Page 64 - Advance Copy: Todd Kaufman, Author

TODD KAUFMAN
drink it while I am getting ready in the morning.
Until consuming lots of water on a regular basis becomes a habit, pick up a water bottle and carry it with you at all times. Keep it within easy reach and view. Think of a drink of water as a kick-start to any performance: a task at work, a walk, reading or housework. And please, don’t buy boxes of plastic bottles; think green. There are water bottles on the market that have built-in filters and you can personalize
them. Make it your “thing”!
Whatever the activity, always start with a drink of water.
Think of it as lubrication for your brain. Drink lots of water and eat a well-balanced nutritional breakfast. Not only will your mom be proud, your brain will thank you.
Recharge For Peak Performance
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the com- mittee of sleep has worked on it.”
– John Steinbeck
And there is a darn good neurological reason to back Mr. Steinbeck on this one. It is during sleep we that we not only recharge most of the systems in our body, but it is also believed that the mind somehow problem solves and makes sense of our day, consolidating experiences, sensations and events into coherent and manageable memories. If we fail to do this recharge and don’t process the events of the day, we are just primed for panic attacks and high levels of anxiety.
It is understood that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms can largely be attributed to this lack of subconscious processing during sleep. Researchers are beginning to understand that during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, we seem to gather all the bits and pieces of the events of our
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