When you feel groggy sitting in your ergonomic office chair, your immediate reaction is to get your mug and fill it up with coffee in the pantry. The caffeine will jump-start your brain and wake you up again to finish whatever task that you need to do. But if you’ve been drinking coffee for a long time and in large amounts, you already know the downsides of what you’re doing: you feel jittery after a couple of mugs, you feel your heart beating faster, and it’s getting harder for you to sleep at night. In addition to that, if you always take your coffee with lots of sugar, your blood sugar level might already be high.
So rather than risk developing diabetes or high blood pressure, why not try out some natural means to wake yourself up? The tips below can wake you up without having to drink coffee, which is healthier for your body:
Get off your chair
Walking around for a few minutes is enough to wake you up. The moment you feel your head nodding off, stand up and walk around the office. If your tasks can wait, go out of the building and walk around the block. A 10-minute walk will rejuvenate you much more effectively than drinking coffee. If you take the latter, it will jump-start your brain into complete alertness, but the effect is fleeting. After a few minutes of experiencing your caffeine rush, you’ll feel sluggish again.
Get some sun
Since you’re already walking around the block, make sure that you get enough sun while you’re outside. The sun’s UV rays can trigger your brain to release more serotonin, a hormone that makes us livelier. Also, enough exposure to sunlight can lead to sleeping better during the night, which will make you feel more rested and energized in the morning and throughout the day.
Eat a balanced meal
If your breakfast is a mix of whole grain, protein, and lots of fruits, you’ll have enough energy to last until lunchtime, sometimes even longer. When lunchtime is here, eat complex carbohydrates, protein, and a couple of bananas to maintain that energy and finish strong in the afternoon.
Take a deep breath
Even as simply breathing deeply can help you wake up. If you feel groggy, stop what you’re doing for a few minutes, sit up straight, place your left hand on your chest and your right on your belly, and breathe deeply. You’re breathing the right way if you feel that your belly is pushing your right hand while your left hand is steady on top of the chest.
Drink water
Instead of drinking coffee, drink more water if you’re sleepy. Scientists say that dehydration is one of the major causes of fatigue and sleepiness, so drink up to wake yourself up.
Talk to your coworkers
Another great way to wake yourself up is to start talking to your coworkers. Look for your best friend in the office. If they’re not busy, start conversing with them about your plans for the next company outing.
Do something else
Some tasks in the office can be monotonous, and the routine tasks are what make us sleepy. When we’re working on a particular task that can be repetitive, our brains are not getting the stimulation it needs, which is why some of us feel sleepy when this happens. If you’re feeling sleepy after filling out the nth field in your Excel sheet, do something else for a few minutes so that your brain will find something new to do.
It is important that you do not feel sleepy when at work, but sometimes we cannot help it. Still, there are ways you can wake yourself up and work on your tasks for the day. These ways do not include drinking coffee.
