How does nutrition, psychology, and sports fit into maximising performance?
How can a poor diet harm happiness, concentration levels and productivity of employees?
Graeme L. Close tells Bill Banham on our latest podcast how improving health leads to an improved performance not only at work, but in numerous aspects of our lives.
“NUTRITION IS THE BASE FOR HUMAN PERFORMANCE. EVERYTHING WE
DO AND EVERYTHING WE BECOME IS BASED ON THE FOOD WE EAT.”
– GRAEME L. CLOSE
Tips and tricks to get athletes to their absolute best performance are just as applicable to the every day worker, Graeme argues. Working with the worlds greatest athletes, Graeme outlines characteristics of a dedicated mindset, pulling on how nutrition is the base for human performance – we are what we eat!
We know that by changing the food we eat, or manipulating the carbohydrates we eat before we exercise can be the difference between whether we can run for 30 minutes or two hours. Nutrition has an enormous effect on our abilities to perform.
However, it is important to understand that whilst improving health leads to an improved performance, an improved performance cannot be achieved without improving one’s health first.
“IF WE WANT TO CHANGE OUR ABILITY TO PERFORM,
IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE FUEL IT IN THE RIGHT WAY.”
– GRAEME L. CLOSE
Food has a “magnificent effect on the body,” explains Graeme, who stresses that nutrition and sports are also closely linked to mental health; as a society, we will have many long term and acute health problems if the standard quality of eating does not improve. We want to be feeding ourselves in a way that will maximise both our concentration and energy throughout the day. It is helpful to the about thr reverse of this, and if we do not feed ourselves appropriately, we will face long-term damage.
What does a poor diet harm? Graeme highlights that, among many other things, a poor diet can impact one’s happiness, productivity and overall performance; Productivity is a key part of an employee’s performance at work. Understanding how nutrition and exercise affects your body and mind is key to maximising one’s capabilities to work efficiently.
“IF WE CAN HELP THE EVERYDAY WORKER BY IMPROVING THEIR HEALTH,
THEN THE REST WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.”
– GRAEME L. CLOSE
We have to put our health and our family before everything. Generally, we find we are more productive this way anyway, argues Graeme.
Humans also work better in routines, argues Graeme, highlighting that making heath an absolute priority within a routine, then everything else seems to take care of everything else. Prioritising nutrition and health is key.
Nutrition is one of the most confused and over-complicated sports science. Dive deep into this insightful conversation to learn how to be a better version of yourself today, and understand how to build healthy habits into your everyday!
To listen to the full podcast, click here now,
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
