Podcasts about Physiology

The Money Mind Challenge starts Monday, September 21st.Five days on why good money advice doesn't stick, and what's actually been running your financial decisions. One short episode and a worksheet each day, plus a private community.Free. Sign up at themoneymindchallenge.comToday, Tony Robbins shares a practical lesson on why change feels so hard and what actually controls your behavior. In this hands-on session, he reveals the two factors that determine the state you're in, why posture and breathing do more than positive thinking, and what a university study found about depression. This episode will motivate you to take charge of how you feel on command.Source: Tony Robbins Old VideoHosted by Sean CroxtonFollow me on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the latest episode in our series of highly vetted companies I like to share with my Everyday Wellness community. Today, I'm delighted to connect with Leslie Kenny, Founder and CEO of Oxford Healthspan. After being diagnosed with multiple autoimmune conditions and being told she was unlikely to have any biological children, Leslie put her autoimmune conditions into remission through nutrition and lifestyle changes and later went on to conceive naturally at 43. Her personal experience led her into a research collaboration with Oxford immunologist Professor Katya Simon, where she was introduced to spermidine, a naturally occurring polyamine studied for its role in autophagy—our cells' internal recycling and cleanup process. She later founded Oxford Healthspan to bring a whole-food Japan-sourced spermidine supplement, Primadine, to market. She also co-founded the non-profit Oxford Longevity Project alongside Oxford scientists to educate the public more broadly on healthspan research. In our conversation, we discuss self-advocacy, autoimmunity, infertility, and empowerment, exploring how modern life affects perimenopause and menopause, as well as spermidine research and its mechanisms of action. We discuss intermittent fasting, autophagy, mitophagy, gut health, food-based sources of spermidine, how our spermidine levels decrease with age, and why supplementation is truly beneficial. Leslie also shares feedback on how Primadine impacts memory, cognition, hair, skin, and nails; how clock genes and circadian biology work; and biological versus chronological age. Stay tuned for a truly fascinating conversation with Leslie Kenny- one you'll most likely want to revisit more than once. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN: The changes Leslie implemented after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus  How patients need to ask questions and collaborate with their clinicians rather than simply following instructions  Leslie describes how she worked with doctors to monitor her symptoms and address problems early during the perimenopause-to-menopause transition. How Leslie came to learn about spermidine and its connection to autophagy and mitophagy How spermidine can support healthy aging How ultra-processed foods can affect the gut, and foods that contain natural sources of spermidine  The types of improvements customers taking Primadine have reported Leslie explains the distinction between biological and chronological age Why intermittent fasting, although beneficial, may not work the same way for all women Bio:  Leslie Kenny is an Oxford-based longevity entrepreneur, TEDx Oxford speaker, and healthspan advocate. She is the founder of Oxford Healthspan, creator of Primeadine®, co-founder of the Oxford Longevity Project, and Global Executive Ambassador for the Japan Autophagy Consortium, whose senior adviser is Yoshinori Ohsumi, recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering research on autophagy. She is a frequent international speaker and moderator on longevity, biological aging, and the future of preventive medicine, with a particular focus on translating emerging research into practical, evidence-based strategies for extending healthspan. Leslie has been an early advocate for the role of autophagy, cellular renewal, and nutrition in healthy aging, helping to pioneer broader awareness of spermidine and its relevance to longevity pathways. Connect with Cynthia Thurlow   Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn Check out Cynthia's website. Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com  Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow.  Purchase Cynthia's book, The Menopause Gut. Cynthia's Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book The Midlife Pause Supplement Line Connect with Leslie Kenny Oxford Longevity Project Oxford Healthspan - Use discount code CYNTHIATHURLOW for 20% off your first Oxford Healthspan order Leslie's New Prime

Falling in love triggers a specific hormonal cascade: oxytocin, dopamine, the whole cocktail that makes you feel like you can't think about anything else. What almost nobody talks about is that losing someone runs that same system in reverse. Mary-Frances O'Connor, director of the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress Lab, discusses how grief can be understood as a hormonal “withdrawal” from the bonding chemistry of love, debunks the myth of five linear stages, and clarifies the difference between acute “grief” and the longer-term trajectory of “grieving.” Prof O'Connor explains common emotional, cognitive, and physical manifestations, why the brain both knows a loved one is gone yet still expects them, and how grieving involves intense learning and identity updating. This episode also covers health risks after bereavement, the importance of preventive care and supportive companionship, practical ways to honour loved ones, and how reflecting on mortality can shape meaning.

Dr. Chris Cederroth is an Assistant Professor within the laboratory of Experimental Audiology working on tinnitus within the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Research in Chris's lab focuses on hearing loss and tinnitus, which is the perception of ringing in the ears. Over 300 million people in the world have hearing problems, and Chris is dedicated to understanding the causes and developing treatments. Chris has three children. When he's not at work, Chris enjoys visiting museums and spending time outdoors with his family. He received his PhD from the University of Geneva, Switzerland for which he was awarded the Denber-Pinard Prize from the University of Geneva. During that time, he also contributed to the launch of the start-up company Amazentis S.A. Before joining the faculty at the Karonlinska Institute, Chris was awarded a Swiss National Foundation Advanced Fellowship for his postdoctoral work conducted at Rockefeller University, as well as the Wenner Gren Foundation and Nicholson Postdoctoral Fellowship to support his research efforts at the Karolinska Institute. Chris is here with us today to talk a little about his research and tell us all about his journey through life and science.

Sheldon starts eating Brussels sprouts to extend his lifespan. The diet gives him severe gas. He first mistakes the pain for appendicitis and tells Leonard he thinks his appendix is about to burst—then farts loudly and concludes it was the sprouts. Later, after he falls down the stairs while trying to jog with Penny, she helps him up and he farts in her face. His follow-up line is: “If it makes you feel any better, Thursday is no longer cruciferous vegetable night.” The device, developed at the University of Maryland by Brantley Hall and colleagues, is the first wearable built specifically to measure human flatus.

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Gina Poe, PhD, a Professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). We discuss the architecture of sleep and how each stage supports distinct functions, including memory consolidation, creativity, brain restoration, and emotional processing. We also explain science-supported tools to improve sleep quality, support cognitive performance, and hormone balance. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/Y6JKgFE Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Gina Poe (00:00:19) Sleep States, Perfect Night's Sleep (00:02:23) Early Sleep, Memory Processing, Dreams (00:04:34) Growth Hormone & Early Sleep, Tool: Consistent Bedtime (00:06:47) Sponsor: LMNT (00:08:20) Alcohol & Negative Sleep Effects (00:09:18) Middle Sleep States, Creativity (00:10:32) Waking During Night, Nighttime Urination (00:11:39) Later Sleep, REM, Deep Sleep; Sleepwalking (00:14:01) Morning Grogginess; Sleep Trackers (00:15:53) Early Sleep "Washout", Brain Waste Clearance (00:19:56) Sponsor: Eight Sleep (00:21:14) Locus Coeruleus, Learning & REM Sleep, Tool: Calm Bedtime Routine (00:25:16) Sleep Spindles, P Waves, Learning & Creativity (00:28:38) Sponsor: AG1 (00:29:56) Trauma Recovery, REM Sleep, Locus Coeruleus (00:33:29) Acknowledgements Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Charles Liu (astrophysics professor and host of The LIUniverse podcast) joins Mayim Bialik's Breakdown to reveal the physics of consciousness, time, & the multiverse!We explore the biggest scientific mysteries humanity is facing today:- How scientists are beginning to take disclosure into their own hands to gather evidence that could actually prove the existence of nonhuman intelligence- Why information about nonhuman intelligence is being released in such a confusing and dramatic way, and whether governments are intentionally communicating this way- Why there's still no scientific proof Earth has been visited by nonhuman intelligence, but why there's nothing irrational about thinking seriously about aliens- Could AI ever become conscious? What would scientists actually need to observe before saying it has consciousness?- What consciousness really is, the different levels of consciousness, whether consciousness creates us or we create consciousness, and why understanding how the brain processes information from our five senses may be the key to solving it- What death actually is, what collective consciousness could imply, and whether nonspeaking autistic individuals may be accessing reality in fundamentally different ways- Similarities between near death experiences and DMT, including the mystery of ego death- Whether there's something beyond memory that connects us to our past- Why time may not be as linear as we experience it, and how our brains shape our perception of time- The Many Worlds theory, why multiple universes may mathematically exist, the new scientific frameworks researchers are developing, how entropy could unlock these ideas, and what time travel between universes would actually require- Why scientists who are absolutely certain they're right may actually be hurting science itself- A scientific and philosophical approach to understanding people who claim they've been abducted by aliens- How we determine what truly has consciousness, and why that question affects how we should treat AI, animals, and potentially other forms of intelligence- Why humans experience romantic attraction and what may actually be happening beneath the surface when we feel drawn to another person- Physiology behind people who appear unusually sensitive to changes in entropy- Evidence, controversies, and scientific questions surrounding biofield therapy and whether intention could influence cancer cells- Why humans vary so dramatically in their physiology, and how that should change the way we approach trauma treatment- Why religion may have been a necessary social technology for human evolution- Why Godzilla reflects humanity's attempt to understand overwhelming forces like nuclear war and other events beyond our control- How much of reality is objectively shared, and how much is filtered through our own unique perceptionsIf you enjoy conversations that challenge your understanding of reality while staying grounded in science, philosophy, and evidence, this episode is for you!Dr. Charles Liu's podcast, The LIUniverse: https://theliuniverse.podbean.comPre-Order Dr. Charles Liu's latest book, (Super) Natural Science: The Real Science of Superheroes, Mythic Creatures, and the (Sci-Fi) Universe: https://a.co/d/08pHA0SpOther recent books by Dr. Charles Liu:- The Cosmos Explained: A History of the Universe from its Beginning to Today and Beyond: https://a.co/d/00qyXcOG- The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book: https://a.co/d/0gu4Fl5zSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Look out everybody, the fabulous Lara Briden is back, and this time we went WAY beyond periods. We got into what happens when we stop treating female physiology like a problem to be fixed, why the menstrual cycle is actually a pretty bloody clever system, and whether we've gone a little too far with the whole 'everything is a symptom' approach to perimenopause. Lara and I talked about cycle syncing, period pain, endometriosis, ridiculously heavy periods, hormonal IUDs, progesterone, breast health, HRT and what happens when you start looking at all of this through an evolutionary lens. But the bit I probably loved most was the bigger conversation underneath all of it. How much of what we believe about our bodies is actually true, and how much have we simply been told so many times that we've stopped questioning it? Lara makes a pretty compelling case that perimenopause isn't a disease or a deficiency, that women don't have to feel exactly the same every day, and that feeling fine in your forties doesn't mean something is wrong with you... Wild, I know! SPONSORED BY TESTART FAMILY LAWYERS Website: testartfamilylawyers.com.au LARA BRIDEN Website: larabriden.com TIFFANEE COOK Linktree: linktr.ee/rollwiththepunches Website: tiffcook.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Charles Liu (astrophysics professor and host of The LIUniverse podcast) joins Mayim Bialik's Breakdown to reveal the physics of consciousness, time, & the multiverse!We explore the biggest scientific mysteries humanity is facing today:- How scientists are beginning to take disclosure into their own hands to gather evidence that could actually prove the existence of nonhuman intelligence- Why information about nonhuman intelligence is being released in such a confusing and dramatic way, and whether governments are intentionally communicating this way- Why there's still no scientific proof Earth has been visited by nonhuman intelligence, but why there's nothing irrational about thinking seriously about aliens- Could AI ever become conscious? What would scientists actually need to observe before saying it has consciousness?- What consciousness really is, the different levels of consciousness, whether consciousness creates us or we create consciousness, and why understanding how the brain processes information from our five senses may be the key to solving it- What death actually is, what collective consciousness could imply, and whether nonspeaking autistic individuals may be accessing reality in fundamentally different ways- Similarities between near death experiences and DMT, including the mystery of ego death- Whether there's something beyond memory that connects us to our past- Why time may not be as linear as we experience it, and how our brains shape our perception of time- The Many Worlds theory, why multiple universes may mathematically exist, the new scientific frameworks researchers are developing, how entropy could unlock these ideas, and what time travel between universes would actually require- Why scientists who are absolutely certain they're right may actually be hurting science itself- A scientific and philosophical approach to understanding people who claim they've been abducted by aliens- How we determine what truly has consciousness, and why that question affects how we should treat AI, animals, and potentially other forms of intelligence- Why humans experience romantic attraction and what may actually be happening beneath the surface when we feel drawn to another person- Physiology behind people who appear unusually sensitive to changes in entropy- Evidence, controversies, and scientific questions surrounding biofield therapy and whether intention could influence cancer cells- Why humans vary so dramatically in their physiology, and how that should change the way we approach trauma treatment- Why religion may have been a necessary social technology for human evolution- Why Godzilla reflects humanity's attempt to understand overwhelming forces like nuclear war and other events beyond our control- How much of reality is objectively shared, and how much is filtered through our own unique perceptionsIf you enjoy conversations that challenge your understanding of reality while staying grounded in science, philosophy, and evidence, this episode is for you!All the Buzz, None of the Booze — get 15% off your first order at http://kavahaven.com/breaker Head to https://Superpower.com and use code BREAK at checkout for $50 off your membership. Get 150+ biomarkers tested, a personalized health plan and on-demand care team. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpodGo to https://helixsleep.com/breakdown to receive up to 30% off your Helix mattress.Visit https://drinkag1.com/BREAKDOWN and get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and a FREE bottle of Vitamin D3 + K2 in your Welcome Kit with your first AG1 subscription order.Go to https://tidd.ly/4uVltMe and use the code MAYIM15 to get 15% off orders of $200 or more.Dr. Charles Liu's podcast, The LIUniverse: https://theliuniverse.podbean.comPre-Order Dr. Charles Liu's latest book, (Super) Natural Science: The Real Science of Superheroes, Mythic Creatures, and the (Sci-Fi) Universe: https://a.co/d/08pHA0SpOther recent books by Dr. Charles Liu:- The Cosmos Explained: A History of the Universe from its Beginning to Today and Beyond: https://a.co/d/00qyXcOG- The Handy Quantum Physics Answer Book: https://a.co/d/0gu4Fl5zSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brian Ruby is the founder of Medifoodz, a company focused on making therapeutic ketogenic nutrition more practical, accessible, and sustainable. Through Medifoodz's Glyvance program, Ruby is combining chef-prepared ketogenic meals with continuous glucose monitoring, digital support, and clinician oversight to help patients translate metabolic health science into everyday life. His work centers on one of the biggest challenges in nutrition-based care: not simply knowing what to eat, but making it easier to consistently eat that way. Dr. Adrian Soto-Mota, MD, PhD, FACP is an internist, metabolic researcher, and professor whose work focuses on human metabolism, ketone biology, and evidence-based approaches to metabolic disease. He earned his PhD in Physiology and Metabolism from the University of Oxford and has conducted research on exogenous ketones, glucose metabolism, and cardiovascular health. In this episode, Dr. Brian, Dr. Tro, Dr. Adrian, and Brian Ruby talk about… (00:00) Intro (02:20) Why Brian Ruby founded Medifoodz (09:49) Dr. Soto Mota's recent study pitting the ADA's recommended diet and a ketogenic diet (22:28) The hardest barrier to entry most people struggle to overcome when starting a keto diet (26:15) Why CGMs are so incredibly valuable sustainability (32:16) Babies, dogs, and real food (39:24) Big Food and subsidies (45:58) Real food and dietary motivation (51:38) The AHA recommended diet diabetes reversal (59:15) Accepting and embracing criticism (01:05:51) Dr. Soto Mota's recent Zetia Study (link below) (01:18:24) Outro   For more information, please see the links below. Thank you for listening!   Links:   Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.lowcarbmd.com/   Brian Ruby: Glyvance: https://medifoodz.com/ X: https://x.com/Medifoodz   Dr. Adrian Soto Mota: X: https://x.com/AdrianSotoMota Zetia Study: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12944-026-03034-w   Dr. Brian Lenzkes:  Website: https://arizonametabolichealth.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianLenzkes?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author   Dr. Tro Kalayjian:  Website: https://toward.health Twitter: https://twitter.com/DoctorTro IG: https://www.instagram.com/doctortro/   Toward Health App Join a growing community of individuals who are improving their metabolic health; together.  Get started at your own pace with a self-guided curriculum developed by Dr. Tro and his care team, community chat, weekly meetings, courses, challenges, message boards and more.    Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/doctor-tro/id1588693888  Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.disciplemedia.doctortro&hl=en_US&gl=US Learn more: https://toward.health/community/

Episode: 1623 The textbooks of J. Dorman and Esther Steele.  Today, we meet two very special teachers.

