Yesterday, I ran my second half-marathon, 13.1 miles. This was hard work and today my body feels my accomplishment! I live in Minnesota, where it gets hot and humid during the summer months. The race was early, but at the two-hour mark the sun and heat started to affect me. I muscled through and finished, I’m very happy with my race!

To prepare for this race, I searched for a training program that would work for me and my schedule. I found one and printed it out. I took the training manual and made myself a calendar. I find that if I make a calendar and post it on my fridge, every time I go to the fridge I see it. Seeing this calendar reminds me of my goal and the timeline necessary to achieve it.

Whenever I ran, attended my boot camp class or had my day of rest, I’d highlight it. I could see my progress and the calendar get highlighted. Having my calendar on the refrigerator reminded me of my race and goal every time I went to get something to eat. This helped me to eat properly and stay on track.

I trained for many weeks, building up my mileage and endurance. I ran, I worked out, I took my scheduled days of rest. Most programs train you to10 miles and then magically the last 3.1 miles just happen on race day. It’s true, I think the adrenaline and excitement from the crowd and other racers helps to get you through.

When I finished, I was thinking of how hard I had trained to reach my goal. Then, I thought about all of the nail techs out there. Do we train for work? What do we do to train for our day, to train for our clients?

Here is a the biggest recommendation to help you train for the day: SLEEP!

Do we get enough sleep? Do we stay out all night, burn the candle at both ends, spend way too much time on the computer, etc.? Do we get a few hours of sleep, roll out of bed, and put on whatever looks clean? Do we forget to eat or eat something quickly in the car on our way to work? Then screech into the last parking spot and saunter into work with a Diet Coke or Starbucks in hand? Does this sound familiar? Many of us take better care of our clients than we take care of ourselves.

So much of this routine could be avoided if we just got enough sleep. Did you know the National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of sleep every night for an adult? How many of us get that each night? The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) adds: Insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and depression. Sufficient sleep is increasingly being recognized as an essential aspect of chronic disease prevention and health promotion. WOW! Who knew?

If we’re sleep deprived we’ re not sharp, we feel sluggish, lazy, we get crabby, and no one wants to be around us. That includes our clients. Who wants to have a nail service with a nail tech who keeps yawning, drifts off into space, and doesn’t pay attention? Remember the client is paying for this service and the time she spends with us.

When we don’t get enough sleep we become lazy. We forget or don’t bother to offer add-ons and make retail suggestions. We then lose out on the financial rewards, the client misses out on the experience, and we miss out on the add-on/retail goals. All because we didn’t get the right amount of sleep.

This is what the (CDC) recommends for getting a good night of rest:

Sleep Hygiene

The promotion of regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. Here are some simple sleep hygiene tips:

• Go to bed at the same time each night, and rise at the same time each morning.

• Sleep in a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot nor too cold.

• Make your bed comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music.

• Remove all TVs, computers, and other "gadgets" from the bedroom.

• Avoid physical activity within a few hours of bedtime.

• Avoid large meals before bedtime.      

Having a plan is one of the best ways to reach a goal, to change a habit and stay on track. If nothing changes, nothing changes. If you don’t have a plan, plan to fail. We learned that last week from Michael Cole.

Get some sleep, you’ll thank me in the morning! Getting a good night of rest keeps you sharp and on top of your business. One more way to help you stand out above the rest and become the BEST!

— Jill