Life! By Design_ 6 Steps to an Extraordinary You - Laura Morton [80]
1. Sleep
Getting enough sleep is essential to sustaining the energy you’ll need for the six steps to living By Design. For some, it may be six hours, with a nap in the afternoon. For others, perhaps it’s eight hours a night. If you’re sleeping ten or more hours a day, you might as well get in the coffin and wait. No one who is living By Design is sleeping ten or more hours a night. Know how many hours is optimal for you, and then do whatever you can to sleep that many hours every night. If you didn’t get your hours in, take a nap during the day. Many documented studies say napping is very productive.
A good night’s sleep can help you look younger and feel better, boost your energy level, and keep you healthy. During sleep, our bodies release the greatest concentration of growth hormones (HGH), which help the body repair damaged tissue. When you’re sick and the doctor tells you to go home and get some rest, what he is really saying is that rest and sleep are natural ways for the body to heal itself. Plain and simple, we function better in every area of our lives when we are well.
Yet I’ve had hundreds of nights where I’ve gotten little or not enough rest but still performed at a high level the next day. So if you don’t get your hours in, don’t allow that to be your excuse for living by default.
2. Eat for Energy
I have spent years conditioning myself and my mind to eat for one reason—energy. There is a strong connection between the types of foods you eat and the energy they supply. It’s difficult to be at the top of your game if you haven’t eaten enough of the right foods, or not eaten at all. The idea is to avoid foods that will spike your blood sugar. Rather, focus on the foods that maintain a steady level of energy throughout the day. My general rule is to eat five or six small meals a day, starting with a balanced breakfast in order to boost my energy and concentration. I usually have a midmorning protein shake or an energy bar, followed by a light lunch of salad and turkey or chicken. In the afternoon, if my energy level is slipping, I eat an apple or a banana or have another shake—just enough to keep my energy up from late afternoon through dinner. Avoid junk food because it causes havoc with blood sugar levels. Round out the day with a sensible dinner, but don’t overindulge. The quality of your night’s rest could be ruined by eating too much.
The major point I want to make is to eat for energy and not for comfort or out of habit or boredom or as a stress release. I promise you, when you make the transition to eating By Design, you’ll be amazed at your newfound energy and how quickly your body will adapt to your new way of eating.
3. Hydrate
Aside from oxygen, water is the most essential component to our survival. Without it, the human body couldn’t last for more than a few days. It would be similar to a car trying to run without gas. Every process in the body and all of our cell and organ functions would cease without water. It helps balance our body temperature, regulates metabolism, and forms the base for all bodily fluids. This is why it is so important to stay hydrated throughout the day.
Believe it or not, even a small decrease in our body’s water content can bring about effects of mild dehydration, which can cause light-headedness, headaches, dizziness, and trouble focusing and staying awake, which can impair our ability to perform at our best and feel good throughout the day. It is important to drink water regularly in order to avoid daytime fatigue. Even though you may find it difficult to drink enough on a busy workday, try to keep a bottle of water handy at all times so hydration is always within arm’s reach.
Diet soda, sweet teas, and other flavored drinks will not hydrate you. You need to drink at least forty-eight ounces of water a day to keep your body fully hydrated. For the next thirty days, stop drinking high-sugar or artificially sweetened drinks and replace them with plain water. Your body may detox from coming