Yummy Sleep
By Jason Henkel, Chief Balance Engineer
I'm often asked in our productivity trainings, if I'm only allowed one tip to dramatically boost productivity, what would it be?
I would have to go with "Engineer your life and environments (physical and mental) to enable deeper sleep." In my own life, even as I teach this stuff to tens of thousands, I still have to re-learn this one meta-lesson over and over. When I am running on a few nights of low-quality sleep, the world just seems so much more abrasive and grindy.
I notice that I become a real drama queen with low sleep. I observe that I become far more argumentative with the universe and all its 13 billion year-old flowing isness…absolutely furious that it's not behaving exactly to my preferences! How dare it! [snapping head turn while marching off to exit stage left]
Quality sleep is the great catalyst for being able to easily prioritize, stand up for what you know is right, and be deliberate with making things happen. The cerebral spinal fluid flush that occurs in delta-wave cycles (the deepest sleep) literally mop out the plaque that builds in your neural pathways that have resulted from thinking all day long.
THIS JUST IN:
Consumption of alcohol and caffeine (especially within hours of attempting sleep) dramatically block the release of the magical cerebral spinal fluid and the flush of neural plaque (amyloid beta) remains intact as cognitive resistance in the coming day. This translates to feeling mental fogginess and lower overall cognitive capability. Don't worry, I still thoroughly enjoy my coffee in the morning and my alcohol bevy's but with far FAR more intention now. The adolescent days of mindless consumption - buzz chasing - are behind me, and there's not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for my release from that habit. The mental clarity and general "gusto" has returned to me like when I was in my early 20's (and believe me, I'm decades away from my 20's now).
Sleep improvement is a multi-faceted universe, but one worth exploring. If you don't believe in the power and importance of engineering and protecting quality sleep, I'd highly encourage you to YouTube any videos with these folks and at least introduce the possibility of turning a bit more attention to this subject. Small adjustments can bring big joy in living. Check these insightful interviews out for a quick fly-by on this subject with some meaningful takeaways:
These Sleep Experts Explain How to Get the Best Rest | Health Theory
The 5 REASONS Why SLEEP Is More Important Than DIET | Shawn Stevenson & Lewis Howes
If you or your team would like to sign up for our 2 hour Balance and Productivity training to dig further into this subject and others to dramatically improve your meaningful output while finding and maintaining the feeling of lasting flow and optimized work life balance, please click here and say hello!
Mindfully Yours,
Focus to Evolve Team