Speaker 1: 0:06

Hey, family, welcome. Welcome back to the sweet spot where science meets soul. Well, we find ourselves here on self-care Saturday, a time that we want to power up our performance, and on the sweet spot. You know, we've been facing fears and facing the unknown and uncertainty. All week we've been talking about this topic and today, after a week of doing this, we are focusing on something game-changing. Strategic self-care is what I'm going to call it. Listen, here's what I see in my championship-level clients.

Speaker 1: 0:43

Recovery is a thing. It's really important to understand the power of recovery, and we might just do that as a separate week, but recovery is just as important as the hustle. One NBA player that I work with swears that his meditation routine improves his shop percentage more than extra practice hours. Just think about that. Another client, a tech CEO that I work with, schedules what he calls recovery blocks, where he schedules meetings and balances his time in non-negotiable ways. All right, what about you?

Speaker 1: 1:27

What's your way of coping and handling and dealing with the unknown that can provide so much challenge to us? When we are facing the unknown and the uncertain, there's a level of stress that it brings on us. It upregulates our nervous system, our sympathetic nervous system, the fight, flight and freeze system. It can get a little bit jacked up and we can see ourselves having more cortisol, that stress hormone, circulating in the body and we can actually have a higher blood pressure, increased pulse, maybe even some vasoconstriction. Our arteries are just tighter and, as a result, our muscles aren't functioning well. So there's a lot of stress that can come along with dealing with the unknown and the uncertain and we need to be somewhat upregulated when we're facing the unknown. Look, if you're walking in uncertain times and unknown territory, you do have to be vigilant, you do have to pay attention. So we do need our cortisol. I'm not trying to give cortisol a bad rap. I'm not trying to say that you have to be completely relaxed all the time, but you do have to take the time to recover. So the three power moves that I want you to make today on self-care Saturday, as you've been tackling and facing the unknown, is this One quality sleep.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Don't sleep on sleep, because sleep actually resets your stress response and it helps you solve problems better. After you rest, you ever have that feeling. You ever have that feeling where, goodness you know, you wake up in the morning and you just feel so much better, so much clearer after a night's sleep. That's what I'm talking about. You need that level of sleep and rest.

Speaker 1: 3:20

The second thing you have to do is move. The second thing you have to do is move some kind of exercise, even if it's just walking around the block, even if it's just doing some dynamic stretching at home, even if it's just getting up every 30 minutes. If you're at your desk all the time just to walk I don't know to the refrigerator and back something. Just move, because movement clears the mind and it builds resilience. Everything is tied in. Did you know people who walked 30 to 40 minutes a day actually have been shown to be less depressed and less anxious, according to studies? Just that movement alone, not taking a medication, but walking as an antidepressant wow.

Speaker 1: 4:04

Now, I'm not saying that if you have clinical depression, that you should just walk it off. What I'm saying is, as part of a way of keeping your mood together, keep walking, take steps. And the third power move I want you to make as part of your self-care is to make deep connections with someone around you or people around you, to boost your courage, to boost your willingness to risk and to be able to talk things out. So social connections are important. So, all right, the three moves quality sleep, get some movement and get some deep connections going. All right. So I'd like you to think about that.

Speaker 1: 4:52

Think about your self-care, prioritize your rest today. Remember the scriptures say come to me all ye who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest, amen, all right. So this is your weekend challenge. Plan your recovery like a champion, how they plan their training. Map out your three power-up activities to fill your cup. This is Dr Sweet. Share your self-care wins with me on Twitter or on Instagram, or even on YouTube. I'd love to hear what is it that you do to recover? Remember, rest isn't weak. It's what makes you unstoppable. Stay blessed, stay bold, and I'll see you tomorrow for Slow Down Sunday. You.