It’s been over two decades that SigEp has been promoting our Balanced Man sound mind/sound body credo. Modern medicine has been pushing that idea for about five years.

Our Founders thought about this too. Our charter of incorporation, from the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1902, states that one of the purposes of this organization “is to conduce to the building of a noble and pure manhood.”

If you’ve been alive to the world around you these past few months you will have seen the latest “discovery,” that adequate sleep is a prerequisite for the mind and body to function at full capacity.

The ancient Greeks—the same people who figured out the need to maintain your body and mind’s health by exercising both, all your life—also came to understand that adequate sleep was an essential component to this endeavor.

They developed sleep hospitals where they taught their citizens how to sleep. They were quiet, dark, and cool. These sleeping centers were called Asclepions in honor of their god of medicine, Asclepius. That’s how big a deal sleep was for the ancients. What if our houses could be the same?

Today we’re told that adequate sleep (7 to 8 hours every night) seems to lubricate the mind’s cylinders so that one performs better on any test, some 10 to 20% better. So in addition to being careful of the food and drink you take in to fuel your body, or the ideas that exercise your brain, you need to give your mind and body their best chance to perform. Give them the fuel of sleep.

Don’t cram. Work out for the best results.

Let’s chalk up another find for modern medicine. The old Greeks have nothing on this because their Socratic method of teaching wasn’t test oriented. Ours is.

Tests around the world have shown that working-out is far better than cramming for best test results. If your exam is in the morning, run or do your thing in the gym the evening before. Don’t cram! If it’s later in the day, work out the hours before. Don’t cram!

Learn to “give it a rest” for day-long peak performance.

Mind and Body do even better if you learn to give both a rest periodically throughout the day. You know short rests during a workout help you keep going. Discover how much sharper your brain gets when you give it a break and a chance to refresh.

The new buzz word for that practice is called “mindfulness.” The Greeks have practiced that for centuries. They call it ”Hysichia,” meaning quiet.

All you need do is get to a quiet place, close your eyes and think of nothing. It is worth it and doable with practice. You’ll find yourself reinvigorated, just like after a good workout.

Grades, another notch up just by taking breaks!

My dear young brothers, what I love about our SigEp is that it promotes striving to do and be your best: Arête, excellence in every facet of your lives.

Learning to give yourself adequate rest will help you achieve: Eudaimonia, a flourishing, happy, healthy, and fulfilled life.

Sleep more; Cram less; Pause to refresh your mind and watch your grades and your chapter’s scholastic performance soar and cultivate your Eudaimonia.

Brother Tragos graduated from Washington University in St. Louis. After graduating he worked for the Fraternity as a Regional Director for two years and as SigEp’s first Director of Chapter Services in Richmond, Virginia. He left to join the Young and Rubicam advertising agency in New York, and stayed with them 13 years, 10 in Europe. Brother Tragos is co-founder of the worldwide advertising agency TBWA. He is the “T” of TBWA, the sixth largest advertising agency in the world. Bill is a past Grand President of the Fraternity, Citation recipient and a member of the Order of the Golden Heart. A lifetime practitioner of sound mind and sound body, Bill is a native of St. Louis and now lives in Montecito, California with his wife, Lilli. Bill works out every day and is an avid St. Louis Cardinals and Blues fan.