Body

How I became a morning person. Finally.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an insomniac.

I remember being awake for a whole night before a 9am exam. I’ve punched the walls in frustration at not being able to sleep the night before an important interview. I’ve lain awake so often that for years on a Sunday night, I would pop downstairs at 3am for a glass of port and a sleeping tablet to help my mind relax and finally get some sleep.

Not ideal I know.

I’ve long dreamed of being able to sleep when I want to. I’ve dreamed of bouncing out of bed at 6am and going to the gym, reading a book and doing some writing.

But I’ve never been able to do it. The snooze button was always too inviting. The pillow was too soft and too warm.

Until now.

I was in Hong Kong and Australia recently to celebrate getting married. Jet lag going eastwards is always horrible. But it’s a total joy coming back westwards, particularly for an insomniac.

At 8pm London time, I would be so tired. (8pm London time is 7am Sydney time). I’d go to bed at 10pm and wake up naturally at 6am!

I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and it’s changed my life. I get up now at 6.30am, feeling energised. I go to the gym every other morning and use the rest of the extra time to read.

How to get up at 6.30am

You need to commit to doing this for 3 weeks minimum. That’s how long it takes on average to build a habit. It’s easier to do in summertime because the sun rises earlier and you will feel like getting up as it’s in daylight (as opposed to getting up in darkness in the depths of winter).

First morning: Set your alarm for 6.30am and get out of bed at that time, no matter if you feel like staying in bed. No caffeine at all that morning.

First evening: You’ll feel tired that evening. Eat around 7.30pm and go to bed at 10.30pm latest. Set your alarm for 6.30am.

Repeat, repeat and repeat.

Repeat even at weekends. Don’t fall back into late habits at the weekends. This is critical.

become a morning person

What’s next?

I’m going to get up earlier and earlier. There’s a whole legion of people online with 5am accountability clubs.

Noah Kagan has a podcast episode dedicated to getting up at 5am.

Jocko Willink has one for 4.45am. The community will take a photo of the time and post it to Twitter #0445club

What time will you get up? Let me know in the comments.

Try this breathing exercise for stress release and getting rid of cortisol

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Anxiety is the scourge of our generation.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I’m pretty damn happy most of the time, but I do get anxious and stressed.

Stress is linked to the hormone cortisol, which is produced by the body in fight or flight mode.

When you’re on a losing streak, or anxious about stuff, your body will produce cortisol.

Cortisol is perfectly normal and has served us well for millennia.

But it’s only supposed to be in the body for short amounts of time.

In the last century however, cortisol stays in the body for longer at low-levels, due to the lifestyle we now have.

This is not good.

In fact, this will kill us.

I accidentally discovered this breathing exercise when out and about recently.

Stand up tall (a bit like power posing as we saw in the earlier article on Amy Cuddy).

Tilt your head back a bit and breathe in fully slowly and under control through your nose, all the way in, as much as you can take in.

Hold the breath at the end of the inhale for a few seconds, until you want to exhale.

Then exhale under the same full control as you did on the inhale, and completely exhale.

Wait a few seconds before inhaling again, then start the process again.

You’re looking for deep, deep, slow breaths.

If you do this inhale/exhale a few times, you’ll feel your body relaxing.

For me, I feel my shoulders drop to a relaxed position.

My mind becomes quieter.

My breathing slows.

It sounds so simple, but has such positive effects.

It’s a great tool to have at the ready whenever you’re feeling stressed and anxious.

Give it a go now. Let me know in the comments if it works for you.

What stress release techniques do you use?

Defeating anxiety and stress

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anxiety

I’m an anxious person.

I’m a happy person but I can also be an anxious person.

Those who know me, know that I have OCD as well as general worry about things.

My OCD is pretty standard as things go.

I have a routine upon leaving the house.

I check the balcony door is locked. I check the hob. I check the taps are shut off in the kitchen.

I turn off all power sockets.

I check that the shower is off. I check that the bathroom taps are shut off.

Then I get to the front door.

I check this is locked by pushing the door 30 times.

This must sound utterly insane to someone who has no OCD tendencies.

And it is.

I know it’s crazy but still I do it.

Why do I continue to do it?

Because it gives me reassurance that it’s done.

I’ve been down the street before and come back to the house to check that I’d turned the hob off.

