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AIBU?

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Original poster

It happens around 3 pm every day

119 replies

Nobrainpowertothinkofaname · 18/08/2023 10:47

I start to get tired.

Does anyone else?

I’m mid forties with a 5 year old. I work part time but currently off with her for a few weeks during school holidays.
Yesterday, we took the dog for a short 20 minute walk, we then went to the beach (short drive round the corner)
We stayed until 12ish, sat down, playedwith Dd for over an hour (tiring in itself!)
The plan was to make a picnic and head back to the beach at 6 ish, started to get tired at 3 ish and after making dinner and going in the paddling pool with Dd, had decided there was no way I had the energy to go out again
Does this sound normal?

OP posts:
Willmafrockfit · 18/08/2023 13:08

if i am at home yes,
i could easily sleep and might do

ExD1938 · 18/08/2023 13:09

Same here.
But living in the country as I do, I see cows and sheep sit down in the middle of the day, and fewer birds come to my feeders. It makes me wonder if there a natural rhythm than animals, including us, are programmed to need a booster-nap at this time of day?

Ponoka7 · 18/08/2023 13:09

I agree with the carb/sugar slump. I never used to get it, but now at 55 I was. I do the school run for my DD and so had to try different things. Intermittent fasting, not eating of a morning, has worked. I do snack on protein if I have to though. It could also partly be the slight slowing down that you can get 45-50. I had my children younger, so can nap when I don't have my GC.

billy1966 · 18/08/2023 13:10

Low iron can cause this dip.

I took a recommended tonic Floridix with iron every day for a fortnight, the whole bottle and it made a huge difference to my energy levels.

DogDaysAreOverr · 18/08/2023 13:14

The sleep scientist Matt Walker will tell you a 20 minute nap is a wonderful thing for your well-being and longevity...

Andante57 · 18/08/2023 13:14

As pp have said it might well be an underactive thyroid. I felt exhausted after dd was born and for ages thought it was just because of having young children - which are exhausting.
However it got worse and worse and so I had a test and since I’ve taken thyroxine every day I feel fine.
Or it may be iron or B12.

Globalfrumpmaster78 · 18/08/2023 13:16

I get this but between 5 to 6 pm. Every day. I get up at 6.30am week days and 7.30 am at weekends.

As others have said: check your bloods, diet and quality of sleep and drink water. Make sure you have mainly vegetables and protein at every meal and just a few carbs.

Many people have a fatty liver from eating too many carbs and don’t realise it.

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 18/08/2023 13:16

It's a normal time to feel tired, after lunch. However I found the slump isn't as bad if I have fresh air, no caffeine and no sugar as there isn't as much of a 'crash'

babyproblems · 18/08/2023 13:17

I also hit a wall 3-4pm!! Then I can’t get to sleep at night. Argh! X

Palindrone · 18/08/2023 13:18

The '3-o-clock slump' is a well-known thing.

I too am mid-40s with a 5-year-old and it happens every damn day...just in time for doing the school run.

BaroldandNedmund · 18/08/2023 13:24

I have this and my children are 18 and 20. The 4pm dog walk kills me and sometimes I don’t dare to drive because I know it isn’t safe. I feel like I’m dying for two hours and then I’m (kind of) ok again.

spitefulandbadgrammar · 18/08/2023 13:27

Cannot be cured by inhaling an entire family bag of Haribo Tangfastics, does anyone know?

Will a GP do a full blood panel for “I’m knackered every afternoon in my 40s, yes I’ve got a preschooler and a baby” or are people getting private blood screenings?

zurala · 18/08/2023 13:27

Yes and my bloods are all excellent so I wondered if it was to do with menopause. I get so tired in the afternoons then perk up later.

audweb · 18/08/2023 13:31

I’ve had that all my life. I just assumed it was a natural slump in my body rhythm. Life would be better if I could nap briefly every day at that time, I’m in my forties but I swear I have been like that since my late teens!

Wittyname10 · 18/08/2023 13:33

30 M here and yes, I get this too.

Some of it is, I think, related to caffeine intake within the first 90 minutes or so of waking up. Andrew Huberman on Youtube talks about it quite extensively.

I work in an office any take lunch at my desk, so I can then - if not too busy - take my lunch break in the afternoon and go for a walk. It really helps keep the tiredness at bay.

Minttee · 18/08/2023 13:33

I had this for years but I've stopped eating sugar and I fast in the morning, don't get it now. Try cutting out cards and sugar until the evening if you can, see if it makes a difference.

Moveoverdarlin · 18/08/2023 13:47

I am the same. I went to the doctors to have a blood test a couple of weeks ago and my iron levels were very very low. Maybe go and get tested. I was worried I was menopausal but the lack of iron accounts for the tiredness.

Advicerequest · 18/08/2023 14:06

About your age with perimonpaise there was a time I was actually going to bed after dropping kids at school and sleeping till pick up!

DandDoodlz67 · 18/08/2023 14:06

spitefulandbadgrammar · 18/08/2023 11:19

My energy dip from boring small children starts at around 6am…

Show quote history

Lol me too from the start when they get up!

user8665438 · 18/08/2023 14:07

3pm is when I have my one coffee of the day!

I always get tired around this time.

KeepSmiling89 · 18/08/2023 14:08

Totally normal! I've got a 20 month old DD and, unless I'm busy at work seeing patients or out at school or whatever, I usually have a 3pm slump. I usually go and make myself a cuppa or deliberately get up for a wee walk to the admin office or to the toilet. Sometimes even just wandering around my clinic room helps so I'm getting some movement in!

I'm 34 by the way and had this slump even before DD was born!

Shodan · 18/08/2023 14:26

4.30pm is my nap time and has been for a couple of decades at least (am 54 now).

But- I am a very poor sleeper. I had quite bad insomnia during my 20s and 30s, less bad during my 40s and currently is heading towards bad again.

So napping for me is part of my 'normal'.

dontchaknow · 18/08/2023 14:44

I've had this since I was a teenager - I'm retired now - my "tired time" is usually between 4 and 5 pm. I can push through it, but if I do, I will usually need an early night. I always thought it was a natural rhythm thing. If I go to a different time zone, I still get tired at whatever time locally equates to 4-5 at home.

floribunda18 · 18/08/2023 14:51

I'm late 40s and I don't get this.

Definitely get hormone levels checked out. Also think about improving your diet- low iron or magnesium can be a factor. I take Floradix tablets and find them gentle.

Also I've had more energy since I've been doing cardio and weight regularly in the gym. I didn't think I was unfit before - I walked quite a lot and did yoga - but doing regular exercise in the gym has made a big difference to my fitness.

Also weight - being overweight means it is more of a strain on your heart & body to do everyday things.

And sleep hygiene - try and get really good quality sleep.

LatteLady · 18/08/2023 15:00

OP, reading your thread reminded me that my mother, would take a 20 min nap after lunch everyday. In fact my earliest memory is of her asleep in an armchair, with me sat in my pram and the Home Service playing Listen with Mother, I know it was a Tuesday, as I remember the smell of Windolene and the nets were soaking... and that only happened on Tuesdays. But seriously she took a nap everyday after lunch between 1:30 and 2:00pm.

I do sometimes wish I could catnap like that.