In this episode Andrea Samadi explores how movement and sleep work together in a "brain operating system" for human performance, focusing on restorative sleep (deep + REM), personal WHOOP data, and the trade-offs created by early-morning exercise. She shares four lessons and a simple experiment to help listeners protect REM and deep sleep while maintaining an active life, emphasizing weekly rhythms, small changes, and tracking patterns rather than chasing perfect numbers. SEASON 16 | BONUS EPISODE 4 RESTORATIVE SLEEP Where Adaptation Happens Why deep sleep restores the body, REM helps integrate experience, and healthy habits must work together. ON BONUS EPISODE 4, YOU'LL LEARN: ✔ What restorative sleep really measures ✔ How deep sleep and REM support different forms of recovery ✔ Why REM percentage and duration tell different stories ✔ What my six-month sleep data revealed ✔ The hidden tradeoff behind my 4:00 AM hiking routine ✔ What happened when I slept just 21 minutes longer ✔ Why healthy habits can sometimes compete ✔ How to protect sleep without giving up movement ✔ 4 Lessons and a simple experiment for discovering your own best rhythm Episode Introduction Welcome back to the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we bridge neuroscience, social and emotional learning, and human performance to create measurable improvements in well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity and results. I'm Andrea Samadi, and throughout Season 16 we have been building what I call the Brain's Operating System for Human Performance—a neuroscience-based framework for understanding how the systems of the brain and body work together to influence how we learn, adapt, connect, lead and ultimately perform. We are currently in Phase 3: Movement, Learning and Cognition. Movement is the foundation of this phase because it affects far more than our muscles. When we move, we activate processes throughout the brain and body. Movement supports neurogenesis—the development of new neurons—particularly in areas involved in learning and memory. It strengthens connections between neurons through synaptic plasticity. We covered neurogenesis on EP 141[i] if you want to revisit that episode, if you are as curious as I am about how to regrow our brain cells. Movement that we are learning in this phase, also influences brain chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine, which affect motivation, mood, attention and learning. Movement can also strengthen our resilience by helping us manage stress and become more emotionally flexible. It builds sleep pressure, (the longer we stay awake, the more adenosine accumulates that increases our need or “pressure” to rest) which can support deeper, more restorative sleep. And over time, these changes may contribute to greater creativity, insight, endurance and human potential. But movement only creates the stimulus. The benefits don't come from movement alone. They come from the way the brain and body respond to that movement—and that response is called adaptation. Movement changes the brain. Adaptation changes the body. Recovery is what connects the effort we make today with the strength, resilience and capacity we hope to build tomorrow. Without adequate recovery, we can receive the stimulus without fully receiving the benefit. That is why sleep belongs inside the Movement Loop. Sleep is not separate from movement, learning or performance. It is one of the primary places where the brain and body respond to what we have asked them to do. Throughout Season 16, I've been sharing some of my own health and performance data as a living case study—not because everyone should try to reproduce my numbers, but because our individual trends can help us understand how neuroscience shows up in everyday life. I thought that if I was curious about understanding my numbers—and using them to improve my health, well-being and productivity—then other people might benefit from what I've learned along the way. My data has helped me see that movement, recovery and performance cannot be understood in isolation. They work together as a system: Movement creates the stimulus. Recovery creates the conditions for adaptation. Restorative sleep is one of the places where that adaptation unfolds. And this brings us to one of the most important recovery metrics I've learned to follow: Restorative sleep. We often celebrate what happens while we're awake: Our productivity. Our focus. Our learning. Our movement. Our performance. But much of the adaptation supporting those abilities happens while we sleep. Deep sleep supports physical restoration. REM sleep supports emotional processing, memory integration and cognitive flexibility. Together, these stages help convert the demands of one day into greater capacity for the next. This episode began with one honest question about my own routine: THE QUESTION: What am I gaining by waking at 4:00 AM to hike—and what might I be giving up by not sleeping longer? This is not simply an episode about sleeping more. It is about creating a rhythm in which two essential health behaviors—sleep and exercise—support one another instead of competing for the same limited hours. You will see my data exactly as it is. Sleep is one of the weaker links in my current health routine, which makes it a useful place to learn. The goal is not to judge the data. The goal is to let the data ask a better question. Lesson 1: Restorative Sleep Contains Two Stories WHOOP (the wearable device that I use to measure sleep) defines restorative sleep as the combined time spent in deep sleep, also called slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep. Combining the two creates a useful overview, but separating them reveals two different parts of the story. Deep Sleep or Slow-Wave Sleep: Physical Restoration Deep sleep is concentrated more heavily in the earlier part of the night and supports processes associated with physical restoration. It is relevant after hiking, Zone 2 exercise, strength training and other demanding activity because sleep is part of how the body responds to the strain we create. During deep sleep: Tissue repair is supported. Growth hormone release increases. Immune function is supported. Energy is restored. The body adapts to physical strain. REM Sleep: Integration REM stands for rapid eye movement sleep and is known as the “mentally restorative” stage of sleep. This is where most dreams occur, and short-term memories are converted into long-term memories. During REM, the brain is highly active while most voluntary muscles remain temporarily inhibited. I'll never forget the part of our interview with Dr. Jaland Balal[ii], when he explained that this feature is what keeps us safe from moving around too much while we are sleeping, keeping our sleeping partners safe. REM has been associated with: Emotional processing Memory integration Aspects of learning Cognitive flexibility Creative associations Connecting new information with previous experiences Memory is supported across several sleep stages—not by REM alone. REM helps the brain process, connect and integrate. REM periods also tend to become longer as the night progresses. That means shortening the end of the sleep window may disproportionately reduce the opportunity for the longer, more REM-rich cycles that occur toward morning. Deep sleep helps restore the body. REM helps integrate the brain. We need both. That second sentence is personally meaningful because I have logged my dreams for years. A dream is not a diagnosis or a literal solution, and dreams can occur outside REM. But a dream log gives me a qualitative record of recurring emotions, images, relationships, problems and emerging ideas that my mind may still be processing. Since I enjoy learning, interviewing, writing, teaching and connecting ideas across neuroscience and social-emotional learning, REM matters for more than dream recall (which by itself is fascinating and something we will look deeper at in Phase 5 with Integration and Meaning). Lesson 2: My Data Revealed a Duration Gap When I looked at my WHOOP trends, the total restorative-sleep number was only the beginning.   Metric My average   Six-month restorative sleep 2 hr 43 min   Lifetime REM 1 hr 37 min   Last 90 days REM 1 hr 18 min   Last 30 days REM 1 hr 20 min   Recent REM percentage About 20% When I looked at six months of WHOOP data, my average restorative sleep was: 2 hours and 43 minutes per night. That number gave me the total time spent in deep sleep and REM—but it did not tell me how those two stages were distributed. When I separated them, another story emerged. My lifetime REM average was approximately: 1 hour and 37 minutes per night. But over my more recent periods, that changed: Last 90 days: approximately 1 hour and 18 minutes Last 30 days: approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes Recent REM percentage: approximately 20% of my total sleep Twenty percent is within a commonly reported adult range. But compared with my own lifetime average, my recent REM duration was approximately 17–19 minutes lower per night. That distinction matters. My REM percentage may appear healthy while my total REM duration is still lower than my personal historical average. So my real question became: Not “Is my REM normal?” but “What conditions help my brain produce more of its own normal REM?” This is the value of tracking. THE DATA LESSON: A population range provides context. Your baseline provides the story. Your trend gives you a question to test.           Lesson 3: The 4:00 AM Tradeoff I love hiking early. It gives me cardiovascular conditioning, time outside, morning light, mental clarity and consistency. In Arizona, it also helps me finish before extreme heat heats around 8am. But if I go to bed at 8:30 PM and wake at 4:00 AM, I create a maximum sleep opportunity of seven and a half hours. That is time in bed—not necessarily time asleep. It does not include the time required to fall asleep or periods of wakefulness during the night. If I remain in bed until 6:00 AM, I create two additional hours of sleep opportunity. Those two hours would not equal two hours of REM. They would contain a mixture of sleep stages and perhaps brief wakefulness. But because REM episodes generally lengthen later in the night, the added opportunity may protect some of the more REM-rich portion of sleep. If you want to understand sleep cycles, I highly recommend taking Dr. Mathew Walker's Masterclass[iii] The Science of Better Sleep. What the Early 4am Wake Gives Me Early movement and consistency Cardiovascular conditioning Time outdoors and morning light The mental and emotional benefits of hiking What Might it Cost Me Up to two hours of total sleep opportunity (lost) Part of one or more later sleep cycles (lost) Greater opportunity for REM and dream recall (important to me) Time for memory and emotional processing across sleep (important to me) The accurate interpretation is not that I lose two hours of REM. It is that I may give up two hours of sleep opportunity containing some of the night's more REM-rich cycles. That led to my central realization: healthy behaviors (like my early wake to hike) can compete when their timing is not coordinated. MY AHA MOMENT: Am I creating better sleep through movement—or repeatedly borrowing from the final part of sleep to make that movement happen? My wearable cannot prove that early wake times caused the change. Consumer wearables estimate sleep stages; they do not measure them with clinical polysomnography. But the pattern gives me a reasonable hypothesis to test. That is what self-tracking should do: not make us anxious about a number, but help us ask a better question. A Real-Time Clue: What 21 More Minutes Revealed While preparing this episode, my data gave me a real-time example of the tradeoff. On Thursday, August 27, I woke at 4:21 AM instead of 4:00 AM. That night I recorded three hours and two minutes of restorative sleep—the highest total of the week. It included one hour and seven minutes of deep sleep and one hour and 55 minutes of REM. That REM duration was approximately 35 minutes above my recent 30-day average. My graph in the show notes showed a substantial REM period close to the end of the sleep window. Twenty-one additional minutes cannot explain a 35-minute difference, and one night cannot establish cause. Sleep varies from night to night. But the observation supports the hypothesis that a 4:00 AM alarm may sometimes interrupt a REM period already underway. I also remembered my dream and added it to my dream log. That gave me another kind of data: not just how long I slept, but what my mind may have been processing, integrating or connecting. One night is a clue—not proof. Watch the trend. The lesson is not that 4:21 AM is a magical wake time. The lesson is that the final portion of sleep may be more valuable than its length makes it appear. A small extension may sometimes allow the brain to finish a cycle that an earlier alarm (or your natural body's alarm) would interrupt. Lesson 4: Build a Rhythm, Not a Perfect Day The remedy I've concluded is not to stop hiking, (I would be miserable) and it is not to maximize sleep or exercise in isolation (I wouldn't feel productive sleeping in longer). The solution is to create a weekly rhythm in which movement provides the stimulus and sleep protects the opportunity for adaptation. For me, that rhythm can include two kinds of days: 1. Early-Hike Days (twice a week) When a 4:00 AM wake time is necessary, (and possible). I can treat bedtime as part of the training plan. If family responsibilities the night before make a very early bedtime unrealistic, I can recognize that constraint and adapt. But it is important that I get to bed by 8:30pm if I want to wake up 4am.   2. Sleep-Protected Mornings On selected non-hiking days, I can remain asleep until approximately 5:00 or 6:00 AM and move later.  These mornings create more opportunity for later sleep cycles and give me a comparison condition for my experiment. What happens if I stay in bed longer? The goal is not a perfect day. The goal is a sustainable week. The Movement Loop is not: Move → Move More → Keep Pushing. It is: Movement → Recovery → Adaptation → Performance → Greater Capacity. For you, the listener, are you giving yourself enough time to recover? To Adapt? To Increase Performance? That leads to greater capacity? Or, did you notice, like me, that there was a trade off with your schedule? Tips to Implement: Run Your Own Restorative-Sleep Experiment You do not need my wake time, my REM number or a WHOOP device to learn from your own pattern. Use this five-step experiment for two to four weeks. Establish your baseline. Record your usual bedtime, wake time, estimated sleep duration, morning energy and—if available—deep and REM sleep for at least seven nights. The Whoop device rewards users who go to bed, and wake at the same time, calling it sleep consistency. Choose one change. Add 20–60 minutes of sleep opportunity on selected mornings, or move bedtime earlier before early-training days. Avoid changing every variable at once. Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman[iv] suggests that if you can find a way to add heat to your sleeping environment in the final 2 hours of your sleep, it can increase your REM sleep. Sleeping just 21 more minutes for me made a notable difference. Protect movement differently. On sleep-protected mornings, move later, shorten the session or choose a lower-intensity option instead of skipping movement entirely. This was the game changer for me.  I opted for a walk on sleep protected days. Track a small set of outcomes. Use total sleep, restorative sleep or dream recall if available, morning clarity, afternoon energy and exercise quality. Optional wearable metrics include recovery, HRV and resting heart rate. This is where you have to notice what you see from this ONE change. It might be obvious like mine—I noticed that extra time led to a dream that I could recall. Review the pattern—not the best night. Compare at least one or two weeks of early mornings with sleep-protected mornings. Look for a repeatable combination that supports both recovery and movement. The patterns will reveal whether the ONE thing you changed made a difference for you. If you do use a wearable, remember that sleep stages are estimates. Use the device to compare patterns under similar conditions, not to diagnose a sleep disorder or chase a perfect stage score. KEY QUESTION: Can I preserve the benefits of movement without repeatedly borrowing the time my brain and body need for recovery? A Bigger Experiment Is Still Underway I have also removed one significant sleep disruptor and am tracking what happens to my REM, sleep stress, HRV, resting heart rate and recovery. I do not want to draw conclusions too early. I want enough data to distinguish a temporary response from a genuine physiological shift, so I will return to that experiment in a future episode. For now, the question is narrower: how can I protect restorative sleep while continuing to live an active life? Review  To review and conclude this week's BONUS EP 4, let's bring the four lessons—and the data—together. Lesson 1: Restorative Sleep Contains Two Stories Restorative sleep combines two important stages: Deep sleep and REM sleep. Deep sleep supports physical restoration and adaptation. REM supports emotional processing, memory integration, cognitive flexibility and creative association. We need both. Every morning, I look at my restorative-sleep total and hope it is closer to three hours than two. But this episode taught me not to stop at that combined number. The total gives me the overview. Deep sleep and REM tell me how that restoration was distributed. And REM is personally meaningful to me for another reason: I have recorded my dreams for years. Dream recall does not provide a literal interpretation of everything happening in my life. But it gives me a qualitative record of the emotions, experiences, problems and ideas my mind may still be processing. So Lesson 1 is: Restorative sleep is not one number. It contains the story of how the body restores—and how the brain integrates. Lesson 2: My Data Revealed a Duration Gap Over the past six months, my average restorative sleep has been two hours and 43 minutes. My recent REM has represented approximately 20% of my total sleep—a percentage that may appear reasonable. But when I looked at duration rather than percentage, I discovered that my recent REM was approximately 17–19 minutes below my lifetime average. REM percentage and REM duration answer different questions. Percentage tells me how my sleep was distributed. Duration tells me how much actual time my brain spent in that stage. That distinction matters because someone can have a reasonable REM percentage but still receive less total REM when the overall sleep window is shortened. So Lesson 2 is: A percentage can look healthy while duration still reveals a gap. This is why personal baselines are so valuable. Our trends help us identify the question we need to investigate. Lesson 3: The 4:00 AM Wake Time Creates a Tradeoff My data led me to examine my 4:00 AM wake time. Waking at 4:00 does not mean I am losing two hours of REM. It means I may be giving up two hours of total sleep opportunity—time that could contain approximately one to one-and-a-half later, more REM-rich sleep cycles. Then, while I was preparing this episode, I received an early clue. When I slept just 21 minutes longer—waking at 4:21 instead of 4:00—my restorative sleep reached three hours and two minutes. That included one hour and seven minutes of deep sleep and one hour and 55 minutes of REM—approximately 35 minutes more REM than my recent 30-day average. I also remembered my dream and added it to my dream log. Twenty-one additional minutes cannot explain the entire 35-minute difference, and one night does not prove causation. But the graph showed a substantial REM period close to the end of my sleep window. That gave me a clue worth investigating: My 4:00 AM wake time may sometimes interrupt a REM period that is already underway. So Lesson 3 is: The final portion of sleep may be more valuable than its length makes it appear. This does not mean that 4:21 is a magical wake time. It means that a small extension may sometimes allow the brain to finish a cycle that an earlier wake time would interrupt. Dr. Huberman, and Dr. Holmes offered tips to stay in bed longer, to capture REM rich sleep time. Lesson 4: Build a Rhythm, Not a Perfect Day My early-morning hikes provide cardiovascular conditioning, time outside, morning light, mental clarity and emotional regulation. They support my health. They also make me happy. The remedy is not to stop exercising and become miserable. The remedy is to protect sleep as well as I realistically can and arrange movement around a more complete sleep window. That might mean saving selected mornings for longer sleep. It might mean moving later on non-hiking days. It might mean moving bedtime earlier when possible. And it might mean shortening a workout when sleep has been limited. The goal is not to maximize sleep or exercise in isolation. It is to create a sustainable weekly rhythm in which both can happen. So Lesson 4 is: The best routine is not the one that produces a perfect number. It is the one that allows the whole system to work. Now let me ask you: Do you know how much restorative sleep you receive? Do you look beyond the total and examine both deep sleep and REM? Are you tracking percentages—or actual duration? Does your schedule give you enough sleep opportunity? And could one healthy behavior in your life be unintentionally competing with another? My restorative-sleep average gave me the overview. My REM duration revealed the tension. My 4:00 AM wake time created the hypothesis. My additional 21 minutes gave me an early clue. My next step is to test a better rhythm. That is what measurement is supposed to do. Not judge us. Not pressure us to produce a perfect number. Guide us toward a better decision. I hope this deeper look at restorative sleep encourages you to identify one small experiment of your own—not to chase a perfect number, but to discover the rhythm that helps you learn, adapt and perform at your best.   We'll see you next time as we return to Dr. John Medina's work—not to repeat what we have already learned about attention, but to answer the next question in the Movement Loop: once movement activates the brain, how does attention determine what becomes learning? From there, we'll revisit Jason Wittrock's work through a new lens: how metabolic health, nutrition and energy availability help the brain and body sustain movement, recovery and performance. Resources and Episode Pathway Phase 1: Regulation & Safety The Foundation Core Question: Is the nervous system safe enough to learn? Everything begins with regulation. Before we can focus, learn, lead, or perform, the brain first asks one fundamental question: Am I safe? Throughout Phase 1, our guests showed us that regulation isn't simply about reducing stress—it's about creating the biological conditions that allow the brain to learn, adapt, and thrive. Together we explored: Baland Jalal – how sleep, curiosity, imagination, and creativity prepare the brain for learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/   Dr. Bruce Perry – why regulation, rhythm, and relationships form the foundation of every healthy nervous system.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/safety-first-why-a-regulated-brain-is-the-key-to-learning/   Dr. Sui Wong – how lifestyle medicine and autonomic balance build lifelong brain resilience. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/your-eyes-the-brain-s-early-warning-system/   Rohan Dixit – how heart rate variability gives us real-time feedback on our ability to regulate stress. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/breathe-to-reset-how-hrv-tech-reveals-hidden-stress/   Dr. Kristen Holmes – how recovery metrics reveal our physiological readiness to perform. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/   Dr. Antonio Zadra – how sleep and dreaming consolidate memories, regulate emotions, and generate insight. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/when-brains-dream-how-sleep-integrates-emotion-insight-and-creativity/ Together these conversations taught us that sleep and stress regulation aren't optional—they're the operating system that allows every higher brain function to work. Phase 2: Motivation & Neurochemistry The Direction Core Question: What moves us into action? Once the brain feels safe, it becomes ready to pursue goals. In Phase 2, we explored the internal chemistry that transforms intention into action. Our experts helped us understand that sustainable motivation isn't about willpower—it's about aligning our beliefs, thoughts, attention, energy, and movement. Together we discovered: Bob Proctor — our beliefs determine the direction of our lives. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/belief-first-the-neuroscience-of-motivation/   Dr. Carolyn Leaf — our thinking literally changes our brain chemistry. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/thoughts-as-biology-how-your-mind-shapes-neurochemistry/   Dr. John Medina — attention determines what the brain encodes and remembers. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/theory-of-mind-the-missing-link-between-attention-reward-and-motivation   Dr. Anna Lembke- Dopamine, Motivation and Why the Brain Repeats Behavior https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dopamine-nation-the-pleasure%e2%80%93pain-balance-that-drives-motivation/   Dr. Friederike Fabritius — managing our energy allows high performance to become sustainable. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/fun-fear-focus-closing-the-motivation-loop/   Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — movement activates the brain, preparing it to learn. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/move-to-learn-how-movement-activates-the-brain-and-fuels-motivation/   By the end of Phase 2, we introduced what became The Motivation Loop, showing how beliefs influence thoughts, thoughts influence actions, actions create results, and results reinforce future beliefs. Phase 3: Movement, Learning & Human Performance The Transformation Core Question: How does movement change the brain—and how does recovery transform that change into performance? Now we're taking the next step. Phase 3 builds on everything we've learned so far. If Phase 1 created a regulated nervous system... If Phase 2 created motivation and direction... Phase 3 explains how the brain and body actually become stronger. Together we've explored this process through conversations with: Dr. Chuck Hillman & Paul Zientarski — why movement activates the brain before learning. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-first-how-a-20%e2%80%91minute-walk-lights-up-the-brain/   Dr. John Ratey — how exercise builds a healthier, younger brain. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-matters-how-every-move-rewires-the-brain/   Dr. Kristen Holmes — why recovery determines adaptation and readiness. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/movement-isnt-enough-how-recovery-drives-real-adaptation   Dr. John Medina — how attention transforms movement into lasting learning. Jason Whitrock — how metabolism and cellular energy fuel long-term performance. WHERE WE ARE GOING NEXT Phase 4 — Connection, Emotion & Social Intelligence The Human System Core Question: How do we thrive with other people? The brain didn't evolve in isolation—it evolved through relationships. In Phase 4, we'll explore emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, trust, leadership, and psychological safety to understand how our relationships shape learning, well-being, and performance. Phase 5 — Integration & Human Performance The Complete System Core Question: How do all the systems work together? In our final phase, we'll bring everything together—regulation, motivation, movement, emotion, relationships, learning, and recovery—into one integrated framework. We'll discover how these systems work together to create measurable improvements in our well-being, achievement, leadership, productivity, and results. Selected Sleep References “What Is Restorative Sleep?” https://www.whoop.com/us/en/thelocker/what-is-restorative-sleep/ Patel AK, Reddy V, Shumway KR, Araujo JF. “Physiology, Sleep Stages.” StatPearls/NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526132/ Goldstein AN, Walker MP. “The Role of Sleep in Emotional Brain Function.” Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4286245/ Paller KA, Creery JD, Schechtman E. “Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better.” Annual Review of Psychology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7983127/   REFERENCES:   [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 141 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-neurogenesis-what-hurts-or-helps-your-brain-cells/   [ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 384 Review of our Interview with Dr. Baland Jalal  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/hypnagogic-genius-capture-your-best-ideas-at-the-edge-of-sleep/   [iii] www.masterclass.com Mathew Walker The Science of a Better Sleep   [iv] https://www.instagram.com/p/DbO7dKLO-c8/?hl=en Dr. Andrew Huberman on ways to increase REM sleep.  

