I once read that there are 30 different types of insomnia. In my experience, there are really only two that matter: 1. Difficulty getting to sleep 2. Waking in the night and having difficulty falling back asleep. Of these, I find the latter is much, much more common. Lots of people I have coached can find themselves awake in the middle of the night, and then find themselves tossing and turning for a couple of hours before finally dropping off again. The problem is that

Almost all of us can get tired periodically, but perhaps the most common time of day where people find their energy nosediving is the mid-afternoon. This can lead to a somewhat fallow period in terms of productivity and even make it a struggle to meaningfully contribute to conversations and meetings. What's going on, and what can we do about it? In my experience, the most common cause of the mid-afternoon slump is relatively low levels of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream. T

Few people doubt that regular exercise offers wellbeing and health benefits. However, one question some ponder is whether there is an ideal time of day to exercise. If I'm asked this question by an audience member or coaching client, I'll ask a few questions of my own to clarify their desired outcomes, schedule, and preferences. But, is there an answer to this question that covers 'people in general'? I believe there is. Firstly, though, is there any 'received wisdom' on this

Many of us have a pretty good idea of how to look after ourselves, and at times can be good at maintaining habits around, say, diet, exercise and sleep. But life does not always go to plan, and things can slip. However, I've noticed that when this happens, it can lead someone (including me – see below) to take months or even years to 'get back to it'. This newsletter is essentially about how to stop that from happening. Last summer, we had our house redecorated. I was not doi

If you studied biology at school, and even if you didn’t, you are likely familiar with the idea that bodily energy is created when molecules derived from food – such as glucose and fat – are ‘burned’ using oxygen. Because of this, many of us have been convinced that if we want energy, then we need to feed our internal fire with fuel (food) on a regular basis. In fact, some people advocate five or six relatively small meals and snacks throughout the day to, supposedly, maintai

Yes, you read that correctly. It's the precise opposite of what logic tells us, but let me explain why it's often true, and may be true for you. When people are busy, it's almost inevitable that one thing that will suffer is sleep. After all, while lying in bed unconscious, nothing is actually getting done. So, there's a natural tendency to work quite late into the evening, and perhaps rise earlier than our bodies want to, too. While we may seem to have liberated some time, t

Scott Adams passed away yesterday. You may or may not be aware of him. He was the creator of the hugely successful Dilbert cartoon strip. But there was a lot more to Scott than that. Prior to becoming a cartoonist, he had a corporate career in banking. He was also a trained hypnotherapist. Latterly, he was a social/political commentator of quite some impact. He also wrote some great books. The first time I became properly familiar with Scott's work was when I read his book Ho