How To Increase Productivity and Reduce Insomnia According to Neuroscience
Believe it or not, the key is in the first 30 minutes of your day.
In today’s article, I’ll be sharing what you should do in the first 30 minutes of the day to make sure you get your brain into high gear during the day while having a good night’s sleep.
I’ll be talking about ‘productivity’ and ‘insomnia’ as a result of habits of a life that is worth living — a “life where you can flourish,” to use the concept by Martin Seligman (psychologist/ scientist, and one of the founders of Positive Psychology).
A few mindset considerations before we get started with today’s tools:
What does “being healthy” mean to you?
People usually think that being healthy means not having a disease — so a healthy person would be someone who doesn’t suffer from depression or anxiety, for instance.
Although pursuing ‘health’ also means attacking diseases, it is actually much more than not having a disease. This is also the vision of Martin Seligman and other great thinkers and scientists in the last decades: it is not an absence of something that brings happiness and health.
A happy and healthy life is not a life where you simply are not sick: it’s a life where you have your brain working at its full potential, flourishing and working at the excellency of your brain’s capacity.
I believe this is a much more mature vision, and it’s aligned with what greek philosophers used to say when they pondered the concept of ‘happiness.’
I see too many people saying nowadays that talking about happiness is something useless, not worth it. I can’t agree with this; even Aristoteles said that everything we do has happiness as a goal, regardless of the mistakes we make most of the time.
So today, I want to talk a bit more about that life you and every human being deserves to live, because, as you know, our time here is limited, there’s why it’s so precious.
Our brain can’t really conceive the notion of our death; it doesn't light up certain cerebral areas as it does when we think about something concrete and tangible. So we have this illusional notion of immortality, and more often than not, we waste our lives when the only thing that is truly ours is our time here.
“We have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize we only have one.” — Confucius
With this lesson in mind, this article has the goal to help you get your brain working at its full potential so you can create the life you want.
But before I proceed, I need to say this:
Run away from magic formulas.
What I’ll be sharing today is a series of tools and guidelines based on scientific research, that I also apply in my life, but you need to understand that there are no perfect tools, and if someone promises you will change or get the results you want in 21 days (or whatever days they tell you), that person does not know what he/she is talking about.
I’ve already published articles regarding the topic of change, where I explain how it works: you will not change a habit in 21 days regardless of what so-called ‘gurus’ might say. This has been tested and proven (I’ve shared the scientific studies in previous posts).
First of all, if you want to change your habits, you need to understand the consistencies that you have right now, locking you into something you don’t wish to be, imprisoning you in a life you do not wish to have. When you’re looking to acquire consistency for something new, it will not work for you if you keep being consistent in what’s anchoring you.
It makes no sense for you to have a map, a compass, and an excellent boat if you have 5 anchors in that boat: you simply won’t get anywhere. That’s why ‘magic formulas’ do not work.
And here you might be thinking, “ok, but I’ve always done said thing, and my entire family always did that thing that way as well”, but be aware: this is an excuse people usually use to resist change.
Let me give you an example: in some countries, moms use powdered milk to thicken the milk in the baby’s bottle. The problem is that powdered milk has roughly 30% sugar.
Think about what this amount of sugar will do to a brain that is still being formed! It’s a moral crime because that brain will be formed with a reward system deregulated by the amount of sugar, becoming desensitized to other foods. That human being will never feel pleasure eating vegetables because it has the habit of being fed tasty sugary foods, and they will have a life of unhealthy food choices. As a result, we have never seen so many cases of obesity in the world among children and teenagers.
If you are a mom or a dad, reread the previous paragraph and let it sink in.
“Well, but I’ve always done that; my grandma did it, my mother did it….” — If this thought crossed your mind, please remember that the fact that something has been replicated over and over again through generations does not necessarily make it a good choice.
If you have a commitment to making mistakes, or if you want to justify something just because of a certain tradition, be very careful: mankind always had ‘traditions’ that had to be reformulated so we could get to the evolutionary point we are now. Until not very long ago, our average life expectancy was around 30 years. There was no penicillin 100 years ago, and doctors did not wash their hands because they had no idea what germs were. They would touch a corpse and then deliver a child; the mother (and sometimes also the child) would die from an infection, and doctors could not pinpoint why that was happening.
When someone asked those doctors why they didn’t wash their hands, they refuted that they’ve always operated like that. Bottom line: mortality rates only started decreasing when doctors realized there was a direct correlation between not washing their hands and the number of deaths in that same hands.
What this means to you: updating your knowledge is key to a better life. Don’t cling to something just because “it was always done that way”.
