Maintaining peak condition (Part 2)

Sleeping

Sleep, too, is vital to our wellbeing and there are several things you can do to make sure you are getting enough, and good quality, sleep. We recommend that you:

• Have a sleep routine, where you go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
• When on holiday, don’t set an alarm to give yourself a better indication of the amount of sleep you naturally need to recover. Go to bed when you feel tired and see when you wake up. Do this for a few days to gauge your optimum amount of sleep and you can then adapt your sleep routine accordingly.
• Try to get some daylight within an hour of waking up (ideally around sunrise) and get as much sunlight as possible throughout the day, making sure you see the sunset every day.
• Do your best to avoid bright light between 11pm and 4am because this can damage your biological clock and make it more difficult for you to sleep or reduce your sleep quality.

Charging

If we do all the things listed but don’t stop all day, we will run out of fuel. We need to charge ourselves throughout the day. If you are tense or stressed, you will need to discharge rather than recharge. You should take regular charging breaks throughout the day: go for a walk or a drive, have a shower or do some breathing exercises. After your break, check that you feel recharged/discharged; if you don’t, try something different.

Thinking

It’s important to regularly take time to think. This may be during your charging breaks or at a different time. Journaling is a great way of managing your thoughts by putting them on paper, so try keeping a journal in which you write down three things you are grateful for each day. Just before you go to bed, write down a question you would like an answer to, or a problem you want to solve. Be as specific as possible. The moment you wake up, write any solutions that have occurred to you. It’s amazing how often your subconscious finds the answer.

Self-monitoring

As we mentioned earlier, we need to develop our skills in reading and regulating our internal state. If you are tense or stressed when you eat or exercise, the benefits will not be as great as when you feel alert or relaxed. If you are feeling agitated when you talk to your child, it will be more difficult to have a positive, productive conversation.

To address this, you should constantly be mindful of the state you are in. The simplest and most effective way of regulating your state is through breathing. If you are feeling stressed, breathe more slowly, with an emphasis on exhaling. Try to breathe through your nose rather than through your mouth. If you are lacking in energy, breathe more rapidly, but still through your nose.