Traders As Athletes: Recovery and Relaxation

Let's look at the typical day in the life on a trading desk. Whether you're a pure execution trader at an institution, trading for your own accounts or something in between, you're probably in the office around 5-6am (this can be time zone dependent and varies greatly) and out somewhere between 10-14 hours later (also time zone dependent and variable). You spend the bulk of your day on the phone and/or staring at screens (sedentary) BUT you're most likely operating with elevated stress hormone (cortisol) levels, elevated heart rate and tension and probably constantly assimilating information, calculating risk and making decisions. This is nothing new to anyone who has worked around the markets for any appreciable amount of time.
 
This isn't all that different from training for elite-level sport. Olympic-level weightlifters typically train 2-3 times a day for 1-3 hours per session, 6 days a week. Obviously there is a physical component here that isn't applicable to most traders (pit traders excluded!) but the mental aspects of trading can be much more stress-inducing than lifting a barbell or running a sprint. Olympians also have an army of professionals (massage therapy/chiropractic/nutritionists/coaches) keeping their bodies in working order, whereas traders are typically famous for abusing their bodies with bad food, not enough sleep and a wee bit of "occasional" alcohol. Some traders succeed in spite of how they care for their bodies rather than because of it.

Flashing gang signs in downtown Chicago is very stressful

My goal here is to get you to think of yourselves as athletes. You're probably not picking up 400lb barbells, but Olympians aren't shorting 50,000 shares of AAPL with a wife/husband and kids at home, either. The common theme is that both occupations involve maximal performance (mentally and physically) in extremely high-stress situations. Phil Pearlman (@ppearlman on Twitter and Stocktwits; philpearlman.com) addresses the psychological aspects of trading on his shows on Stocktwits TV. He does an amazing job on his show and I recommend him for anyone (trader or not) looking for insights into behavior and why we do what we do. Here I would like to address some of the physical aspects of maximal performance.

In this article, I'm going to focus on recovery as it pertains both to athletes and to traders. In future articles, I'll address training and nutrition ideas. If there is one thing that we all could probably use it's more recovery, whether it be more downtime or more potent use of the time that your already have. I get that some of these might be difficult as we all have commitments: significant other, kids, volunteering, social life, etc. My goal here is to give some actionable ideas you can incorporate into your day to help you recover from your time in your turret. There's nothing here that is overly complicated to implement but the benefits will be tangible. In the finance world it's a badge of honor to avoid sleep and work to exhaustion. I'd argue that you can perform better and at a higher level in ALL aspects of your world with a little more attention to recovery and relaxation.

VERY relaxing image in the dead of winter

(NOTE: I'm recommending some supplements and nutrition products in here. I don't get anything for free or reduced or anything for recommending these; I pay full price to use them because I see a tangible benefit and I like them. That's it)


-Sneak a nap in right after your leave the office; 15-30mins and ideally in silence or with light background noise. This helps to stabilize your stress hormones and clear your mind. Watching TV does not count here as the mind is still active.   -Turn the TV/Wii/computer/iPad/anything with a screen off 1-2 hrs before you wish to be asleep.
-Have a pre-sleep routine to tell your body it's time to call it a day 
-Reading in bed works wonders (iPad/laptop/smartphone EXCLUDED)
-Supplement-wise I would avoid any of the prescription sleep-pills (except as a last LAST resort) and try things like herbal teas (Celestial Seasonings and others make excellent sleep-specific teas) or supplementing with things like melatonin or ZMA (zinc/magnesium/vitamin B6). I like a product called Mineral Support from Biotest; entirely minerals that the body needs anyways.
-Take it easy on the coffee/caffeine/stimulants especially after noon. Stimulants can play hell with your stress hormones as they artificially generate a fight/fight response.
-Buy an awesome mattress and sheets
-USE that mattress and sheets often, if you get my drift (wink wink, nudge nudge); great stress reliever
-Get massages; does wonders for circulation and reduced tension throughout the body
-Get outside and get some sunlight for 20 mins a day. This stimulates Vitamin D production within the body and helps with Seasonal Affective Disorder; which makes you sad-faced when there is less sun. Traders can have this issue year round because of our hours; We've all gone multiple days without seeing the sun when on daylight savings and it definitely affects your mind's function.
-Take fish oil; 5-10 grams or so per day. Your brain is overwhelmingly composed of omega-3 fats and fish oil is essentially pure Omega-3's. This promotes dopamine and serotonin release in the body which calms and relaxes
-Eat plenty of Vitamin C via citrus fruits. At the very least gulp down an EmergenC with a meal.
-Work out (more on this later) and be physically active
-Don't eat industrial waste (also more on this later)



-Be Awesome.

This is my version of Awesome. Be your personal version of this.