003 - Live slowly and sleep deeply

The main idea of this information is about the importance of living slowly and sleeping deeply for overall well-being. Living slowly doesn't mean having less to do, but rather having a calm mind while going about daily activities. The speed at which we perceive our lives is determined by the speed of our minds. Slowing down the mind can be achieved through practices such as focusing on the breath, opening up peripheral vision, and spending time in nature. It's about being curious and experimenting with different techniques to find what works for each individual. Sleep quality is also influenced by how we live our day, so living slowly can help us sleep more deeply. It's important to have a calm mind in the hours leading up to bedtime, avoiding activities that keep the mind busy. Letting go of over-analyzing and rigid routines can help us embrace a slower pace of life and allow our minds to naturally slow down. Welcome back to the show, where we share insights into physical and mental wellbeing, nature's way. I'm your host, Chris Newton, and these are my conversations with Mother Nature. Over the past couple of episodes, we've learnt from Mother Nature five simple guidelines for health, plus the governing rule of playful curiosity that we should apply to them. It's now time to dig a little deeper though. Over the coming weeks, we're going to expand upon each of these five guidelines. This week, we're going to tackle guideline one, live slowly and sleep deeply. As I hope you'll find out, this is a true foundation of wellbeing, and, like most things in nature, goes much deeper than first impressions might suggest. So, without further ado, let's open up the floor to Mother Nature for another fascinating conversation. Welcome back to the show, Mother Nature. I'm really looking forward to this conversation that we're going to have today. It's nice to be back, Chris. So, over the last couple of weeks, you've kindly shared with us your five guidelines for wellbeing. Each of them make a lot of sense on the surface, but I get the impression that they go much deeper than our first impressions. Over the coming weeks, I'd like to dig a little deeper into each of these topics, so the listeners and I can understand them better. Absolutely, Chris. Where would you like to start? Well, why don't we start at the beginning with guideline one, live slowly and sleep deeply. Now, I think I understand what you mean by sleep deeply, so maybe we'll discuss that in shortly. But, live slowly, what do you mean by that? That's a great place to start, Chris. Let me ask you, what does living slowly mean to you? Well, I'll be honest with you, I'm not sure. Life is so fast-paced, but I'm not entirely sure why. If I speak of myself and my family, days just seem to be zooming by faster and faster. We get up, we feed our daughter and take her to school, go straight to work and then grind all day, get home, cook dinner, have some family time, put our daughter to bed, tidy up the mess that we created in the house and then go to bed ourselves. The next day, my wife and I just seem to do the same rinse and repeat process again. So, I guess I measure fast-paced by how busy I am. Well, that's one way to look at it. Why do I get the feeling that you kind of make me see things differently, though? Well, what you describe here is your long to-do list, and everybody has a long to-do list, don't they? Sure, I guess they do. So, I'd argue that you can live that to-do list at a fast pace or a slow one. Okay. So, you're saying that to live slowly, you don't actually have to have less to do. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Let's compare your life to the Dalai Lama's, for example. Who's living the faster pace? Okay, um... Let me help you, Chris. The Dalai Lama has the responsibility of being the spiritual leader of an entire nation, is an international speaker, campaigns for Tibet's independence from China, has written or co-authored over 500 books, and is a consistent public figure. And that's just what you get to see. You, however, Chris, have a pretty average life. Thanks. So, clearly the Dalai Lama has a faster pace of life than me. Well, I'd actually argue that you have the faster pace. Give over. I know I complain about how hard life is sometimes, but seriously, you think my life is harder than a Dalai Lama's? No, it's not harder. Not by a long way. It's faster. Okay, I'm definitely missing something here. You're going to have to get to the punchline for me. Okay, here it is then. Life is only as fast-paced as your mind is. Life is only as fast-paced as your mind is. Are you saying that the Dalai Lama is physically far busier than me, but my mind is far busier than his, and that's what makes for my fast-paced life? Well done, Chris. Let me explain this so we're completely clear. Everyone is busy. There is nothing unique to you there. Some people are so busy, it's almost unimaginable how they achieve so much, like the Dalai Lama. So I do not measure the speed at which you live life by the length of your to-do lists. I measure it by how fast your mind is running. The less time your mind has to rest, the faster you will perceive your life to be. Oh, wow. So the first part of your guideline, doesn't actually mean cancelling your commitments or finding a less demanding career or dreaming of retirement. It's actually about slowing your mind down. Maybe we can even embrace how physically busy we are if you're not filling every waking moment with overthinking. Yes, exactly. To live slowly means to embrace life with all its busyness, whilst allowing your mind to remain peaceful. OK, cool. Do you have any suggestions about how we might practice slowing the minds down? Well, there are as many ways to slow the mind as there are minds on this planet. By which I mean, what helps to slow the mind is slightly different for everyone. But here are a few general ideas that apply to all of you. Take a moment to focus on your breath. Breathing lightly and slowly, as if making it imperceptibly quiet for a few rounds, can slow your nervous system down enough to calm the mind. Option two is to open up to your peripheral vision. The faster your mind, the more tunneled your vision becomes. Widening that vision so you can pay attention to the very periphery of it can help your mind slow down. Another option is to come visit me and let me calm your mind. Spending time in nature allows me to calm your mind for you. I can help even if your access to nature is only a city park, a small garden, or even a potted plant on a desk. That's honestly all it takes if you pay attention. I promise. I'll personally help your mind slow down if you spend 20 minutes or more with me. Obviously, the more immersed you are, the easier it is for me to do my work. However, rather than any prescription for slowing the mind, remember the governing rule. Just approach living slowly with playful curiosity. Try to experiment with noticing when your mind is running fast. Then play with any ideas that come to mind that you think might slow it