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

Climate change is fundamentally altering marine environments worldwide. But what does this mean for the creatures that call the ocean home? Join Martin Tresguerres, Ph.D., as he delves into the work of the Allen Discovery Center for Neurobiology in Changing Environments (ADC-NiCE), where researchers are working towards answering this question. Through a combination of neurobiology, physiology and environmental science, ADC-NiCE investigates how climate change affects the nervous systems and behavior of marine animals — ultimately guiding policy, conservation strategies and restoration efforts. Series: "Jeffrey B. Graham Perspectives on Ocean Science Lecture Series" [Science] [Show ID: 41697]

What if one of the most powerful tools for improving your cardiovascular resilience was already built into your body—and completely free? In this science-forward solo episode, Darin dives into the fascinating physiology of breath holding and the mammalian dive response, an ancient survival mechanism humans share with seals, whales, and dolphins. Simply holding your breath triggers an extraordinary cascade inside the body: your heart rate slows, blood vessels constrict to preserve oxygen for vital organs, and your spleen contracts to release oxygen-rich red blood cells into circulation. Darin explores research on elite freedivers, Southeast Asian sea nomads, cardiac hypoxic resistance, and the remarkable ways the human body can adapt to repeated breath-hold training. But he also separates the evidence from the hype, explaining why breath holding alone isn't a miracle intervention and why some of the most promising benefits appear when hypoxic stress is combined with movement and resistance exercise. This episode is a reminder that some of the most extraordinary tools for improving human performance aren't expensive supplements or complicated technologies—they're capacities your body has possessed all along. What You'll Learn What happens inside your body the moment you hold your breath How the mammalian dive response slows your heart rate and redirects blood flow Why your spleen acts like a biological reservoir for oxygen-rich red blood cells How humans share this ancient survival mechanism with marine mammals Why Southeast Asian sea nomads developed remarkable adaptations for freediving How breath-hold training can amplify the body's natural dive response What researchers discovered when elite divers reached extraordinarily low blood oxygen levels How repeated training may create greater hypoxic resilience in the heart Why the long-term benefits of breath-hold training in everyday people are still being studied Why combining hypoxic stress with movement may be more powerful than breath holding alone Chapters 00:00:03 – Welcome to SuperLife 00:00:34 – Sponsor: Alkemis 00:03:26 – The incredible thing happening when you hold your breath 00:03:57 – The ancient survival program you share with dolphins and whales 00:04:31 – The hidden cardiovascular tool almost nobody trains 00:05:03 – A free physiological capacity already built into your body 00:05:38 – What the science actually says about breath-hold training 00:06:09 – Understanding the mammalian dive response 00:06:37 – Your heart, blood vessels, and spleen react within seconds 00:07:11 – Your spleen is a biological oxygen reservoir 00:08:05 – Sponsor: Manna Vitality 00:09:59 – Why cold water amplifies the dive response 00:10:07 – The extraordinary physiology of Southeast Asian sea nomads 00:10:39 – Humans performing underwater like marine mammals 00:11:14 – The mammalian dive response is trainable 00:11:54 – What happened when elite divers reached extremely low blood oxygen 00:12:30 – How the heart adapts during extreme breath holds 00:13:08 – Cardiac hypoxic resistance and a stronger trained heart 00:13:55 – The important limitations of the current research 00:14:41 – Why breath holding alone isn't a miracle 00:15:09 – Combining hypoxic stress with resistance exercise 00:15:42 – Breath holding as a multiplier, not a replacement 00:16:33 – Practical takeaways for training the dive response 00:17:48 – Final thoughts and closing Thank You to Our Sponsors Alkemis: Go to https://alkemispaint.com/ and use code DARIN10 for 10% off your order. Manna Vitality: Go to mannavitality.com/ and use code DARIN12 for 12% off your order. Join the SuperLife Patreon: This is where Darin now shares the deeper work: - weekly voice notes - ingredient trackers - wellness challenges - extended conversations - community accountability - sovereignty practices Join now for only $7.49/month at https://patreon.com/darinolien Find More from Darin Olien: Website: darinolien.com Instagram: @darinolien Book: Fatal Conveniences Platform & Products: superlife.com New Show: Roadmap to Happiness Key Takeaway "You already have an ancient cardiovascular survival mechanism built into your body. Breath holding can trigger measurable changes in heart rate, blood flow, oxygen availability, and the body's response to hypoxic stress—and with training, that response appears capable of adapting. The goal isn't to treat breath holding like a miracle hack. It's to recognize it as another powerful physiological tool that may become even more effective when intelligently combined with movement and training. Bibliography/Sources Hypoxic Training & Cardiovascular Adaptation Bosco, G., et al. (2021). Effect of apnea-induced hypoxia on cardiovascular adaptation and circulating biomarkers of oxidative stress in elite breath-hold divers. Frontiers in Physiology . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8458773/ Combined training in hypoxic environments improves cardiometabolic health in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. (2025). Frontiers in Medicine . https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1728637/full Costalat, G., et al. (2021). Physiology, pathophysiology and (mal)adaptations to chronic apnoeic training: A state-of-the-art review. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 121, 2669–2685 . https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-021-04664-x Palada, I., Bakovic, D., Valic, Z., et al. (2007). Cardiovascular regulation during apnea in elite divers. Hypertension, 50(2) . https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/hypertensionaha.108.127530 Patrizio, I., et al. (2021). Cardiac hypoxic resistance and decreasing lactate during maximum apnea in elite breath-hold divers. Scientific Reports, 11, 3676 . https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-81797-1 The Mammalian Dive Reflex & Genetic Adaptations Ilardo, M. A., Moltke, I., Korneliussen, T. S., et al. (2018). Physiological and genetic adaptations to diving in sea nomads. Cell, 173(3), 569–580 . https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/04/19/enlarged-spleen-key-to-diving-endurance-of-sea-nomads/ Schagatay, E. (2000). Studies on trained apnea divers' amplification of the diving response. Mid Sweden University . https://freedivecafe.com/2019/06/04/42-transcript-erika-schagatay-the-science-of-freediving/ Speck, D. F., & Bruce, D. S. (1978). Effects of varying thermal and apneic conditions on the human diving reflex. Undersea Biomedical Research . https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/breath-holding-dive-reflex-extends/ Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST) Craighead, D. H., Heinbockel, T. C., Freeberg, K. A., et al. (2021). Time-efficient inspiratory muscle strength training lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial function, NO bioavailability, and oxidative stress in midlife/older adults with above-normal blood pressure. Journal of the American Heart Association, 10(13) . https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.022203

