The high-performance coach talks managing stress for sustainable success

You started your career as an oil and gas litigator in London. Why did you make the change to coaching and hypnotherapy?

I loved the pace of law, but I worked all the time and it turned my life completely upside down. I remember one night when my husband arrived at my office at 3am because he thought I was having an affair, and found me still working. I ended up going through a chaotic divorce, then my dad had a burnout-driven heart attack. He survived, but it was a bit of a wake-up call that I should move into a profession that was more sustainable. 

You’re all about encouraging professional empowerment while preventing burnout. How do you approach that careful balance? 

My typical clients are driven, intelligent women, but somewhere in the equation they lost track of their health. They might be juggling a demanding career and a family. My goal is not for them to quit their job, but to help them understand that after work, half a bottle of wine to wind down isn’t the best way to prepare for the next day. We’ll often start by cleaning up their home environment, and look at one life area at a time, so it’s not overwhelming. I’ll record a meditation so they can fall asleep easier, work with targeted hypnotherapy sessions, and plan more outdoor movement into their lives. I have lots of tools in my bag – my friends call me Mary Poppins.

What is contributing to the current burnout epidemic?

Working digitally post-pandemic has made things worse in a way, because there is no separation. Like most of my clients tell me: ‘It’s not that I work from home, it’s that I sleep in the office.’ We’re always on our phones, and there’s that culture of wanting everything instantly. Clients want the answer right here, right now and the pressure is enormous. Boundaries are really important and also digital hygiene – monitoring the amount of blue light we’re consuming. Your phone, tablets and TV emit a lot of blue light, increasing cortisol and blocking melatonin, your sleep-wake hormone. 

In action as a high performance coach

Fill us in on ‘cognitive offloading’ as a trick to sleep better.

If you’re lying in bed and your brain is processing everything you have to do, you should actually take dedicated ‘worry time’. I was an insomniac for three years, so I know how important it is. Five to ten minutes before going to bed, I write down everything that’s worrying me and ask myself if I can do anything about it. In my ‘worry journal’, I evaluate my thoughts and allocate a ‘to-do’ list – if it’s something that can be actioned. Then when I’ve closed my book and gone to bed, I find that I have fewer intrusive thoughts.

What is your topline piece of advice for stress prevention?

Physical movement is a non-negotiable. You don’t have to run a marathon – it could literally be three daily 10-minute walks. You may not have a 10-minute break, but take your phone and voice note your work during that window, or do a walk and talk meeting. One of the biggest issues with high-powered women is disassociation, where your head is overworked and your body is underworked. Ideally I’d advise one thing a week that makes you sweat, stretch and feel strong – so cardio, weights and yoga or pilates for flexibility.

Any tips on tackling imposter syndrome?

When someone is negatively comparing themself to others or feeling they’re never good enough, I use a technique called psychological distancing, where you imagine yourself as someone else. Look at that person’s recent performance and notice what they’ve done well. Is that person worthy of a pay rise or promotion? Then visualise. That’s where hypnotherapy is really powerful, because you can dress rehearse asking for that pay rise then go away and do it in real life. 

What cognitive research has really struck you recently?

Research on NSDR (non-sleep deep rest), also called yoga nidra, and how effectively it can impact cognitive recovery. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, found that if you do just a 20-minute NSDR protocol every night you’ll access deeper sleep, as your brain switches to more relaxed, alpha waves. What could be easier than listening to a recording while you fall asleep?

Go to charlenegisele.com for more info