In case it was on and the flat burned down.

How does this make me feel?

Like I have a mental problem.

I feel powerless and frustrated that I can’t control my thoughts.

That my irrational fears are in control of me.

The routine helps me get on with my day.

With the routine done properly, I’m able to trust that it’s done and everything is squared away.

I know that when I’ve done it, that my house isn’t going to burn down, get burgled, or get flooded.

Insane I know. But it helps me get on with living.

It isn’t at the point where it’s life debilitating.

I’m a functioning member of society.

I can work.

I have great friends and family.

I can work on projects like this blog.

I can have a great time doing things I love.

But I know that I’d love to go through life without this worry.

In practical terms, it wastes my time and my mental energy.

It disempowers me.

When people try to ‘cure’, I can rationalise it.

But it’s an irrational urge.

The thoughts keep pushing their way into my mind.

To the point where I can’t concentrate on anything else.

So I get to the point where I think that my routine is a small price to pay for being able to get on with my day.

A small price, but a price all the same.

I know it’s not ideal.

Why am I writing about this?

Because anxiety is an epidemic crippling people’s mental well-being

If I can help just a bit, then writing this will be more than worth it.

So many people I know have anxiety to the point where they recognise they have it and they believe that’s it’s affecting their happiness.

And often more.

I won’t go into names because that wouldn’t be right.

One thing they’ve all got in common is that from the outside, they’ve got it together.

They’re generally extroverts who are sociable, likeable and fun to be around.

People think they’re confident alpha-types.

And they are.

But they’re also battling with worry and anxiety.

Things like have they offended someone? Are they being judged?

I thought a lot about how to get rid or at least reduce anxiety particularly when five people I knew told me about their anxiety.

I recommended to one person to concentrate on pulling levers.

Pulling levers

Stress and anxiety can be exacerbated by excess cortisol in the body.

Cortisol is the stress hormone.

It has an evolutionary purpose. It prepares the body for fight or flight.

It’s incredibly useful for life and death situations much like adrenaline.

However, it’s supposed to leave the body a short time after it’s produced.

When it doesn’t, that’s when we started seeing problems.

In today’s world, we see people suffering from long-term, low levels of constant cortisol.

This is the source of stress.

We’re not supposed to be stressed and anxious all the time.

Stress makes us depressed.

It makes us fat and unhappy.

Stress is literally killing us.

If cortisol is responsible for making us stressed, then it makes sense to reduce the levels of cortisol in our systems.

Pulling levers is a broad brush term I use for actions that reduce cortisol.

Get enough sleep.

Sleep is huge. Think about it this way. If you slept 5 hours a night for a month, you would be more susceptible to stress and anxiety.

In men, the opposite of cortisol is testosterone.

Testosterone is only produced by the body at night time during sleep.

If you sleep less, then you produce less of cortisol’s nemesis and you’ll be a walking cortisol factory.

Eat enough

Dieting is stressful.

When you restrict calories, you become unhappier.

If you’re down and depressed, then dieting is the last thing you should do.

Eat carbohydrates.

Pasta, noodles, rice, potatoes, bread.

These are nature’s comfort foods.

They may make you fatter in large amounts but you will be happier.

Lift heavy

I started lifting heavy in January 2016.

It’s been the best change I’ve made ever.

One reason is it flushes out cortisol.

It releases endorphins and testosterone.

The deadlift and the squat feel incredible.

After a good session, I sleep like a baby.

Have sex

Sex releases oxytocin, the kissing hormone.

You know that relaxing, soothing feeling when you’re hugging someone, kissing someone, having sex, that’s the oxytocin.

It makes you feel good. So do more of it.

Get out of your head

Too often we live too much in our own heads.

We forget about the body and how linked the mind and body are.

If you’re stressing about something at work or about whether you turned off the hob, then you’re in your head and not in your body.

You’re not grounded.

Your mind is running away from you.

How do we get out of our heads.

Do bodily things.

Do 100 pushups.

Run on the spot.

Be mindful. Feel your body. What are you touching? What are you looking at? What can you smell?

Concentrate on something you can see.

Keep doing these exercises and you’ll see a difference.

It might not rid you of all anxiety and stress but it will reduce it.

Let me know if these work for you or if you have any other suggestions.