In this Supplement Ingredient Series episode, Nurse Doza makes the case for the B vitamin nobody talks about: vitamin B6. Everyone knows B12 — the pills, the injections, the whole routine — but B6 is the cofactor your body leans on to build serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, the neurotransmitters behind mood, focus, and steady daytime energy. He covers who tends to run low, why intake alone doesn't guarantee good status, and where an adaptogen-plus-adrenal formula like Zen fits in. FEATURED PARTNER Zen (Stress Relief) by MSW Nutrition is the formula Nurse Doza reaches for when the B6 conversation turns practical. Each capsule delivers 15 mg of vitamin B6 as P5P — the already-active form your enzymes can use directly — alongside 125 mg of bovine adrenal gland (Argentina) and a five-botanical adaptogen blend: rhodiola, Asian ginseng, eleuthero, schisandra, and licorice, plus vitamin C and 150 mg of pantothenic acid. It's built to support the body's adaptogenic response to everyday stressors and support energy production and stamina.

David Turetsky talks with Nicole Ward of Aon about her concept of the executive athlete and why leadership performance is built on physiology, recovery, and sustainable habits. They explore how burnout shows up in executives and sales teams, and why HR can play a major role in reframing wellness as a business performance issue.Nicole shares her own wake-up call, the accident that pushed her to rethink health, and practical ways leaders can build better energy, focus, and resilience without “boiling the ocean.”  Key topics  Nicole Ward's background at Aon - Senior vice president of sales with a career rooted in professional services, public accounting, and now commercial insurance.  The origin of the executive athlete idea - Nicole's near-fatal rollover accident became the catalyst for a long-term shift toward health and wellness.  Physiology as leadership infrastructure - Her central idea is that energy is the currency of performance, and leaders who are under-slept, under-nourished, and constantly “on” are not operating at full capacity.  Why burnout matters organizationally - Burnout, dysregulation, and chronic stress in senior leaders have downstream effects on teams, culture, and decision-making.  Culture rewards overwork - The conversation pushes back on the idea that always being available is a badge of honor, especially in executive roles.  Recovery improves performance - Nicole argues that slowing down and recovering is not weakness but a competitive advantage supported by real data.  Small changes beat all-or-nothing thinking - She recommends “exercise snacks,” breathing breaks, short movement intervals, and better sleep habits rather than unrealistic total overhauls.  Data can drive behavior change - She shares an example of a sales team using wearable devices over six months to track sleep, stress, and activity, leading to better performance and better well-being.  HR's role in changing the conversation - HR professionals can bring wellness into strategic planning sessions and ask leadership how health is being prioritized.  Bio-individual wellness at work - Nicole emphasizes that companies should offer flexible options because different people need different supports, from meditation space to gym access to better snacks.  Timestamps  00:00 - Welcome to HR Data Labs and introduction to Nicole Ward 01:12 - Nicole's role as senior vice president of sales at Aon 02:15 - The accident that sparked the executive athlete journey 03:14 - Why executives need physiology, not just willpower 06:54 - How boardroom experience shaped the platform 07:24 - A team member's comment that changed everything 08:21 - Why the book is aimed first at sales athletes and then all executives 09:30 - Recovery as a competitive advantage, not weakness 10:43 - The cost of working until collapse 11:20 - The “toxic capacity” bucket and signs of overload 12:19 - Why leaders struggle to fully disconnect 13:26 - Tying recovery to revenue and metrics 14:41 - Burnout in sales and other high-pressure roles 15:31 - Alternatives to always being “on” 16:25 - Why all-or-nothing thinking fails 17:26 - Using micro-habits for sleep, breathing, and movement 19:37 - A six-month wearable experiment with a sales team 21:33 - Salespeople as athletes and why preparation matters 22:48 - Why companies should treat wellness as a real priority 23:45 - The biology of organizations and employee energy 24:48 - How HR can start the conversation with leadership 26:14 - Bringing health and wellness into strategic planning 27:10 - Example of no meeting Fridays 28:46 - Why a bio-individual approach is better than one-size-fits-all 29:15 - Personalized wellness options for different employees 30:11 - The reality of obesity, inflammation, and dysregulation 31:11 - Incremental progress in the face of broader stress 32:01 - Closing thoughts and final thanks  Notable quotes  “Physiology is the infrastructure of leadership and energy is the currency of performance.”  “When we decelerate, when we allow ourselves to recover, we adapt.”  “My best tomorrow starts tonight.” 

Dr. Jack Kreindler joins the show to discuss longevity, human performance, physiological medicine, and what it truly takes to preserve vitality as we age. Together, we explore why longevity should go beyond disease prevention and quick fixes to focus on building the physical capacity, resilience, and independence needed to thrive throughout life.We dive into:Redefining longevity around vitality, healthspan, and physiological capacityWhat extreme environments and human performance science can teach us about agingUsing VO2 max, body composition, and functional assessments to understand health trajectoriesWhy treating everyday patients more like athletes can support long-term performanceBuilding strength, mobility, and resilience to maintain independence with ageWhy foundational physiology should come before peptides and other longevity interventionsGLP-1s, emerging therapies, and the importance of thoughtful risk managementThe limitations of quick fixes and longevity trends popularized on social mediaHow clinicians can incorporate performance science and physiological medicine into patient careWhy preserving physical and cognitive function is central to a meaningful approach to longevity

A Nobel Prize-winning discovery from 1931 described a cellular “fermentation switch” tied to cancer. That same switch shows up — in a much milder form — in millions of exhausted, foggy, always-cold people who've never had the right tests run.TLDR: Fatigue that sleep doesn't fix. Brain fog. Always cold. Muscle heaviness. Crashing after a workout. These aren't personality traits or “just aging”; they're often signs that your mitochondria, the tiny power plants inside every cell, aren't running the way they should. In this episode, I walk through:* What mitochondria actually do (in plain English)* The 6 physical warning signs your body sends when they're struggling* The 5 lab markers that reveal mitochondrial stress — most of which your standard panel isn't interpreting correctly* Why your body's pH and proton gradient might be the most underrated marker you've never heard of* 8 ways to start rebuilding mitochondrial function this week, starting todayWhat Mitochondria Actually Are (In Plain English)This is a very rudimentary explanation…Every one of your roughly 37 trillion cells contains tiny structures called mitochondria. Their job is to take the food you eat and the oxygen you breathe and convert them into a usable form of energy called ATP (adenosine triphosphate).Think of it like currency exchange. Food is your paycheck. But you can't pay your bills with a paycheck directly. You have to convert it into cash first. That's what mitochondria do. Your heart, brain, and liver cells are packed with hundreds to thousands of them, because those organs demand the most energy.So the real question is: what happens when those mitochondria get damaged?The Warburg Connection And What It Actually Tells UsIn 1931, German biochemist Otto Warburg won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on cellular respiration. Part of what made him famous was an earlier observation: many cancer cells generate energy primarily through fermentation (a process called aerobic glycolysis) rather than through the oxygen-based process healthy cells typically rely on - even when plenty of oxygen is available. Warburg's Nobel Prize was officially awarded for his discovery of the respiratory enzyme, and part of what he demonstrated along the way was that cancerous cells can live and develop even in the absence of oxygen. This pattern is now known as the Warburg effect.Here's where I want to be careful, because this is the kind of claim that's easy to oversimplify. It's tempting to say “damaged mitochondria cause cancer,” full stop. The real picture is messier and still debated. Researchers have gone back and forth for decades on whether this metabolic shift is a cause of cancer or a consequence of it, and more importantly, later research found that in most cancers, the mitochondria aren't actually broken. Subsequent research has shown that mitochondrial function is not impaired in most cancer cells, even though those cells still preferentially ferment glucose. The “why” behind that switch remains one of the more actively studied questions in cancer metabolism.So what does this mean for you, a person who almost certainly doesn't have cancer but does feel exhausted all the time? It means the fermentation-under-stress pattern Warburg first described is a real, well-documented phenomenon in cell biology, but I'm not going to tell you that your fatigue is “pre-cancer” or that a milder version of the Warburg effect is definitively what's causing your brain fog. What the broader mitochondrial dysfunction research does support is more modest and, frankly, more useful: when mitochondria are chronically stressed by poor diet, chronic stress, poor sleep, toxin exposure, or simply aging, cells generate less usable energy and more oxidative byproducts, and that shows up in the body long before it shows up on a standard lab panel.The Physical Warning Signs Most Doctors MissI hear a version of this sentence constantly: “My doctor ran labs and everything came back normal.” I believe them - the numbers usually do fall within standard reference ranges. But standard panels weren't built to catch mitochondrial strain. The body, on the other hand, tends to tell you well before a lab does. As you read this list, take honest mental inventory:* Brain fog and poor concentration. Your brain uses roughly 20% of your total energy output despite being about 2% of your body weight, so when brain-cell mitochondria underperform, mental clarity is often the first thing to go.* Fatigue that sleep doesn't fix. Not “I'm tired,” but “I slept eight hours, and I'm still exhausted.” This is one of the most common complaints I hear in practice.* Always feeling cold, or a low body temperature. Body heat is a byproduct of mitochondrial activity, so a consistently low waking temperature (roughly below 97.8°F) can point to a slower metabolic rate.* Muscle weakness or heaviness without a clear cause. Muscle cells are mitochondria-dense and need constant energy for contraction.* Exercise intolerance. You work out, and instead of feeling good afterward, you're wiped out for days without properly recovering.* Sensitivity to light or sound. Sensory processing is energy-expensive, and when cellular energy runs low, the nervous system loses some of its buffering capacity.None of these symptoms are proof of mitochondrial dysfunction on their own; fatigue and brain fog have a long list of possible causes, from thyroid issues to iron deficiency to depression to sleep apnea, and a thorough workup should rule those out first. But if several of these are chronic and unexplained, mitochondrial strain deserves a place on the list.The Lab Markers That Tell the Real StoryThese are markers you can request from a standard blood draw, though a few need to be ordered specifically. I want to flag something important up front: the “optimal” ranges I use in my own practice are tighter than the standard reference range most labs will flag as normal. That's intentional. A value can sit inside the reference range and still not be where I'd want to see it for someone chasing energy and longevity, rather than just ruling out overt disease. That distinction matters, and it's worth discussing with your own physician rather than self-diagnosing off a lab printout.* Fasting insulin. Most labs allow up to 25 µIU/mL as “normal.” I typically look for something closer to 2–5. Insulin creeping up into the high single digits or beyond can be an early sign that cells are struggling to use glucose efficiently.* Fasting glucose. Optimal is generally lower than most people assume, closer to 72–85 mg/dL rather than the upper 90s that many labs will still call normal.* High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP). This measures systemic inflammation. Levels of CRP less than 1 mg/L are generally considered low cardiovascular risk, 1 to 3 mg/L moderate risk, and above 3 mg/L elevated risk. Damaged mitochondria leak more free radicals, and that oxidative debris is one of several things that can trigger this kind of low-grade inflammatory signal.* CO2 (bicarbonate). Part of a standard basic metabolic panel, usually reported somewhere in the low-to-high 20s (mEq/L). When it trends toward the lower end, it can be a signal of mild metabolic acidosis; worth flagging and discussing with your doctor rather than a red-alert finding on its own.* Lactate-to-pyruvate ratio. This is a more advanced, specialist-ordered marker. Normally pyruvate flows into the mitochondria and gets converted into usable energy; when mitochondrial function is impaired, pyruvate backs up and converts to lactate instead. It's worth being precise here about what the actual research supports: a lactate-to-pyruvate ratio above 20 has been shown to distinguish patients with primary mitochondrial disease from those with other conditions in clinical studies, and this marker's best-documented use is in diagnosing rare inherited mitochondrial disorders or evaluating critically ill patients not as a general screening tool for everyday fatigue. If you're curious about your own ratio, this is a conversation to have with a clinician who can interpret it in the context of your full picture, not something to self-order and self-interpret.The Proton Gradient: Why pH Might Be an Underrated MarkerHere's a mental picture that helped this concept click for me: imagine Niagara Falls. Water crashes from a height, and that force turns a turbine that generates electricity at the base. Mitochondria do something similar, except instead of water, they're moving protons (hydrogen ions) across a membrane, building up a pressure gradient. When those protons flow back through a molecular structure called ATP synthase, that “turbine” spins and produces ATP.Now imagine you lower the height of the falls. Less force, less electricity. That's roughly what happens when your body's internal environment shifts toward acidity; the proton gradient shrinks, and energy production slows with it.Blood pH is tightly regulated and normally stays between 7.35 and 7.45, it doesn't swing wildly, and if you ever see it trend outside that narrow range on a lab, that's a signal your body's buffering systems are genuinely taxed, not a subtle wellness finding. Because blood pH is so tightly controlled and hard to use as an early, everyday signal, a more practical (though far less precise) proxy some practitioners use is first-morning urine pH, tested with an inexpensive strip. Consistently low first-morning urine pH is sometimes used as a rough indicator that the body is buffering more acid overnight than ideal; though it's a screening tool at best, not a diagnostic one, and it can be influenced by diet, hydration, and other unrelated factors.A quick, honest aside on “structured water.” You may hear claims - including sometimes in wellness spaces I respect - that water inside your cells exists in a special “fourth phase” or “exclusion zone” structure that's central to mitochondrial function, an idea popularized by bioengineer Gerald Pollack. I want to be straight with you about where this stands scientifically: it's a genuinely contested hypothesis, not a fact. Independent researchers have proposed alternative physical explanations for the phenomena Pollack describes, and some of his specific claims - like light-driven charge separation in water - are considered difficult to reconcile with basic physical chemistry. The underlying biology of cellular hydration and mitochondrial function is real and important; the specific “structured water” framework is an interesting but unproven idea layered on top of it, and I don't want to present it to you as settled science.8 Ways to Rebuild Mitochondrial Function (Mitochondrial Biogenesis)The good news is that mitochondria aren't fixed in number or function. Your body can build new ones; a process researchers call mitochondrial biogenesis. Here are eight inputs that support it, roughly in the order I'd actually prioritize them with a patient. Notice that supplements are last, not first.* Morning sunlight. Getting outside within about 30 minutes of waking supports circadian alignment, which in turn supports metabolic function.* Zone 2 cardio. This is exercise intensity where you can still hold a conversation roughly 3–4 sessions per week, 30–45 minutes. It's popularly described as uniquely effective for mitochondrial biogenesis through a signaling pathway called PGC-1α. I want to add a fair caveat here: while Zone 2 has been widely positioned in popular media as the optimal intensity for improving mitochondrial and fatty-acid oxidative capacity, a 2025 narrative review found the evidence for that specific claim is more mixed than commonly portrayed, and some research suggests higher-intensity training activates these same pathways just as strongly, if not more so. Zone 2 is still a well-supported, low-risk, sustainable way to build an aerobic base; I just don't want to oversell it as the only path to mitochondrial adaptation.* Cold exposure. This is a stressor, so I don't recommend starting here if you haven't built a foundation first. In animal studies, chronic cold exposure increases expression of mitochondrial proteins and the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, PGC-1α, in brown adipose tissue - human data on the same mechanism is still developing. However, functional brown fat has been confirmed to exist and activate with cold exposure in adult humans. If you're adapted to it, starting with 30–60 seconds at the end of a shower is a reasonable entry point.* Circadian alignment. Consistent sleep/wake timing supports the same systems that morning light and cold exposure influence.* Structured hydration. Beyond simply drinking more water, this includes grounding and infrared light exposure - inputs that (independent of the more speculative “structured water” claims above) are reasonably tied to circadian and metabolic health.* Metabolic flexibility. This is your body's ability to switch between burning glucose and burning fat for fuel. Time-restricted eating is one of the more accessible tools for improving this, but it's a second-phase intervention, not a starting point, especially if your body isn't metabolically ready for it yet.* Red and near-infrared light therapy. Red to near-infrared light is absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, and this interaction is associated with increased ATP synthesis by mitochondria. Most of the research uses roughly 10–20 minutes of targeted exposure, often over the head and torso.* Mitochondrial cofactors. This is where most people want to start and where I'd ask you to start last. CoQ10, magnesium, and B vitamins (especially B1, B2, B3) function as electron carriers within the Krebs cycle, and alpha-lipoic acid is a mitochondria-specific antioxidant. On top of these, I use Nion to support the body's pH and hydration balance, and Protandim NrF2 to help address the oxidative load that builds up when mitochondria are already under stress, but these work best layered on top of the lifestyle inputs above, not as a substitute for them.Quick Reference: What the Markers MeanThese "optimal" figures reflect the ranges I personally use with patients pursuing proactive metabolic health, not universal diagnostic cutoffs. Always interpret your own labs with a clinician who has your full history.This Week's ProtocolThree simple steps, none of which should cost much or take more than a few minutes a day:* Tomorrow morning: get outside within 30 minutes of waking for a few minutes of natural light.* Pick up pH test strips (inexpensive, available almost anywhere) and test your first-morning urine for three consecutive days. Write the numbers down.* Pull your last basic metabolic panel and find your CO2/bicarbonate value. If you don't have a recent one, get one drawn.Where to Go From HereIf you recognized yourself in several of the symptoms above, the first move isn't panic - it's data. We walk through exactly this kind of cellular assessment with patients every week inside the Thrive 120 framework. If you want a professional to look at your labs and symptom picture and tell you the top three things to address first: Disclaimer: this article is educational, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or supplement regimen, especially if you're pregnant, nursing, on blood thinners, or managing a chronic condition — including cancer. Some links below are affiliate links — if you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and none of these products are intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.)References* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1931 — Otto Warburg, biographical: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1931/warburg/biographical/* Warburg effect(s) — a biographical sketch of Otto Warburg and his impacts on tumor metabolism — PMC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4784299/* Warburg Effect — a Consequence or the Cause of Carcinogenesis? — J Cancer: https://www.jcancer.org/v07p0817.htm* Genome-Scale Metabolic Modeling: mitochondrial function is not impaired in most cancer cells — PMC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3053319/* C-Reactive Protein and cardiovascular risk categories — Circulation (AHA): https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.cir.0000093381.57779.67* Clinical usefulness of hs-CRP across Framingham risk scores — Circulation (AHA): https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.cir.0000125690.80303.a8* Diagnostic values of lactate-to-pyruvate ratio in mitochondrial disease — PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9334250/* Lactate and lactate:pyruvate ratio in pediatric acute liver failure — PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5328928/* Mitochondrial dysfunction and ischemia in critical illness (lactate:pyruvate ratio) — PMC: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4470667/* Much Ado About Zone 2: A Narrative Review — PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40560504/* Chronic cold exposure induces mitochondrial biogenesis in brown adipose tissue — iScience: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(21)00402-8* Effect of habitual cold exposure on brown adipose tissue activity — systematic review: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22423982.2025.2545059* Photobiomodulation of cytochrome c oxidase by chronic transcranial laser — PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8971717/* Brain Photobiomodulation Therapy: A Narrative Review — PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6041198/* Exclusion Zone Phenomena in Water — A Critical Review of Experimental Findings and Theories: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.06822Links mentioned:* Metabolic Blueprint Session: https://calendly.com/tripleplaydoc/complimentary-consult * Nion: https://www.nionhealth.com/tripleplaydoc* Protandim NrF2: https://tripleplaydoc.lifevantage.com/us-en/shop/protandim-nrf2 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tripleplaydoc.substack.com/subscribe

