Ever since I was very young, my energy, mood, and interest levels slump from 2-4pm. Whenever my schedule permits I spend these two hours reading, napping, watching TV, or doing other non-energy output things. I perk up again from 4pm until bedtime (around 10pm).
I dislike having to teach or do other energetic activities during these hours and have to down some caffeine to feel halfway human. I think, since I’ve experienced this all my life, that it is related to my circadian rhythms.
So, do you have a downtime? Is it “hardwired” or created by your schedule?
Are you me? My daily downtime is also between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Unfortunately, I can’t have caffeine, so I just try to muddle through it as best I can. At work, I often don’t take lunch until 1:30 or 2:00 so that at least I get a break during that time.
Mine is around 2 pm and around 7 pm. If I lie down at these times, I am guaranteed to nap. I try not to nap at my 7 pm downtime, because it interferes with sleeping at night more than an afternoon nap, I find. I don’t think I’ve had these since I was a kid - certainly since I was a teenager, though. Although I recall, as a teenager, being tired constantly.
I was also exhausted as a teen, but I attribute it to 4:30am basketball practice (the only time the girls’ basketball team was “allowed” to schedule the gym :mad: ).
I’d love to know. When teaching, I just push on through on a mix of caffeine and adrenalin, until finishing at between 4 and 7pm on a normal day and anything up to midnight at times. At the end of that I slump BIG. When not working, I have so little routine that I can’t tell you when I normally am awake or asleep
No, I feel drowsy at 2 AND 7, not from 2 to 7. I was sitting in my warm living room this evening at around 7, with the fan blowing, reading a book, and it was almost physically painful to stay awake (I did have a small nap - hopefully not too long).
I don’t think so. I’ve always needed a full eight hours of sleep each night, and operated better when I keep to a regular sleep/wake schedule, even on weekends. I don’t remember really noticing an afternoon energy drop until I started working a regular 8:30 - 5:30 workday. If I’m ever my own boss, or in a situation where I can set my own hours, I will definitely take a break from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. On weekends and non workdays, I often take a nap at that time.
Okay, seriously, it tends to be from 3:30 to 5:00 or so, but I generally circumvent it with a cup of coffee (preferred) or other caffeination around that time. I don’t like to have my second round of coffee before then, either, because I’ll just be tired again around 3:30.
I’m not sure how long this has been the case, but it has been at least a few years. Carbs and sugar made me tired all the time before I found out I had reactive hypoglycemia, so I couldn’t pinpoint a particular time prior to that. I’m convinced I would have finished college a couple of years sooner if I had known what my problem was. I thought I was just profoundly lazy when I felt like I couldn’t get out of bed in the morning.
Mine used to be around the 2:00 to 4:00 mark, until I got my CPAP machine to manage my sleep apnea. Now I don’t feel tired at all during the day. Not even if I have a heavy lunch.
I have two: the one just before noon when my brain’s starting to really need a break and more fuel; and the one right around 3:30 when I start to get really sleepy and my brain starting to sputter to a halt.
I was going to be snarky and say my downtime is from 8am-10pm …
But the truth is my alertness dips even more from about 1:30-5pm. Naps are a good thing! I also try to avoid lying down at all after about 6pm so the nap doesn’t negatively affect my nighttime sleeping.