down. Some of your ideas will work. Some won't. And that's okay. Just be curious. Keep the ideas that help. And bin the ones that don't. These are such simple ideas, Mother Nature. Thank you. I noticed, though, that you didn't mention meditation here. Where's that? Meditation is an excellent tool for slowing the mind. But it's an option that works extremely well for some, yet others find it frustrating beyond belief. As always, it's about being curious about finding out whether it works for you. The suggestions I've given, especially breathing lightly and opening your peripheral vision, actually lay the foundation for meditation in many ways. You can also do them whilst you're busy with your to-do list. And that's the goal when living slowly. You want to be productive, but do so with a slow, calm, peaceful mind. That way you'll sleep much more deeply. Thank you so much for that detailed answer, Mother Nature. And I guess it's a perfect segue into the second half of your guideline, too. How can we sleep deeply? By living slowly. No, I mean, how do we help ourselves sleep better so we wake up feeling more refreshed? And I mean, in order to sleep deeply, you should try to live more slowly. You can expect to zoom through your day with a busy mind and expect it to just slow down the second you climb into bed. How you sleep is a by-product of how you spent your day. Ah, that makes sense. So the brain is switching gears to do the night shift, allowing time to slow down. Yes, exactly. Even if you can live more slowly in the evening, it will help you sleep better at night. I see. And I guess we have to remember that by living slowly, you don't mean time spent on the couch in front of the TV. That's just a lack of physically doing something. It's not slowing your mind down, is it? Exactly. To sleep more deeply, it's important to have a calm mind in the hours leading up to going to bed. Some television programs can promote this, but others keep the mind whizzing. And I guess late night social media scrolling busies the mind too. Yes, that too. But remember not to get caught up in what is right and wrong. Everyone has their way to slow their mind. Again, it's about playful curiosity, or in this case, calming curiosity. If you feel relaxed in your body and mind leading up to going to bed, then you're probably doing okay. If you feel tense in body or mind, then maybe it's time to play with other evening routines. Yeah, it's easy to get caught up in the arguments about what we should and shouldn't be doing, right? What I'm learning from you is that in order to live slowly and sleep deeply, we really have to let go of over-analyzing everything, feeling guilty or being rigid in our routines that actually don't serve us. Instead, we should let go of the pressures we put ourselves under and allow our minds to slow naturally. Got it in one, Chris. Thanks. Okay, seeing as I'm doing so well, let's see if I can summarize what I've learned today. Great idea. Let's see what you've got. The first rule in Mother Nature's formula is to live slowly and sleep deeply. Living slowly doesn't mean having nothing to do, though. Sure, it helps not to be too busy, but having little to do promotes idleness, and idleness doesn't provide a very productive or interesting life. You can be extremely busy and productive, yet live slowly, like the Dalai Lama does. Living slowly isn't a product of how busy you are, but how calm your mind is whilst you're getting about your day. What Mother Nature intended for us was to simply live life where our minds are not stuck on over-trife. From ancient philosophers to modern human sciences, we've learnt that calming the mind has all sorts of health benefits, helping everything from mental focus to managing depression or anxiety. It also has some useful side effects. It can help you sleep better. We can't expect the mind to simply switch gears the minute we climb into bed. It takes time to slow down and prepare itself for all the work that it has to do whilst you're asleep. You can significantly help it do that by slowing down during the day. But remember, as Mother Nature likes to remind us every so often, living slowly and sleeping deeper won't happen overnight. It takes practice and experimentation. If you apply the governing rule of playful curiosity, you can learn to find what works best for you, helping you develop a calm, clear mind and sleep more deeply at night. Excellent work, Chris. Thank you. Now, it crosses my mind at this point, and we're going to get some kickback from social commenters on our conversation today. We've spoken about slowing the mind down, but it occurs to me that some people are going to say that they thrive on a fast mind, which I tend to agree with. What would you say? How slow do we need to go? Everything in nature, Chris, is on a spectrum. For example, there is no perfect size or shape to a tree. Trees grow in all shapes and sizes, but they are all perfectly recognizable as trees. The same is true for living slowly. It's a spectrum. If the person is calm, functioning well, and sleeping optimally, we will all be able to recognize that this is a healthy mind, even if their mind is still capable of running faster than yours. I think I know what you're saying. Maybe at the faster end of that spectrum, you might find an ADHD mind. If they slow down a bit, often with medication, their mind becomes clearer and sharper, and they tend to sleep better too. But slow for them is equivalent to my mind in serious danger of meltdown. I doubt my mind has ever worked that fast. I'm closer to the other end of the spectrum, I'd say. Super low back. Living slowly is about taking just enough cognitive load off the mind for optimal functioning. Exactly. Everyone lives at the speed of their nature. Brilliant. I love that. Everyone lives at the speed of their nature. That's one to remember. Thank you for your guidance today, Mother Nature. You've helped me reframe what a fast-paced life really means. I can assure you I'll be taking steps to live more slowly and sleep more deeply from now on. Thank you. You are very welcome, Chris. Thank you for having me on your show today. So there you have it. The first of our five guidelines is simple yet profound. Being busy and having lots on your to-do list is normal for all of us. It's how busy we allow our mind to become that causes us to suffer and feel like life is zooming by at an ever-accelerating pace. Take a moment now, if you can, to slow down any racing thoughts you have. Focus on your breath. Widen your vision. Or take a few moments to notice the nature around you. Even if the nature that you can access right now is just the passing clouds overhead, Mother Nature has a way of calming you when you pay her a little bit of attention. If you enjoyed this episode and you want to hear more, then please support the work by subscribing to this podcast. And if you're interested in learning more, please visit the links in the show notes for more resources on my website. And remember, health emerges quite naturally when you allow Mother Nature to guide you.