What is performance? We understand performance as success.
Achievement with the desire to do better, to achieve progressive improvement. The Japanese speak of “kaizen”, the ideal of improving a little every day; the ideal of performing better in every aspect of life.
We call the term Kaizen “performance” to make it easier to understand. Achievement has the same intention and result, namely an improvement in all aspects related to a modern and future-oriented life.
In the following short text we outline an approach to improve your daily performance. There are several key areas that require attention, diligence and constant work. The most important areas are SLEEP, NUTRITION, MEDITATION and STRUCTURE.
Sleep is the secret and most neglected weapon to increase performance and reduce cognitive and performance problems in general.
A regular sleep rhythm, ie always going to bed at the same time and always getting up at the same time, is crucial for the quality of sleep and recovery.
Sleep is not just sleep, there are different quality levels of sleep.
We all know that wonderful feeling of perfect sleep. You fall asleep quickly, wake up 7-9 hours later without even waking up, and those nights give you an extra boost of energy to face whatever the day may bring.
If a few hours or crucial minutes are missing, all the glory is gone, we feel tired, unmotivated or just in a bad mood. And no amount of coffee or energy drink will change the fact that your body and mind are stressed because you haven’t had a chance to properly recover.
The number one piece of advice is to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Develop a routine to get ready for bed, quiet your mind, and prepare for sleep.
Avoid screens before bed, eat carbohydrates in the evening
(yes, carbs at night!), which stimulate the production of serotonin, which in turn is a precursor to melatonin, thereby increasing the quality of sleep and the speed at which you fall asleep.
Don’t sleep while fasting.
Your body is stressed during fasting and has to upregulate blood sugar while you sleep, disrupting your sleep cycle and interfering with recovery and recovery.
Go outside and let the sun shine on your face and eyes.
This helps regulate circadian rhythm and melatonin production. We tend to fall asleep faster and sleep deeper when we get enough real sunlight during the day. So get outside and enjoy nature.
Another interesting way to improve sleep quality is to take certain supplements.
There are many ways to sleep better. Unfortunately, we often tend to bang our hammers on things that only need a gentle touch. This applies in particular to the intake of dietary supplements.
If you want to improve your sleep, you should start taking high-quality magnesium in conjunction with certain amino acids such as glycine, threonine, taurine or aspartate. These compounds go a long way in improving sleep quality.
Other supplements include glycine, taurine, 5-HTP, inositol, chamomile extract, and in severe cases, liposomal melatonin. These products use different absorption routes and vary in their effect and perception from person to person.
We recommend starting with simple products that will help everyone, before resorting to specialized supplements that may be very trendy but may be overpowered and unnecessary.
Our second recommendation is diet. Nutrition is a cornerstone not only for a healthy life, but also for a performance-oriented life.
Conscious eating is crucial if you want to reach your full potential in aging, cognitively and in sports. Always remember that what you eat is the building blocks of your body.
Eat whole foods that are not prepackaged or labeled.
Eat proteins, fats and carbohydrates without favoring any macronutrient because your body needs them all.
Make sure you eat enough and not too little.
Your body loves structure while striving to maintain quality nutrition. Don’t overeat, choose foods that make you feel good over the long term, not just for a few minutes when you consume them.
Sugar is one of those things that induces an almost intoxicating feeling for a few seconds to minutes without providing any significant nutritional value.
Choose wisely and eat real foods regularly and avoid convenience foods or fast foods.
We recommend eating protein and fats in the first half of the day and carbohydrates later in the day.
We’ve learned that crabs increase serotonin, which makes us slow and relaxed. Normally we don’t want that feeling in the morning, we should be wide awake and motivated in the morning, especially in terms of performance.
Eat at the same times, eat real whole foods, get all your macronutrients, and try to eat a varied diet.
Foods should be different colors because they usually contain different amounts of micronutrients. If you want to make sure you’re getting the full spectrum of micronutrients that are extremely important for health, longevity, and performance, take a balanced multivitamin or multimineral product that contains different amino acids, vitamins, minerals, adaptogens, or even medicinal mushrooms. The larger the buffet is from which your body can draw the micronutrients, the better.
“Mens sana in corpore sano” – A healthy mind in a healthy body.
A healthy body needs a healthy mind. At least that’s how it should be. Now that we’ve discussed how to sleep and how to eat, let’s focus on our mind. The shell can be impeccable, but without a soul, wit, and intelligence, it won’t last long.
Be the master of the sword and pencil, train your body and mind alike. What weight lifting or exercise is to the body, meditation and visualization is to the mind.
There are many ways to meditate or achieve a state of flow where the mind is calm, free, inspired, or creative. Each person must explore and discover their individual path of meditation. Achieving a meditative state can be done in a number of ways. The list of methods, traditions and tools is long. It ranges from Zen meditation, pranayama breath work, transcendental meditation to Buddhist chanting. The goal of all these practices is to attain the blissful state of an empty but focused mind. More exotic methods include binaural beats, which help the brain reach a specific frequency in order to focus, relax, dream, or sleep better.
Another way to enhance the meditation experience is to supplement the brain with key substances that improve processing speed, creativity, and focus.
Taking these supplements can greatly increase your ability to meditate. It’s a win-win, a cheat sheet to help your brain on its meditation journey.
Substances like Alpha GPC, Huperzine A or Phosphatidylserine are incredibly helpful in boosting our brain’s performance. The better the brain works, the better our entire system can function.
Meditation aims to balance our mind so we can feel, think, act and live better.
Grab all the tools and experiment with them. Practice meditation with binaural beats, walk in nature and practice breathing, use special supplements to improve your state of flow when you are in the “zone”.
Meditation comes in many forms and forms. Find your own way to charge your spirit and perform at your best.
Our brains love order, structure and rhythm.
All regenerative and restorative processes require a schedule. Recurring events at the same time keep the engine running smoothly. If we constantly disturb our body by denying it rest and recovery, we cannot expect it to perform at its best.
The more you stick to your rhythm, the better. Sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time. Eat at the same times and fast at the same times. Challenge yourself with physical fitness and mental training. Learn, practice and master different skills from different areas.
Create your own sleep, supplement and nutrition routines to support your body and its recovery functions.
An interesting piece of evidence for the statements just made is the Monday blues, which is triggered by a disruption in the sleep and feeding cycles of the preceding Saturdays and Sundays. Most people change their behavior on the weekends, staying up later and going to bed later. They consume alcohol and eat differently, often no better than during the week. All of these factors disrupt the body, leaving you feeling depressed on Mondays and unmotivated to start the week over.
Support your system with healthy eating, the right supplements, regular sleep, and mental work. You will achieve more, live more successfully and be happier. Do this on the weekends too, you won’t regret it.
Structure your life according to your needs, use the tools provided and work on implementing some of the tips listed every day. Change your habits for the better and perform better.