Below you will find articles supporting the ‘Recovery’ phase of our High Performance Routines from reputable sources
Select another phase below to find relevant research papers, and tips for that phase.
What’s the most valuable skill in the workplace?
It turns out it’s actually *not* the art of pretending to look busy on Zoom calls.
Handling multiple communications can be a source of stress, burnout, and other negative feelings and counterproductive behaviours because both work engagement is linked not only to job performance but also to positive work-related feelings
When I created the High Performance Routines framework I really wanted to explore how well supported it was by empirical research.
What empirical evidence exists to support the idea that preparation rituals can improve performance and engagement
One recent study gave participants two short rituals:
What’s the biggest difference between elite performers in sport and in business?
In 2012 the Nebraska Tourist Board came up with a slogan (h/t Gretchen Rubin) to promote the state:
“Nebraska: Honestly, it’s not for everyone”
“So how do you lift weights THAT heavy?!”
I asked incredulously to the coach of the weightlifting team I was working with, prior to the Tokyo Olympics.
When we’re busy and stressed out, it’s tough to know where to start in terms of resetting our routine.
So we’re usually looking to find some small leverage point which can have a big overall effect.
But how?
Kaavan the elephant was the star attraction of his zoo, in part because of his tendency to rock back and forth in his pen, which people used to think was dancing….
Stress isn’t new – and anyone who thinks it is has clearly never been chased around their garden by a velociraptor.
It’s a new year, and a brand new you!
But it’s the same old me, unfortunately.
Functional MRI scans show that mindfulness meditation increases activity in brain regions associated with attention and emotional control, such as the prefrontal cortex.
Simultaneously, it decreases activity in areas linked to stress and anxiety, like the amygdala.
Going to bed early and rising early is associated with better mental health than going to bed late and rising late.
Simple preparation rituals help achieve a quicker work transition, which translates into better work engagement and performance.
Occupational stress and job burnout are risk factors for depressive symptoms.
Warming up, or ‘priming’ your brain for as little as 5 minutes before a task shows immediate performance improvement, and significant lasting improvement of overall performance following a 4 month course.
When u expose yourself to daily low light intensity, like the kind of dim lighting in most indoor environments, it significantly INCREASES MELATONIN SUPPRESSION at night if u are exposed to night time artificial lighting. The test group who got outside and was exposed to bright sunlight many times during the day did not have nearly as much melatonin suppression at night.
Disruptions in sleep quality, continuity, and timing can trigger or worsen psychiatric symptoms, and vice versa.
High-performing athletes consistently ask themselves one thing before practice:
What can I do to get better today?
And one thing after practice:
What did I get better at today?
This focus on the process leads to the largest boost in performance.
What they found: There’s a reason that research finds that Nobel prize winning scientists tend to have more hobbies than those who are good but not quite great scientists. In this study, they researchers looked at how leisure activity impacts our work. What they found is that leisure activity boosts work self-efficacy, potentially helping us perform better in our day jobs. But there was an important caveat. It wasn’t just about having a hobby, the impact of workplace self-efficacy was highest when people took their hobby serious and it was different enough from their actual work. In other words, if their hobby was too similar to their work, it actually hurt work self-efficacy.
What it means: Common advice tells us to get obsessed about something to be great at it. Be the football coach who only loves all things football. Well…research might point us in another direction. In this case, we need activities and hobbies that are different. Activities that allow us to turn our brains away from whatever it is we do during our day job. Diversify your experiences and pursuits.
What they found: In this study, researchers compared sleep versus easy aerobic activity (Think: an easy jog or bike ride for an athlete), in rugby athletes. They found that sleep extension had a faster recovery in cognitive performance, but aerobic activity led to quicker neuromuscular function and autonomic recovery.
So What? It’s important to note that this was a small study looking at a single nights sleep. But it does provide something novel and useful. If you need to get ready for game or big performance, of course you should prioritize sleep, but you shouldn’t neglect some easy aerobic exercise. Perhaps this is the reason why so many runners go for an easy shakeout jog the morning before a race?
Is there an optimum time to eat dinner to reduce the risk for Type 2 Diabetes? This study on 7000+ adults found eating dinner 3h or longer before bedtime is associated with reduced risk for type 2 Diabetes.
In addition to making you more alert during the day, improving your mood and sleep, the blue in bright morning sunlight acts as a countermeasure or antidote to some of the damaging health effects of artificial light at night.
It doesn’t give you a free pass to use artificial light at night without bad health effects, but it reinforces your circadian system so that exposure to a blast of artificial light at night doesn’t hurt you as much.
Brief morning light exposure preceding a day shift is effective in improving performance during the day, sleep at night and reducing fatigue for the preceding two weeks in nurses working shifts.
Multitasking is associated with higher blood pressure, more anxiety and can lower your mood by as much as 26%
Longer wakefulness leads to a statistically significant decline in mood (p<0.001)
Mental rehearsal improves performance
Morning daylight will help to lift the mood, reduce stress and improve cognitive function
Physicians who take few vacation days each year are more likely to face burnout
30 minutes of reading is as stress relieving as yoga or watching your favourite comedy film.
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