With the Olympics going on my brain has been focused on the topic, “how do you achieve peak performance in your life?” All of us want to be successful, and that definition is different for everyone based on your values and the time in your life. I think one of the key pieces to being successful at anything you do, whether it is in work, family, business or your personal life, is to allow yourself plenty of down time. If you have been reading my e-mail letters you know that I harp on down time; time for rest and rejuvenation.
I will continue to repeat it, because I think it is so important and completely undervalued in our society. Brain scientists have been able to show that sleep is not a passive state, but rather an elaborate activity with its own positive functions. So how is it, that over 50% of Americans are sleep deprived?
We live in an amped up society where productivity, and earning money are on the top of the priority list and many times we will sacrifice our health and well-being for our work. Only you can make the choice to value sleep and make it a priority. Give yourself permission to get plenty of sleep and rest.
Here are some tips to help you sleep better and longer:
1) Reduce stress as much as possible
2) Eat a proper diet
3) Reduce caffeine intake
4) Take a warm bath before bed (create a bedtime routine)
5) Put sleep on the top of your priority list and value rest
6) Try to go to bed at the same time every evening (a time that allows your body to sleep enough where it wakes up on its own without an alarm clock)
7) Exercise in the day
8) Don’t watch television or a computer screen 2 hours before bed
