Living according to the 10-3-2-1-0 rule is better for your brain
After eating on the couch with a strong espresso, binge-watching three episodes of a new series, and finally having some yogurt with fruit for the late-night cravings. Honestly, my weekday evenings often unfold in this rhythm, but it turns out to be not so good for my brain.
A cup of coffee, as the Rotterdammers say, a little snacking, staring at all your screens, and then straight to bed. It all has a significant impact on your sleep and thus the recovery of your brain. I didn't come up with this wisdom myself, but from Charlotte Labee, the expert in a balanced brain. I suddenly found myself in the METZNALLEN podcast by Gwen van Poorten, where Labee was a guest, and every time I hear that woman, I learn something new.
Scrolling for hours in bed does not promote your sleep, you probably already knew that, but in the long term, it can even be harmful and a major cause of insomnia. It is important to let the parasympathetic nervous system do its job, which calms the brain and allows it to recover. If you are still watching the last episode of Ozark in bed, the sympathetic nervous system remains active and you signal that it needs to keep working. This is the beginning of the negative spiral, because if you stimulate the brain, you won't sleep, and if you don't sleep, you don't give it recovery time.
Labee explains the 10-3-2-1-0 rule of Craig Ballentyne in the podcast with Gwen van Poorten.
It simply means: no more coffee 10 hours before you go to sleep, no more food 3 hours before you take a nap, no more screens 2 hours before you end the day, and 1 hour before you go to sleep, you go into total relaxation. It will give you a wonderful night and in the long run, a healthier brain. Now you probably want to know what the 0 stands for, but I will probably make myself less popular with that. It means zero times snoozing. That probably sounds like hell for people who have trouble getting up, but it really helps your brain perform better.
How do you calm the brain? By meditating in the evening or listening to binaural beats for a bit. Everything to sleep well, because that is the secret if you want to keep the brain healthy.
Source: charlottelabee.com