Stress is often associated with obvious challenges such as heat or transportation, but Dr. Baumgard explains that many stressors trigger similar biological responses. Understanding these shared pathways provides important insight into how stress influences animal health, nutrient utilization, immune function, and ultimately dairy cow performance. (00:00 – 05:16)  The panel examines common stressors encountered in dairy systems, including heat stress, weaning, overcrowding, feed interruptions, dehorning, environmental noise, facility design challenges, and routine management disruptions. The speakers emphasize that stress is not always obvious. In addition, they note that multiple seemingly minor challenges can collectively impact health, welfare, and productivity. (05:17 – 08:29)  A major portion of the discussion focuses on what happens inside the animal during periods of stress. Dr. Baumgard explains how activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis triggers a cascade involving mast cell signaling, reduced mucus production, and increased intestinal permeability. These physiological changes can create conditions that favor pathogen growth. In addition, they can increase inflammation, and reduce productive efficiency. (08:30 – 11:12)  The conversation then turns to gastrointestinal barrier dysfunction, often referred to as "leaky gut." The panel discusses the gut's role as a critical defense system and explains why maintaining intestinal integrity is essential for nutrient absorption, immune regulation, and overall animal health. When stress compromises this barrier, animals become more susceptible to inflammation and disease challenges. (11:13 – 13:26)  While nutrition can play a supportive role, Dr. Baumgard argues that reducing stress through management practices often delivers the greatest return on investment. Preventing stress before it occurs is frequently more effective than attempting to correct physiological disruptions after they have already begun. (13:27 – 14:18)  The speakers also explore the concept of adaptation and stacked stressors, particularly during the transition period. Transition cows frequently encounter multiple challenges simultaneously. Moreover, the cumulative effects of several stressors may overwhelm an animal's ability to adapt. This helps explain why health disorders and performance declines often emerge during critical production stages. (14:19 – 17:28) Heat stress receives special attention as one of the most economically significant stressors affecting dairy cattle worldwide. Dr. Baumgard details how heat stress redistributes blood flow away from the gastrointestinal tract, leading to gut hypoxia and impaired intestinal function. The discussion also examines why cows naturally reduce feed intake during hot conditions. In addition, it explains why cooling and management interventions often outperform nutritional strategies alone. (17:29 – 27:04) The panel then reviews nutritional approaches that may help support animals during periods of stress. While antioxidant responses have been inconsistent across research studies, Dr. Baumgard highlights evidence suggesting that highly bioavailable zinc sources can consistently support intestinal integrity. These zinc sources can also improve resilience during stressful events. (27:05 – 32:22) Another key topic is immune activation and nutrient partitioning. The speakers explain that activated immune systems become major consumers of glucose and amino acids, diverting nutrients away from productive functions such as milk synthesis. This shift helps explain why production losses during stressful periods often exceed what would be expected from reduced feed intake alone. (32:23 – 37:13)  The episode concludes with a discussion on inflammation, endotoxin handling, mineral metabolism, hypocalcemia, and future research priorities. The panel examines how inflammation influences calcium and trace mineral dynamics during the transition period. Furthermore, they discuss the ongoing challenge of identifying practical solutions to stress-induced gut barrier dysfunction. (37:14 – 45:38) Understanding stress physiology requires looking beyond individual stress events and recognizing the interconnected biological systems that influence animal performance. Whether stress originates from environmental conditions, management practices, or physiological demands, many stressors converge on common pathways that affect gut health, immune function, nutrient utilization, and productivity. This episode provides valuable insight into the mechanisms behind those responses. Moreover, it highlights why effective stress management remains one of the most powerful tools for improving dairy cattle health and performance. Please subscribe and share with your industry friends. This helps increase awareness of topics like the impact of excess liver copper concentrations. Invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange virtual pub table. Please be sure to register for our upcoming Real Science Lecture Series. If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription. Then, email a picture to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your size and mailing address.

You finally crawl into bed after a long day, grab your phone, and start scrolling. It feels like downtime. But is your body actually experiencing it as recovery? In this episode of the Thyroid Answers Podcast, Dr. Eric Balcavage explores how your digital habits, especially in the evening, can influence sleep, nervous system activation, recovery, and thyroid physiology. Your phone isn't just a device. Every email, notification, news story, social media post, health video, and late-night Google search is an input your brain and nervous system have to process. And timing matters. At night, your body should be transitioning away from output and toward rest and repair. But answering work emails, researching symptoms, scrolling social media, consuming upsetting news, or falling down a YouTube rabbit hole can send a very different signal: stay alert, keep processing, keep reacting. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your phone acts as a nervous system input, not just a source of entertainment How evening screen time and digital stimulation can interfere with the transition into sleep Why poor sleep can become a driver of reduced physiological capacity, not just a symptom The connection between sleep disruption, recovery, and thyroid physiology Why blue light is only one part of the screen-time conversation How emotional stimulation, comparison, health anxiety, work stress, and information overload can keep the nervous system activated Why late-night scrolling can feel like rest or control without actually helping your body recover How bedtime procrastination can contribute to a cycle of poor sleep and lower capacity Why you don't need a complete digital detox to improve your evening rhythm Simple ways to create a "digital downshift" before bed How to audit the signals you're sending your body during the last hour of your day The goal isn't to throw away your phone or create a perfect nighttime routine. It's to recognize that your evening rhythm is either helping your body pay back capacity or borrowing from tomorrow. If scrolling keeps you awake longer, leaves you anxious or wired, encourages comparison, increases cravings, or makes the next morning harder, it may not be the recovery tool you think it is. Instead of trying to overhaul everything, start with one boundary. No phone in bed. No work email after a certain time. No health research at night. Charge your phone outside the bedroom. Replace scrolling with reading. Set a wind-down alarm. The specific strategy matters less than the signal you're trying to create: The day is done. The body can recover. Thyroid recovery doesn't require perfection. It requires sending the body better signals more consistently. Resources Want to look beyond your thyroid labs and identify the stressors, signals, and patterns that may be shaping your thyroid physiology? Get the Thyroid Recovery Blueprint: drericbalcavage.com/thyroid-recovery-blueprint-course Or comment/DM BLUEPRINT for more information.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is an intricate network of neurons and glia lining the gastrointestinal tract, regulating digestion and overall health. Loss of ENS neurons, as occurs in Hirschsprung disease, leads to intestinal obstruction, and treatment options remain limited. One therapeutic approach for the disease is stimulating resident stem cells to regenerate the ENS, and another is through cell therapy to replace the missing cells — but significant challenges remain in translating either one into treatments. Our guests today think about ENS repair through these two complementary lenses using zebrafish and stem cell-derived ENS neurons. Together, their work deepens our understanding of how the ENS develops, matures, and regenerates, and lays the groundwork for future therapies.GuestsJulia Ganz, PhD, Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, USA Mujahid Ali Shah, PhD, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics - Neurobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark Marlene Hao, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne, Australia Lincon Stamp, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne, Australia  Eve Sullivan Rowland, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne, AustraliaHostJanet Rossant, Editor-in-Chief, Stem Cell Reports Supporting Content | Paper LinksOptimized chemogenetic ablation and regeneration of enteric nervous system neurons in zebrafish, Stem Cell Reports, 2026Functional maturation of enteric neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, Stem Cell Reports, 2026About Stem Cell ReportsStem Cell Reports is the open access, peer-reviewed journal of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) for communicating basic discoveries in stem cell research, in addition to translational and clinical studies. Stem Cell Reports focuses on original research with conceptual or practical advances that are of broad interest to stem cell biologists and clinicians. X: @StemCellReportsAbout ISSCRAcross more than 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (@ISSCR) is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to advancing stem cell research and its translation to medicine.ISSCR StaffKeith Alm, Shuangshuang Du, Kym Kilbourne, Megan Koch, Jack Mosher, and Hunter Reed

In this episode, Rebecca Maxwell and Brooke "Rozzie" discuss how functional nutrition, nervous system regulation, and spiritual practices intersect to explain symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, and brain fog—especially for women navigating hormonal changes, chronic stress, and grief. They offer simple, practical rhythms and root‑focused steps for recovery that honor body, soul, and spirit, and point listeners to resources for personalized support through Faithfully Nourished. Brooke Rozmenoski (aka Brooke Rozzie) is a Christian Counselor, Functional Nutrition Coach and the founder of Faithfully Nourished. As a wife and mother of two, Brooke understands firsthand the challenges women face in tending to their health while navigating the demands of marriage, motherhood, and ministry. Through her podcast, coaching programs, retreats, and practice, she has helped hundreds of women uncover the emotional, spiritual, and relational roots of their physical symptoms—restoring God's order to their health, homes, and hearts. Brooke combines counseling, functional nutrition, nervous system support, and biblical truth to guide women out of survival mode and into Spirit-led, sustainable wholeness—so they can stop “doing healing” and start living from a place of Holy Spirit-led freedom. Follow Brooke on Instagram: @brookerozzie Inquire about Brooke's ministry here: https://l.bttr.to/U3LMb For more information about Rebecca Maxwell, please visit Jesusandyourmentalhealth.com  

This week we speak with Ms. Sharon Welsh BSN, RN about a novel project she has embarked upon called CLEAR CHD PHYSIOLOGY (on Instagram chdphysiology.icu) which is a physiology-based site intended to teach bedside critical care nurses about CHD physiology. What signs or symptoms are important and what is their meaning? Why is nursing at the bedside of a sick postoperative newborn so much more difficult than it was at the start of Ms. Welsh's career? How does Ms. Welsh use AI to create a flexible learning tool for RN's and all interested in congenital heart physiology? Ms. Welsh provides the answers this week. 

