Sleepy at Work?

Find yourself sleepy at work, especially after lunch? Dozed at your computer more than once? Recent surveys and polls indicate you're not alone...

Too Comfortable "A study on workplace taboos," NPR reports, "finds employees may be getting a little too comfortable. About 45 percent of workers admitted to falling asleep on the job." Why is this happening?

Bored According to a BBC news story, many workers are bored.

Rich Foods for Lunch Eating too many carbs and desserts at lunch causes a letdown and leads to afternoon slump.

No Exercise Most jobs require little physical energy.

Little to no water People are not aware that fluids, especially water, are essential to well being.

Employers Foot the Bill When folks can't sleep at night...

Employers are also paying a price for our national sleep troubles in the form of lost productivity, industrial accidents and computer equipment malfunctions caused by workers falling asleep and drooling into their keyboards. To combat this sort of on-the-job drowsiness, today many forward-thinking companies are giving office workers opportunities to catch up on sleep with initiatives featuring names like "employee nap time," "workday rest breaks" or, as the practice is already known at many organizations, "staff meetings."

Brain Drained The Australian Sleep Research Project shows that lack of sleep actually curtails mental capabilities ...

Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%.

Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.

So, what to do?

Find Challenge Your brain leaps to challenges and enrichment. University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers find that the quality of your day links directly to the intensity of your sleep at night. Chiara Cirelli, lead researcher explains...

Wakefulness associated with exposure to an enriched environment and with high levels of exploratory activity, a condition well known to trigger plastic changes in the brain, leads to increased BNDF expression and increased sleep pressure as compared to wakefulness with low exploratory activity. More stringently, the study finds that the amount of exploratory behavior during wakefulness can predict the extent to which brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] is induced in the cerebral cortex, as well as the extent of the physiological waking activity to sleep [SWA] response during subsequent sleep.

Strategies for Peak Performance:

Eight hours of sleep nightly... With enough sleep your brain and body and brain rewire and re energize. With deep REM sleep, you won't snore at your desk.

Nutritious lunches... To increase brainpower in the afternoon, here's a few suggestions for lunch... to bolster your afternoon acuity:

Opt for a combination of carbs and proteins at lunch: Dr. Judith Wurtman, MIT nutrition researcher says that protein contains precursors of serotonin, the neurotransmitter which promotes a calm, relaxed feeling and helps to fight emotional fatigue. Protein rich foods also contain tyrosine, a precursor to neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine that elevate alertness, attention, and motivation. Wurtman suggests adding just a few carbs boosts the brain's intake of tryptophan.

Select protein rich foods from lunch menus: Seafood, poultry and lean meat supply the richest sources, as well as dairy products, legumes, nuts and seeds. Veggies and grains have protein too, though in lesser amounts, without the fat.

Drink plenty of water at lunch since it helps you eat less. And, take a few extra trips to the water cooler at your office – you’ll not only relieve stiffness from too much sitting, but movement helps raise the oxygen level in your brain.

Use stairs...Skip the elevator! Exercise pumps more oxygen to your brain, which uses 21% of your body's oxygen supply. If you feel drowsy, get up and move... deliver that package down the hall. Take time at lunch for 20 minutes of aerobics

Be the person you most want to be today at work... Ask yourself if you are working in the most challenging and enriched environment that works to advance your career... Take first steps to make that a reality.

What steps keep you from snoozing on the job?