7. Sitting all day
Business consultant and author, Nilofer Merchant,
recommends forgoing coffee or fluorescent-lit conference
room meetings in favour of walking and talking 20 to 30
kilometres a week.
"You'll be surprised at how fresh air drives fresh
thinking, and in the way that you do, you'll bring into
your life an entirely new set of ideas," she says.
8. Hitting the snooze button
It might feel like pressing the snooze button in the
morning gives you a little bit of extra rest to start your
day, but the truth is that it does more harm than good.
That's because when you first wake up, your endocrine
system begins to release alertness hormones to get you
ready for the day. By going back to sleep, you're slowing
down this process. Plus, nine minutes doesn't give your
body time to get the restorative, deep sleep it needs.
This isn't to say you should cut back on sleep. As
Arianna Huffington says, a good night's sleep has the
power to increase productivity, happiness, smarter
decision-making, and unlock bigger ideas. The trick for
getting enough sleep is planning ahead and powering
down at a reasonable time.
9. Keeping your phone next to your bed
The LED screens of our smartphones, tablets, and laptops
give off what is called blue light, which studies have
shown can damage vision and suppress production of
melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle.
Research also suggests that people with lower melatonin
levels are more prone to depression.