Do you ever find yourself struggling to stay awake at work? I know I have those days, and the kids aren’t always to blame either! Whether it’s up too late, unable to turn off our brains, excitement or anxiety, we all have days where no amount of coffee is going to cut it. I have 5 tips that I have found extremely helpful when I cannot keep my eyes open to save my life.

1. Sit on the edge of your seat. This helps you sit with better posture and prevents you from sinking into your seat. You engage more muscles and can’t accidentally nod off…and if you do, the floor will happily wake you up.
2. Write things by hand instead of on the computer. There’s something that happens mentally when we write by hand. Maybe it’s the break our eyes need from technology or engaging more muscles and thought into what we are doing, or both. All I know is that it really works.
3. Get up and move regularly. Try to get up for 10 minutes every hour. This will get your blood moving, give you a break from what you are doing and a chance to possibly even walk outside and get some sunlight. Sun really does a body, and brain, good. The change will help keep you from feeling ready to fall over.
4. Stand up when you can. Sitting for several hours straight isn’t healthy for us at all. It promotes chronic disease, reduces life expectancy, and increases our waistline (source). Add exhaustion on top of that and you have a double whammy. Whenever you can, stand up out of your seat. Not only will it make you healthier, it’ll help keep you awake.
5. While sitting, straighten your legs and flex your feet, roll your shoulders and stretch your neck periodically. Another tactic to engage your brain and get blood moving. Plus, it just feels good.

Along with these ideas, I also love a good cup of Bulletproof coffee.   Along with these ideas, I also love a good cup of my version of Bulletproof coffee.
I use:

• 6 oz of a Breakfast Blend coffee
• 1 spoonful of coconut oil
• and/or 1 spoonful of grass-fed butter

Mix well. Personally I don’t mind the oil slick (mostly because I don’t have an immersion blender at work and I drink it through a reusable coffee cup with a lid.) If you are able, throw the mixture into your blender for 20 seconds so it mixes well and turns frothy.

This blend is incredibly creamy and delicious. I know it doesn’t sound like it but seriously, you should try it. It’s just one cup of coffee and if you don’t like it, you tried it at least right? I use to have to have my coffee full of sugar, and now that is all I need. I do recommend you start with 1/2 a spoonful each and work your way up. Your gallbladder will thank you.

Coconut oil is ah-mazing. It is a saturated fat that is made up of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These are metabolized differently than long chain fatty acids. They are used immediately for energy or turned into ketones (brain food.) On top of this, fat is satisfying. It keeps our blood sugar stable, keeps us feeling full and actually helps us eat less without even trying (!). While it goes against our current cultural way of thinking, saturated fats are not harmful. Unless you have an extremely rare, genetic disorder, healthy saturated fats actually help lower cholesterol, change your LDL to a helpful, not harmful subtype (fluffy instead of small particle) and will lower your triglycerides (which are harmful.)

Grass fed butter has it’s own amazing health benefits. Real butter has the most absorbable form of vitamin A, the only source of the anti-stiffness factor, a great source of vitamin K2 which helps with the conversion of calcium in our blood to move to our bones, and is high in anti-oxidants. On top of that, butter tastes amazing. However, your coffee will not taste like butter, promise.

So give it a try and let me know what you think!

Live Healthy and Whole,

Marian

 

Sources:
http://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/

http://bodyecology.com/articles/benefits_of_real_butter

Image from : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488155/1-5-workers-admits-falling-asleep-desk-Wednesday-likely-day.html