An Employee’s Guide To Combatting Tiredness At Work [Infographic]

Shane Dobbing https://www.sleepypeople.com 4m 1,052 #tiredness

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Combat Tiredness While Working

Regardless of what you do in your spare time, we all understand just how important it is to be feeling sharp and switched on throughout the working day.

However, although we all know this, sometimes it can prove harder to be firing on all cylinders than we might think.

Whether it’s working extra hours, other evening responsibilities, having young children or struggling to get a good night’s sleep, we’ve all had days where we don’t feel 100%  at our desk.

One of the classic examples of this is the Monday morning blues. We all know the feeling of waking up on a Monday morning, feeling slightly more lethargic than any other weekday.

While we all might think this is merely down to the fact that we face 5 days of work before the freedom of the weekend rolls around, there’s plenty of science to make sense of it.

This article from the Independent presents lots of proof about why you struggle to get into gear on a Monday more than any other working day.

Thankfully, there are lots of different and simple ways to combat even the most difficult Monday mornings, thanks to a new infographic from sleepypeople.com.

It’s called ‘An Employee’s Guide To Combatting Tiredness At Work’ and you can take a look for yourself below.

It offers up lots of simple tips which you can apply to your daily routine in order to make sure you’re as sharp possible.

For example, something which many people are guilty of is skipping breakfast. This infographic explains just how important getting a balanced breakfast in you before work really can be.

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AN EMPLOYEE’S GUIDE TO COMBATTING TIREDNESS AT WORK

Feeling tired at work is never enjoyable. It makes it tricky to concentrate and you may find your productivity takes a hit. We should all be making sure we aim to get plenty of sleep, but there will be times when a poor night’s sleep is simply out of our control!

So how do you make it through the day after a poor quality kip? Here are some tips to get you through!

DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST

Set yourself up for the day by having a healthy, nutritious breakfast. You’ve gone all night without food, and your body needs to refuel to bring your blood sugar levels back to where they should be.

A high protein breakfast such as eggs or peanut butter on toast, or chia pudding will help you stay full for longer.

BRING HEALTHY FOOD TO WORK

Resist giving in to temptation of snacking on biscuits if they are readily available in your workplace, and bring your own healthy snacks instead.

While sugary snacks and carbs give you a quick energy boost, this quickly wears off, causing you to crash. Keep your energy levels constant by opting for healthy, unprocessed foods instead. This is much easier if you bring your own!

DON’T OVER-EAT

Try to have a light lunch like a salad or soup if you are already feeling tired, and top up your energy with snacks throughout the day.

Having a heavy meal or making yourself too full can make you feel sluggish!

WATCH YOUR CAFFEINE INTAKE

A cup of coffee in the morning when you’re exhausted will definitely perk you up, but be careful to not overdo it as too much can affect your sleep and make you irritable.

Try to make sure you only have three cups of coffee a day and don’t drink any after around 3pm. Besides coffee, caffeine is also in teas and soft drinks, which you might not be aware of!

STAY HYDRATED

Make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day. It’s easy to get caught up in a project and forget to go grab a drink, but dehydration actually makes you tired and can cause headaches. Not conducive to productivity! Aim to drink six to eight glasses per day.

EAT A SQUARE OF CHOCOLATE

We know this sounds contradictory to avoid the sugary snack rule, but we’re talking dark chocolate here, not the sugary stuff. Antioxidant-rich dark chocolate has even shown to give athletes a boost!

GET SOME EXERCISE

If you get a chance on your lunch break, go for a brisk walk to get your blood pumping. If this isn’t possible, try to do a few sets of push-ups in the morning before you leave for work. This is just enough exercise to get you going, without getting too sweaty.

Regular exercise will also help you to sleep better and feel more energised, so try to incorporate it into your routine if you find yourself struggling with tiredness often.

MOVE AROUND

Even if you can’t fit in a workout, try to keep moving throughout the day. Go and speak to your colleagues instead of emailing them, or make regular trips to the photocopier. Try to get up at least once per hour.

GET SOME LIGHT

Sunlight is idea, as it will increase your vitamin D levels. If you can get outdoors into the sun this will help pep you up a bit.

If it isn’t a sunny day or you can’t make it outside, do try to spend some time in bright light. This will still make you feel more alert.

TAKE A NAP

Okay so it isn’t always practical to nap on the job, but if you have an understanding boss or you have somewhere quiet you can nap on your lunch break such as your car, having a quick 20-minute nap will help refresh you enough to get you through the rest of the day!

PRIORITISE YOUR WORKLOAD

You’re going to be more alert in the morning, even if you feel sleepy, so make sure you get your most important tasks of the day out of the way first thing.

In the afternoon, you will find it harder to organised your thoughts, so having your tasks planed out in the morning will be helpful too.

SAFETY FIRST

If you’re sleep deprived, it isn’t a good idea to get behind the wheel. Did you know that driving when you’re tired could be as dangerous as drunk driving? Leave the car at home and get the bus to work instead.

Brought to you by SleepyPeople.com

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