Exercise and Sleep
We all know that we need to sleep. We all know that we need to exercise. But how much? and what for? What happens if we don’t do these things?
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Today, I’m going to continue talking about boosting and maintaining mental well-being. In this article, I’m focusing on exercise and sleep.
Exercise
Why?
Most of us know that exercise is good for us, physically. But you may now know that exercise has many benefits for our mental well-being. Among the scientific literature, exercise is known to increase mood and decrease depression symptoms. It has also been observed to increase academic performance. “It’s a totally free way to make your life happier and healthier” - Professor Laurie Santos.
How?
When your in a bad place, your rate of exercise can be at zero. This is a difficult place to start and you have to acknowledge that. If you’re here, my advice would be to take baby steps. It may be tempting to jump into the deep end and go run a whole marathon or something but that might not end well for you. If you have a bad experience, you may end up hurting yourself physically and mentally - that is to say, you may feel demotivated to ever exercise again any time soon.
The goal here is not any one-off effort but the consistency of multiple efforts over time. What we should do is intentionally set the bar low. Remember, we are aiming for consistency.
Take me for example. When I started running again, I would set the bar at tieing the lace on my running shoes. If I could do that, I could check that off my habit-tracker. A habit tracker is simply a piece of paper on which you can record whether you’ve achieved a habit or not every day. I’ll attach an example below.
Now, it may feel silly on those days where you tie your running shoes and don’t actually go for a run, but be content with that. Celebrate that tiny win. The next week, tie your shoes and go for a walk. Celebrate that win. The next week, run the length of the road that you live on. Celebrate that win. The next week, run a little further. Celebrate that win. Etc.
I wrote more about habits in a previous article: Link here.
It’s important to note, it doesn’t have to feel like exercise. If you can take a walk with your dog, go dancing or play basketball with your friends. That all counts! You just have to find a way to move a little more.
In my experience, it’s hard to move too much, (that is to say, an upper limit is difficult to achieve), but listen to your body and consult an expert for advice. Make sure you get plenty of rest.
Sleep
Why?
Just as with exercise, sleep can also boost your mood and increase cognitive performance. It can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.
How?
Try to get around 8 hours of sleep per night. In my experience I feel like 8 hours is a minimum. In my opinion, it’s best to let your body wake up without an alarm. That way you can see how long you really need. I know that 10 hours a night has me feeling at my best.
It’s also important to keep your sleep regular. A sure-fire way to make yourself feel worse is to fall asleep and wake up at very different times each day. I’ve been there. Instead, try to fall asleep within a one hour window at least. For me I try to shoot for half an hour each side of 10pm. Once you wake up, get out of bed immediately. Laying in bed or even using any devices in bed can have dramatic effects on your quality of sleep and mental health. Try to keep your phone at the other end of the room.
Your Turn!
I want to focus in on something I talked about today that I haven’t talked about yet in this series of articles: That is the habit tracker. I find this crucial in implementing permanent change in one’s life. A habit tracker is what you saw in the image above. It is very a simple yet astonishingly powerful tool to leverage positive change.
I encourage you to copy what I have drawn and add your own habits that you want to focus on this month. Make it a 30-day challenge.
Notes
A lot of the information in this article is from an online course by Laurie R. Santos at Yale University. It’s called “The Science of Well-Being” and if you’re interested in what I’m talking about I would highly recommend you go check it out. It’s entirely free and full of value. Link here. If you’ve never taken an online course before and you’re doubting its efficacy, I’d compare it to reading a book except you have someone asking you questions along the way so that you actually remember what you’re reading. Give it a go, you won’t regret it!
