Karl from Vitruvian Health shares some tips on how you can boost your daily recovery – not just after exercise, but also after each work day, so that you can perform even better the day after a long and taxing shift.

Tip 1 – Start winding yourself down early

Karl’s daily routine actually begins at his nighttime.  He believes how you sleep is how you perform so instead of planning his day from when he wakes up, he focuses on what he can do to recover and sleep so that the following day he’s full of energy the whole day.

Want to know more about how you can plan your routine, starting with your recovery?  Check out this video with Karl.

Tip 2 – Have a pre bed routine

Whenever you finish your shift and you get home, you need to have a few things you do that signal to yourself and your body that it’s time to switch off and rest.  Do these every night and your body takes these as cues to switch on the parasympathetic system and wind yourself down.

For example, we all love eating, right?  Well if you eat a meal that is carb rich pre bed it stimulates the release of the relaxation hormone serotonin which means that you’ll go to bed on a full stomach with sustained energy to help your body rest and recover while you sleep.

Give this meal a go (yes, sounds weird but it is delicious!) – 180g cooked white rice mixed with 180g blueberries or raspberries, 120ml coconut milk and cinnamon.  Microwave for 1 minute or heat up in a pan and enjoy after dinner.  

Other things you can implement into your pre bed routine are:

• Enjoy a hot cup of cacao 60 minutes before bed. 
• Journal your thoughts and finish with 3 things you’re grateful for today.
• Have a hot shower.

Tip 3 – Turn your bedroom into your sanctuary 

Have you ever gone to a hotel and seen the room where you are staying thinking ‘Wow that bed looks so comfy, I’m going to sleep so well!’?

Basically you want that response each time you see your own bed!  The bed is for sleeping, not for talking on the phone, reading a book, or watching a movie.  Every time you see your bed before you sleep, you want to trigger your body to think ‘I’m about to sleep’, so that when you get into bed, you are ready to sleep.

To help with this, set your room up for sleeping.  This is the best way you can set yourself up for the best recovery between shifts.  For example you can:

• Make your bedroom like a bat cave – use heavy blinds to block out the light from outside, cover all lights from any smoke alarms, technology that’s in your room and close your bedroom door when you sleep.  Alternatively you can just wear an eye mask;
• Leave your technology outside your bedroom.  Before you say “my alarm is on my phone”, trust me, your alarm works outside your door as well, it doesn’t need to be next to your ear to wake you up, simply turn up the volume;
• Use side lamps or a salt lamp for light rather than the overhead light;
• Invest in some soft bedding that makes you feel rested just by touching it;
• Play some relaxation / sleep music to help you drift off to sleep.

The next time you look at your bedroom, consider whether it is set up properly so that you can maximise the time you have to rest and recover between your day to day.

This article was provided by Vitruvian Health.