Hello and welcome to my talk about how you can recharge your batteries and recover.
In our busy lives,
Even our rest and recovery should be planned well.
Let's explore active and passive recovery,
Exercise,
Rest,
Sleep,
And how you can achieve more when you take a few breaks for yourself at any time of the day.
As always,
I will recommend you grab a pen and paper and make some notes.
We tend to deal with humans only from the neck up.
High performance means good cognitive capacity.
But is that it?
Scientific findings as well as my own research over the years of working with my clients shows that body and mind need to work together to achieve great things every day.
Decent pressure and the need to perform without the best fuels with decent recovery eventually will deplete your energy reserves.
In my other talks on InsideTimer,
I speak a lot about the nutrients that can help your brain.
Today,
It's about recovery and how you can recharge your batteries.
Recovery works best if it's active as well as passive.
Let's start with active recovery.
I'm sure it's not groundbreaking news if I tell you that moving your body is good for you.
Active recovery could be anything from a walk around the block to a grueling session at the gym or a football game with friends.
But there are differences.
Evidence keeps mounting that exercise is not only good for your body but also good for your brain.
It helps your concentration but it can also lower your risk of developing Alzheimer's and may even slow down brain aging by about 10 years.
Studies have been looking at the link between exercise and cognitive abilities but also more importantly into the differences between aerobic and anaerobic types of exercise.
They found that aerobic exercises,
That's the time of exercise you can do for a longer period of time with a slightly elevated heart rate.
So that could be brisk walking or running,
Swimming or cycling.
That type of exercise improves your cognitive function.
Ultimately,
The researchers concluded that 45 minutes of moderate exercise was good for the brain as these exercises increase blood flow to the brain,
Which of course transports oxygen and nutrients.
And not only that,
Aerobic exercise can actually repair damaged brain cells.
So if you feel that you have difficulties concentrating,
Make time for some aerobic exercises to get more oxygen into your brain.
But there's more.
Aerobic exercises do not only help your thought processes and focus,
They are good for your heart because they reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Basically,
Everything that's good for your heart is good for your brain too.
So we're looking at cycling,
Walking or running,
Or maybe if you live close to the sea you can go sea swimming or paddle boarding.
All of those exercises are really good for your heart and for your brain.
Three great reasons to find 45 minutes every two or three days and be active.
We will talk about timings in a minute.
It's important to note that anaerobic exercises like high intensity sprinting,
Weightlifting,
Crossfit,
Playing squash or football have lots of benefits for your body,
Clearly.
But the effect of exercise with lower intensity,
Which is sustained for a longer period of time,
Is better for your brain.
So in a perfect world,
I would suggest alternating between the two when you plan your exercise to ensure you get all the benefits from both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.
But it's more important to just do it.
Take time for exercise at any time of the day that works for you.
Even 10 minutes is better than nothing.
My mantra remains,
Whatever you do at the moment,
Challenge yourself a little bit and do a bit more.
Let's move on to passive recovery.
Passive recovery is great too,
But don't just slump in front of the TV.
Turn your phone off or at least your social media notifications.
And here are a few other ideas how to take a few minutes of time out for yourself.
You could listen to a calming podcast.
Or maybe read a book for half an hour before you go to sleep.
Sit quietly with a cup of tea,
Look out of the window and just stay in the moment.
Or of course,
Try one of the wonderful meditations here on Inside Timer to relax.
A few minutes every day will do.
And yes,
In the context of being realistic,
A gripping movie can be good passive recovery too.
As always,
It's about finding a balance.
You can take the concept of recovery a bit further.
And after adding daily recovery for a few minutes,
Find a weekly or fortnightly recovery routine.
This could be a date night with your partner,
Playing board games or having dinner with friends.
And then maybe even find a monthly routine,
Something a bit more special.
A weekend away,
Going fishing,
Book a massage,
Or if you can't get enough of me,
Come to one of my performance retreats.
Sleep is an evergreen topic.
Sleep is absolutely crucial for your recovery.
We all know that we are pretty much useless when we don't sleep enough.
Sadly,
The lack of sleep seems to be a badge of honor amongst many of my clients.
And I think we need to stop boasting about how little sleep we get away with.
Sleep is probably the only topic the internet agrees on.
We need seven to nine hours sleep,
Period.
It is the way it is.
Poor sleep,
That's quality of sleep as well as quantity,
Is linked to a load of issues.
It weakens your immune system.
It affects your blood sugar.
It lowers your cognitive functioning and it makes you feel grumpy.
It really has an impact on our mood.
And we simply just feel rubbish.
If you are snappy with your partner or with your colleagues,
Maybe it's time to look at your sleep pattern.
How do you know if you sleep enough?
If you notice that you sleep a lot longer at weekends,
That's the first sign that you don't sleep enough during the week.
And maybe it's time for a reset.
In terms of your brain health,
It's important to know what happens in your brain when you're sleeping.
Every day,
Toxic debris builds up in your brain and this needs to be flushed out during the hours of sleep.
Changes in your sleep pattern are one of the first signs of stress.
And this can be too much sleep as well as too little.
We know that some people who suffer from depression sleep a lot more.
It's their escape mechanism.
But we don't have to go that far.
According to a sleep study,
Women between 25 and 39 and men between 30 and 49 are most sleep deprived.
Obviously this can have several reasons.
It could be that you have a baby at home,
But it could also be related to stress and mental health issues.
Make your sleep a priority.
I'm sure you know that there are lots of beautiful meditations on InsideTimer that help you getting into a good sleep routine.
Try as many as you like.
And an additional note about exercise.
If you struggle with your sleep,
Make sure that you exercise earlier in the day and try a calming walk or some yoga in the evening to prepare your body for sleep.
Most importantly,
We should turn all of these ideas into rituals,
Into habits that happen automatically because the more you do it,
The less you need to think about it.
Find a few minutes every day and treat those minutes like a meeting in your calendar.
Make time for it and do something you really need in that particular moment.
May it be active or passive.
For some people,
The early morning works best.
Set your alarm 10 minutes before everybody else wakes up in your house and create space for yourself.
Or maybe you can extend your lunchtime and get some exercise in.
Whatever works for you,
Make it happen.
Thank you very much for your time today.
I really appreciate that you listened to this talk and I hope to see you soon.
