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sleep
scientific research & the effect of sleep on energy

Sleep is just as critical to our body as other basic functions of survival like eating, drinking, and breathing. Sleep is needed for a number of reasons, including energy conservation, restoration of our tissues and cognitive function, emotion regulation, and immune health.

A prominent theory on sleep posits that sleep serves to conserve and restore energy. Research has explored the roles of two chemicals in particular – glycogen and adenosine. Glycogen is involved in storing energy in the brain, and glycogen levels have been shown to decrease during wakefulness. Sleep deprivation is also linked to decreased glycogen levels, and glycogen levels are restored during sleep. Adenosine, on the other hand, accumulates during waking hours and promotes sleepiness. It is proposed that glycogen reduction, while we are awake, leads to a build-up of adenosine, which in turn helps us sleep and restore lost glycogen. This type of feedback loop involving chemicals that regulate the sleep-wake cycle is known as sleep homeostasis.

Sleep homeostasis

Exercises and more
Boosting your energy with exercises

Energizers and energy eaters

Download this list here

Barefoot walk
Reconnecting with nature through exercise

Have you always wanted to know what it feels like to walk around in the great outdoors barefoot? Now is the time to give it a try! Engage all your senses and both feet to perceive the special stimuli of wood, stones, tree chips, grass, loam and water. Walking barefoot is wonderful and liberating. Automatically you will step at a slower pace and your feet will take you over different surfaces. A special experience that is very vitalizing! It is an ideal energizing activity or break between working hours.

Tips

Wear slippers or sandals to the place where you will perform the barefoot walk. This way, you can easily tuck them away and you won't ruin your nice shoes.

It is recommended to bring an old towel. This way you can already give your feet a first wipe.

DIGITAL DETOX
re-watch live session on digital detox + tips and tricks

A lot of things have gone digital the past decade in comparison to a couple of decades ago. This digital revolution brings some problems and challenges with it. Suddenly we’re online all the time, the line between work and private time is blurred and we can’t be seen without our phone or laptop within reach. This can drain our energy and put extra stress on ourselves and those around us.

The online live session from the Digital Detox Academy gave us the opportunity to learn more about our own digital habits and how they might influence our productivity and mental state.

To watch the recording:
Link: https://vimeo.com/643856213
password: DDABoostNov2021

Tips
Start your Digital Detox

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Sometimes we have notifications on for apps and sites that really aren't all that helpful during our working hours. Think about it, do you really need to know that H&M has an offer running right now for 20% off all jeans?

When someone says that they can multitask, let's say it might not be as productive as they might think they are. When we're 'multitasking' we really are just multi-switching, our brain keeps on switching between different tasks. This takes a lot of energy from us that we could've used for another task or that long awaited gym session.

Eliminating your screen time an hour before you go to sleep and an hour or at least half an hour after you've woken up is important for your sleep schedule and might help you to start your day in the right way. Buying an ordinary alarm clock instead of using your phone as one will help to eliminate the urge to go on your phone.

Think about: not leaving your phone on your desk when your in a meeting, minimize distractions, make a physical separation between work time and private time, make a point of not using any screens during your lunch time or breaks and last but not least, try to just call people if possible instead of always using video chat, this can minimize the stimuli your brain has to process.

For example, only use your work computer for work, don't use it to binge watch your favorite show or to look for new shoes. Instead, go to your sofa to watch shows or to scroll through your social media.

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Schedule regular focus time via the O365 tool "My analytics". During your scheduled focus time, your status in Teams will say "Focusing". It shows your colleagues you have planned focus time and they can evaluate to contact you for non urgent matters until your focus time is over. You can download the how-to-manual on the right.

You can edit the settings of your Outlook Calendar, to start up on your calendar page instead of your mailbox. This might help to ease in the day instead of getting overwhelmed by the amount of e-mails waiting to be replied.
How to:

In Outlook, On the File tab, click Options, and then click Advanced.
Under Outlook start and exit, click Browse.
In the Select Folder dialog box, select the “calendar” folder you want to appear when you start Microsoft Outlook.

Get started