Work hard, sleep well

Are you planning on working hard today? Good - in order to get the best out of today, you should need to work to a relatively high level. But as we have mentioned in previous editions - it's very easy to fill your days with busy work. So before you go much further - can you make sure that your plan for today is in place and you know where you want to be at the end of the week.
 
But that's not really what i want to talk to you about today - today I want to share with you my thoughts on sleep. Do you get enough?
 
If you're anything like me, probably not. The average person needs between 7 and 9 hours sleep per night. I probably get about 6, 6 and a half if I am very lucky. Sometimes it is because I go to bed late, but other times it is because I don't sleep very well when I get there. And having to get up early - to get to work, can be a struggle sometimes.
 
Do you wake up refreshed and raring to go, or are you suffering from an over-indulgence from the night before? And I don't just mean alcohol.
 
You see - in order to work hard you need to sleep well. Sleep is the body''s mechanism to ensure that it re-builds itself during the body's downtime. An over-indulgence in food and alcohol just before you go to bed can see your body go into crisis mode to process the "energy" it doesn't need - and where does it go? Yep - right into those waiting fat cells. The problem with having your engine turned on - is that your sleep is disturbed, and the cells don't get replaced. Imagine a car engine revving and you will begin to see what I mean. If your cells don't get replaced, what happens is that your hair and skin start to look "tired" too. And no amount of creams and shampoo can help.
 
But it's not just about food and alcohol - what about your evenings activities? Do you watch disturbing items on the TV? And I inlcude the news in that genre. What kind of books do you read? Are you studying? Have you noticed that when you over stimulate the mind close to bed time, you have trouble switching it off again?
 
So as you think about your daily plan, think also about your evenings. I'ts ok to veg out in front of the tv. But take some time this week and evaluate your evenings, and your sleep patterns, keep a notebook - don't trust your memory on this one. I'm not asking you to cut anything out - but as it goes into your mouth write it in your book, write down your activities (use code if you don't want anyone to know !!!) when you have about a weeks worth of data, you will begin to see where you can make changes. If you want to or need to that is. But I know that the better the sleep, the better the following day will be.
 
Sleep well and I will see you on the starting line tomorrow.