In last week’s video, I talked about 5 ways that sleep affects your ability to perform at your peak.
This week’s video follows on from this with practical how-to tips to really get the most out of your performance during the day, and your ability to sleep well at night.
When you have been without quality sleep for while, of course your confidence is going to be lower. This is where having practical, personalised tools really comes into play.
Physical Health
As I talked about how bad sleep affects your physical health and performance last week, today I want to give you some practical tips for boosting your wellbeing to get more out of your day.
A little exercise is really great for both body and mind – and this doesn’t have to mean hours sweating in the gym. Something as simple as a few stretches throughout your day to loosen up your muscles and correct your posture is enough.
Physical discomfort is tiring. When your body is more comfortable, you will get through your tasks faster and with more ease.
Of course, good eating and drinking habits also make a noticeable difference to your performance during the day.
Then there is your breathing. I teach simple breathing exercises to my clients, to train them to use all of their muscles and breathe more fully into their lungs.
Mental Performance
As I touched on last week, of course our mental performance suffers when we aren’t sleeping well at night.
One of the exercises I do with my clients is to help them learn how to switch off distractions during the day, so they are not wasting the mental power that they have.
I say ‘learning’ for a reason – because first we have to catch ourselves being distracted. Distractions can be sneaky, especially when we are already feeling that brain fog from a lack of sleep.
The next step in this is to figure out what they can realistically achieve during their working hours by breaking down tasks into what needs to be done each day or each week.
The third and final part is to work out what can be done with a 15, 30 or 60 minute block of time, while those distractions are switched off.
Emotional Stability
We all know how a lack of sleep can make us sensitive to frustrations. And of course the emotions of the day can keep you awake the next night when you try again to get that much-needed sleep.
So improving emotional stability during those days when you are tired is actually a practical step towards sleeping better the next night.
Peaceful Mind
A common feeling when we are tired is that we haven’t achieved enough. So noting down what you’ve done with your day helps you to feel more accomplished when the evening comes around.
I also encourage my clients to give themselves 5 or 10 minutes during the day to process any negative feelings that they have been ignoring. This prevents that rush of negativity coming back to you just before bed, as you are trying to quiet your mind for sleep.
Confidence
Something I see a lot with my clients is how their lack of confidence in how well they can sleep at night really impacts how they feel about their ability to peak perform during the day.
When you have been without quality sleep for while, of course your confidence is going to be lower. This is where having practical, personalised tools really comes into play.
It is important that you take some time to find and implement the best tools for yourself – it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ sort of thing. You need tools that fit with your individual needs.
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