Revealed: Why our brains get so tired in the afternoon - and how to beat the slump
Revealed:
Why our brains get so tired in the afternoon - and how to beat the slump
An Indian man takes a nap in the middle of a water canal on a hot summer day CREDIT: EPA
A panda in the afternoon, probably CREDIT: ALAMY
Mark Molloy
26 MAY 2016 • 11:47AM
It’s known as the dreaded 2:30 feeling.
You’ve had your eight hours of sleep, a very productive morning and a healthy lunch - but as the afternoon hits you start to fall into a post-lunch slump.
Feeling drowsy after lunch is completely natural, according to Dr Fiona Kerr, a neuro specialist from the University of Adelaide, who explains that humans are “built for two sleeps a day”.
“Sleep deprivation in general has a number of negative consequences to the creative process and to general and mental health,” she explains.
“The primary effect is the blocking of neurogenesis through increases in corticosterone levels but there is also a drop in attention capacity, executive function, working memory, quantification skills, logical reasoning, motor dexterity and mood.”
She adds the slump in the afternoon occurs because our bodies are effectively “programmed to nap” at that time.
“A major reason for this is that human beings are biphasic (physically designed for two sleeps a day), with two major bodily rhythms (homeostatic sleep drive and circadian arousal) which pull us in different directions in terms of staying awake or sleeping, but they fascinatingly align in the middle of the day to create a ‘nap zone’.
Dr Kerr suggests workers would benefit from a 15-minute midday nap, explaining it can offer a multitude of health benefits
They include increases in “cognitive function, memory, alertness, perception levels, stamina, mood, motor skills and creativity - along with decreased stress levels”.
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