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We all have afternoons that are super unproductive. We have nothing to do, or we have things to do but we just don’t feel like it. Worse still, when we are sleepy at work. But, unbeknownst to some of us, sleepiness at work is not just brought about by boredom or tiredness. If you’re constantly sleeping on the job, in literal sense, this could be due to other factors such as:
1. Obesity.
Obese people feel overly tired due to the production of cytokines by immune cells, which in turn trigger sleepiness.
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Obese woman (Courtesy)
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2. Depression.
When depressed, you take longer to fall asleep or wake up often in the middle of the night and that makes you sleep during the day.
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Depression is killing thousands of people all around the world every year.
3. Eating a high fat diet at work.
If you eat a high fat diet at work, you are bound to feel sleepy because increased fat consumption affects alertness. Instead, eat foods rich in carbohydrates which increase your alertness and make you productive at work.
4. Post-pregnancy.
As a new mum, you may have a hard time sleeping during the night as the baby keeps waking you up due to cries or you may have to wake up to cater to the baby. This subsequently makes the mum lose some sleep during the night and instead, get tired the next day and even sleep at work. The best solution for this is to get a maternity leave that’s long enough so that by the time you get back to work, your baby is slightly older and you are ready to be productive again.
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New mum (Courtesy)
5. Overeating/ eating some types of food.
Some foods can trigger drowsiness and that’s why after eating some foods or eating too much, you may start feeling sleepy. That being said, to avoid sleeping at work, eat a light lunch and stay hydrated.
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Woman eating(Business Insider)
6. Being too warmly dressed.
Remember our teachers getting us to remove sweaters during afternoon lessons? Well, there are many internal and external factors that impact on your body temperature which can lead to sleepiness.