The 2 pm slump doesn’t care if you’re working from home, or at the office. But when you’re working from home, it seems to hit particularly hard. Suddenly you feel tired, depressed, stressed out, unmotivated, and sluggish. Unfortunately, you still have several hours of work ahead of you, and it’s not going to be fun.
Surviving The Afternoon Slump
Having an afternoon slump is an almost ubiquitous feature of the workday. Most people experience it a few hours after lunch, as their bodies shift into a ‘digest and chill’ mode. If we were animals in the wild, we would have just feasted on some successfully caught prey or hard to find veggies. We would be lying around basking in our accomplishment as our digestive systems did the rest. But as modern humans, we have more to do than finding food, so even though we successfully hunted down that burger, we have to get back to work. Mix that with the physical and mental stress of sitting in an office all day, and you have a perfect storm of slump.
So what’s a modern animal to do when the afternoon slump hits? Take a break to do something that helps bring you back to life, calms your stress, and wakes up your mind. Try incorporating a mindful cannabis ritual into your workday.
Mindful Cannabis Rituals Help Un-Slump
How can a mindful cannabis ritual help? Well, for one thing, cannabis contains many chemical compounds that can help to boost your mood and bring focus and alertness to your mind while simultaneously calming and relaxing your body. We aren’t suggesting doing bong rips from your home office every afternoon (unless that’s your thing and your boss is super cool), but there are so many ways to utilize cannabis’ ingredients in low-key ways like with tinctures, sprays, or mints.
Look for options high in CBD, one of cannabis’ primary cannabinoids that won’t leave you feeling high or disoriented. Research shows that CBD can calm anxiety and depression and make us more resilient to future stressors. This is partly because CBD boosts serotonin levels, much like anti-depressants. So taking CBD in your afternoon slump can help improve your mood and relax you for the rest of the day.
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To add to this, CBD can also help with promoting alertness and reducing daytime sleepiness – so it is the perfect way to wake yourself up.
Terpenes can also help with this slump. Linalool is one option to try out. This calming terpene also found in lavender, and mint is known for its relaxing abilities. Beta-caryophyllene and Myrcene can both help with anxiety and pain relief, so it can be a great way to help ease stress and help with sore muscles from a day sitting at the computer.
Blending these terpenes with CBD would be an ideal solution for a workplace reset.
But going beyond the chemical aspect, there are incredible calming rituals that can be incorporated with your cannabis routine to really boost its impact on your day. Practices like meditation or yoga can be great ways to infuse your day with a little kindness towards yourself. That can shift how you feel all day long.
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Two Work Day Cannabis Rituals to Try
Curious to try out a cannabis ritual in your workday? You can create your own by adding cannabis to any short self-care ritual you want to do in the office. Or try one of these two examples, explicitly designed to reset your mind and body for the afternoon ahead.
Afternoon Focusing Meditation
One of the simplest and most effective afternoon cannabis rituals you can start is a focusing meditation. For this ritual, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit, so you can meditate.
To start, make yourself comfortable, and use your cannabis. Then let your body relax.
Next, you can start to notice your breathing in and out. Allow your attention to rest on the inhale and exhale of your breath. Do this for 5 minutes, keeping your attention focused on your breathing. You may also notice all kinds of other things while you meditate – your thoughts, pain in your body, people walking by, or talking in the hall. This is all normal, but when you notice your attention has drifted, bring the focus back to your breath.
Even a short time meditating can help to relax the body and reset the mind. Over time these practices can also help to improve focus and reduce anxiety in your day.
Nervous System Reset
Another ritual that can be helpful for the afternoon slump is doing an exercise that resets your nervous system for the rest of the day. When we get stressed, it impacts our nervous system making it harder for us to think clearly and stay focused. We also hold tension in our bodies, which can contribute to feelings of stress – so this exercise helps us to shake the stress out…literally.
It turns out that shaking is a natural way the body resets itself after intense or traumatizing experiences – and we can do this intentionally as well to shake off the stress of our workday.
To start this ritual, use your cannabis and then take a standing position. Shift your attention to your body, noticing any tension, pain, or other sensations present. Then shift your focus specifically to your left foot – feeling into that area of the body. Once you’ve noticed what’s happening in your foot, begin to shake your foot – as vigorously as you can while still being gentle with your body. Shake for about 10 seconds and then go back to noticing what your foot feels like. Then shift your attention to your right foot, performing the same steps. Continue to see, shake, and notice each movement up through each area of your body: left foot, right foot, left lower leg, right lower leg, left upper limb, right upper leg, hips and butt, torso, arms, and hands, and head and shoulders.
When complete, tune back into your entire body and let yourself shake out any remaining tension in your body.
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