Tired at 3PM Every Day? Here’s the Real Reason (and How to Fix It Naturally)
You know the feeling. It’s 3pm. Your energy tanks, your focus vanishes, and suddenly that second coffee or sweet snack feels like the only thing that’ll get you through.
But this isn’t just “a long day” catching up with you — it’s likely a blood sugar crash.
Understanding the 3PM Slump
It’s Not Just About Being Tired
The “3pm slump” is something many people experience – and while a slight dip in wakefulness in the afternoon is a natural part of our circadian rhythm, it’s not normal to crash so hard in the afternoon that you feel like you can’t get through the rest of the day.
The Real Culprit
You may blame it on needing more sleep or just a normal post-lunch reaction, but it actually points back to your blood sugar balance.
The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster
When you eat, your body turns food into glucose (sugar) to use as energy. That’s why your blood sugar naturally rises after a meal.
To bring that sugar into your cells (where it's actually used), your body releases insulin — a hormone that acts like a key, unlocking the cells so glucose can enter.
What matters is how fast that sugar enters your bloodstream.
Balanced Meals = Steady Energy
If your meal includes protein, healthy fats, and fiber, your body digests it more slowly. Think of fiber, protein, and fat like speed bumps. They slow how fast sugar enters your bloodstream — leading to a gentle rise and fall in blood sugar (like the green line in the graph above). You feel steady, focused, and satisfied.
Refined Carbs + Sugar = Crash + Cravings
But if you eat a meal that’s mostly refined carbs or sugar — like bread, soda, potatoes, chips, — your blood sugar spikes quickly. This can even happen with healthy carbohydrates, like fruit, when you eat them “naked” without any protein or fat. After this spike, insulin kicks in hard, causing a fast crash (like the red line). That’s when you feel tired, cranky, and craving another quick fix. Enter your 3pm craving for a coffee or chocolate bar to rescue you from this blood sugar slump.
The Effects of Blood Sugar Imbalances
If you frequently feel “hangry,” headaches, irritability, shakiness, or cravings in between meals, it’s likely a sign that your blood sugar is dysregulated and looks like the red line in the graph. You might also feel this way if you’re going for extended periods without eating and skipping meals, causing your blood sugar levels to drop too low.
Every time you spike and dip, you’re going to feel these rollercoaster symptoms as your body scrambles to keep your blood sugar in its desired optimal zone.
So how does this relate back to the dreaded 3pm crash?
By making small tweaks to your meals, snacks, and daily routine you can actually feel balanced energy, mood, and focus all day long.
At GreenMind, we specialize in metabolic health, and here’s where we’d start if your afternoons feel like an energy nosedive.
1. Start Your Day With a Protein + Fiber-Focused Breakfast
That bowl of cereal, granola bar, or muffin with your coffee might be setting you up for a crash later in the day. When you start your day with mostly carbs, your blood sugar rises quickly—and then plummets. This can lead to mid-morning crashes or feeling ravenous by lunch.
Why Breakfast Matters for Blood Sugar
When your blood sugar keeps spiking and dipping in this way, you’re going to keep craving high-carb and high-sugar foods to rescue you from each slump.
You might think your cravings are just a game of willpower, but the problem here is actually at a cellular level.
Here’s what you can do instead:
Prioritize a high-protein, high-fiber breakfast that will keep your blood glucose levels steady all morning long.
Why does this work? Research in overweight/obese adolescents found that a high-protein (35g) breakfast reduced ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels and evening snacking compared to a normal-protein (13g) breakfast or breakfast skipping, and eating breakfast also increased perceived fullness throughout the day (Leidy et al., 2013).
This tells us that protein early in the day can improve satiety all day long, reducing blood sugar fluctuations.
Easy Breakfast Fixes
Try our high-protein egg bites for a fast, easy breakfast + pair with a cup of berries for added fiber and antioxidants.
Make a breakfast smoothie with collagen, high-quality protein powder, ground flaxseed, frozen cauliflower rice, nut butter, and berries. Shop our fave smoothie fixings.
Reminder – 2 eggs is only 12g of protein, which isn’t enough to create a high-protein breakfast that’s at least 30g of protein. Consider adding cottage cheese to your plate, collagen, a small cup of Greek yogurt, extra eggs/egg whites, or a healthy breakfast sausage like Bilinski’s (in moderation).
