Recently started the job and have had a few close calls with dozing off after lunch. I don't even need to eat a massive lunch to get sleepiness - sitting on a warm room during a call for over an hour will do it. Having caffeine works only to an extent - I don't want to drink so much that I'm running to the bathroom every thirty min. How do you all deal with this?
| +54 | SpaceX IPO - what are your thoughts | 12 | 9h |
| +28 | Should I use Claude or chatgpt? | 16 | 5h |
| +22 | Funny Things to Say to Interns | 8 | 2h |
| +18 | London's future as a financial centre | 18 | 2d |
| +17 | How did you meet your significant other/partner? | 15 | 1h |
| The Great Debate | 9 | 1d | |
| +7 | E ink/electronic notepads | 4 | 1d |
| +7 | Pity that RU athletes can still compete | 2 | 3h |
| +6 | Stay Sharp All Day With Best Modvigil 200 MG Tablet | 0 | 1d |
| +6 | Test post will be deleted automatically. | 11 | 2d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Funny enough the thing that provides me the most energy is eating practically nothing (maybe a late lunch salad sprinkled in with a banana and nuts in the morning). It's going to suck eating like that but it's done wonders.
Limit carbs (try zero rice or sweet dressings, etc. in your chipotle / cava order). should help.
Personally - I'll eat something like nuts at ~11am and hold out until 1-1:30 for lunch (no carbs most days) and that works best
This is the answer honestly. eat a protein heavy meal, veggies, and limited minimal rice(carbs) No bread of any kind. Haven't had 2pm sleepies since.
Maybe try to eat more protein and greens in comparison to carbs. Sleepiness mainly comes from blood sugar spiking and the body's releasing insulin to combat it. Less carbs should mean less glucose, which means less sleepy.
Only eat 5pm - 12am
One caveat I feel is important to mention that meals too close to sleep can interfere with sleep quality, but at the same time if you’re grinding on a deal until 3am it probably negates this effect. Intermittent fasting can be extremely helpful
Yeah def. You’re completely right.
Crack the Adderal directly into the coffee and up it to 4 shots of espresso
All of the below advice is pretty spot on. I’ve spent the entirety of my life living with a sleep disorder but have only gotten it properly treated in the past few years. Although I still find myself drowsy at certain times, getting after fixing my sleep has improved my quality of life and performance immensely.
The afternoon sleepiness occurs naturally as a result of a post meal glucose spike and subsequent dip below baseline levels. It may be made worse by the time of day you drink caffeine, and other factors. First I would assess that you’re getting enough sleep, ~7-9 hours is optimal for most people. Make sure that you’re sleeping well, and have any underlying disorders checked out by a sleep medicine specialist.
For more situational fixes, I would potentially fast in the morning, as that tends to help a lot of people. Avoid carbs in the morning as was said below, and try to stick to a lower carb diet altogether if possible. A good time to drink some coffee would be shortly after that meal, it should help you avoid the crash, or if you get up and exercise or even just some walking around. I’ve also heard it’s helpful to delay caffeine intake by 1.5-2 hours after waking to prevent the afternoon crash.
Additionally, it might be useful to take cold showers in the morning, use magnesium or theanine, use a sunlight alarm, and make sure your sleeping space is quiet and dark. Sorry for the dissertation, regulating sleep and energy levels is rarely a process with a single solution. This was a brain dump of pretty much everything I can think of that helps me.
If you don't mind sharing, what was the sleep disorder and how did you get it treated/know when to seek treatment?
Obstructive sleep apnea. I've had it in some form of my life but in the past four years it started to become much more noticeable. I would experience significant daytime tiredness, which eventually translated to a constant state of agitation and brain fog. OSA runs on my mom's side of the family so that was the dead giveaway when my symptoms become more significant that it could be the source of my problems. An in lab sleep study confirmed my suspicions and I now use an APAP machine to keep my airway open when I sleep. I am getting fitted for an oral appliance now in the hopes of not having to use the machine anymore (imagine having to sleep with a mask on your face at your college girlfriends house---not exactly ideal---I think that goes without explanation). Treatment has improved my entire life, from reducing anxiety levels, tiredness, social life (I no longer have the infamous "social battery" that gets drained after talking to more than like 2 people in a day), and work and academic performance.
I also have a delayed circadian rhythm, which affects I think 1/3 of the population. That also used to cause a lot of problems especially in school prior to college. I manage that now with forcing myself to sleep earlier, melatonin when necessary, and using color filters on my phone and computer to limit blue light exposure a couple hours prior to going to sleep.
It drives me nuts that all these YouTube gurus recommend to people who are tired literally all the time just to buy some sunrise alarm clock and close your curtains before you go to sleep. If you're constantly exhausted to the point of being unable to complete your daily activities, it's likely either chronic stress or a sleep disorder which should be treated first, and then dealt with synergistically with things like sunrise alarm clocks and other useful sleep interventions; all of these other improvements should be ancillary before you actually treat the underlying causes.
Zyns could help if you already drink coffee and don’t wanna overdo caffeine.
Other than that, I’d echo everyone else. Try to eat a high protein meal for lunch with some healthy fats. If you’re gonna eat carbs, try to make them from fruit or veggies. Low quality carbs like processed bread can cause you to crash
You have time to eat lunch?
Addy, electrolytes, and intermittent fasting.
I eat a salad at 2 PM, first meal of the day.
Booger sugar seems like the move here
take a walk after you eat
Any type of exercise is proven to help with energy levels, especially after you eat so this is definitely a good one.
what's worked for me who used to / still gets the post-lunch drowsiness:
-No food til 11am/12pm (in general I've found intermittent fasting to be quite beneficial)
-Lunch consists of mostly protein fats and fruits / veggies
-Heavy Carb intake only for dinner time, while small smacks like popcorn / fruit etc. good throughout day
-Have a cutoff period for food (for me i go back and forth between 6-8pm), personally eating late is the biggest cause for morning grogginess for me
-good sleep** (this one is tough depending on your field / hours)
Other helpful stuff:
-morning coffee (at least an hour after i wake up)
-coffee immediately after or an hour after lunch
-zyns if you're into that
Agree with almost everything but my understanding is that the best time of the day to include carbs is your mid day meal
I have a little trick if you do decide to eat lunch. Take a 200mg Vivarin caffeine pill when you start eating to cancel out the sleepiness. But, don’t eat heavy or fried foods for lunch. Eat vegetables - a salad or fruit. Maybe some nuts for protein.
Anyone try Semax?
Dolor et labore velit ad corrupti et ut. Provident dolore velit cum dolore voluptatem eum ullam quidem. Sunt quo doloremque fugiat quia consequatur esse. Quo quos quas vel aspernatur consequatur.
Quas itaque qui tenetur perspiciatis officia recusandae earum non. Voluptatem ad sed excepturi est laudantium perspiciatis.
Nesciunt totam quia eos qui corrupti enim iure rerum. Aut soluta quibusdam mollitia sunt a voluptate. Voluptatem minus ea aspernatur vel animi. Quis enim qui quod et dolorem impedit.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Ab officia dolor eos labore vero. Et inventore quidem reiciendis sed eius voluptas.