Solutions for the Afternoon Slump—Caffeine? Snacks?

BLR: How about caffeine—is that a problem?

JM: I’ve always been fine with caffeine, obviously in limited amounts. Caffeine is a very mild stimulant. As long as you are not having 5 to 6 cups a day, it’s OK. It’s been shown to improve mental acuity and athletic performance.

So a cup in the morning and another cup during the day is fine. What I’m more concerned about is the other things going into the coffee and other energy drinks, such as sugar and high fat dairy from creamer.

At Starbucks, if you have a medium frappachino, a grande, that’s probably 500 calories. Energy drinks in a big can, 250 calories.

Actually, coffee itself is an almost calorie-free beverage—just about 5 calories a cup. So if you’re having, say, coffee with tablespoon of half and half creamer and even two teaspoons of regular sugar, that’s only about 50 calories. So relatively speaking it’s modest.

Corporate wellness programs show great ROI. And they are win-win—employees feel better and are more productive, and employers reap the benefits. Even small improvements make a difference. Test drive Workplace Wellness with no cost or risk, and receive a FREE Special Report..

BLR: What’s the best thing for fending off the afternoon slump?

JM: Caffeine may help, but I think that for many people that 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. crash is more of a blood sugar issue. People eat a large amount of food at lunch. Their blood sugar goes up and they feel energized. But what tends to happen with most people, the body responds and the blood sugar drops to below what it was before the meal.

When blood sugar is very low, you start to feel very lethargic. So the slump has more to do with the food than the actual mental energy levels.

A good solution is to have a more modest lunch. Save maybe a quarter or half of your lunch and then consume that during the afternoon slump period. Or, have a modest lunch and then a snack—yogurt, pretzels, or a piece of fruit, for example. Keep that stream of food steady during the day.

BLR: What about managing the slump with snacks from the snack machines?

JM: Anything nut based like trail mix or a handful of nuts is fine. A small bag of potato chips won’t hurt, but it won’t fill you up very much. Pair it with carrots or piece of fruit. That will be better for you and more satisfying.

Every company is thinking about wellness these days, and no surprise—well-structured and well-run programs can generate ROIs of up to 300 percent—music to management’s ears! But the key words are “well-structured” and “well-run.” Poorly structured programs just spin their wheels—no health benefit and no positive ROI, either.

Many readers have told us that BLR’s comprehensive guidebook, Workplace Wellness: Healthy Employees, Healthy Families, Healthy ROI, has helped them get programs up and running that achieve wellness objectives with a great ROI while avoiding the legal hassles that, these days, seem to accompany any worthwhile venture in HR.

Wellness—NO downside! Impressive ROI, so management is happy. Better health, so employees are happy. And that means HR is happy! BLR’s Workplace Wellness is the key to developing your workplace wellness program. Try it now and receive a FREE special report!

It’s a comprehensive guide that takes you step-by-step through setting up a program, from convincing management all the way through creating and implementing a viable plan for your workplace. The guide also includes a vast collection of ready-to-use forms, handouts, and checklists that both structure your program and provide the metrics to prove its effectiveness to management’s satisfaction.

If you’d like to examine Workplace Wellness: Healthy Employees, Healthy Families, Healthy ROI on a no-cost, no-obligation basis for 30 days, we can arrange for you to do so. Let us know and we’ll be happy to set it up. Plus, we’ll give you a free special report just for trying it out, that’s yours to keep no matter what you decide.