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti (philosopher)
In this article, I’ll probably be going against some of your personal beliefs, but if you don’t question what you believe, you might be repeating patterns that could damage your brain, sometimes irreversibly.
Therefore, I ask you to continue reading with an open mind, putting aside any preconceptions you might have so you can gain a new mindset.
There are 3 major difficulties regarding habits: creating a new habit, giving continuity to a new habit, and eliminating a habit. However, diving deep into the dynamics of habits would require another article. Although it’s important and aligned with today’s post, I will skip it for now, but I promise to create an article explaining how habits work, how our brains face the 3 difficulties previously mentioned, and how to overcome them. It will be published soon.* _ * UPDATE: Article published. You’ll find the link at the end of this post.
How To Increase Productivity and Reduce Insomnia — a step-by-step guide:
To make this step-by-step process easier, let’s divide your day into 3 phases:
Phase 1: from the moment you wake up (7 a.m. for instance) till 3 p.m. (I don’t recommend you wake up after 9 a.m.) Use this phase to include those habits that are difficult for you.
Phase 2: from 3 p.m. till bedtime. Phase 3: Sleep time.
Phase 1:
>> As mentioned before, what you do in the first 30 minutes after you wake up will determine how your brain and body will function during the entire day! In these first minutes, you will NOT touch your cell phone (if you use your cell phone to wake you up, just turn it off and let it be).
What to do instead:
- Stretch, just like a cat. When you sleep, you shrink, so you need to stretch your body in the morning.
- Hydrate with a good glass of water. This is mandatory for your brain and overall body to work properly.
- Get at least 15 minutes of natural light, from the sun! (Don’t look directly at it, obviously, just receive the light, without sunglasses.) This is mandatory because the circadian cycle (approximately one day) is embroidered in our genes — we truly have a biological clock, so when you expose your eyes to natural light, you will activate a series of biological processes that will start to release adrenaline, dopamine, and cortisol. You need these to be productive. I use this time to practice visualization with the help of vision boards and to exercise journaling. * *UPDATE: At the end of this post I’ll leave a link for my new article to explain in full length why these tools are so powerful and how to practice them.
You can do this while taking your coffee or tea if you like, and even make journaling or reading during this time. The important thing is that you receive the sun's natural light on your face.
These levels of adrenaline, dopamine, and cortisol will go on during the day, and when the night arrives, you will start to produce melatonin near the time you get to sleep. Melatonin, as I’m sure you already know, is the hormone associated with sleep, and it will kick in just like clockwork, making sure you don’t have insomnia.
By doing these steps in the first 30 minutes of your day, you will be regulating your brain and body for the day ahead, and it will determine if you will (or will not) sleep well at the end of the day.
You probably didn’t know this, did you? No one teaches this in schools, not to you and not to your children, so I’m sharing this knowledge for you to apply and pass it on to your friends and family (share this article with those whom you believe might benefit from it).
Continuing into your morning:
- Exercise for at least 20 minutes: Super important for your body and brain. It will give you adrenaline and it will help your brain focus on your studies, work, business, etc.
- 5 Minutes of Cold Shower: while taking your bath, in the last 5 minutes, turn off the hot water, and let the cold water pour into your body. I can almost hear your thoughts right now: “ Cold water? Are you crazy??” Trust me, this is game-changing: it’s a healthy way to take control of your dopaminergic system. It will be hard in the beginning, but your body will get accustomed.
Pro tip: put vibrant music for you to listen to while taking your bath, and don’t be afraid to dance! When the cold water reaches every single part of your body, your levels of adrenaline, cortisol, and dopamine will get elevated and it will last for hours, contrary to what happens when you drink or eat something sugary.
Exceptions: If you are sick (flu, covid, etc.), or have a severe cardiovascular problem, the cold bath is not for you.
- Breakfast: Continuing into your day, after your mourning after-bath routine, let’s get breakfast. (A side note: if you are doing intermittent fasting, and you feel you’re doing great, that’s fine, keep doing it. I’m not going to recommend intermittent fasting here because that’s an advanced practice, and, as always, the quality of your food is key for it to work.)
If you take breakfast, be aware: the worst thing you can do is drink milk with chocolate, and eat some kind of cake, sugary cereals, or white bread with ham or bacon, although too many people and children are doing exactly this all over the world.
In case you’re thinking you and your family have to eat these because they’re cheaper, please reconsider: we are what we eat. What you save on food quality, you’ll spend on drugs and medical treatments that could be prevented with the right nutrition.
The majority of those foods I’ve listed above are carbs, and the only protein there (ham/ bacon) is cancerous — eating 3 slices of bacon a day will increase the risk of bowel cancer by 20%.
