With stress and fatigue on the rise, having more focus and mental energy has never been more important.
In America, stress and fatigue have become so commonplace that, for many, both have become a sort of second language. The pattern is all too familiar. We load our life plates up with work tasks, life goals, family obligations, and throw in the day-to-day tasks that come with being a responsible human adult, and we end up with very little time to decompress.
Despite the fact that there are many who choose to wear busy-ness as a badge of honor, the fact remains that our minds just aren’t built to take all the chaos our lives pile on day after day. One of the side effects of stress and fatigue is that they can both wear down our mental focus and energy, leaving us feeling depleted and exhausted before lunch.
To perform your best – and generally enjoy your life a little more – you need to stay sharp, focused and rejuvenated. Here are some ideas to help.
1. Get enough sleep.
Let’s clear the air. Purposely depriving your body of sleep and getting up incredibly early is not a life hack. Or a productivity happy. Or an anything hack. Over time, sleeping less than the recommended 7-9 hours of nightly shut eye is doing nothing but eroding your mental focus and clarity. It can impact your short term and long term memory, and it just doesn’t feel good.
Make sure you’re getting seven hours of sleep. But because everyone is different and your mileage may vary, it’s important to pay attention to your body. If you’ve been running on fumes for a while, it might be time to turn that alarm off for a night or two.
2. Take breaks.
No matter what our culture or the latest tech guru says, our minds weren’t designed to “power through” an entire day. Focus is at its best when we take regularly scheduled breaks during the day. If you’re struggling to focus, try the 60 minute sprint technique. Turn off your notifications, clear your computer screen of distractions, and work on a project for an hour. At the end of that hour, take a 20 minute break – go on a brisk walk, grab some water, do a little yoga, or even read a blog or book. Simple tasks will help take your mind off the task at hand and let you re-focus.
3. Drink plenty of water.
Water can actually make you smarter. That’s because brain cells depend on water to function. Chronic dehydration, in a very real way, results in a less efficient brain. When you hydrate regularly, it impacts focus, short-term memory, long-term memory, and your problem solving ability. The key to hydrating throughout the day is to make regular water intake as convenient as possible. Before you begin working, fill a glass or water bottle and place it on your desk. Or consider putting your car keys next to your water bottle, so you’ll remember to take it with you.
4. Break a sweat.
Exercising isn’t just good for your heart and muscles. Going to the yoga studio, the gym, or simply for a jog, has an incredibly powerful effect on your brain. That’s because during a workout we deliver more oxygen, increasing our mental energy and focus throughout the day – all while releasing tension and stress. In fact, some studies show that mental focus and IQ performance improve for a full two hours after a workout. If you can, try working out in the morning, so you can carry those benefits over to your daily work. It will make a huge difference in your mental clarity and focus.
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