of course…

LOL!

That is truly not real for us. If you figure out how to eliminate all your stress, please email me so I can do this in my own personal life also.

The key is to support your adrenals, so your adrenals can support your lifestyle.

This is why I always recommend two basic supplements for my clients, both of which I take myself on a daily basis.

The Prime Stress Support which is vitamin B5, the nutrient needed to manufacture your stress hormones and the Prime Energy Support. The Prime Energy Support is a very comprehensive combination of nutrients to support your stress hormone production and overall adrenal function.

If you want energy in the afternoon, you need health adrenal function and balanced stress hormones.

Tip Eight: Get To Sleep At A Decent Hour

I hear it time and time again from clients.

“I am a night person.”

Let me set something straight, unless you are a vampire (which you’re not) there is no such thing as a night person.

Being a night person is actually a learned behavior.

If you are going to bed at Midnight, or later for some, this will lead to an afternoon crash and burn for most.

This is simply because you are fighting against your body’s natural hormonal rhythm tied into your sleep cycle.

We should all be waking as close to the time of sunrise as possible and going to bed any where between 7-9 hours before that. This typically means we are going to bed somewhere between 9:00pm and 11:00pm at the latest.

Now if you are the self proclaimed night person, I do not expect you to magically go to bed at 10:00pm rather than 1:00am in the morning. But you could go to bed five minutes earlier each night until you eventually get your butt in bed at a decent hour and stop fighting against your natural rhythms.

This will help you immensely!

Tip Nine: Putting It All Together

To escape the afternoon crash and burn I would suggest implementing all of these tips for an optimal result.

You may find that just changing some areas will provide results but I cannot make the point strong enough that all of these tips are extremely beneficial for your health, not just the afternoon crash and burn.

And when we look at it all together, it really is not that difficult.
1.    Wake up slightly earlier in the morning
2.    Get a timer to turn on a lamp with a low watt light bulb about 10 minutes prior to your alarm
3.    Drink a big glass of water upon waking
4.    Spend two minutes and 30 seconds on burst training within 10 minutes of waking
5.    Improve your digestion with a high quality prebiotic/probiotic formula and a comprehensive digestive enzyme.
6.    Eat a healthy, energizing and quick breakfast
7.    Eat a healthy and energizing lunch
8.    Get some sun at lunch time or use a full spectrum lamp during your day
9.    Support your stress hormones and adrenal function with the Prime Stress Support and Prime Energy Support

Ad with these tips, enjoy increased energy and mental function in your afternoon.

Implementing these tips will make a difference for you.

If you want to take your health to the next level feel free to visit HowToFeelYoungAgain.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this information for you and make a difference in your life!

Feel Young Again!
Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Naturopath, Glen Depke was able to overcome epilepsy naturally and in the process a passion erupted inside of him to help people heal “incurable” health diseases. Since then Glen has stayed at the forefront of Natural Medicine by working alongside leaders in the field, most notably Dr. Joseph Mercola. These recommendations are the result of his research, experience, and education from helping thousands of people, just like you, overcome varying health challenges.

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