How to Boost Mental Alertness at Work

Today’s workplace demands an employee’s utmost mental alertness on account of the nature and volume of work at the modern office. In a world where ineffectiveness and inefficiency at work are detrimental to the inpidual and the organization, staying mentally alert is a constant challenge in the face of longer work hours, higher stress levels, inadequate sleep, and other lifestyle habits. Understanding how to boost your mental alertness at work is one of the key skills that can ensure the quality of your job.

Plan Early – Do your planning early in the day when the mind is at its peak and unhindered by the stresses of the day. A well-planned day can help you avoid the stresses of unexpected challenges and unnecessary stressors. Using a personal and professional calendar to order your tasks and appointments goes a long way in boosting alertness for each time of day.

Adequate Sleep – Getting a good night’s rest is crucial to being alert the following day. Research hypothesizes that the effect of sleep deficits incurred during a week continue past the weekend, making you irritable and unfocused the next week. At least 7 to 8 hours of sleep keeps your senses, immune system, and your mind alert.

Eat Right – Eating the right quantities of foods such as blueberries, leafy green vegetables, avocados, fish, dark chocolate, nuts and flax seeds have a host of short-term and long-term benefits including improved blood flow to the brain, improved endorphin levels, and increased alpha-wave brain activity that improves mental speed and accuracy.

Reading & Puzzles – Reading is an active way to keep your mind nimble and capable of assimilating facts and is a good way to practice your analytical skills. Watching video and television offers passive learning and assimilation benefits, but reading actively improves the firing of neurons, opening up new pathways and thought patterns. Puzzles force your mind to think and evaluate multiple possibilities, keeping your mind ready to crack that particularly time-consuming problem at work.

Hydration – Studies show that the volume of the brain actually decreases when you are dehydrated. Keeping yourself properly hydrated with the right electrolytes helps your mind stay alert to your surroundings and to your work.

Lifestyle Choices – Drug and alcohol abuse causes your brain to shrink and over time, result in impaired cognitive abilities, short-term memory, and alertness. Stay clear of excesses to keep your brain fighting fit at work.