What high leverage relaxation do you choose that takes little time?
Have you ever got on a flight feeling tired? Perhaps you rushed around to get there, or perhaps (as I commonly used to do years ago), I crammed in two weeks of work in a few days before taking a break from work, so I was exhausted as I got on board. You may then, like me, have found that you fell asleep as soon as the wheels were up and slept soundly for about twenty to thirty minutes, then woke up feeling alert and somewhat re-energised. I certainly had that experience many times.
This was my introduction to the value of power naps. Over the years I worked out for myself that the ideal power nap is about 23 minutes (yes, I have experimented with this), so when I feel my energy sapped and I am at home, I simply go to lie on my bed and set the timer. That short period is enough to rest and relax the muscles and yes, to fall into light sleep, but not long enough to go deep into a sleep cycle and so wake up groggy.
I was also reminded of it over the weekend when I went out with a family group for Sunday Lunch (and yes, for non-UK people, “Sunday Lunch”, not sunday lunch, it is an event!). I had in my (relatively new to me) hearing aids, but mistakenly had them turned up and focussed on voices, so when, as happens with families, multiple conversations started happening with everyone talking over and across each other, I started to feel a level of sensory overwhelm. After a while, I went onto the hearing aid app and reduced the amplification, which helped a little, but when we all got back to the house I stepped away and had a power nap, less about sleep, and more about recalibrating my stress levels from all of that auditory stimulation!
I then saw the weekly email from George Mack (oddly, he doesn’t post these anywhere but well, X, but you can sign up online here) where this week he was talking about a though experiment of ten ideas to help you get more lucky, one of which was:
Pursue High Leverage Relaxation – Rank all relaxation activities on this:
A. Impact
B. Time it takes
Find the highest leverage one across both scores. Do it regularly. It’s hard to notice lucky opportunities when your cortisol is through the roof.
For me, a 23-minute power nap is high impact and takes little time (and zero effort!) indeed, and both recharges me and, in the case of my hearing aid situation, dropped my cortisol levels radically so I could rejoin the group more relaxed and enjoy their company for the rest of the evening.
What high-impact relaxation do you choose that takes little time? Oh, and for British friends, yes, stopping for a cup of tea does count too 🙂