What is it?
Many individuals are familiar with this phenomenon but it is one that the medical profession discusses very little. It takes the form of restlessness, lethargy, depression or dullness, or a mixture of them all, after lunch. About an hour after having had lunch is the most common time but it hits some people as late as 4 p.m.
To most sufferers afternoon slump is simply a time each day when they feel at a low ebb-they can’t concentrate, drive poorly, shout at the kids or whatever. Doctors call it the postprandial dip and it is characterized by low body temperature, low blood sugar, fluid retention, a reduced work efficiency and a depression of mood. For some people it is a blight on the whole afternoon.
What causes it?
• Too much stodgy, refined carbohydrate for lunch. One study found that people who had eaten a heavy lunch were less able to detect signals and couldn’t differentiate as well between varying sizes and intensities of light.
• We all operate on a 12-hour cycle superimposed on a 24-hour day. Many scientists think that our bodies are crying out for a rest at about this time of the day. In Mediterranean and Latin countries the siesta is the rule rather than the exception-people go home at lunchtime to sleep and then return to work later in the afternoon and work into the evening. People who enjoy a siesta need less sleep at night, so it is not a waste of time sleeping during the day as is often thought.
• Skimping on breakfast. A research study found that 79 per cent of the subjects studied who complained of fatigue, fluid retention, or both, had skimped on breakfast. After being placed on a high-protein breakfast, forty-nine out of fifty-eight patients reported obvious, in some instances dramatic, reductions in fatigue and fluid retention.
Prevention
• Eat a 100 per cent raw lunch. Avoid all refined stodge.
• If you can’t eat 100 per cent raw then remove sugar, honey, refined carbohydrate foods and very sweet fruits such as dates, figs and bananas.
• Have a glass of orange juice with brewer’s yeast stirred in.
• Take some light exercise straight after lunch.
• Eat a sensible breakfast.
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