Take a nap, before your day ZAPS you!

Are you finding that your days are zapping you.

You have too much to do, and far too little time. Even worse than being 'time poor', is being 'stress rich'! You may find that you’re feeling totally overwhelmed, battling to prioritise your "To Do List" and you are 'spinning'. Have you thought of taking your foot off the accelerator, and doing something counter-intuitive... go and have a nap.

Power-naps are gold dust. Let's paint a scenario. It's 1pm during the week. Your morning has whizzed by, and you haven't made a flipping dent in your 'Must Do Today' list! Your adrenalin and cortisol levels surge. It would feel totally 'wrong' to follow these 10 steps... but I am challenging you to try this!

STEP 1: Make yourself a good cup of Jarva, tea or green tea. We normally tell people NOT to drink coffee 8 hours before bed. However, if you go to bed at 9pm ish, this is fine at 1pm

STEP 2: Find a comfortable spot to lie down. Yesterday I lay on the carpet on my office floor. Yes, I do keep a pillow, and two snuggly blankets in my office, and I power nap frequently on my office floor.

STEP 3: Set your mobile phone alarm to go off in 21 mins time.

STEP 4: Put your mobile, and a glass of water on the other-side of the room.

STEP 5: Snuggle up (I always lie on my right side, as I go to sleep on my left side every night).

STEP 6. Put on an eye-mask, in order to block out the light, and the world.

STEP 7: Give yourself permission to relax.

STEP 8: Breathe deeply and mindfully. Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts, and then out through your mouth for 4 counts. Just focus on your breathing. I have been power-napping for 30 years and I 'drop off' into a deep sleep about 90 % of the time. I absolutely don't worry about the times when I can't sink into slumberland, because I still wake up feeling calmer.

STEP 9: Get up as your alarm goes off. Power naps are either 20 mins or 90 mins. Never hit the snooze button. Drink that full glass of water.

FINAL STEP 10: Relook at your 'Must Do Today' list. I do that standing next to my desk, looking down at my paper diary (I am old school and a 'visual' person). Your key priority will 'leap off the page'. Your calmer brain (less cortisol and adrenalin after your nap) will enable you to achieve more, in less time.

Remember that ... the more you practice, the luckier you get. I know it works 1000 % for me, and loads of people on our Resilience courses.#sleep #bounceforward #selfcare #performance #feelgreat