In the last six months, I have been exploring ways that exercise can facilitate a change in mindset when it comes to improving physical and mental health and performance. To take advantage of this shift, I want you to think about exercise in a new way.

There are several ways you can alter your physical environment to change the way you work. You might not be able to change the state of your building, but you can make small changes to workspaces or rooms that make a big difference. And you don’t have to spend a ton of money—you can work with what you have to create a space more conducive to improved focus and productivity.

Science shows that when our creativity is peaking, we emit theta waves and several regions of our brains interact to make new connections and come up with novel ideas. But how do we get into that state, keep track of the ideas we generate and stimulate a long-term source of ideas?

As the foundation of all health and performance, sleep is something you need to take seriously. And while you may not have access to a sleep coach like the pro sports teams do, you can still put a protocol in place to help you achieve optimal sleep.

Optimizing the functioning and growth of your brain is essential to your performance and health. In particular, it’s important to understand the role of two kinds of tissues – white matter and grey matter – and how you can make them grow.

I’ve talked a lot recently about the importance of exercise for controlling focus and attention, which is one of the main benefits on top of the major impacts exercise has on physical health.

But exercise is also essential for establishing and sustaining a joyful and positive mood, which is a funny effect because the secret to establishing a consistent habit of exercise is actually finding the joy in movement.

The other day, a friend of mine who used to work crazy hours told me about his desire to become a true Sleep Master. He had at long last accepted the science of sleep, which I talked about a few months ago in this blog. Exhausted all the time, his health and relationships were suffering and he was making a change.

An interview with Dr. Greg Wells - It's okay to dream big, but start small. With "1 per cent tips," Wells advocates staying focused on micro-improvements (using spices, not sauces, to cut calories; walking 15 minutes a day to potentially lower risk of breast and colon cancer 24 to 40 per cent). "Microchanges are sustainable forever," he says. "When they add up over time, it's like compound interest for your body and mind."

Creativity does not happen by accident. Advances in physiological research can provide us with insights about how we can spark our own agile thinking and problem solving.

As a leader in business, you're probably pushing the limits on a daily basis. Adopting deliberate practices that improve your creativity and mental agility will allow you to perform at a higher level more easily and more consistently. Putting these ideas into practice does require a shift in mindset and a reallocation of your priorities. It will be challenging in the short term, but the long-term benefits will be powerful for you personally and for your career and business.

Enjoying the summer? I’m loving it. Summer makes it so much easier to get outside and get active. But despite no longer having the weather as an excuse, Canadians still don’t come even close to getting enough physical activity.

A recent report on Canadians’ activity levels showed that only 15 per cent of us are getting enough exercise on a daily basis. That means that 85 per cent of Canadians are at risk of chronic illnesses like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes simply because they are not physically active on a daily basis.

The skill of communication in the era of social media, leading without a title and brand awareness has never been more important. Steve Jobs knew how important a speech can be. He practised for days before presentations. More recently, Elon Musk has delivered presentations for Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity initiatives. These talks have led to the exponential growth of his companies and, possibly, a different future for humanity.

John is former lead solo pilot for the US Navy’s Blue Angels. Now a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, John is an internationally-renowned keynote speaker on high performance for individuals and teams. He is also a gratitude guru who inspires audiences through his “glad to be here” mantra and foundation of the same name.

During his remarks, Eisenhower referred to a university president he knew who was fond of saying, “I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This phrase went on to become the basis for what is known as The Eisenhower Decision Principle – a decision-making process for prioritizing tasks and projects.

Building better brains: An overview of Dr. Brynn Winegard’s expertise and current interests.

Dr. Greg Wells: Dr. Brynn, before I clicked record, you and I were talking about how you did an audit of what you love to do versus what you don’t, and that you landed on what you do, which is speaking and teaching. Can you tell us about that?

BW: I focus on business and brain science and merging the two. In the olden days, it used to be called things like “neural management,” “neuro leadership,” “neural marketing,” and those kinds of things. I consider those to be relevant, though I would say my focus is a lot broader than that. And I spend my days much like yourself, running a business, so there’s a lot of delivering that has to happen, organizing, and chasing, marketing, and some administration.

A good night’s sleep is the foundation of physical health and mental energy.

I’m a science geek. I like to know why a particular approach to life or technique for success works. Otherwise, I tend to glaze over when faced with another “X Ways to Achieve Y Results” article. In the absence of research or evidence, I’m less likely to pay attention and less motivated to make a change in my life.

Maybe that’s just me. But I’ll assume you’re also a “but how do we know that really matters?” person and lay it out for you — on the subject of sleep.