Here’s my favorite way to increase my performance during my workdays. And it’s something that I recommend to all of my coaching clients.
It’s a “nap hack” called NSDR or Non-Sleep Deep Rest. (A powerful way to unwind and relax quickly and deeply)
But first:
Remember from the previous post about the power of daily naps:
Naps improve learning and memory (A 2010 study in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, participants who napped showed notably better retention of associative memory https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20176120/). Naps also increase focus and energy for the latter half of the day, plus many other performance-enhancing benefits.
NSDR (also known as yoga nidra) is a way to deeply relax and rest your nervous system and body as you would while asleep, but your mind is still awake.
Typically NSDR is a guided meditation that you do lying comfortably on your back that brings you through a body scan that helps refocus your brain from thinking to a more relaxed and calm state.
Here’s a short, ten-minute, NSDR-guided meditation from Dr. Andrew Huberman (Associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine):
If you’re working from home this week, give it a try! Like I experience and so many of my clients experience, it’s a game changer for helping you be more ready to tackle the second half of your workday.