#Rest March 25

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Today contribution to the 30-Day Letter Writing Coach4aday Challenge is on REST.

The challenge involves composing a letter to yourself when you were an earlier age. The goal is to focus on a value, habit, or choice that needs to be adopted or made.

Today’s letter is providing you with an answer that you will field often in your later life. It is a question on what leads to success not only as a college student but in life.

Day 25-Letter on Sleep

1980’s

Dear Just starting out Dan:

Now that you are a head coach in college you often field questions about what leads to success for Student Athletes.

The top answer you need to provide will surprise people. It isn’t going to class. It isn’t going to the library. It isn’t getting a tutor. YES, all of those things are very important, but you will soon learn the biggest threat to student success was lack of regular SLEEP.  To be successful you needed rest.

To succeed athletes and high performers need to go to SLEEP at the same time each night. Or more aptly put the lack of regularity with rest patterns is going to produce stress. That stress will have a negative impact on the goal of learning and performing.

In time you will appreciate Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. The foundation is making sure all human physiological needs are met. Included in those physiological needs is SLEEP.

Tell young and old leaders alike that there are performance superpowers. They include exercise, diet, mediation, and SLEEP.

Share with people a fantastic TedTalk by Dr. Matt Walker who is a brain/sleep scientist. He has shared his research on the importance of sleep on television and radio outlets including CBS’s “60 Minutes,” National Geographic, NOVA Science, NRP and the BBC. He also has a website called Sleep Diplomat.

Grown Up and Rested Dan