Sleeping well and maintaining energy levels throughout the day.

I was recently asked during an online workshop it I had any advice for how to sleep well and avoid having an energy dip in the afternoon.

I understand that feeling of waking up with a million things running through your mind and sometimes feeling like you need to do them all at once. Then having a real energy dip in the afternoon. Or, not being able to get to sleep because you have so many things to do the next day, you almost feel like getting them done in the middle of the night. Or, waking up exhausted because you’ve had such a restless sleep.

These 5 steps have really worked for me. I’d recommend trying 1 or 2 at a time and seeing what suits you best.

1.   Write down your to do list for the following day just before you go to bed. 

Keep a pen and paper by your bed. We usually have our best ideas just before we fall asleep or as soon as we start to wake up. Just as you are falling to sleep scribble down any ideas, jobs, thoughts that pop into your mind.

This way your brain knows that the important (and sometimes not so important) things are written down and can’t be forgotten. You can now relax, sleep and the list will be ready for you in the morning.  

2.   Take some time each morning to review your plan for the day, rather than diving straight into ‘jobs’.

It’s really important that you plan in enough time for each task, don’t over commit yourself. Always leave an hour of 'back up time' (nothing scheduled) you then know if you run over on a task, it’s ok you have ‘back up time’ to complete it.

It is also really important to plan in breaks, think about the break structure we had in school. Mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon. Change position, eat, re-hydrate, re-focus.

3.   Practise Relaxation - Visualisation - Mental Rehearsal. 

Every evening before bed. Make sure you are sitting up right (so you don’t fall asleep). Practice how you want the following day to go… how will you feel throughout the day, what will you wear, what will you do, what will you eat. 

Make your Visualisation and Mental Rehearsal vivid, use all the senses and always in colour. Like any skill it takes practice. Practice daily and don’t worry if you loose track or it doesn’t work first time, things rarely work perfectly first time. You can use our guided Relaxation - Visualisation - Mental Rehearsal on the equipped2succeed facebook page. Or the music only version is available on the right hand side of this page.

4.   Review your nutrition.

What are you eating and at what time of day?

Are there certain food which are making you sluggish, especially check what you are eating for lunch if your energy dips are in the afternoon.

Are you staying hydrated throughout the day? This will have a huge impact on your energy levels. 2 - 3 litres of water per day. Especially important to drink water if you drink a lot of tea or coffee.

5.   When are you exercising, are you exercising at a time of day which suits you or when you think you ’should’ exercise.

Exercise should leave you feeling energised (even if your muscles are tired) not drained. Try mixing it up. I’m finding that exercising at the end of my working day before I move onto personal tasks in the evening is helping me to distinguish between 'work' and home while I am working at home. I’ve removed the pressure of having to exercise first thing in the morning because thats when I ‘should’ exercise.

I hope you find something useful in there that you can have a go at. Remember new habits aren’y formed over night. Be kind to yourself and make small changes until you achieve that feeling of balance.

Beverley and I are going to be answering more questions via facebook live so please get in touch if you have any questions relating to the equipped2succeed capabilities or wellbeing.

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you online soon for one of our Tuesday sessions.  

Take care and sleep well.

Harriet

equipped2succeed Lead Facilitator.