The Vital Importance of Sleep!

There were some great meetings last week with new and existing clients and I signed up a couple of new coaching clients. I met with a large company in Sheffield to discuss some keynote speaking in February which is very exciting and I reviewed the newspapers on BBC radio Nottingham on the breakfast show.

I also slept like a baby all week and I am determined to sleep, rest and recover this year; as the end of last year was a bit of a disaster health wise. I had a great finish workwise but the extra hours and lack of sleep took its toll on my body and immune system. As I blogged last week getting three heavy colds in three months is not good so I am doing something about it for 2016.

New Routines

Firstly I am determined to average a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night with a combination of discipline and effective routine. Secondly I am now taking my multivitamins/minerals tablet, my Omega 3 fish oil tablet and my 1000mg of vitamin C every morning. Thirdly I am eating healthy with lots of veg, protein, fruit, nuts and salad. I am virtually cutting out all sugar as well as reducing the carbohydrates considerably.

When I got married in May last year and moved in with Julie I lost some of the routines I had established and one of these was not taking the daily supplements of vitamins/minerals, Omega 3 and Vitamin C. There are many debates out there about the value of taking supplements but what I do know is that when I was taking them regularly I had far fewer colds and felt better.

Sleep and Nutrition

I believe that having the correct amount of sleep and the correct nutrition will lead to a much healthier human being who will feel and perform better. I have now been taking my supplements for 9 days and I have averaged just over 8 hours sleep every night and I feel great. The bags under my eyes are reducing and I am much more alert and energised. I am not getting tired at 4pm like I was and I appear to be getting more done in less time.

You’ve heard me talk about sharpening the axe where two woodcutters are in a competition and the older one has regular breaks during the competition to sharpen his axe and rest a bit and he wins the competition by a long way because the other younger woodcutter didn’t stop and his axe went blunt.

Sharpen your Axe

This is a great analogy for our lives – if we don’t take regular breaks, have enough sleep, eat the correct food or exercise a little then we will struggle to lead an effective and productive life. Getting 8 hours sleep a night takes discipline and one thing that Julie has convinced me to try, is getting up half an hour later than usual to give me a chance to get the sleep I need.

I used to get up at 5.30am every morning because I believed I needed to in order to get the results I wanted. But the challenge we had was that I would need to be in bed and asleep by 9.30pm to get my 8 hours – this was difficult. So inevitably we would end up going to sleep at 10.30 or 11pm which meant that I was getting 6.5 to 7 hours maximum. Then there would be days when I would need to get up at 4.30am to get to a presentation so I would then get 5.5 hours sleep.

Recent Research

All recent research is indicating that less than 6 hours sleep causes serious health issues so it is in our interest to get the correct amount of sleep. Each person varies in the amount of sleep they require for optimum performance but it is usually between 7 and 9 hours. If you are yawning during the day then the odds are that you need more sleep. By getting up at 6am I still have time to get to meetings and have my quiet time but it allows us to get to bed by 10pm and I’m usually asleep within 2 minutes thereby receiving my 8 hours.

I call myself a professional sleeper because I can sleep any time of the day or night and be asleep in a couple of minutes. I have developed some great and very simple sleep techniques which my coaching clients find extremely effective and helpful. The main reason most people either can’t get to sleep; or they wake up in the early hours and can’t get back to sleep is that they are thinking too much.

Challenge your belief system

By thinking about things coming up in their lives they are waking the brain up by posing problems and challenges so the brain then kicks into gear and tries to come up with answers. The more we think the more the mind wakes up and then we can’t get to sleep. In my coaching sessions I talk about each person’s Belief System and how that affects their ability to fall asleep.

One of my biggest successes in coaching is helping people sleep better and this gives me great pleasure. Within a few sessions I have established a new Belief System regarding their sleep patterns. I help them quieten their minds as well as establishing a sleep routine before bedtime to ‘Anchor’ certain responses as they head for the bedroom.

I can help

If you or someone you know has difficulty getting to sleep; or waking up early and not getting back to sleep then please contact me at john@jdmindcoach.co.uk and I will be happy to hold a free consultation.

Julie has introduced me to Power Naps which I have started to take during the day where I stop for 20 minutes, close my eyes and drift off to the sounds around me. This really works and I find that I am more productive and energised; plus I more than catch up on the 20 minutes apparently lost when Power Napping by being more productive.

Thoughts for the week

1. Think about your sleep patterns and how much sleep you are getting
2. Do you find yourself yawning during the day?
3. Do you find it hard to get to sleep or back to sleep if you wake up?
4. Don’t use blue screen technology around 2 hours before you are due to go to bed. These include smart phones, laptops, I pads.
5. Try to set up a sleep routine where you are slowing down towards your bedtime
6. If you believe that you can’t get straight to sleep then challenge that belief
7. If you are not getting between 7-9 hours a night then see what you can do to get that amount and observe the improvement in the way you feel and perform
Until next week have a wonderful weekend and stay positive.

Warm regards

John