Why do we feel tired by noon?

Why do we feel tired by noon?

Why do we feel tired by noon? (Getty Images)

There is something about the post lunch hour, when a sense of boredom creeps in and time weighs so heavy that you can almost hear the clock tick. As the sun shines brightest upon the day, we feel an urge to retire to bed or if we are at work, to put our heads down and catch 40 winks.

The midday tiredness is a by-product of a modern lifestyle that keeps us always on the move, hardly leaving us with time to stop and have a proper breakfast. At work, you’ll see colleagues drinking cups and cups of coffee just to stay awake or engaging in mindless chatter to bide time and ward off boredom. But why are we prepared to give up on the day by noon while pending work mounts, and there is so much more to generally go through?

We talk to experts on the reasons for the dismal energy levels at noon, and how best we can correct it.

No goodnight’s sleep
Most of us bring the office home, continue to talk on the phone, or work on laptops and endlessly watch television till midnight. This takes away from our prime sleep hours that help restore tirednerves and rejuvenates the body. A routine of sleeping late and waking up early, and then rushing to work, leaves you exhausted much sooner in the day. Get at least 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep. Preferably, turn your cell phones off while you do so.

No time for play
When you have no exercise routine sketched out, you do burn out faster. Agreed, morning hours are the busiest, but it is worth squeezing in a brief workout schedule. Anything from brisk walks, jogging, skipping to running on the treadmill helps, if going to the gym is too far-fetched an idea for you. An evening workout is not half as effective as an early morning warm up sets the pace for the remainder of the day. If nothing else, it secretes ‘happy hormones’ which gives your body the much-needed inward push.

Anxious, all the time
Taking too much stress not only gives you high blood pressure, but reduces your attention span as well. Avoid being restless and edgy, and consciously try to stay happy and hassle-free. Take pride in your work, your family, your house and your surroundings. It’ll keep you going.

No time for breakfast
Most people who feel tired by afternoon are the ones that skip breakfast in favour of a large lunch. If you do not take meals in the designated time frame, it’ll affect your hormonal secretion and leave you lethargic. Not taking breakfast works up your appetite, and subsequently, you overdo the lunch.

Tips to stay vivacious
- Take a timely and balanced breakfast comprising a bowl of oats, or cereals of your choice, fruits, and toast with some butter or margarine on it.
- Avoid drinking too much coffee or tea after breakfast and before lunch. Not only are you ruining your appetite, the excess caffeine makes you anxious as well.
- Don’t overeat at lunchtime as you are bound to feel tired for the rest of the day. However, your lunch should be a right balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. You can take chapattis, a bowl of dal, and a portion of green vegetables. Non-vegetarians can substitute dal with chicken stew, both a source of proteins. Try to avoid rice in the afternoon as it will invariable give you a belly bulge. In fact, if you go for a balanced diet at lunchtime, you wouldn’t require any of the calcium and multi-vitamin supplements.
- Sleep adequately at night.
- Swing into action an exercise schedule. Be it heavy duty gym-ing or a workout at home.
- Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water through the day.
- Avoid snacking between breakfast and lunch. It’s good to indulge in fresh fruits of various hues. From apples, peaches, oranges, berries, pomegranate to banana, fruits have their own distinctive properties, and are an abundant source of Vitamin A, C, potassium and flavonoids among others.
- Potato chips are a total diet killer. Take sprouts instead. You can even carry it in a little box with you to work, and have it when you feel the urge to snack. It keeps you fresh and your body, lighter.

The Art of Giving...!!!

"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others?

Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give, several questions need to be answered.

The first question is when should one give?

We all know the famous incident from the Mahabharata.

Yudhisthir, asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices, that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around tomorrow to give. Yudhisthir gets the message.

One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give! The time to give therefore is now.

The next question is how much to give.

One recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day.

The answer to this question how much to give is "Give as much as you can!

The next question is what to give. It is not only money that can be given. It could be a flower or even a smile.

It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in days and weeks! "You can give anything but you must give with your heart!

One also needs answer to this question whom to give.

Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking. However, being judgmental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may not be the most deserving is not justified. "Give without being judgmental!

Next we have to answer How to give

Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel humiliated, nor does the giver feel proud by giving. In giving follow the advice, '

Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity. 'Give quietly!

While giving let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us? Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude. When you help someone in need, give it before he asks for it; for if you place him under the necessity of stretching out his hand, you take away from him his self-respect which is worth more than the value of your alms.

