SO DOES THE TWO -WEEK PLAN REALLY WORK?

ANNA MAXTED (left) puts it to the test SOME of the Head Strong practices are unusual, but much of the programme is common sense. I work outside for a while, getting sunshine on my skin, and adopt the daily habit of going for a walk. Wearing sunglasses on the Tube to shield my eyes from ‘junk’ light feels restful. And turning down screen brightness notably reduces eye-strain.

Meanwhile, the amber lightbulb in our bedroom is, my husband and I readily agree, ‘oppressively relaxing’.

What with all that, it’s easy to fall asleep at 11pm, instead of staying up, and placing my

phone on airplane mode switches my brain off ‘alert’.

I meditate using Asprey’s visualisation and breathing technique. It takes practice, but it’s amazing; as if I’m speeding through the air.

The daily cold shower is invigorating and coffee only till lunchtime sharpens my intellect — eating seems to slow it.

Alcohol gives me a fuzzy head and while, after two weeks’ abstinence, I don’t feel Mensalike, I’m definitely sharper. I find the suggestion of no dairy, except a square of cheese and butter in the coffee, and no gluten, restrictive, but embrace his prescription of quality protein and healthy fats.

I perversely enjoy restricting sugar, though I fall on my tablespoon of raw honey like Winnie The Pooh — whether or not it improves my sleep is a secondary concern; it tastes sublime.

Head Strong’s appeal is that you can cherry pick the lifestyle tweaks that work for you, disregard the suggestions that seem outlandish, and still see results. Both his strange and sensible rules have definitely made me feel sharper and more alert.