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Seven Bedtime Habits of the Most Successful People

Seven takeaways:

  1. Disconnect from work: To ensure a good night’s sleep, cease work-related activities at least 30 minutes before bedtime, including checking emails and dwelling on work issues. This forced disconnection helps reduce stress and allows for a clearer mind.
  2. Unplug completely: Avoid all screen time before bed as the blue light from devices can disrupt the production of melatonin, a hormone essential for sleep regulation. This not only improves sleep quality but also reduces the risk of health issues like vision problems, cancer, and depression.
  3. Reflect: Get in the habit of reflecting on your day. Identify three things you are grateful for. For some, the practice of maintaining a ‘gratitude journal’ can help stay motivated and keep them out of spiraling negativity and self-doubt.
  4. Decompress: Meditate, or intentionally decompress, before bed. It slows the heart rate, and makes you feel more present. A quieted mind sleeps much more peacefully.
  5. Plan out your sleep: Prioritize getting enough sleep by maintaining a consistent bedtime each evening. Plan your wake-up time and create reminders to get ready for bed to ensure a healthy sleep cycle– you can even set an alarm for going to bed.
  6. Make a to-do list: As noted in bullet three in the article above, creating a list of tasks for the following day before going to bed can make you feel organized and in control. The practice clears the mind and helps prevent these thoughts from disturbing your sleep.
  7. Give up the nightcap and fattening snacks: Avoid alcohol and heavy snacks before bedtime as they can disrupt the quality of your sleep. While alcohol may induce sleep, it keeps you in the lighter stages of sleep, preventing deeper, more restorative sleep.

By Jacquelyn Smith and Rachel Gillett for Inc.
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

The 5 best morning routine ideas of highly-productive people

Five takeaways:

  1. Wake up at YOUR right time: Productivity can be achieved regardless of being an early bird or a night owl. It’s important to align your waking time with your body’s natural rhythm, rather than forcing yourself to be part of the early bird club if it doesn’t fit your sleep pattern. Experiment with this a bit to find yours and consider switching up your pattern: an academic study found that waking up just an hour earlier was associated with a 23% decrease in depression rates.
  2. Prepare the night before: Preparing for the next day the night before can help conserve decision-making energy and boost morning productivity. Activities such as laying out your clothes, packing lunch, or making a to-do list, which is a habit of former American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, can help achieve a smooth start to the day.
  3. Focus on what matters: Successful people often start their day focusing on big picture goals, gratitude, and planning. This can take the form of meditation, journaling, reading, or a quiet walk, as well as clearly identifying your primary goals for the day.
  4. Move around and hydrate: Many successful people incorporate physical movement into their morning routine, whether it be jogging, power walking, or a personal workout session. Hydrating, such as drinking a liter of water in the morning, is also a crucial part of starting the day right.
  5. “Eat the frog” first thing in the morning: The frog in this analogy, coined originally by Mark Twain, is the most daunting task you face that day. Tackling it first thing in the morning can give a sense of accomplishment and make the rest of the day seem easier. That said, depending on personal preferences and work style, one can also start with smaller tasks– or “tadpoles” – to build a bit of momentum.

By Brit Joiner for Trello
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

I’m a 102-year-old Doctor. Here’s the No. 1 Thing the Healthiest and Happiest People I Know Never Do

Five takeaways:

  1. The author’s decades of experience in holistic medicine, as well her learned wisdom as a 102-year-old, have shown her that the happiest and healthiest people are those who are able to let go of things or experiences that no longer serve them- who do not ruminate over things they cannot control or the perceptions of others.
  2. The writer is empowered by knowing that whenever she notices a burdensome thought or unwelcome interaction making itself present in her life, she gets to choose whether to let it bother her. Remember your own power to control and repel negativity.
  3. Developing the ability to repel negativity creates the mental space necessary to engage deeply, create, and think openly.
  4. Physically let go of worry: The writer of the article has found it helpful to actually perform a physical ritual when filled with worry. First, identify the worrisome thought. Then visualize it as a small object and hold that small object in your hand. Look at it and squeeze it into nothingness.
  5. The article emphasizes appreciating the flow of life and acknowledging that sometimes it’s necessary to let go. By releasing stuckness and regret– by forgiving oneself, you embrace the happiness and fulfillment that comes with an unburdened mind.

By Dr. Gladys McGarey for CNBC
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

The Lifelong Power of Close Friendships

Six takeaways:

  1. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked an original group of 724 men and more than 1,300 of their male and female descendants over three generations, surveying them with hundreds of questions about happiness. They have found that the most important factor in long-term health and happiness are strong personal connections.
  2. When the original group reached their 80s, the researchers looked back on their survey answers from the 80s and looked for correlations to their physical health in their later years. The conclusion: those who were happiest in their relationships in their fifties were the healthiest when they reached their eighties.
  3. Many studies have reached similar conclusions. A study tracking 3,720 adults in Baltimore since 2004 found that participants who reported receiving more social support also reported less depression. A study based in Dunedin, New Zealand, found that the presence of strong social connections in adolescence proved better than academic achievement at predicting well-being in adulthood.
  4. The Harvard Study of Adult Development went so far as to call subjects on multiple consecutive days to track their happiness, and found that in aggregate, people were happier at the end of days in which they’d enjoyed longer social interaction or been around someone they loved.
  5. The reason for this may come down to evolution. Human beings have evolved to be social, and the biological processes that encourage socializing are there to protect us. When we do not follow the social urge, our bodies and brains react in ways that are designed to help us survive that isolation.
  6. You don’t need to force yourself to be social all of the time, but this article should serve to remind you that building strong relationships now is an investment in your own personal happiness & health later on in life– and by being social, you are helping someone invest in theirs as well!

From Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz at The Wall Street Journal:

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Note: At the time of this posting The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to read this article.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.
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