Tired Tuesday, the New Monday

Hi. It's Laura. 

Something I have noticed over the last few months is how draggy and cranky and tired I am on Tuesdays. This was not always the case when I was in corporate. Tuesdays were my most productive today, it was Monday that butt dragged but now it is consistently Tuesday.

They are not particularly hard gym days either so I cannot explain why I feel the need to just lay down in the middle of the day on Tuesday and take a serious nap. Usually by midafternoon, I am a walking zombie. By early evening I am finished. Don't try to make plans with me on a Tuesday night.

The most detrimental part of being that tired is eating. When I feel tired, the first thing I reach for is food and it is not usually good food either. There seems to be some "tired" logic that that says “if I am tired,  food will wake me up” or “food will keep me going somehow”. I know this is wrong (didn't I say tired logic).

Apparently I am not alone here, there was a study done at Columbia University that found that women, who were tired, ate 300 calories more than they normally would. I read the article and they deprived these women of sleep. I am not sleep deprived! I get a solid 6 1/2 hours a sleep per night, sometimes more (it used to five so I am getting better). Men on the other hand only took in an extra 262 calories (you have to hate men, it’s easier to lose, they pee standing up and they take in fewer calories when tired).

I find the second most detrimental thing I do when I am tired is reach for coffee. I usually go for it in the late afternoon at about 3ish to 4ish, which of course messes up my whole schedule.

Here is that typical cycle: coffee at three carries me till about 9 PM making me wide awake and feeling good. At five, I have a glass  of wine, I enjoy the wine, I have another glass, stay up past my bed time ( even if it is only a half hour), I sleep poorly because of the caffeine and the alcohol , wake up tired and draggy so the whole thing starts again.  

I have changed that pattern somewhat, I don't drink coffee in the afternoon and if I feel that tired I drink water instead of going for a snack. Water helps pretty much everything and I do find that once I get a little in me, I feel better. Bonus! The water makes me feel full.

Now I know none of this explains why I am always so tired on Tuesdays but hopefully will make you a little more aware of the choices that you make the next time you a dragging through the day.

 

Play hard & eat well!

Laura