The next best thing, if you can’t take a nap after lunch, is to leave your simple, low-stakes busywork for this time, because you’re much more likely to make cognitive blunders after lunch.

A word of caution: before you start lobbying the boss for sanctioned nap time, know that short snoozes work only for some—others need a couple hours, says business columnist Phyllis Korkki. If you’re lucky, you’re in the former camp and can quickly recharge with a cat nap.

3. Work less—have you even been faced with a thorny problem and heard the advice, “Walk away from it; an answer will come to you”? This sage advice can apply to the work/life balance. While some foolishly equate productivity with never-ending work, the reality is that you need time off to fully realize your workplace potential. It shouldn’t be news that burnout is pretty bad for productivity. If you’re stuck in the “It’s a race” mindset, then try on this metaphor: work is an ultramarathon, not a sprint.

4. Exercise more—speaking of sports, they can be the best diversions from work. And getting some aerobic exercise during the weak can boost your immune system, reducing the chances you’ll lose working hours to illness.

Even better, according to the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, exercise can increase levels of important chemicals that stimulate brain growth and improve learning and mental performance. That’s right: exercise can make you smarter.

5. Limit caffeine intake—many people regard caffeine, particularly coffee, as the fuel of the industrialized world. Indeed, coffee and other stimulants (tea, soda) can help with alertness and productivity. But the law of diminishing returns starts to apply by the second or third cup, when you’re not so much alert as totally wired.

Since coffee artificially stimulates the body’s adrenal glands, after a while your body begins to burn out. Eventually, after repeated days of heavy intake, the body is unable to secrete adrenaline as readily. This is why coffee habits tend to escalate—you need more and more in order to trigger the chemical release. The takeaway? Save coffee for when you really need it and it will work wonders for you. Abuse it, and it will lose its effectiveness.

6. Eat smarter— if you’re like most people, you forgo breakfast, choosing instead to eat a larger lunch. Bad idea. By eating smaller, less-sugary meals, you can avoid the dreaded post-prandial dip.

If you do eat a big lunch, avoid the temptation to reach for a cup of coffee afterward. Afternoon coffee will likely affect your night’s sleep, setting in motion a cycle in which you need greater and greater amounts of caffeine to stimulate your overtired body. A good way to beat the lunch hangover is to take a quick walk and drink some ginger or peppermint tea, which will help your body digest your food.