Plus, you are starting the day with a meal that will skyrocket your glycemia levels, damaging your brain and body more than you can imagine. What you need to eat in the first meal of the day are 2 things: high-quality protein (such as eggs or chicken breast), and high-quality fats (such as avocado and a good olive oil). The bottom line is that you need lipoproteins. I usually also add vegetables.
Needless to say: be very careful with the origin of all these products. If possible, cultivate your own veggies — even if you live in a tiny apartment, you’ll find creative ideas for your own mini-farm on YouTube.
- You are now ready to focus your attention on your business/ work/ studies.
I will soon create an article to help you understand how several foods affect your brain and the importance of mindful eating. If this is something that interests you, let me know in the comments below. For now, I’ll leave you with just a few more recommendations:
. Lunch: 1/2 of your plate should be vegetables (green leaves); high-quality protein; and good carbs (lentils, chickpeas,…)
. Dinner: green leaves salad and a high-quality protein with Omega 3 if possible (salmon is a good choice, as long as you are sure of the quality of its origin). Don’t eat heavy foods and DO NOT drink alcoholic drinks: alcohol interferes with your sleep: contrary to what you might be thinking, it will make you wake up several times during the night.
.Very important: Do NOT use sugar in your food and drink intake! Sugar is your brain’s worst enemy, you need to eliminate everything inflammatory. Use Stevia as a substitute if you have a sweet tooth.
. Caffeine: it’s a legalized drug, a stimulant, and as with all stimulants, your brain gets dependent, causing the stimulant to not work anymore, and making you drink increasingly more to get results. To prevent this from happening, don’t drink coffee on one day of the week, to make sure your brain keeps getting its benefits. Also, don’t drink caffeine after 12 p.m., to make sure it does not affect your sleep. And make no mistake: bad sleep quality will make you sick over time, opening the doors to diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression, and anxiety, just to name a few.
Phase 2:
>> Your body is now starting to get into a relaxing mode if you have done everything I’ve told you in phase 1. This phase might be a bit more challenging depending on your work and family responsibilities, but try to do your best to adjust the following guidelines as possible:
. Start diminishing the intensity of the lights around you, if possible after 6 p.m.
. This is a good time for you to listen to your favorite songs. I personally like to play an instrument.
. Meditation is also something perfect for you to practice now.
. Look at the sunset (I personally love to walk for at least half an hour while enjoying this gift of nature): besides being one of the most beautiful experiences and memories you will ever have (you can take your sweetheart/ spouse and children with you), it will help your brain to relax and acknowledge that it’s almost time to go to bed because historically our brain is accustomed to fireplaces at the end of the day. You will have the opposite effect if you have intense lights around you at night.
. Take a warm bath 2 hours before bedtime.
. You can also watch TV, but with no lights on. And please, do not have a TV in your bedroom, it will harm the quality of your sleep.
. Revisit your vision boards.
Phase 3:
>> Sleep for no less than 7 hours, and no more than 9 hours.
For those hardest emotional days when your brain just seems to not let go of worries and concerns, you can use the help of a good sleep app. I personally use Better Sleep*, it was recommended to me by one of my mentors, it’s super intuitive and I’ve been using it to help me meditate, a habit I strongly recommend you acquire asap to boost your mind. You can also use a combo of nature sounds, meditation, and bedtime stories.
(*Disclosure: If you know me by now, you know I never recommend anything I don’t personally use, like, and trust. This is a paid partnership; all my followers get a discount when clicking my referral link).
To get BetterSleep with a discount, click the link below ⬇️
Will you accept the challenge?
Now you have the tools, grounded in neuroscience, to turn your life around by starting your day with completely different levels of energy, humor, and productivity, and to prevent insomnia — this is also my personal routine.
Please note: what I’m sharing here is the optimal scenario, grounded in scientific research. However, as I’ve told you before, there are no perfect tools. Depending on your daily responsibilities, you might not be able to do a few steps at the time suggested, but to the best of your ability try to adjust, and even if you can’t follow the afternoon routine, at least make sure you follow the recommendations for the first 30 minutes of your day and choose a healthy lifestyle and nutrition.
Choosing to have a healthier and happier life requires healthier life choices.
My challenge for you today is for you to start this new routine tomorrow morning, and write on a piece of paper your daily results so you can track your evolution. Do this every single day, and I’m sure you will see changes.
The first days might be a bit hard since you will probably be changing several rooted habits (don’t forget to stay tuned to my upcoming article on how to overcome the 3 major difficulties in habit change), but in the meantime, keep doing it, have fun, be patient and kind to yourself.
Don’t forget to get back here and share your experience and potential roadblocks in the comments below; I’m here to help, and I’d love to hear from you.
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Yours Truly, Sally. _
