Get rid of tiredness with these 10-minute science-backed hacks and perform at your best
In some periods I feel more energized than others. Sometimes I can operate fine on 6 hours of sleep but other times I still feel tired after sleeping for a solid 8 hours.
I noticed that many people in my surroundings also frequently have to deal with tiredness. This might have something to do with the fast-paced society that we live in today and all the stimuli that we get bombarded with on a day-to-day basis.
In a previous article, I showed another tool to get rid of tiredness using the Wim Hof method and cold showers. This is one of my best-performing articles at the moment that I am writing this. I think this is another indication that tiredness is a problem that many people are dealing with in today’s world.
All this made me realize that I have to share my knowledge as I know about some hacks to fix this problem that most people don’t know about. After this article, you will have 2 more tools at your disposal to re-energize quickly.
Hack 1: Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)
Non-Sleep Deep Rest which is the scientific name of yoga nidra is an extremely simple but effective method that was popularized by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman.
This method involves laying on your back and listening to a script that guides you through this kind of meditation where you focus on different body parts and do some controlled breathing. It is called Non-Sleep Deep Rest as you get into a sort of pseudo sleep where your body thinks you are asleep but you are actually awake but deeply relaxed.
There are many scripts available on YouTube that you can listen to. In particular, I recommend the YouTube channel of Ally Boothroyd. She makes amazing NSDR meditations that you can easily follow as a beginner. Just select a yoga nidra/NSDR video of 10–30 minutes depending on how much time you have and how tired you are.
Andrew Huberman recommends doing an assessment of how you feel after you wake up in the morning. If you still feel tired, you can do an NSDR session of 10–30 minutes immediately and start off your day feeling energized. 9 out of 10 days I still feel tired after waking up and doing NSDR has really helped me to feel energized in the morning.
When you had a bad or short night of sleep NSDR can not only help you to replace the sleep you have lost, but it can also help you to re-energize in the afternoon and perform at your best for the rest of the day. After a busy morning, I sometimes do a short NSDR session of 15 minutes after which I can tackle the rest of a busy day with ease.
Besides improving energy, other benefits of NSDR include:
- Stress reduction
- Focus enhancement
- Better overall well-being
There are literally zero costs to doing this method and it is so easy to do. Give it a try!
Hack 2: Coffee Nap
Another hack you can try is the coffee nap. I think this is a bit more well-known method than Non-Sleep Deep Rest but still, many people don’t know about this. I am sorry if you are not a fan of coffee, but if you are you should definitely try this.
So, what is a coffee nap? It is just what it sounds like coffee combined with a short nap. When you feel tired in the middle of the day — I don’t recommend doing this after like 3 pm to not affect your night of sleep negatively — you can make a cup of coffee and drink the whole cup in a few seconds (make sure it is not too hot).
Then, immediately after drinking your coffee, you can set a timer for 10–20 minutes (20 minutes is optimal) and take a nap. After waking up from your power nap, the caffeine and sleeping will reinforce the effects and you will feel more energized than just a regular power nap.
Caffeine followed by a nap has been shown to improve alertness and mental acuity in several studies. Timing is important, it has been shown to be most effective to do this after your lunch and for no more than 20 minutes.
Let me know in the comments if you have tried one of these methods. If you learned something from this article consider following my profile here on Medium to stay tuned for other straight-to-the-point articles that help ambitious people like you, to live more fulfilling and successful lives. I will write an article in the future about simple things you can do to optimize your sleep as well so that you will have even more energy to pursue your dreams!