A record number of Americans have decided not to drink at all. A Gallup survey of 1,200 adults living in all 50 states has found that 54% of them do consume alcohol, the lowest reading since the polling organization started tracking Americans' drinking habits in 1939. Do you drink?  Have you quit or drink less than before? Nicholas Gilpin, Professor of Physiology and Director at the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans, joins Dave Cohen to talk about those trends.

This hour, Dave Cohen is joined by Nicholas Gilpin, Professor of Physiology and Director at the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans, to discuss what's behind a record number of Americans have deciding not to drink at all.

On today's show, Dave Cohen has on Jeff Nowak, WWL Saints sideline reporter, to recap the Saints week of practice out in California and preview the Rams game, Judy Ho, a licensed clinical psychologist & host of the Savvy Psychologist podcast, to discuss why so many people want instant gratification. Nicholas Gilpin, Professor of Physiology and Director at the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center of Excellence at LSU Health New Orleans, to discuss what's behind a record number of Americans having decided not to drink at all.

Are you experiencing a weight loss stall and feeling frustrated or anxious that your progress has completely stopped? In this episode of ProCare Health LIVE, host Brenda Hoehn, MSN, BSN, RN, CHTP, is joined by featured speaker Aimee Rothe, BSN, RN, CBN, CEN, TCRN, NHDP-BC, AFAA-CGFI, NASM-CNC, to break down the biological mechanisms behind stalled scales. Weight-loss plateaus are a predictable physiological response—not a personal failure or lack of willpower. Aimee Rothe, Program Director of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and a two-time bariatric patient herself (Lap-Band to VSG revision), combines deep medical expertise with authentic lived experience to help you understand metabolic adaptation, look beyond the scale, and take non-reactive, evidence-based steps forward!

Get Started With Muscle Activation Techniques® To Loosen Your Tight & Achy Muscles Without Stretching: https://www.matschaumburg.com Here's a hard truth that many people struggle with… What is convenient for your life may not be enough to reach your goals. This applies to all areas of life, but with exercise specifically, we see this too often. Unfortunately, while many people stick to doing what is convenient for them, their health, their strength, and their overall function are sacrificed as a result. So what needs to happen instead? On this week's episode of the Exercise Is Health podcast, that is exactly what we are discussing. If you feel like you are consistent with your workouts but aren't getting the results you want, this conversation provides the perspective shift that you may need in order to break through. Check out all the details in this week's episode! Ready to schedule your first Muscle Activation Techniques® session with us? Click here to get started: http://vagaro.com/muscleactivationschaumburg/services Looking for custom workout programming that gets designed to your exact specifications to build your strength and athleticism? Sign up for PRO Strength & Performance Programming: https://www.charliecates.com/programming Would you like to have our guidance implementing the 4 Exercise For Life Principles while you workout? Join the Exercise For Life Membership for free for 30 days! Just head to www.exerciseforlifestudios.com to get started! Did you find this episode helpful? Let us know by leaving us a rating and review on the following platforms: – Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exercise-is-health/id1330420565 – Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6H1CneHjsPiPStrAeFTP25?si=X1IuXkp0T1KCv3gCtt3j5g  Want to grab a free copy of our best-selling book, "The Exercise For Life Method"? Click here to order yours while copies are still available! www.exerciseforlifemethod.com Just cover the cost of shipping and handling to have it delivered right to you. Follow us on Instagram for more exercise tips and content about MAT here: – Muscle Activation Schaumburg: @muscleactivationschaumburg  – Julie Cates: @julcates  – Charlie Cates: @charliecates

Many people with Parkinson's disease experience dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, and even falls when standing up. One possible cause is neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH), a condition related to autonomic nervous system dysfunction. In this episode (watch on YouTube), we explore Droxidopa (Northera), a medication designed to help improve symptoms of nOH by increasing norepinephrine levels. We'll discuss how it works, who may benefit, what the research shows, and important safety considerations. Episode chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:25 What is Droxidopa and how does it work? 03:00 Why nOH matters in PD 03:30 Physiology of blood pressure regulation 05:15 How Droxidopa helps with nOH 06:10 What the research shows 06:50 Practical management strategies for Parkinson's disease 08:41 How to check if you have OH 10:00 Tying in with patient case and Conclusion For members-first content, early access, and to help to support this channel sign up for memberships here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0g3abv8hkaqZbGD8y1dfYQ/join  https://www.patreon.com/pdeducation Please be sure to give support to our channel sponsors: Comfort Linen: https://comfortlinen.com/PARKINSONSDISEASEEDUCATION(15% off entire order when applying the code PARKINSONSDISEASEEDUCATION at checkout) Kizik Shoes: https://kizik.sjv.io/pdeducation Cure Hydration: https://lvnta.com/lv_XG06Rho8SSlXEq3qlV If you have products that you would like for me to review on the channel please send them here: Parkinson's Disease Education P.O. Box 1678 Broken Arrow, OK 74013 Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material of this video is for informational purposes only and not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that links used for recommended products may earn me a commission when you make purchases. However, this does not impact what products I recommend. If I recommend a specific product it is because it has been vetted by myself or based on personal use #parkinson #parkinsonsawareness #parkinsonsdisease #parkinsonsawareness #orthostatichypotension #droxidopa

