Northern-based expert shares BEST practice model for boosting mental and physical health

Why half an hour's less sleep a night can boost your wellbeing.

- By Nick Owens Contributor

A leadership expert has revealed why half an hour's LESS sleep a night can be the key to unlocking better mental health and wellbeing Drew Povey, the founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy, works with elite athletes and business leaders, helping them to stay on track and improve their productivity. He adopts a four-step process, called the BEST practice model, which is designed to lower cortisol levels in the body, encourage better diet and exercise, and to promote better sleep through focusing on sleep cycles.

"If you want people to stick to something, it's important to keep it simple and achievable," explains Drew. "The BEST model is something I recommend to people I work with, from elite athletes to business leaders and everyone in between, because it contains important elements which can help our mind and bodies stay in equilibrium.

"Modern life is full of challenges and temptations, from stress at work or at home to late nights and overindulging in food and alcohol. And while enjoying yourself needs to form part of your life, these choices could be causing unseen stress in your mind and body.

Here, Drew outlines the four key steps of his BEST pratice model.

B-BREATHING

"We've become a world of mouth breathers, and that is a problem. So while the B stands for breathing, what we need to focus on is nasal breathing.