今日导读
上班族和学生党们可能都有这样的时刻——“下午崩溃”。每天一到下午,就感觉自己昏昏欲睡,效率很低。那么如何避免不停犯困的情况呢?
今日正文
It's 3:00 p.m. and your motivation to do literally anything has evaporated.
现在是下午三点,这个时候你做任何事情的动力似乎都显得不够用了。
You feel tired, you can't focus, and the idea of starting any of the tasks on your to-do list is just mentally exhausting.
这时人们十分疲倦,无法集中注意力,任何准备做的事情想想就觉得累。
In other words, you've hit the afternoon slump and you're not alone.
也就是说,‘午后低迷期’正在困扰着你,而且并非只有你如此。
Well, that is an absolutely common experience.
大家肯定都经历过。
So what I want to do today is share a three-step process that you can go through, whenever you find yourself in an afternoon slump, battling that afternoon brain fog.
所以说,今天我要分享一个三步法,你可以跟着试试,当你进入“午后低迷期”的时候,让昏沉的大脑清醒起来。
Going through these things can help you gain back at least some of your energy to tackle the rest of your to-do list before you end the day.
按照这些方法,至少可以恢复些精力,在一天结束前完成一些该做的事情。
And with that, let's go over to step one in the process, which is to refuel.
带着这个问题,让我们来看看第一步,“加油”。
Your body is essentially an engine and what you put into it, the quality of what you put into it and the time at which you fuel it, these all factor into how energetic you're going to feel at all different times of the day.
你的身体好比是引擎,你加入什么燃料,燃料的质量,以及加入燃料的时间,所有这些因素都会影响你这一天不同时间段的精力。
So in the afternoons when I start feeling tired, this is the first thing that I think to do.
所以当下午开始感到疲劳的时候,以下就是首先要做的事情。
I want to get something to eat, get something to drink, and usually the first thing that I reach for is either a glass of water or a can of sparkling water.
我会吃点东西,或者喝点东西,通常我会先喝一杯水或者一杯气泡水。
Some people may be able to have a cup of coffee at four in the afternoon, while other people, if they have caffeine at any time in the day that has a p.m. in it, they're not gonna be able to go to sleep.
有些人可以在下午四点喝杯咖啡,但另一些人,无论在下午什么时间摄入咖啡因,那晚上就无法入睡了。
So, again, do some testing if you want to use caffeine in the afternoons.
所以,再强调一次,如果想在下午喝含咖啡因的饮品,先测试一下。
And you can also pair it with a light snack.
而且也可以搭配清淡的点心。
And if you're gonna go for a snack, the main thing here is don't just reach for simple sugars.
如果要吃点心的话,主要问题是不要摄入单糖。
Don't go for candy or soda especially, but also if you're just going for fruit and you're just taking in simple sugars, this causes a spike in your blood sugar with a subsequent crash.
特别是糖块或者汽水饮料,但是如果吃水果,也会摄入单糖,这会造成血糖波动,升高之后迅速下降。
So you want to pair that with some complex carbohydrates, maybe some wholewheat bread or maybe some proteins, like a hard boiled egg.
所以要配合复合碳水化合物来吃,全麦面包或者一些富含蛋白质的食物,例如水煮蛋。
Step two in the process is to reset.
第二步就是重新调整。
This means step away from your desk and take a break from your work.
意思就是离开桌子先别工作,休息一下。
Now for me, the ultimate way of resetting is to go outside.
对我而言,最直接的恢复办法就是出去走走。
Whatever it is, I want to get outside and get some sunlight exposure because exposure to light, especially sunlight, can be a cue to wake your body up.
什么都好,我就是想出去晒晒太阳,因为光照,尤其是日光,可以唤醒你的身体。
Sunlight is actually one of those external factors that really plays a part in how your circadian rhythm is governed.
光照确实是影响生物钟的一个外部因素之一。
And if for some reason you just can't go outside or you just don't want to exercise, you're trying to be as sloth-like as possible, you just get into that zen state of mind, at least let yourself step back from your work and take a little bit of a break to give yourself some intentional fun time.
但是如果因为一些原因,你无法出门,或者不想出门,打算和树懒一样懒,那就试试让思绪进入禅定的状态,至少让自己回到工作状态,休息一下给自己一点内心的快乐时刻。
You want to get into something that is not going to suck you in, not going to distract you for a really long period of time.
你要找点不会沉浸其中的事情,不会长时间分散你的精力。
It just kinda provides some mental rejuvenation.
让你的精力恢复的事情。
One other option could be to take a nap.
另一个选择就是小睡一会儿。
Now, I did a whole video on naps about a year ago and for me, naps aren't the most effective thing.
一年前我做了一期关于小睡的视频,不过对我而言,小睡不是很有效果。
I find that even if I do the 20-minute power nap, where you're not supposed to fall asleep, not supposed to get groggy, I find myself slipping into a deeper sleep and wanting to sleep for two or three hours.
我发现即便是尝试20分钟的睡眠,这段时间内不应该睡熟,但我会进入深度睡眠,还想睡两三个小时。
So it's kind of a big time waster for me, but, again, your mileage may vary and a lot of people get use out of naps in the early or late afternoon.
所以,对我而言这就是在浪费时间,不过,再强调一次,因人而异,许多人会习惯于下午某个时候睡会觉。
In fact, that's why a lot of countries have a siesta culture.
其实,这就是为什么许多国家有午休的传统。
That brings us to step three, which is to refocus.
然后是第三步,收心。
It is time to get yourself back to work and focus is the keyword here.
回到工作中去,收心是关键。
I find that when I hit the afternoon slump, I often have several tasks still left on my plate.
我发现,当我下午犯困时,经常是一堆工作没做。
And my brain will sort of just glide over them, and kind of listlessly try to get into each one.
而且我也不想去想它们,然后不情不愿地去开始每一项工作。
But I know there's a bunch of them and that makes it really hard to get into any one thing.
但我知道工作太多,都无从下手。
And this is where a bit of philosophy comes in for me, because a lot of people, when they talk about the afternoon slump, they are talking about the nutrition aspect of it, the sleep aspect of it, the circadian rhythm aspect of it.
这就让我领悟了一个道理,因为很多人在谈到下午犯困的原因时,会考虑到营养问题,睡眠问题和生物钟的问题。
But I think that the level of interest you have in your work and how focused you are on it actually plays a big role in how energized you feel.
但我认为,自己对于工作的兴趣,和对工作的投入度是让你精力充沛的关键。
So if you can find a way, either intrinsically or extrinsically, to get more interested in a single task that you want to do.
所以说,无论是发自内心的还是外在的,去发现你需要做的事情里更多的乐趣。
Then you're gonna feel a little bit more energized while doing it.
这样就会在做这件事情时更有精力。
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