Every single Monday has most of us wishing for more hours in bed. While some of us are merely sad to see the weekend go, there are some others who genuinely have trouble with sleep and energy levels – leaving them lethargic for most of their work days.

Many of them might be suffering from Hypersomnia and genuinely feel the need to sleep every few hours due to poor sleeping habits, which ultimately affect work hours and overall performance levels. Here are top 10 ways to fight office lethargy and how you can learn to keep sleepiness at bay.

Be friendly with your coffee

Caffeine stimulates the heart and respiratory systems. But don’t be too friendly. Limit your coffee consumption to just two cups a day. Make sure that for every coffee you drink when you are feeling sleepy, you drink two full glasses of water, to help your system replenish what the caffeine takes out.

Eat breakfast

Office life can wreck your diet decisions if you are not careful. One of the most common reasons behind our urge to overeat at work is the lack of an adequate breakfast. Skipping breakfast leads to an erratic lifestyle pattern. It’s the most important meal of the day, and we end up neglecting it. A good healthy breakfast ensures that you have enough energy supplies, keeping sleepiness at bay.

Try office yoga

Reversed Shoulder Rotation and Thoracic Wave- Inhale as you move your shoulders in an upward and backward direction. Exhale as you move them in a downward and frontward direction. Take deep breaths and keep your neck and spine comfortably straight. Perform 8-10 rotations on each side. Konasana – Stand straight with legs wide apart. Now bend forward from your waist. Try and touch the ground with the tips of your fingers, if possible place both your hands on the ground while standing. Your upper body should be in a straight line. Look ahead by about 3 inches. Perform konasana for 10-30 seconds and breathe normally throughout the asana.

Give it a break

Understand that you are not a superhero. And to add to it, it may do your eyes a whole lot of good too. Stroll around your office corridor once in a while and meet your friends in order to beat office lethargy. Don’t go all out and start partying bang in the middle of a work day, but walk up to any colleagues you need to chat with, get your own bottle of water, and give yourself a break from the desk at regular intervals. Your atrophying leg muscles will thank you for it.

Leave the technology out 

While most are addicted to televisions, music docks and laptops in their bedrooms, keeping so many distractions strewn around your night’s sleep space can be detrimental. Why? Because your mind won’t be at ease. Constant whirring, flicking, ticking sounds will keep your mind alert and that’s not a good recipe for a good snooze.

De-stress

Stress is one of the main reasons that make the limited time that we have for sleeping less productive. Before sleeping try and do something soothing such as reading, talking to your spouse or close friend, taking a long bath or anything that takes your mind away from what’s bothering you. It is not that hard after all. A good night’s sleep is a sure shot way to ensure you are full of vigour and energy all day long, even when you at work.

Avoid white foods at night

By white foods we mean foods which are white in colour such as white pasta, white sugar, white rice. They are all high in glycemic index, thus leading to a rise in blood sugarlevels, lethargy and laziness. Try and eat sweet potatoes and brown rice at night in order to load up on complex carbs and dietary fibre that’ll ensure that you wake up feeling energetic and light.

Try meditation

This really works. People who meditate, do it in the morning, but meditating for half an hour before bed is also a good idea. This will give you a sound sleeping time and will help you in waking up all fresh and happy in the morning. Studies have suggested that people who sleep a deep 6 to 8 hours of sleep are less likely to feel sleepy in the afternoon.

Visit a sleep specialist

If nothing seems to work, then we advise you to see a sleep specialist as you might just be suffering from sleep apnea or narcolepsy. According to experts, untreated sleep and undiagnosed sleep disorders are main reasons why most workers are always sleepy in the office. A sleep specialist will diagnose and prescribe medication for any condition that you might be suffering from.

Respect your limits

In the end, when nothing works and you feel dog tired, then try and respect it! Walk during your lunch break. For instance, you can take a stroll till the end of the road after you are done eating. And if nothing helps, then it is about time you keep your head down for 10 minutes and take a power nap – this will surely energize you!