Educational Disclaimer: This article discusses sensitive educational concepts and training topics. It is provided by Open College UK Limited for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical or psychological advice.
Do your energy levels drop fast, and have considered worryingly that there might be something wrong with you?
You may have reached a point in the afternoon and suddenly felt as though your ability to concentrate just disappears and you start thinking of sleeping just to recover.
Your morning may have started well for you where you were motivated with a lot of productivity and thoughts of getting many things done, then suddenly out of nowhere usually around the middle of the afternoon your energy and focus seem to crash to the floor and you just want to sleep.
If it happens like this, this is definitely not laziness or poor discipline on your part as your ability to concentrate does naturally change throughout the day often rising and falling. There are several factors that contribute to this afternoon crash or slump.
Even though you may have slept well, maintaining concentration for several hours does require sustained mental effort. And by the afternoon you have much less mental energy available for the rest of the day apart from wanting to sleep.
Specifically, your diet and even hydration can play a part in this issue.
A large or heavy meal can make you feel sluggish and weighted down especially if you’re tired along with dehydration which can affect how alert and focused you feel.
Also, if you have spent the morning concentrating on one task for a long period of time or working on long customer emails, your attention may begin to wander to something different and fresh and that would be your mind’s way of interrupting this to help you.
Then there’s the psychological element as we begin the day with a sense of possibility and that there’s plenty of time ahead and all the tasks and chores or the work, we need to do feels manageable because we’re more positive, but by the afternoon those unfinished jobs, the ones you pushed away now become heavy and instead of thinking, I can get this done, you may have already started thinking I’ve got all this to do now and I just want to get some sleep.
Just a small change in your perception can have a good effect on motivation.
Try this:
Rather than fighting yourself, and being taken away by the afternoon slump, try changing the way you actually work. Take a short break, drink some hydrating fluid, get some air and move around and just choose and focus on one clearly defined chore or task and just give yourself one clear target.
By doing this, this way it creates some space to allow you to recover to better move on to the next job. Take things in increments, small parts at a time as opposed to looking at it as one lump sum.
Disclaimer & Terms
The educational content on this website—including articles, posts, and comments by Open College UK Limited—is for informational purposes only. It reflects research and insights at the time of writing. Nothing on this site constitutes medical, psychological, or legal advice.
Always consult a qualified professional (such as a GP, doctor, or psychologist) before changing any health regimen or medication.
Content is intended to raise awareness and promote independent thought, not to defame, target, or offend any individual or group. Any reliance on this content is at the reader’s own risk. While we strive for high quality, readers should verify information against their own context and local regulations.
Copyright: All content is owned by Open College UK Limited. Sharing links to this post is welcome, but reproduction without written consent is prohibited.