Edit wiki/energy/food-and-focus.md — Work Reflections

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# food and focus

what and when you eat has an outsized effect on cognitive performance. this took me embarrassingly long to figure out.

## the food coma problem

large meals — especially carb-heavy ones — trigger a parasympathetic response. blood diverts to digestion, insulin spikes, and you get the classic post-lunch crash. this isn't a character flaw; it's physiology.

the worst combo: a big meal + sedentary work immediately after. your body is trying to digest and your brain is trying to think, and neither wins.

## the no-eating block

i've settled on not eating past ~7pm. the reasons stack up:

- **sleep quality** — eating close to bedtime forces your body to digest when it should be cooling down and preparing for sleep. late meals shift the peripheral clocks later (see [[circadian-rhythm]]), creating internal desynchrony.
- **morning energy** — sleeping without a full stomach means waking up actually hungry, which is a natural alertness signal.
- **evening wind-down** — not eating creates a natural boundary between "productive hours" and "wind-down hours."

## caffeine timing

caffeine blocks adenosine receptors but doesn't clear adenosine. when it wears off, all the accumulated adenosine hits at once (the crash). the fix: don't use caffeine to mask tiredness — use it strategically when you're already alert and want a boost. and never after ~2pm if you value sleep.

## the fasting question

i've experimented with intermittent fasting (16:8 window). the morning focus is genuinely better — no digestion overhead, elevated cortisol and adrenaline from mild fasting state. but it's a tradeoff: afternoon energy can crash hard if you're not adapted to it.

my current approach: light breakfast or skip it, moderate lunch, done eating by 7pm. this gives me the morning focus benefit without the afternoon collapse.

## connection to resets

when energy is low, eating fruit is on my [[resets]] list. it's fast-acting sugar without the heavy digestion overhead. the key is that this is a *reset*, not a meal — small, quick, targeted.

also: the physical state of hunger vs. satiation affects decision-making. don't make important decisions (see [[reversible-vs-irreversible]]) when you're either starving or in a food coma. your cognitive resources are compromised in both states.