And sleep-rest: 5 surprisingly useful and very simple habits

Most of the actions we perform without thinking, automatically: this way our brain saves energy. Once formed, habits persist for years. If we cling so much to routine, why not turn it to our advantage?

Whatever your accomplishments, lack of sleep will easily undo them. Ariana Huffington, a well-known journalist and co-founder of The Huffington Post newspaper, was convinced of this the hard way. In 2007, she passed out in the office, hit herself on the fall and woke up on the floor in a pool of blood. A few weeks ago, she worked too hard and only slept three or four hours a night.

“So I discovered the truth that my mother, without formal education, without scientific and medical knowledge, understood intuitively all her life”, writes the journalist in her book The Sleep Revolution. “Sleep is a key part of our well-being.”

What if you can’t sleep at night?

Sometimes so many problems accumulate that it seems impossible to deal with them – what dreams are there.

“There are always solutions. You just can’t see them if you’re overwhelmed by the mass of detail,” says neuroscientist Alex Korb in The Ascending Spiral. Dealing with daily challenges is easier, he writes, if you define your “big” life goals first. There shouldn’t be many: start with one or two, but really the most important ones.

How to set goals and work towards them

Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year. Actress, activist and UN Goodwill Ambassador for Women’s Rights, Emma Watson runs her book club on Goodreads. Reading is a more effective way to cope with stress than music, coffee or even a walk, researchers at the University of Sussex have found. Moreover, it is, albeit indirectly, linked to income: according to the OECD, the European countries with the highest share of readers (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) are also among the countries with the highest per capita incomes .

How to read

Our ability to choose is not the same throughout the day – and it is highest just in the early morning. And as we make many small decisions throughout the day, “mental fatigue” sets in. This is why we often tend to act hastily and recklessly at the end of the day (yes, morning is wiser than evening, and that’s a scientific fact).

How to make the best decisions

Holidays and weekends help to earn money. And busy, successful people are well aware of this paradox. Aside from the obvious things like sports, travel, and family time, they often love the outdoors, and for good reason.

Living in concrete walls with artificial light has a detrimental effect on the psyche and health. Aggression, attention deficit disorder, even depression – all of these can be caused by “nature deficit syndrome” (the term was coined by journalist Richard Lowe for his book “The Last Child in the Woods”).

In Japan, there is the concept of “shinrin-yoku”, which means “to wash in the forest” or “forest bathing”. This practice involves leisurely walks among the trees – without difficult goals, compulsory routes or step counting. The effectiveness of the method, despite all its simplicity, is very high: according to Australian researchers, just 30 minutes of “forest bathing” once a week already reduces pressure and the risk of depression. In California’s national parks, there are even certified specialists who teach tourists about relaxation under the crowns of giant sequoias.

How to connect with nature without going anywhere

Text: Maria Novosiltseva