Regardless, you are getting chased by a lion, training 30 hours a week or working your backside off for hard earned cash or carrer purposes, it is stress. Your body recognises this as stress, no matter what.
Some people can handle it some don't. At least that is what we say. The difference between those groups, might be though, only one hour of sleep, a salad and a cup of water.
Yes that is right. You should not treat your stress in a bank differently, than your stress during the marathon preparation. Brainwork uses up water, salt, vitamins, macro nutrients. Late computer time and blue light exposure decreases sleep quality and quantity and messes with circadian rythme. Bad form causes posture pain, bad breathing habits and increase stress by under nourishing the body of oxygen.
5 tips ! to increase productivity and get better results :
- Sleep and sleep early. Sleep in a dark and noise free room, well aired out preferably with an open window, before 10 o'clock. Turn off your wifi, unplug all devices in that room at least and put your phone on airplane mode if you used it as an alarm. Get your self a proper mattress, a proper pillow if you used one. Get a 5 min cold shower, drink a lavender-camomille infusion and take some magnesium-zinc-calcium and vitamin C solution before bedtime. Create content and make business, learn and educate yourself when no-one else does early at the morning when your brain is fresh.
- Use water and mineralised water for hydration. You have a headache ? Drink. You got to rush somewhere ? Grab a bottle of water before. You feel like angry and want to argue ? Drink. You feel like loosing control ? Drink ! Bad decisions are often enforced by dehydration. Have 2.5L at least for women, 3 to 6L for men. The more stress you have, the more you need. The drier environment you work in, the more you need. See offices with air-conditioning or gyms. Drink a mineral rich water all day every day and use the wee-room between 10 to 14times a day.
- Eat well at the right times is the best way to keep you fit, in shape and in good health. Proper nutritional balance will make you a far more efficient sleeper, drinker, worker, athlete. You do not necessarily have to drink bulletproof coffee, eat salads with 1dl to 2 dl of olive oil on it and dine with roasted sweet p and fresh water trout every day. However, the more you ingrain good habits, the more your body wants them. Eat 3 to 4 times max a day and drink only plain mineral rich water inbetween meals. Skip the afternoon meal, if you needed to really concentrate or eat something light with like 1/3 of your usual calories. Use a healthy meal replacement powder if needed, like Ambronite, or make your own. I don't say to avoid snacking, I say to stop it. Snacking is a habit of getting blood sugar high and low, getting over-concentration and crash, being motivated or giving up. Eat healthy, eat balanced, avoid high sugar and high carbohyrate foods, do not take anything with an ingredient list. Eating a salad for lunch doesn't have to be a restaurant situation. You can prepare for yourself at home, or just run out to the local superette and get a couple of leaves of spinach, 4-5 cherry tomatoes, olives and an avocado, add a can of fish and few spoons of vinegraitte and off you go. Eat some grapes, a slice of melon or a mango as dessert. Why to complicate it ?
- Breathing is super important. It tones your vagal nerve, therefor effects your bodily functions. Breathe to your stomach, belly breath, see and feel your abdomens moving in and out. Learn breathing techniques to hyper oxygenate your body and wake you up, but for calming you down and to relax too. A 3 minute movement drill with great breathing technique can enhance your next 2 hours of attitude to work. Do this 3 to 4 times a day at least and you'll see great results. No wonder why Indians do Yoga, Chinese TaiChi, Japanese meditation and kendo, americans play office golf and so. All has it's positive calming and brain relaxing breathing component. Shallow chest breathing make you have bad posture, hinders digestion, weakens abs and core and causes related problems down the line. Do some research and educate yourself. Wim Hof's technique is a good way to start and you can go further by reading some spear fishing and free diving books, watching yoga instructions or doing pilates classes. Did you not even think about getting your breathing right, just to be a better boss or to make money for your own company ? Guess what, it works !
- Exercise. Being able to move all your joints in all directions, work against forces and staying explosive have ton of benefits. Near a 50 to 60 hour office job, a 3 times 45minute crossfit class or the weekend 100mile bike rides are not the best solutions for you. However some basic mobility and pilates with foam rolling, proper life-similar compound movements and light cardio with minimal explosiveness here and there will do only good for you. I really recommend to have a basic 10 to 15minute morning routine of mobility and breathing. Incorporate your strength training into your day, do 10 squats, wall pushups or pull ups, every time you go to the toilet and when you got to walk up 3 stories, do it by lunging all the way up. At the evening a slow 8 to 10minute flexibility or foam rolling routine will cut it. Weekends are your time, get fresh air, sunshine, stay with family and play with children, sprint after your dog, go camping and chop fire wood.
When fit and healthy, you can sit more without pain, you can read more without getting bored and falling as sleep, you have more ideas, your attitude is better with your colleagues, you get less tired, can avoid burn out, can keep all relationships healthy, and can keep yourself to your goals. Do not try working more, try working smarter and better. Increase productivity and have this as an end goal. I am 100% sure , that in the future, companies will have more employees and let them work only for 4 hours, but all out, only during the daylight hours.
These are the basics, but things like short cold showers, light intermittent fasting 7 to 8 times a year, electro muscular stimulation, herbal concoctions, supplements and superfoods, in ear and in nose light therapy and electromagnetic field devices, blood cooling, infrared saunas and cryotherapy are all great. However if you did not get down the basics, they do nothing for you.
- Sleep well, sleep early
- Eat well, have at least 5hours between meals with no snacking at all
- Drink quality mineral water to the amount to go to wee 10 to 14 times a day
- Belly breathe and learn toning breathing techniques
- Be mobile, move a bit every day.