Afternoon Drowsiness

The afternoons at work are terrible for me. I have episodes of sleepiness. Is it because we are left more on our own here than in Singapore. Is it because with more freedom, falling asleep on the job is more tolerable here? Or, conversely, working in Asia is more stressful that falling asleep at your desk is not an option. So the stress is keeping us at our toes in the East. Or is because I am doing more work here in the USA like driving to work, working on the kid’s application paperwork and so on. So I am not sure why I have problems in the afternoon’s here than before. Maybe it’s because I eat more since I often go home to grab a bite to eat.


Most night I sleep at 12 midnight and wake about 6am. I start my Tai Chi exercise while watching TV, and doing rowing exercise for about 30 minutes, then breakfast of 2 toast with cottage cheese, chocolate drink, fruits and 2 table spoon of cider vinegar. Then off I go for a shower and drive to work along the lonely country roads to the office. It takes about 10 minutes to get to work and I take coffee once I reach my desk. Hence, I think it is a typical life and the only thing really is that I struggle to keep awake in the afternoon. Maybe I don’t get a good night’s sleep because of my possible sleep apnea. But I also realize that I am more awake and on my toes here than anywhere else.


It’s a calm attentiveness that I have now due to the circumstances. For example, driving to work as compared to taking the train to work, where driving require more attention than just passively riding the subway. So my senses are more alive here now especially when I am doing something. I am glad that I can function now at the best of my abilities as compared to my existence in Singapore where I was half dead. So I guess I may be more tired mentally than physically which is sapping my strength. I want to be more productive in the evenings after work so I guess I should start drinking small cups of coffee after dinner so I could work on my other activities.

Sometimes I feel I should start smoking again in the afternoon to keep me awake. Last night I smoked my cigar while walking around the neighborhood. I did not like it and I put the cigar out after smoking about 1/3rd of it. It did not keep me awake because I dozed off while watching the video on The Appalachians. Afterward I took a bath and started reading the magazine ‘Wired.’ It a great magazine as it keeps the everyday Joe like me updated on the latest trends and inventions. It was enough to keep me awake for a few minutes to learn about new things. I guess new ideas often keep me awake.

This morning I brought my wife to the doctors and I was driving around like mad to keep the appointment. It went well and I went home to eat a big lunch of beef stew and fish fillet and rice. Maybe that’s why I am sleepy now because of the effort of driving and eating a big lunch. Even the strong tea I am drinking is not keeping me up. Another idea is that my mind is working at a different level that my mind shuts off as it's working on an unknown groove. I guess I have to monitor and think if new ways to keep awake. Some options: taking a nap in my car during lunch time, listening to music on a MP3 player, writing a journal (which I already do).