Sleepy? 3 Ways To Fight Work Sleepiness

Your body needs sleep as it also needs food, water, and oxygen. It means that sleep plays a crucial role in your health and well-being.

How much sleep do you need? The sleep range of younger adults from 18 - 25 years old and adults from 26 - 64 years old is 7 - 9 hours. Although that is the expected number of hours, still some may have less than what is required.

So what do you do when you need to work and sleep comes knocking at your eyes. Take a power nap, this will give you an energy boost. Also, the following suggestions might help you get back to work with focus and increase productivity.

STANDING DESK

Sitting for too long makes you sleepy and drowsy. It is recommended that for every 30 minutes, you sit for 20 minutes, followed by standing for 2 minutes and walking for 8 minutes. One effective way to combat sleepiness is the use of a standing desk. Using a standing desk will help you burn more calories as it will encourage you to stand more and sit less.

Standing helps to relax and straighten the muscles and the backbone which remained tight and slumped due to too much sitting.

STRETCHES

Stretching is an important part of fitness. It can improve your range of motion, increase circulation and calm your mind. It can help fend off injuries, illness and promotes better sleep. Try the following form of stretching whenever you feel lethargic and about to fall asleep while working.

While sitting, stretch both arms above the head and straighten the spine. Then bend and touch the toes and roll back to the upright position. While standing you can perform windmill stretches. Stand upright and use your left hand to touch the right toe. Keep your legs straight.

Stand upright and use your right hand to touch the left toe. Repeat for at least 10 times. These simple stretches will surely help you fight drowsiness and sleepiness at work.

SQUATS

You can squat anytime even when you are falling in line, waiting for a document to get printed, waiting for your break time or when you are about to fall asleep at your desk.

Here are some tips from a fitness challenge website telling us how to properly do a squat while at your sit-stand desk.

Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and your arms down by your side. Push your hips back and bend your knees while slowly lowering your body. Push your body weight into your heels.

For balance raise your arms in front of you while you are lowering into a squat. Avoid putting your knees over your toes and keep your spine neutral at all times.

Be sure to lift your chest at all types and your lower body is parallel with the floor. Pause then in controlled movement lift back up in a starting position.