A glazier named Mike called 2 PM his “zombie hour.”
“Doesn’t matter what I eat, doesn’t matter how much sleep I got,” he said. “2 PM hits and I’m useless for an hour.”
Turns out, there are three things happening at once.
Thing one: The circadian dip
Your body has a natural energy rhythm. It’s not linear—you don’t start at 100% and slowly decline. There are peaks and valleys.
One of those valleys hits between 1 PM and 3 PM. It’s biological. Your core body temperature drops slightly. Your brain produces more alpha waves (the drowsy kind). This happens even if you slept perfectly and ate right.
In most cultures, this is when people nap. In American construction, this is when you push through and wonder why you feel like garbage.
You can’t eliminate this dip. But you can minimize it.
Thing two: The blood sugar crash
This is the one Mike could control.
He was eating a big lunch at noon. Sandwich, chips, soda. Lots of carbs. Blood sugar spiked, then crashed about two hours later.
The crash hits right around 2 PM. Coincidence? Not at all.
The fix: Mike changed his lunch.
Old lunch: Footlong sub, chips, soda. All at once.
New lunch: Half a sandwich at 11:30. The other half at 1:30. Apple and almonds at 3.
Result: No more blood sugar spike. No more crash. His 2 PM dip became barely noticeable.
Thing three: Dehydration catching up
By 2 PM, most tradesmen are mildly dehydrated. They drank coffee in the morning, maybe some water, but not enough.
Dehydration causes fatigue, headaches, and brain fog. The symptoms overlap perfectly with the afternoon crash.
The 2 PM check:
- When did you last drink water?
- Is your mouth dry?
- Is your urine dark?
If you’re behind, 16 ounces of water right now. Not coffee. Water.
The anti-crash protocol
Mike’s new afternoon routine:
1:30 PM:
- Light snack (protein + complex carb)
- 16 oz water with electrolytes
2:00 PM:
- Five minutes of movement (walk around, stretch)
- Cold water on face and wrists
- Green tea (not coffee—lower caffeine, more sustained)
2:30 PM:
- Back to work
The crash still happens. But it’s 20 minutes now, not an hour. And he can work through it instead of being useless.
What else helps
Morning light exposure. Getting natural light in your eyes within an hour of waking helps regulate your circadian rhythm. Makes the afternoon dip less severe.
Consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day strengthens your body’s rhythm. Weekend warriors who change their sleep schedule get hit harder by afternoon dips.
B-vitamin support. Your body uses B vitamins to convert food to energy. If you’re low on B vitamins, you’ll feel the crash harder. Brands like Built Daily Supply include these in their energy-support formulas.
The bottom line
The 2 PM crash is three problems: biological rhythm, blood sugar, and dehydration.
You can’t fix the rhythm. But you can eat strategically and stay ahead of dehydration.
Mike still has his zombie hour. But now it’s 10 minutes instead of 60. That’s a trade worth making.