3 p.m. sugar cravings: it's not that you're weak-willed

Your body has an early afternoon "slump"

Your body runs on an internal clock called the circadian rhythm. That clock doesn't only make you sleepy at night.

Many people get an extra dip of mild sleepiness in the early afternoon, roughly between 1 and 3 p.m. Researchers call it the post-lunch dip. It happens even when you skip lunch, so it's not just about the meal.

When you're tired, your brain hunts for quick energy. And nothing is "quicker" than something sweet. That's when a cup of milk tea looks more tempting than ever.

Your lunch decides your afternoon

Think back to today's lunch. Was it:

• A bowl of bún or phở, or a plate piled with rice and not much else? Lots of starch, little protein and veg. You fill up fast, but get hungry fast too.
• A bánh mì wolfed down to make a meeting? Eat too little and of course you'll be hungry early.
• Skipped entirely because you were busy? Then at 3 p.m. your body comes to "collect the debt".

A meal with enough protein (meat, fish, eggs, tofu) and fiber (vegetables, beans) usually keeps you full longer. Protein and fiber slow down digestion in the stomach, so energy is released gradually.

Put simply: lunch is like firewood. All newspaper, and it flares up then dies out. Add a thick log, and the fire glows for a long time.

Short sleep makes you crave more sugar

This one has been studied fairly clearly.

In 2004, a team of scientists had healthy young men sleep just 4 hours a night for 2 nights. The result: the hunger hormone (ghrelin) went up and the fullness hormone (leptin) went down. They felt hungrier and craved sweets and starchy foods the most.

The study was small, and everyone reacts differently. But many later studies point in a similar direction.

So if you stayed up late watching a series last night, this afternoon's craving might be the "bill" arriving.

Habit: your brain remembers milk tea o'clock

There's one more reason few people notice: habit.

If you order milk tea at 3 p.m. every week, your brain remembers. When that time rolls around, it switches on a signal: "it's time". The craving shows up even when you aren't really hungry.

A habit usually has three parts: a cue (3 p.m., the group chat message), an action (ordering the milk tea), and a reward (the sweet taste, a little break, a chat with colleagues).

The good news is you don't need to give up the reward. You just swap the action in the middle.

6 gentle moves when a craving knocks

1. Have protein and veg at lunch. A palm-sized piece of meat or fish, half a plate of vegetables. This is the prep you do in advance, and it helps more than anything else.
2. Keep an afternoon snack ready. A pot of unsweetened yogurt with fruit, a handful of nuts, a boiled egg, boiled edamame. When it's already there, you're less likely to order something sweet.
3. Get up and walk for 5 to 10 minutes. Down the hallway, up and down the stairs. Light movement wakes you up, and the craving often eases.
4. Drink a glass of water or tea. Not magic, but it buys you a few minutes for the craving to pass.
5. Wait 10 minutes, then decide. Cravings often come like a wave, rising high then falling away.
6. If you still want it, have it, just smaller. Small size, 30% sugar, one topping. Enjoy it slowly and happily.

What we really want to stress: don't ban things completely. The stricter the ban, the fiercer the craving.

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