2. Build a Balanced Lunch That Sustains Energy
A quick on-the-go or high-carbohydrate lunch without adequate protein and fat is likely to leave you with unsteady energy the rest of the day and may even cause you to eat more in the evening.
Common Lunch Mistakes
Have you ever felt insatiable at night or you can’t stop snacking after work? It's probably because you’ve been on a blood sugar rollercoaster all day long and haven’t nourished your body adequately throughout the day.
One small study of women showed that a very high-carbohydrate lunch led to 31% more calorie consumption at dinner compared to a high-protein lunch (Latner & Schwartz, 1999).
If you feel full for only an hour or two after eating, or if you’re craving sweets later, it’s a sign that your lunch isn’t balanced and/or wasn’t enough energy to keep you full. On the other hand, a balanced lunch prevents afternoon crashes and snacking at night, while increasing focus through your workday.
How to Build a Blood Sugar-Friendly Lunch
25% Protein (30+ grams): grilled chicken, salmon, lentils, pasture-raised eggs, cottage cheese, grass-fed beef
50% Non-Starchy Vegetables (2-3 cups): broccoli, tomatoes, onion, carrots, arugula, spinach, zucchini, garlic, celery, mushrooms – the sky is the limit!
25% Fiber-Rich Carbs (optional 0-1 servings): cooked and cooled potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, berries, kiwi, pomegranate, apples, oats
Healthy fats (1-2 Tbsp): olive oil, tahini, avocado, nuts, seeds
3. Snack Smarter Like It’s a Mini Meal
A sugary or caffeine pick-me-up might feel like the only option, but it just fuels the crash cycle. Opt for a snack that supports blood sugar stability and nourishes your body. This can be especially helpful if you exercise in the late afternoon/evening, or if you know that you’ll be eating a later dinner.
Snack Formula: Protein + Fiber + Healthy Fats
When eating a snack, you want to view it like a “mini meal.” The same tenets of protein + fat + fiber still apply – naked carbs (even healthy ones!) can cause another blood sugar spike and leave you feeling hungry an hour later.
Aim to get 10-20g protein with any snacks and include high-quality fat!
Avoid refined carbohydrates – candy, soda, chips, refined flour products – and choose high-quality carbohydrates like fruit (with the skin on) or healthier snack alternatives like Simple Mills crackers. Get our full list of favorite quick grab snacks.
Pair fruit with a hard boiled egg and a handful of nuts or tablespoon of nut butter to keep you full longer and ensure balanced energy levels. Almonds, for example, have been found to lower post-meal serum glucose levels and help reduce hunger at the next meal when eaten for a snack (Tan & Mattes, 2013).
If you’re constantly crashing in the afternoon, it’s not a willpower problem — it’s likely a sign that your body isn’t being supported throughout the day.
Take a closer look at what and when you’re eating. Patterns like skipping meals, high-sugar snacks, or low-protein breakfasts can quietly fuel those 3pm slumps and leave you feeling like you’re constantly drained.
Start small: balance your meals, prioritize protein and fiber, and choose foods that actually support your body’s needs. These simple shifts can have a big impact on your energy, mood, and focus by the end of the day.
Still Crashing? Let’s Dig Deeper.
If you're doing everything 'right' but still hitting a wall each afternoon, it’s time to dig deeper. At GreenMind, we can help uncover root causes like hormone imbalances, gut issues, or micronutrient deficiencies that could be sabotaging your energy.
Ready for clarity and support?
Book a free consultation call with our nutritionists at GreenMind — we’ll help you connect the dots and feel like yourself again.
Sources
Latner, J. D., & Schwartz, M. (1999). The effects of a high-carbohydrate, high-protein or balanced lunch upon later food intake and hunger ratings. Appetite, 33(1), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.1999.0237
Leidy, H. J., Ortinau, L. C., Douglas, S. M., & Hoertel, H. A. (2013). Beneficial effects of a higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese, "breakfast-skipping," late-adolescent girls. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 97(4), 677–688. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.112.053116
Tan, S. Y., & Mattes, R. D. (2013). Appetitive, dietary and health effects of almonds consumed with meals or as snacks: a randomized, controlled trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67(11), 1205–1214. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.184