The Wellness Esquire’s
Peak Performance Toolbox
Nutrition & Blood Sugar
Prioritize eating protein, vegetables, and whole fruits.
Avoid post meal energy crashes by (1) eating food in the following order: vegetables ⟶ proteins and fats ⟶ starches and sugars, and (2) walking or doing calf raises after eating.
Hydration
Hydrate upon waking and throughout the day - especially while studying and taking exams.
Minerals are essential for optimal hydration. Filtered water removes harmful chemicals, but also removes essential minerals. Consider adding a pinch of sea salt or trace minerals (e.g., Sakara Drops) to re-mineralize your water.
Don’t like water? Try adding mint, cucumber, fresh fruit, or dried fruit powders (e.g., True Citrus) to your waters.
Consume hydrating foods (i.e., vegetables, fruits, smoothies, soups).
Sleep
Develop a morning routine that optimizes your circadian rhythm.
Morning sunshine, water, food, and movement within 30-60 minutes of waking
Avoid screens for the first 30+ minutes of your day.
Create an intentional morning practice that sets you up for a successful day.
Develop an evening routine that calms down your nervous system.
Finish eating 3+ hours before bed.
Turn off and dim lights 3+ hours before bed.
Avoid screens 3+ hours before bed - and if you really need to look at screens, wear blue blocking glasses.
Wind down with breathwork, meditation, reading for pleasure, taking a bath, tea, yoga, stretching, etc.
Breathwork
Learning to transition from a sympathetic (fight-flight-freeze) nervous system state to a parasympathetic (rest-digest-recover) nervous system state or vice versa can empower you to navigate any situation.
Relaxing (parasympathetic) breathwork practices:
Inhaling and exhaling through the nose, with longer exhales.
Double inhale, exhale AKA physiological sigh: inhale through your nose, inhale again at the top, exhale a long exhale.
Box breathing (inhale for a count of 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, repeat).
Stimulating (sympathetic) breathwork practices:
Inhaling and exhaling through the nose, with longer inhales.
Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose.
Inhale rapidly through your nose, and exhale rapidly through your mouth 25-30 times. Then, exhale fully and hold your breath until you feel the natural urge to breathe again. Proceed breathing normally.
Learning & Study Tips
Develop practices that get your brain into an alert state. For example:
Stimulating breathwork (see above)
Complex movements (e.g., dancing, SwitchedOn app, BlazePods)
Develop practices that help you focus. For example:
Stare at a point on the wall for 30-60 seconds.
Minimize potential distractions. Keep your phone in a separate room. Turn off all notifications. Focus on one task at a time.
Participate in in-person or virtual co-working sessions, such as Flow Club. This can be a particularly valuable resource for individuals with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence.
Explore whether certain types of music help you get into a flow state. For example:
Binaural beats
Meditation music
Classical music
Take movement breaks (e.g., walk, dance, do squats or jumping jacks, etc.)
Incorporate mobility drills, especially hand, wrist, and finger mobility drills, before and during study bouts. Explanatory videos will be on TheWellnessEsquire.com soon!
Generate repetitions when learning new material. Embrace mistakes. Mistakes help your brain learn.
Take 10 second pauses every 2-ish minutes to allow your brain to absorb when it just learned.
Set learning bouts to a max of 90 minutes, and then take a break.
Follow intense learning periods with “Non-Sleep Deep Rest” (e.g., yoga nidra recordings).
Hand write your notes as much as you can. Your brain will grasp the material faster.
Position your computer screen such that your eyes whenever possible. Eyes up increases alertness; eyes down increases sleepiness.
Take technology-free breaks. Let your mind wander.
Mindset
Develop and embrace a growth mindset.
Swap negative self-talk for positive self-talk (e.g., I can’t do this ⟶ I can’t do this YET).
Find intrinsic motivation in your work. Intrinsic motivation is linked to increased productivity and creativity, and to higher quality performance overall.
Strive for excellence and growth, not perfection.
Set reasonable expectations for yourself and each other.
Treat yourself and each other with respect, compassion, and thoughtfulness, especially when life gets hard.
Learn to set boundaries to protect your time, energy, and health.
Learn to be accommodating and flexible with yourself and with others. We all need help sometimes.