Help! I’m Falling Asleep in the Middle of a Work Day
8 Wake Up Hacks When Coffee Doesn’t Work
Yikes, that tired feeling strikes in the middle of the workday. You’re swamped with work and now is not the time to get sleepy.
What can you do?
I’ve tried coffee so many times. It works sometimes but usually, it doesn’t unless it’s an extremely strong brew or espresso which I don’t always have handy.
So, I’ve come up with these 8 hacks to help me snap out of it when the sleepy head bobs start kicking in.
Here’s what I do…
8 Hacks to Shake That Tired Feeling
- Exercise
- Do something fun
- Go for a drive
- Go for a walk
- Start cleaning
- Cook
- Take a hot shower
- Take a nap
Exercise
Get your blood pumping by doing a small workout. This can be a brisk walk around the office, a few dozen squats, push ups, sit ups, hopping on the exercise bike, etc.
This helps 100% of the time. Push yourself and go hard. Once you get your blood pumping, that sleepy feeling will wear off.
Do something fun
One of my favorite things to do when I’m sleepy is to do something fun.
This isn’t watching TV or listening to music because doing either of those will help me fall asleep that much faster.
Think more like, doing some self care like painting your nails or doing a quick face mask or taking a quick video game or phone game break, etc.
Go for a drive
I almost always pop over to Starbucks when that tired feeling strikes.
It’s not the Starbucks drink that wakes me up like the drive does. I’m never too sleepy that it compromises my ability to drive.
Honestly, once I sit in the drivers seat, I wake up.
Then driving with the windows down, listening to the radio and thinking about what I’ll indulge in at Starbucks all contribute to waking me up.
This short break only takes 15–20 minutes and by the time I’m back home, I’m wide awake.
Go for a walk
This is exercise and it will get your blood pumping and wake you up. I usually briskly walk around my home (I work out of my home office) or walk around the block in my neighborhood.
Sometimes I hop on the treadmill for 15–20 minutes.
Start cleaning
This also has a 100% success rate for me. Start cleaning. You’ll wake up and be productive as a nice side effect.
I will usually do the dishes and clean the kitchen or, do some straightening up, dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, any light chores I can do around the home.
There’s always something that needs to be done so this works like a charm every time.
Cook
Take a break and cook.
Cook dinner early in the day or make a dessert, cook lunch for yourself, etc.
You don’t even need to technically cook. Just doing kitchen busy work is enough to wake you up like cleaning the kitchen, rearranging the countertop appliances, meal prepping in meal prep containers, reorganizing your pantry, etc.
Take a shower
There is nothing like a hot shower. A nice, hot shower is my cure-all. I use it to de-stress and I use it to wake up.
It doesn’t take long and it will refresh you and wake you up. At least it does for me.
Take a nap
Worst case scenario, don’t fight that sleepy feeling and take a nap.
I find that a small cat nap up to 20 minutes long is enough to refresh me. It doesn’t have to be a super long 2-hour sleep.
Give in and give your body the rest it needs.
Those are some of the strategies I use to help when I feel sleepy in the middle of the workday. To eliminate that feeling that hits you every now and then, make sure you’re getting enough rest.
What strategies have you tried?
