Northern-based expert shares BEST practice model for boosting mental and physical health

A leadership expert has revealed why half an hour’s LESS sleep a night can be the key to unlocking better mental health and wellbeing

Drew Povey, the founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy, works with elite athletes and business leaders, helping them to stay on track and improve their productivity.

He adopts a four-step process, called the BEST practice model, which is designed to lower cortisol levels in the body, encourage better diet and exercise, and to promote better sleep through focusing on sleep cycles.

“If you want people to stick to something, it’s important to keep it simple and achievable,” explains Drew.

“The BEST model is something I recommend to people I work with, from elite athletes to business leaders and everyone in between, because it contains important elements which can help our mind and bodies stay in equilibrium.

“Modern life is full of challenges and temptations, from stress at work or at home to late nights and overindulging in food and alcohol. And while enjoying yourself needs to form part of your life, these choices could be causing unseen stress in your mind and body.

Here, Drew outlines the four key steps of his BEST practice model.

B - BREATHING

“We’ve become a world of mouth breathers, and that is a problem. So while the B stands for breathing, what we need to focus on is nasal breathing.

“When we breathe through our mouth it stimulates our sympathetic nervous system because it sends a signal to our brain that it is in danger, thus our ‘fight or flight’ mode is activated. This increases the stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol as well as increasing our heart rate.

“Over the long term, systematic mouth breathing can create a cycle of stress and anxiety.

“When you get up in the morning don’t reach for the phone – think about your breathing. You can try things like single nostril breathing or box breathing which stimulates the vagus nerve, shifting the body towards relaxation.”

E- EATING RIGHT

“The second element is about eating right. Elite athletes eat well because they have to fuel themselves. But we’re all athletes in a sense because we have to compete in life. We could be corporate athletes or business athletes – we have to fuel ourselves correctly.

“It’s been proven that when we eat well and we are healthy, it changes our mindset in so many ways, including good gut health which is important for our overall wellbeing.

“It’s called the gut-brain connection where the gut sends signals to the brain and vice versa, influencing each other’s health and function. Research has shown that imbalances in gut bacteria, inflammation in the digestive system and even the types of food we eat affects our mood, stress levels and even our mental health.”

S- SLEEP

“We should all get a solid eight hours of sleep – right? Well actually, no. Sleep is different for everyone but what is common in humans is that we sleep in 90 minute cycles between light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep. These are all vital for recovery of our mind and body.

“So if your alarm goes off after eight hours, you could find yourself waking in the middle of a sleep cycle, which is why you don’t feel refreshed.

“I moved to 7.5 hours of sleep and found it to be a game changer as it meant I had five full sleep cycles. Cutting down half an hour of sleep actually improved how I felt when I woke up.

“For athletes, we recommend nine hours sleep – giving them six full sleep cycles. But it will be different for everyone so play around with what works for you.”

T- TRAINING

“The benefits of training are well documented both for improving cardiovascular health and our muscles, which helps our posture and is even more important as we age in preventing age-related frailty, called sarcopenia.

“But you don’t have to be a gym bunny and head off in lycra every day to lift mega weights or train for a marathon to get the benefits. Even a brisk walk can blow away the cobwebs, get our heart pumping and improve muscle tone.

“But it’s not just the physical effects of exercise, it’s what it does to our mind. You never regret going for a workout because of what it does for our minds.

“It gives us endorphins, raising our mood. It also increases levels of BDNF – brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is a protein essential for brain health and function. This can enhance our mood, cognition and overall brain resilience.

“And thirdly, it decreases stress by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. Increased GABA levels following exercise – particularly aerobic exercise – can contribute to improved mental fitness, reduced depressive symptoms and enhanced motor learning.”