The 3 pm slump: why it happens and five ways to beat it

If your brain checks out somewhere between lunch and the last meeting of the day, you are in very good company. In a Paychex survey, 80% of workers reported an afternoon energy dip, on average more than three days a week.

Why it happens

Part of it is simply your body clock. Alertness naturally dips in the early afternoon, whether you ate lunch or not. A heavy or sugary lunch can make it worse, and so can a short night. The slump is normal. The question is what you do with it.

Five fixes that actually help

1. Get daylight and move. Ten minutes outside does more than ten minutes of scrolling. A short walk raises alertness and resets your focus.
2. Rethink lunch. A meal built around protein, fiber and vegetables is kinder to your afternoon than a large portion of refined carbs.
3. Skip the sugar fix. A review of 31 studies found no mood or energy boost from sugar. People actually reported more fatigue and less alertness within the first hour.
4. Drink water first. Mild dehydration feels a lot like tiredness. A glass of water is the cheapest experiment you can run.
5. Time your caffeine. A moderate dose in the early afternoon can carry you through. Too much, too late, and you pay for it at bedtime: in one study, caffeine taken six hours before bed still cut sleep by more than an hour.

Where a gummy fits

This is the moment we built Norda for. One or two gummies around 2 pm give you 50 to 100 mg of caffeine with L-theanine, without another trip to the coffee place and without a can of sugar. If caffeine affects your sleep, make that your last dose of the day.

And if the slump shows up every single day no matter what you try, the most effective fix is the least exciting one: more sleep.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Statements about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Norda is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.