What should one feel after giving?

We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as "Guru Dakshina", he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to Dronacharya.

There is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying. His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of death of his son Ashwathama and had stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru.

The message to us is clear. Give and never regret giving!

And the last question is How much should we provide for our heirs?

Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the gift of work'? - A source of happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett: "Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!

I would conclude by saying: let us learn the Art of Giving, and quoting Saint Kabir:

"When the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, Throw them out with both hands"

ANGER MANAGEMENT

1. He who, before he leaves his body, learns to surmount the promptings of desire and anger is a saint and is happy....

BHAGWAD GEETA

2. Negative feelings such as violence are damaging to life, weather we act upon them ourselves, or cause or condone them in others. They are born of greed, anger, or delusion and may be slight, moderate or intense. Their fruit is endless ignorance and suffering. To remember this is to cultivate the opposite.

PATANJALI

3. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

GAUTAM BUDDHA

4. There are three ways of holding anger: by expression, by suppression and by forgiveness.

DADA J P VASWANI

5. For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace of mind.

RALPH W EMERSON

हिन्दू धर्म में भगवान शिव को अनेक नामों से पुकारा जाता है रूद्र - रूद्र से अभिप्राय जो दुखों का निर्माण व नाश करता है। पशुपतिनाथ - भगवान शिव को पशुपति इसलिए कहा जाता है क्योंकि वह पशु पक्षियों व जीवआत्माओं के स्वामी हैं अर्धनारीश्वर - शिव और शक्ति के मिलन से अर्धनारीश्वर नाम प्रचलित हुआ। महादेव - महादेव का अर्थ है महान ईश्वरीय शक्ति। भोला - भोले का अर्थ है कोमल हृदय, दयालु व आसानी से माफ करने वाला। यह विश्वास किया जाता है कि भगवान शंकर आसानी से किसी पर भी प्रसन्न हो जाते हैं। लिंगम - यह रोशनी की लौ व पूरे ब्रह्मांड का प्रतीक है। नटराज - नटराज को नृत्य का देवता मानते है क्योंकि भगवान शिव तांडव नृत्य के प्रेमी हैं।शान्ति नगर स्थित शिवशक्ति दुर्गा मंदिर के पं. सोहनानंद जी महाराज ने बताया कि शिवरात्रि को रात्रि में चार बार हर तीन घंटे बाद रुद्राभिषेक किया जाता है। इससे जातक का कालसर्प दोष व सभी गृहदोष दूर हो जाते हैं।

सर्वार्थ सिद्धि योग में करवा चौथ

भास्कर न्यूज Tuesday, October 06, 2009 08:33 [IST]

उज्जैन. महिलाएं करवाचौथ का व्रत अपने सुहाग की दीर्घायु और खुशहाल दाम्पत्य जीवन के लिए करती हैं। बुधवार (7 अक्टूबर) को चतुर्थी पर महिलाएं दिनभर व्रत रखेंगी। रात में शिव-पार्वती का पूजन करने के साथ चौथ माता की कथा सुनेंगी और चंद्रमा निकलने पर पूजन के बाद करवे का जल लेकर भोजन ग्रहण करेंगी। कई जगह सामूहिक पूजन भी होगा।

ज्योतिषाचार्य पं. अमर डिब्बेवाला के अनुसार चतुर्थी (9 घटी, 4 पल) अर्थात 10 घंटे 2 मिनट रहेगी, जो बुधवार को प्रात: 10.30 से प्रारंभ होकर रात 8.30 बजे तक रहेगी। करवाचौथ पर्व कर्णयोगाहा, भरणी नक्षत्र व सर्वार्थ सिद्धि योग के साथ 32 साल बाद आ रही है। इसके पहले यह योग 1977 में बना था। बुधवार दोपहर १२.१क् बजे गुरु मार्गी होंगे और 3.15 बजे से सर्वार्थ सिद्धि योग शुरू होगा, जो चंद्र दर्शन तक प्रभावशील रहेगा।

चंद दर्शन- पंचाग के मुताबिक बुधवार को चंद्र दर्शन शाम करीब 7.40 पर होगा। व्रत का पूर्ण लाभ लेने के लिए महिलाएं रात 10.30 बजे बाद चंद्र पूजन करें क्योंकि इस समय चंद्रमा 13 से 16 कला में होता है। ज्योतिषीय गणना में चंद्र पूजन इन्हीं कलाओं में श्रेष्ठ माना गया है।