"There's very few cases of more intelligent things being controlled by less intelligent things. Once they're a lot smarter than us, I don't think they'll put up with that." – Geoffrey HintonArtificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and changing the world around us. In this special bonus episode we speak with Nobel Prize laureates to examine AI's growing influence on our society. From various disciplines and perspectives, they share their thoughts about AI's impact on the job market, medical research opportunities, existential threats and the need for government regulation. Discover more from the laureates featured in this episode and explore the discoveries and ideas behind their awarded work. At nobelprize.org, you'll find a wealth of content dedicated to each of our guests – Omar M. Yaghi, Mary E. Brunkow, Peter Howitt, Philippe Aghion, Joel Mokyr, Geoffrey Hinton and John Jumper – featuring interviews and descriptions of their prize-awarded work. You can also explore the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the 2025 prize in economic sciences, the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This podcast was a production of Nobel Prize Outreach and Filt, and created in cooperation with Fundación Ramón Areces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With it being back to school season, this topic feels especially timely. In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with family advocate Tracy Spiaggia, founder of Slingshot Health Coaching, about recognizing high sensitivity in children and how to support sensitive children and their parents.We discuss the core traits of the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) trait, Tracy's great “power strip” analogy for sensory overload, and why the tripping of the power strip (the stress response) can look different in different children (fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown). We talk about challenges that may point to high sensitivity — school behavior problems, breakfast refusal, perfectionism, somatic complaints — and the practical framework Tracy uses with families to sort the “immovables” in their lives from what can actually be changed.We each share our own experience growing up as highly sensitive children, and how we each began our parenting journey largely unaware of this trait. We address the importance of awareness and self-compassion for parents. And, we close with commenting on the value of identifying and addressing pyrrole disorder- a fairly common biochemical imbalance in those with highly sensitive who are struggling with brain and physical symptoms.Timestamps:0:00 Introduction to high sensitivity and its importance2:04 Recognizing high sensitivity in children and adults3:58 Parental support strategies for sensitive children5:52 Stress response styles and their impact7:56 The physiology of high sensitivity and overstimulation9:59 Creating modifiable environments for thriving12:06 The evolutionary purpose of high sensitivity14:04 Practical tips for supporting sensitive children in school and home15:58 The importance of self-awareness and compassion in parenting18:04 The role of nutrition and physical activity in sensitivity management20:02 Supporting adult highly sensitive persons22:11 The power of community and shared experiences24:04 Overcoming shame and embracing sensitivity as a strength25:59 Practical steps for creating supportive environments28:00 The importance of ongoing learning and adaptation29:53 Closing thoughts and resources for further supportIntroductions (0:00)Dr. Courtney SnyderWelcome to the Holistic Psychiatry Podcast. I'm Dr. Courtney Snyder, a physician and holistic child and adult psychiatrist. In this episode, I have the pleasure of having a conversation with Tracy Spiaggia, who is an experienced health coach who works with families. Using Elaine Aron's term of the highly sensitive person, HSP, Tracy and I will discuss high sensitivity in children. This trait, as Tracy will mention, occurs in about 20% of the population. Tracy and I both consider ourselves to be highly sensitive, so in addition to sharing our professional experience, we'll also share insights from our own childhoods, as well as insights from parenting highly sensitive children. Tracy is currently a candidate for a PhD in what will be Whole Health Leadership. She's a Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner, Certified Integrative Attachment Theory Coach, Brain Health Specialist, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and the author of the book From “Chained to Changed. Break Mental Strongholds and Transform Your Life Through Faith.”CourtneyWe have so many intersections in terms of what we care about and are interested in — nutrition, functional medicine, attachment, families.TracyWhy I hang on every word you put out.CourtneyThank you. Thank you.CourtneyOne of the things that I was thinking about is how much people do to support children that have all these different issues, but there's not a lot of recognition of high sensitivity in children, nor what their unique needs are. They're living in a world that's not designed for high sensitivity. As we talk, we can help raise awareness about what that looks like — how to recognize when a child is highly sensitive, and not in a symptomatic, pathologic frame, but really, that's who they uniquely are. And then we'll move into how to help people make choices to support these children so that they can thrive, and also recognize the situations where they're probably not going to thrive as easily.TracyCorrect. And then how, as a mom and dad, can I modify my expectations on the child and give them a lived experience that best aligns with their sensitive nature — so that they can become who they're supposed to be, not vicariously living through the child, especially if you're a non-sensitive parent.CourtneyWe should talk about both — when the parent is also sensitive, and then when they're not necessarily, ‘cause there's different dynamics that would come up.TracyYes, yes, yes, absolutely. Especially if the sensitive parent never knew — hello, never knew anything about HSP. And so you're raising your children, and then when you come to find out, like, your whole brain just explodes in. And then I just kind of really became a completely different parent, almost on a dime, finding this work. And I felt the most free I've ever felt in my life when I came across the work. So yeah, we'll talk about that too.Growing Up Without an Awareness of the HSP Trait(3:21)CourtneyI know — I think like you, I look back and there's things I would have done differently. Now having a daughter who's twenty-one, certainly learning when I did has helped her, and this information helps her even make her own choices at this point. When I thought about parenting, it also made me think about being a highly sensitive person, and my own experience as a child, because there certainly wasn't language back in the sixties and seventies.TracyHere's a great example. I'm going to make it personal instead of hypothetical. My parents — we came from a household where my dad was a police officer, my mom stayed home, four kids, money was super tight. And so the summer would come, and I now, as a seasoned mother, I can only imagine how she'd be like, almost dreading it — like, “oh my gosh, they're all here.” So we would have to go to swim team ‘cause it was free from the town. We'd have to go to the town pool. We'd have a choice — we weren't asked, “you're going to swim team.” And if my memory serves, it started super early, maybe seven, eight o'clock in the morning. Back then I was just a bag of bones, I was so thin, and that water was freezing. I had no idea why I was so terrified to perform in front of others, but that's part of the HSP. Like I shared earlier — when I came across this work and all of the questions that were asked to see if you fall on the spectrum of HSP, I'm like, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.But when it was my turn to compete, I would nine out of ten times not show up on my block. I would hide in the bathroom. I'd even get good at climbing up on top of the toilet with the door closed, so if my mom came in — you know, you can't see feet. So I would hear my name being called, like, “McMurray, block three,” and I wouldn't show up the vast majority of the time, because I'd rather the punishment on the back end than have to endure a public display of competing in swim team.So I give that as an example — if a parent were skilled, the first time I don't show up for my competition, there should be some really safe but powerful questions being asked, like, “hey, what's going on for you? I noticed you weren't there, you didn't show up.” Obviously you're not doing that to — the parent should be able to say, “obviously you're not doing that just to irritate me,” but we take it all so personally as exhausted parents. But if they were skilled, they could ask questions, and I'd be able to say to them, “this is really scary for me, I don't want to do this, I don't like getting into the pool at seven in the morning, I'm freezing, I'd be blue, I don't like this, I don't want to do this.” And then they'd say, “my goodness, okay, you don't have to do this anymore, you can come and stay home and we can figure out what you enjoy.” I didn't grow up like that.So that's an example of a rule I made up to the game of life — if something is bringing you to the brink of sheer terror, just don't show up for it, go hide somewhere. That's one example of how I started to cobble together rules of the game of life so that I could survive it.CourtneyAnd that's so interesting, because in my own early life, I think I cobbled the rule of “you just do it no matter what.” That has its own problems, because you don't even become aware — you just persist through what's quite uncomfortable. Whether that's sporting events, public speaking, which for me was a complete nightmare — anticipating, many months in advance, a book report or something like that. And I think, even looking back, I could say, “I had anxiety as a child.” But when you think about high sensitivity, and you think about the context with which one is trying to navigate — which is highly stressful, chronic, and in some cases severe stress — that doesn't have to even be anxiety. It could just be a severely, chronically stressful situation, trying to be in a world of extroverts. In my family I was the youngest of four, and I was the only one that was highly sensitive.It's Not Anxiety. It's Physiology. (7:53)TracyAs you describe that, I don't hear an anxious child. I hear a physiology. I hear the brilliant design of the physical body, that your alert system was working perfectly well — trying to say you're living a life that's antithetical to who you are, but you're kind of being forced along for the ride. If there's a lot of children, those at the tail end just kind of get bolted on, as opposed to being seen — not all the time, but most of the time — because parents are just human beings with finite resources and probably very little skill, and are just trying to seriously survive the day.CourtneyYeah, exactly.TracyTrying to survive the day. So the kids just get bolted on, but it's the meaning that we make out of just being bolted on, or being told what you're doing. And so I don't hear anxiety — I hear a physiology that's working beautifully, because your body continuously alerted you to the reality of having to show up in a world where you're not asked, you're told what you're going to be doing, but it goes against the nature you were given.And this is why — I really do have a moral conundrum with just jumping straight into pharmaceutical prescription, because the body's brilliant. It's not broken. So if we have chronic depressive episodes, if we have peaking anxiety, there's something to hear. There is something to be listened to before we go trying to dull and mute all of those sensory, dashboard-like signals. There's something there. And so I feel like those states have been kind of villainized — “get rid of it at all costs” — where it's like, if we can stay in the uncomfortability while we remain super curious and highly supported, you're going to be able to have that body communicate to you where you're living out of order. Could even be a diet that's out of order. If your relationships are okay, and you scratch your head like, “hmm, I feel great with my family, my parents hear me, they see me, I feel heard and seen, I don't feel judged, I'm doing the things I like, I'm not being forced to do things I don't like” — then it's time to say, okay, maybe there's certain foods that I am or am not eating that the body is trying to alert you to, to give you your best life.CourtneyRight — and it can be an alignment of all of those factors.TracyOf course. And it's like a snowball at the top of a mountain that builds to this ginormous thing by the end, because it just collects and builds momentum as it goes down. That's what I try to help parents see — either for themselves, beginning in childhood, or what's going on for their own child, especially the non-sensitive parent coming in with the sensitive child, saying “I don't know what's wrong with him or her, fix—” And it's like, no, no, no, no. You're the most important person on planet Earth. It's me helping you relate to your child in a way that will turn those signals down, because they finally feel seen, heard, understood, unconditionally accepted. And then you will move to create an environment that lets the body relax.The Traits I Look For — and the Power Strip (11:08)CourtneyYeah. So let's talk about HSP first in adults, and then how that translates to children — because the reality too is that chronic stress in childhood has different implications. The pillars that I think about — and a lot of this is abilities as well as potential liabilities — ability to process a lot of information, being a deep thinker, feeling things deeply, problems with stress tolerance, and then sensory sensitivity, whether that's picking up on the emotions in a room or sensitivity to bright light, loud noises, textures. People don't have to have all of these to fall on the spectrum. Being empathic, tuned into other people's feelings, maybe even being more emotionally reactive.TracyI wonder how you'll feel about the way I try to explain it to the clients I work with, because it is — when you're not interested, you and I could geek out on this for a whole week straight with no naps. But you have to really capture the essence of what we're trying to share with people so it can change the way they live and operate and relate to other people.So the way I offer it in a layperson's framework: I point to a particular outlet on the wall, with one lamp plugged into it. An electrician, when they wire a house, the same number of volts is going to come out of each outlet — the lamp is the only device plugged into that one outlet, drawing its 120 volts, and it lights the lamp, and the lamp is fine. But over here by my desk, there's still only one outlet, but I need many, many things to operate off that 120 volts. So I have a power strip, and in that same 120-volt outlet, I have the power strip with five things plugged in. And it has a mechanism — this is the whole purpose of the power strip — to shut down when I'm trying to draw too much energy out of that same outlet.We have the same thing built into our nervous system. When the world is tugging and pulling at a highly sensitive nervous system — through forced clothing that has seams, a rough turtleneck — I'll talk from personal experience, like being in a wet, sandy bathing suit on a hot beach. I just wanted to be dead. It was so overstimulating for me. I am the power strip, and life is plugging in without my permission — stealing bandwidth, stealing nervous system resiliency from me. So then when I'm left with the last thing to be plugged in, which is like, “hey, come for dinner,” and it's something I don't like — that could trip my whole nervous system. And the uninformed family members: “you're always the problem, it's always you.” And it's like, no, you don't understand all the things that were plugged in before that, stealing all of that nervous system bandwidth from me. This last thing is what you observe, but that was what tripped the nervous system.My stress response style, by nature, is fighter — so that trip will manifest in your preferred stress response style. For me it's combative. For other people it could be complete shutdown, or “I'm getting out of here” and they flee. Other people, they dissociate — they just kind of freeze, they're there but they're not there, nobody's home. That's where that innate preferred stress response style shows up when the power strip trips. And then what we do is we assign — “that's their personality.” And it's not their personality, this is their stress response style. You have to get curious about each person — how much bandwidth do you have before you trip, how much is stealing from you? Some people could wear a wet bathing suit and just lay there, nothing plugged into their strip. Me — “when do we get to go back and take a shower? Please, can I leave?”So that's the analogy I use: examine yourself, then consider your child. Do you believe they're a one-outlet person, where life is good and nothing else is going to get into that outlet? Or are they a power-strip person, where there's all kinds of opportunity to plug into that same voltage, causing that person to go into a sympathetic-dominant state.CourtneyRight, right, right, that's great. Really helpful — you and I are good examples from our own experience, because I was more the shutdown-and-comply kid. So less obvious — I think both are struggling in different ways. Some children it might be more externalized, and others it might not be at all.TracyYeah, and then not at all — unfortunately, parents can easily miss that and say, “you're such a good girl, you're such a good boy.” They're actually in shutdown. They have no voice.CourtneyExactly. Right — or having headaches and stomachaches, somatic-type symptoms.TracyAbsolutely, absolutely. See that all the time — I'm sure you do too.What Families May Notice First (17:16)CourtneySo we should talk about what types of problems people might notice before they actually notice the sensitivity itself — whether that's meltdowns, withdrawing from activities. What would you say are common things families come to you with that relate to this?TracyThe most common would be problematic behaviors in school. Being woken out of a dead sleep, refusing breakfast because you're so high-stress, under-rested — it's almost like a nauseous feeling. So unknowingly, they send their child into an incredibly stressful environment, undernourished, without any nutrition on board to blunt the effects of all that myriad stress — all those plugs going into that power strip. A lot of parents will bring their child in — mothers, let's just say it's almost always moms — “help me, they're not allowing my child to come into the mainstream class.” And I'm like, has anybody, including the school counselor, gotten curious around energy reserves, the status of stress, the nutrition that's on board? If the child is refusing to eat, we need to really look at that, because there is stress that has got to be pruned from this child's life, so their biochemistry normalizes to the degree where they can tolerate a small breakfast to start.That's not normal human behavior, to break your fast upon waking and have a nauseous reaction to food. You have to understand that body is communicating, once again, brilliantly — it's deprioritizing nourishment and digestion and prioritizing stress response. People don't understand that. So I'd say one of the most common is just combativeness or non-compliance in these domains of life, in school, or when I tell them to do such and such at home. And listen — there's going to be some non-pathological defiance. That's normal, progressive development for a child. They test the boundaries, depending on their temperament, because they're always on a trajectory to individuate. Once they get to around eight, nine years old, and that nervous system's cement has kind of cured a little bit, now they're looking out into the world to figure out, “who am I, I want to separate a little bit from this family of origin and figure myself out.” That may look like being difficult or combative, but they're trying to individuate.Sometimes when I hear myself talk, Courtney, I feel badly for the child, but I also feel badly for us parents, because we're calling parents higher and higher to awareness and education when they're so exhausted trying to pay the bills, keeping the lights on, food in the fridge — who lost their job, who's getting a divorce, who has an incurable disease. And at the same time I'm trying to call you higher with your parental skills so you can better attune to your child. I know how that lands on a tired parent, because I was hurt too. But we have to understand that the reason we'd have that type of response to this information is because nobody supported us when we were little. So we just learned “this is life, buck up and deal with it,” and we live from those rules we cobbled together as a kid — “I guess I just have to figure it out on my own.” And a parent, unknowingly, is doing the same thing — telling this struggling little child, “figure it out, man, I'm spent, I'm tired, I can't.”CourtneyI mean, ultimately this should make parents' lives easier if they can understand what the needs are of the child, so there's not meltdowns at school in the cafeteria where it's so loud, or on the school bus — there would be just peace overall for everybody.TracyYou're a hundred percent right, and that is the critical message. If there's any takeaway from this conversation for your listeners, it's — it will get a little worse before it gets better. And that's true with any healing journey. You broke a bone, okay, it's gonna hurt, I have to reset the bone. It gets worse before it gets better. But when you come alongside professionals like you and I, we have a path, a strategy to bring you along — we'll hold you really well during the worse part, but then you will be liberated into not just a future, but potentially a legacy that you can completely change. You can leave this mark as a patient person, a considerate person, a forgiving person, a compassionate person — all of the beautiful traits of the highly sensitive get to just flourish unabated if we create an environment for it.Self-Compassion and the Family Timeline (24:27)CourtneySo it can be meltdowns, or children withdrawing from activities. It could be perfectionism almost, or self-consciousness — being so in tune and observant that they might assume everyone else is as observant, and be highly self-conscious or perfectionistic about themselves or even others. Is that something you see in the families you work with?TracyJust as much. The perfectionism, the overachievement, the over-giving. These kids need to be able to look to us when they're in crisis — “I'm freaking out, but you're steady, you're the rock I can cling to.” So if we freak out when they freak out — and listen, a lot of what I'm sharing are insights after I've made the mistakes. I would give anything to know then what I know now, but I can't go back. So I did a lot of things right, but I did some things not so great. And now I repackage and repurpose the mistakes into something we can offer to the world — “moms, dads, you don't have to make the same mistakes I did, you can learn from me.” And I believe God will honor that, and even allow forgiveness and grace and mercy to flow in my children towards me for the things I didn't do well.CourtneyI think those are really valuable conversations to have — one, for parents to be able to apologize and teach their children the value in that, but also just this own self-compassion, that we're all doing the best we can. And it leads into this idea of — if you're a highly sensitive parent with a highly sensitive child, which would have been my experience — there are a lot of both gifts in terms of recognizing their needs, and also a lot of challenges in terms of not wanting to project too much onto them what their needs might be. I think there were times when my own concern about how the world operates in relation to sensitive people was almost problematic, and other times where I was sort of going along with the culture. I think it can go both ways, and the main thing is just to be conscious of it if you're a sensitive parent.Sort the Immovable From the Modifiable (30:36)CourtneyWhich actually leads us to this idea of what types of choices might parents make that would help support a child who is highly sensitive — whether that's in the home, at school (there's not always a lot of choice in terms of school options), or activities. I think that's worth grappling with — the real practicalities of, within a home, how might things be different if someone's going with the flow versus recognizing, “I have a child that's highly sensitive.”TracyYeah, I think it's important — I don't think we stated it — if there are listeners new to the concept, only about twenty percent of the population is thought to have this trait, and that trait lives on a spectrum. So if you're in the twenty percent, we have to explore how full you are on that spectrum. This journey is very unique and individualized — you have to study each individual child and each parent separately to know exactly what you're working with. I think the next step would be to make a two-column list: these are the immovable, unmodifiable realities in our lives. “This is where we live, we're a two-income household, I'm a single-parent house, I have to go to work, you have to go to public school, I don't have resources otherwise” — okay, that's an immovable reality, put it in that column, because it is what it is, and that doesn't set you up for a worse outcome. We have to start appreciating that none of us are a victim, we're all victors — if we just do the work of taking inventory of the reality of our lives and create a schematic of sorts, we all will be given the same opportunity for thriving and flourishing. Nobody's at some gross disadvantage — I know some people might think I'm talking financially, but I'm really talking about inner resources.CourtneyI was just going to say — even if a child is in a public-school setting, there are still ways to create some downtime in their life, versus going from school to activity to activity to lots of stimulation.TracyA hundred percent. Even within the school experience, you can ask for certain accommodations — and we do this all the time. If you have a profoundly highly sensitive child who's being flooded with fluorescent lights, sitting in hard chairs amongst peers who are loud — if it turns out the mom and dad say, “you know what, I think it'd be really helpful if they could just get a 10-minute snack break, high protein, moderate fat, not sugar,” and maybe 10 minutes with the school counselor to recharge that battery — exactly. So you might have public school as an immovable, but that doesn't mean it's not modifiable. You can still branch it over to the modifiable and figure out what aspects of that day are draining the nervous system resilience and causing chronic stress, and what's modifiable there. Schools have really embraced their role in improving mental health outcomes, by and large. So as long as you advocate for your child in a respectful and reasonable way, there are aspects of this immovable reality that can be modified to give some resilience back to the child. But the most influence is obviously going to come from their home environment and experiences.CourtneyJust thinking through this lens can impact what choices are available to people.TracyPeople by and large have no understanding — again, because they're not interested in this sphere of learning and knowing. They have very little understanding and appreciation of all of the modifiable factors of their daily lives. It's like removing one plug from a really burdened power strip — that's what we try to do, remove some of the plugs we can, proactively, to give some of that bandwidth back to the child. That's what makes this work very customized, very individualized. I do groups — I don't know if you do groups — so it's more affordable and accessible, and I'm saying the same thing to larger groups of people, and they can begin to process the information and create their own customized strategy.CourtneyYeah — and in the groups, they can hear each other, and there's some degree of support, because that's the other huge part — however people can find like-minded people and families, and it sounds like your group is a way to do that.TracyYeah, it normalizes your experience — and don't we all, frankly, want that as adults and parents, but even more so a child wants to be normalized. There's nothing wrong with you that you get really overstimulated on the beach, in the sun, in a wet sandy bathing suit for eight hours straight with very little food. There's nothing wrong with you — there's something profoundly wrong with that experience. So it takes the shame off, and if we can throw off the shame, the body feels liberated to start to migrate its way back to parasympathetic — maybe we can actually take a deep breath, because we're not in imminent danger.It's Not a Flaw — It's a Design (36:34)CourtneyRight. So things like being mindful of downtime, opportunities to be in less stimulating environments. Routine can be important too, as far as anticipating and knowing something's not going to come out of left field and derail things.TracyCritically important, I think.CourtneyAnd I think about it even with this idea of “they're going to have to live in the real world” — many adults wouldn't choose for themselves to be in situations with a lot of people and a lot of loud noise. Working adults are better able to recognize a preference for certain types of work, depending on what's practical for them. But we expect children to do what every other child is doing, and expect them to thrive in that way. Most adults aren't living in “the real world” like that.TracyEspecially today, with remote working, where you could be a grown adult making a wonderful salary right from the comfort of your own living room — at least for my generation, there was obviously no such thing.CourtneyAnd we haven't talked about how many strengths come with this, and how many strengths and abilities can be lost trying to navigate or fit into a world that's largely not built around high sensitivity. As the research shows, this is evolutionarily here for a reason — everyone should want people with high sensitivity to be thriving, and want the children to have the opportunity to thrive.TracyAbsolutely. Another really helpful point for your listeners: when Dr. Aron discovered the trait, researchers have continued to discover it in over 100 species of animals and insects, and that work continues. This is something innate in all creatures, and it's brilliant — not too many of us, but just enough of us to sound the alarm for dangers that the non-sensitive can't see coming. We can see the headlights of the train where these people are oblivious, standing on the tracks. So to live in a world without people with these fine, highly tuned senses to alert the masses — it's kind of like the carbon monoxide detector in a home. You probably don't pay much mind, but let me tell you, when it goes off, it's saving your life. We are the carbon monoxide detectors. We are the ones alerting you long before you're aware there's danger afoot. It's a gorgeous trait — I wouldn't trade it for anything.CourtneyYeah.TracyI really wouldn't. It fills me with so much purpose and passion, and I'm able to move through this world and feel so deeply — really high highs, yes, really low lows, but I feel alive. I don't feel kind of in that middle of “meh.” I'm never meh, that's never me. I think it's a beautiful thing if people can get over the stigma the world would probably want to attach to it.Pyrrole DisorderCourtneyRight, right, right. And I'll just mention too, for people who are highly sensitive and struggling maybe with mental health or physical health issues, in part because of chronic stress — the issue around pyrrole disorder, which is more common in those of us who are highly sensitive, results in specific nutrient imbalances that are not difficult to treat. That doesn't apply to everyone we're talking about, but some people dipping into more severe issues could really benefit from that kind of information.Where to Find Tracy (41:04)TracyMy goodness — to me that's almost the lowest-hanging fruit. That's why I love functional nutrition — trying to repair a familial relationship is hard work, but elevating your zinc and B6 levels, that's pretty low-hanging fruit.CourtneyI know, right, right. Tell everyone how they can find you, the work that you do — do you have an active group right now that you're working with?TracyNo, we'll kick off the next group — I run them in the fall and in the spring, so the next group will kick off, I believe, mid-September. They can find me — my practice is called Slingshot Health Coaching, after the David and Goliath story in scripture. Slingshot Health Coaching on Facebook and Instagram — I'm not a huge social media person, but there's a presence there. Website is just slingshothc.com. Anybody can book a complimentary call to explore — you have to meet the person, make sure the chemistry is good, that I'm actually the right practitioner for you. That's available to anybody, and you can certainly subscribe — I send out a fair amount of content by email, and I run a lot of complimentary studies and things people can do for free, to build community.CourtneyGreat. Thank you so much.I hope you enjoyed our conversation. As always, I welcome your thoughts and questions. Until next time,CourtneyCourtney Snyder MDResources:* Tracy Spiaggia at Slingshot Health Coaching* High Sensitivity Through 3 Lenses (HSP, Pyrrole Disorder & RCCX Theory)→* Elaine Aaron - The Highly Sensitive Person (website)Dr. Courtney Snyder MD is a holistic, functional, and environmental psychiatrist for children and adults. Find her at courtneysnydermd.com and on the Holistic Psychiatry Podcast on all major platforms.Medical Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult your own physician for any medical issues you may be having. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit courtneysnydermd.substack.com/subscribe

