New studies into common afternoon drowsiness experienced by office workers have created an opportunity for the smart building industry to tackle the issue. While most experts agree that mid-afternoon is a perfectly natural time to sleep, the office environment simultaneously adds additional drowsiness drivers and a sleep-impeding atmosphere. This universal workplace phenomenon, known as the “post-lunch dip”, represents a collision of biology and economics. While the body’s natural cycle may encourage workers sleep, employers traditionally do not, leading to millions of us reaching for the “post-lunch caffeine and sugar”. The 24-hour cycle of the body, or its circadian rhythm, is naturally in a resting phase approximately 7 hours after waking up. So in the afternoon, it happens to converge with another physiological cycle – known as homeostatic – that measures the amount of time spent awake and that is also pushing for a rest. Then add food digestion to the equation and you can see […]