5 Ways to Re-Energize Yourself at Work (Without Coffee)

Imbibing caffeine can be a bit of a vicious cycle, the more you drink, the more tired you get. Then you have to drink more and more to get increasingly less meaningful pick-ups.

The truth is you can re-energize yourself all day long at work without caffeine, and be a better worker for it. Here are a few ways you can get a pick-me-up without heading to the coffee machine, or down to the nearest Starbucks.

Keep Dark Chocolate in Your Desk Drawer

Dark chocolate contains powerful stimulants that both lower your blood pressure and expand your blood vessels. That means more blood and oxygen to your overworked brain. All it takes is a bite to improve your attention levels, so you don't have to go off your latest diet to benefit

Keep Those Headphones Blaring

The good news for all you music lovers out there is that a new study shows music is essential to your work performance. Mindlab International has even broken down what genres of music help most with different types of work. Numbers people should listen to classical music, and dance music enhances accuracy and performance across most types of work. Cha cha cha!

Put Some White Space in Your Calendar

If you're feeling slammed, running from one appointment to another with no time to reflect, what you need is some white space. You never really know how long a given task will take, or what interruptions you might suffer. A block of white space on each side of an appointment should help with that.

White space in your calendar also builds in time for thinking things over and through, reading up on your chosen field, taking deep breaths, or just being who you are for a while in the midst of pandemonium.

Start Taking Naps During Work

The National Sleep Foundation says that almost 50 percent of Americans say insufficient sleep at night is affecting their daytime performance. A quick nap can address that deficiency. Research shows that even ten minutes a day can improve your concentration and enhance your creativity. And it can make you all-around more effective at work, heighten learning and boost productivity.

A Southern California startup has even introduced the very first "mobile nap stations" for taking your "power naps" in style and comfort without your co-workers spying your brief snooze.

If your team members complain, remind them napping helps you relax while enhancing your memory.