It’s amazing what a difference temperature can make when you’re trying to be mentally productive. It may seem strange to cool down to get more mental clarity and energize your mind, but it’s all scientific. Think about this. Your brain uses glucose to run and cooling down tends to release the glucose, thus waking up your brain. Plus, you tend to burn more fat if you stay cooler than if you’re hot and sluggish.
If you’re feeling sluggish, try any of these cool-down methods to invigorate your mind and get back on track.
* Yawning – One reason your body is often triggered to yawn is due to the need for an extra kick of oxygen. But at the same time it cools your body down, thus enabling you to think more clearly. You can make yourself yawn by looking at a video of someone yawning, or by simply opening your mouth as if you’re going to yawn until it happens.
* Yoga – There is a form of breathing in yoga called Sitali breath. This is simply breathing in through your mouth using your tongue as a type of filter. Just stick your tongue out and curl it into "U" shape. Then sitting comfortably with good posture breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose with a long inhale and a slow exhale. Do this about ten times to cool down. Great desk activity to do when you’re experiencing the 3 pm slump.
* Turn Down the Thermostat – If possible, make your room cooler at night for sleeping. The ideal sleeping temperature is between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If you can manage to cool your room down like that, you’ll sleep much better and wake up more invigorated.
* Eat Fruit – An ideal daytime snack about 30 minutes before your normal slump time is to eat some form of berry. Strawberries, raspberries, and cherries are all good choices to eat. Alternatively, you can eat any type of fruit you want that is low in fat and high in moisture to cool down, including melons. If you want to avoid too much sugar, try cucumbers.
* Stay Hydrated – One of your best weapons against brain fog is water. Try to keep water with you throughout the day. The best temperature for water is really room temperature. You don’t need to make it super-cold because then your body has to work harder to get it to the right temperature, which could make you hotter. Shoot for half your body weight in ounces. For example, a 150-pound woman should drink 75 ounces throughout the day. Don’t guzzle the water; you want to work toward a slow drip to stay cool.
* Use Face Mist – You can use filtered water, but you can also buy face mist with essential oils that are energizing and safe. When you feel as if you cannot focus or concentrate, simply mist your face with the solution. Take the time to also breathe in deeply between sprays to give your body a little extra oxygen kick, which will also cool you down.
* Change Your Socks – Anytime you get hot and sweaty, even if you cool off later, your feet will often stay hot if you have the same socks. The best way to give yourself a fast pick-up is to bring extra socks anytime you know you’re going to work physically to a sweat, then change them so that you can cool off faster.
If you want to increase your productivity or anyone’s productivity, turn down the AC (or open the window if it’s cool outside) to get the temperature down. A perfect daytime non-sleeping temperature is no hotter than 72 degrees F. Someplace between 68 and 72 degrees is best for keeping your brain energized.
Coming Next
Don’t miss out on the next post where we’ll look at why you should follow cat law to be more energetic, invigorated, and awake every single day.