Why does a patient on furosemide end up needing a potassium supplement? In this episode we walk the length of the nephron— proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal convoluted tubule, and collecting duct—and trace exactly how each segment reabsorbs and secretes to keep sodium, water, potassium, and acid-base in balance. Along the way we hit the transporters and drug targets that show up again and again on Step 1, from the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter that loop diuretics block to the aldosterone-driven potassium handling in the collecting duct. By the end, that furosemide-and-potassium puzzle will make complete sense. Looking for more information on this topic? Check out the Physiology of the Renal Tubular System brick. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  It helps with our visibility, and the more med students (or future med students) listen to the podcast, the more we can provide to the future physicians of the world. Follow USMLE-Rx at: Facebook: facebook.com/usmlerx Blog: usmle-rx.com/blog-posts X: @usmle_rx_ Instagram: @usmle_rx_ YouTube: youtube.com/USMLERX Learn how you can access over 250 of our bricks for FREE: https://usmle-rx.com/free-bricks/ Learn more about Rx Bricks by signing up for a free USMLE-Rx account: www.usmle-rx.com You will get 5 days of full access to our Rx360+ program, including over 900 Rx Bricks.

Become a Supporter of The Science of Sport for about the price of a coffee, or a gel, and help us keep the lights on, and Gareth's candle burning! Plus, you'll get ad free listening, a weekly Applied show, and a community that argues better than the internet does!Show notesOn the show today, the physiology behind the best women's Grand Tour we can remember, and a doping ban that fits a pattern we have seen many times before.(00:01:00) The Tour de France Femmes was, we think, the best Grand Tour either of us has watched in years, and we explore the nine stages of unpredictable racing that had us intrigued, even if the record will show that Demi Vollering won four of them.(00:05:56) Kasia Niewiadoma's ride on Mont Ventoux, at somewhere between 5.3 and 5.6 W/kg for the climb, is arguably the greatest climbing performance in the history of women's cycling, and we place it against the published power duration curves to show just how far outside the 90th percentile it sits.(00:17:19) Niewiadoma also posted 9.9 W/kg for 86 seconds, and from that single Strava screenshot we work out her FTP and her W', the anaerobic "battery", which lets us answer the question everyone argued about, namely whether being blocked into that corner actually cost her time to rival Vollering. We think the answer is unequivocally yes, and the maths and the principle of pacing explains why.(00:25:50) Praise for Puck Pieterse, sympathy for Marlen Reusser and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and a wonder about the 'mature' podium, and the prospect of a handover to the next generation in good time, just not 'our time'(00:41:41) The World U20 Championships, where a 17 year old ran 7:28 solo for 3000m, Tate Taylor doubled up in 9.94 and 19.83, and the ever-turning carousel of youth talent that is sometimes derailed by injury and sometimes deposed by the next young phenom(00:45:46) Jakob Ingebrigtsen returns and wins the European 5000m title in 13:16, off a slow race that played into his hands, and he explains, correctly, that a 5000m is not a test of speed but of how much speed you have left. He also promises he'll be "astonishingly a lot better" next time.(00:52:32) Jonah Koech gets a three year ban after an adverse passport finding. We explain how the biological passport actually works, why two suspicious samples means the values must have been wildly out of the norm, and why his 3.2% improvement should have invited scepticism long before the blood results did. Performance is not proof, but pattern recognition lives on, with this its latest illustration.(01:07:46) The WNBA has no eligibility policy, so two former NBA players have declared for the women's draft to prove the point. We discuss why choosing not to decide is itself a decision, how people are choosing to pretend a problem doesn't exist (or that it doesn't matter if it does), and contrast this with the WTA who have implemented screening for eligibility, and just gotten on with it(01:15:29) And finally, the origins of the steeplechase, which begins with two blokes, an Irish pub, a wager, and two church steeples. Plus a nutritionist on social media who watched 96 seconds and decided we had lost all credibility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can eating "healthy" actually make your thyroid symptoms worse? In this episode, Dr. Eric Balcavage continues his series on rhythms and thyroid physiology by exploring one of the most overlooked aspects of thyroid recovery: the signals your eating patterns send to your body. Many people with hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's focus on what they eat... cutting gluten, dairy, carbohydrates, or calories... in hopes of improving their thyroid health. But what if the bigger issue isn't food quality... it's whether your body feels consistently nourished? Dr. Eric explains why meal timing, energy availability, carbohydrate intake, and overall fueling patterns can significantly influence thyroid physiology. He also discusses why strategies like intermittent fasting, chronic calorie restriction, low-carb diets, and training in a fasted state may be helpful for some people—but may reinforce a protective, energy-conserving state in others. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your body responds to food availability, not just food quality How meal timing and consistent fueling influence thyroid physiology Why intermittent fasting isn't appropriate for everyone The difference between nourishing your body and signaling scarcity How chronic calorie restriction and under-fueling can affect metabolism and thyroid function Why carbohydrates aren't inherently "good" or "bad" - context matters How blood sugar stability is about more than avoiding glucose spikes A practical nutrition hierarchy for supporting thyroid recovery Questions to help you evaluate whether your current eating pattern is building capacity or creating more stress If you've been eating "clean," cutting calories, or following strict nutrition rules but still struggle with fatigue, brain fog, cold intolerance, poor recovery, or stubborn thyroid symptoms, this episode offers a different perspective on what your body may actually need. Resources Mentioned: ➡️ Grab the Thyroid Recovery Blueprint to begin identifying the stressors, signals, and patterns that may be influencing your thyroid physiology. Need Help Identifying the Root Cause of Your Symptoms? If you've been struggling with thyroid symptoms, fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, or persistent symptoms despite thyroid medication or supplements, schedule a discovery call at drericbalcavage.com to learn more about Dr. Balcavage's physiology-first approach. Learn More About Dr. Eric Balcavage Dr. Eric Balcavage is the co-author of The Thyroid Debacle and the creator of: • State-Based Medicine™ • The Adaptive Thyroid Model™ • The Strategic Thyroid Solution™ His work focuses on helping patients and practitioners understand thyroid physiology through the lens of metabolic stress, adaptation, and whole-body regulation. Dr. Balcavage's new book, Is This The Hill?, recently released. To learn more, access exclusive bonus content, or to order, visit drericbalcavage.com/hill. Connect with Dr. Eric Balcavage

Do you wake up with a tight chest, a racing mind, or a low-level hum of dread before your day even begins? That is morning anxiety, and it is a completely physiological response. In this episode of Calming Anxiety, clinical hypnotherapist and former frontline paramedic Martin Hewlett breaks down the science behind the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) and leads you through a 10-minute clinical recalibration to reset your nervous system.Learn exactly how a high cortisol spike triggers the amygdala to scan for danger, and discover how to instantly interrupt the panic loop using a simple, scientifically backed vagus nerve breathing technique.Whether you are dealing with chronic stress, panic attacks, or simply want a calmer morning routine, this somatic grounding practice is designed to send immediate safety signals to your brain.⏱️ Time Chapters00:00 – The Physiology of Morning Anxiety & The Cortisol Spike02:26 – How the Amygdala Traps You in a Panic Loop02:52 – Vagus Nerve Activation: Extended Exhalation Breathwork04:36 – Guided Golden Light Visualisation for Nervous System Calming07:18 – Mindful Affirmations for Morning Grounding & Safety08:24 – 3 Daily Caring Tips to Interrupt Anxiety Before It Starts09:47 – Somatic Return & Bringing Awareness Back to Your Body✨ Mindful Affirmations for TodayRepeat these truths internally to allow your nervous system to settle and recalibrate:"I am safe in this morning.""My nervous system knows how to recalibrate.""I release what I cannot control.""I am allowed to start slowly.""I am calm, I am grounded, and I am ready."

Send a Text Message. Please include your name and email so we can answer you! Please note, this does not subscribe you to our email list, it's just to answer if you have a questions for us. Have you ever found yourself negotiating with a pint of ice cream at 9 p.m., even though you ate dinner just two hours ago?You tell yourself you'll have “just one bite.” Then maybe one more. Suddenly, you're standing in front of the freezer wondering why this feels so hard.Cravings aren't simply a willpower problem. Blood sugar swings, stress, poor sleep, old habits, and an overly convenient pantry can all make certain foods feel almost impossible to ignore.But you can learn to pause, understand what's driving the urge, and respond without shame or rigid food rules. In this episode, I'm sharing the strategies I journaled about back in 2020 when I was working through my own urges and cravings, which I still use today.ReferencesSecure your spot for the September round of The 30/30 Program now (spaces limited).Get the free podcast roadmap for The Obesity GuideSubscribe to my Youtube channelAll of the information on this podcast is for general informational purposes only. Please talk to your physician and medical team about what is right for you. No medical advice is being on this podcast. If you live in Indiana or Illinois and want to work with doctor Matthea Rentea, you can find out more on www.RenteaClinic.com Join the Fill Your Clinic Bootcamp Aug 18th-20th. Replays available until Aug 31st 2026. Support the show

William Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin stand at the center of one of the most famous and ethically troubling stories in the history of human experimentation. After an accidental musket blast on Mackinac Island in 1822 tore through St. Martin's ribs, lung, diaphragm and stomach, Army surgeon Beaumont saved his life. The wound healed into a permanent gastric fistula - a living opening through which Beaumont could observe human digestion directly.Beginning in 1825, Beaumont tied food to silk thread and lowered it into St. Martin's stomach, extracted gastric juice through tubes, measured temperature and recorded the effects of illness, exercise and emotional disturbance. The work culminated in his 1833 book Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion and helped transform the science of digestion. It also documented pain, weakness, vertigo and distress, sometimes followed by a decision to continue.Beaumont was not only St. Martin's doctor. He was also his employer, provider and investigator. In 1832, a labor agreement called St. Martin a "covenant Servant" and required him to "obey, suffer and comply" with reasonable and proper experiments. This episode examines that contract, the imbalance behind it and the limits of consent without erasing St. Martin's agency. He refused surgery, returned to Canada, negotiated payment, left repeatedly, permitted some later examinations and ultimately rejected Beaumont's final efforts to bring him back.Terrifying & True separates the documented medical history from later sensational claims that Beaumont deliberately preserved the opening or kept St. Martin as a literal prisoner. The surviving record is more complicated: lifesaving care, groundbreaking science, economic dependence, negotiated participation and a physician who increasingly spoke of recovering control over another man's body.Inside this episode:· The 1822 musket accident on Mackinac Island· Alexis St. Martin's permanent gastric fistula· Food-on-thread tests and gastric juice collection· The 1832 "obey, suffer and comply" labor contract· Consent, dependence and St. Martin's repeated departures· The later report of an eight-foot grave and efforts to obtain his stomach after deathBeaumont's work changed medicine. But when a scientific breakthrough depends on another person's body, labor and pain, who owns the discovery - and who gets remembered as fully human?We're telling that story tonight. 

In this 340th episode I welcome Dr. Tym Kajstura back to the show for another ABA keyword episode. We discuss the high yield, much tested topic of Respiratory Physiology.Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out FIGS: https://wearfigs.com* Check out Factor and use my code factormeals.com/accrac50off for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com* Check out Quince and use my code quince.com/ACCRAC for a great deal: https://www.quince.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of The Skin Real, Dr. Mary Alice Mina sits down with dermatologist and Skinfluence Podcast host Dr. Dustin Portela to break down the skincare trends flooding social media right now. From DIY sunscreen and beef tallow moisturizer to at-home chemical peels and tanmaxxing, they separate real dermatology from viral misinformation. The conversation covers red flags to watch for in skincare influencers, the science behind sunscreen safety, why skin cycling can work when done right, age-appropriate routines for kids and teens, and what medical grade skincare actually means. It is a practical, no-nonsense guide to protecting your skin from bad advice. In this episode:  0:00 Intro 1:15 Meet Dr. Dustin Portela 3:00 How to spot fake skincare advice online 6:15 The truth about DIY sunscreen 9:30 Beef tallow moisturizer breakdown 13:00 At-home chemical peels and TCA risks 16:45 Tan maxing and the return of tanning culture 21:00 Melanotan and the anti-sunscreen movement 25:30 Sunscreen myths and the seatbelt analogy 28:45 Skin cycling explained 31:15 Skincare for kids and teens 34:00 Real skin vs filtered skin 35:15 What medical grade skincare actually means 36:45 Top three tips for cutting through the noise 37:45 Where to find Dr. Portela Want a deeper look? Watch the full episode on YouTube for a more visual experience of today's discussion. This episode is best enjoyed on video—don't miss out!

The noise in women's fitness has never been louder—and if you're wondering who to trust, you're not alone.  Every scroll seems to deliver a new expert, a new rule, or a new warning that contradicts the last one, leaving many women feeling more confused than confident.  Let's cut through the hype to help you understand why these conflicting messages exist and how to evaluate them without getting pulled into the latest trend. You'll learn a practical way to separate evidence from opinion so you can make informed decisions that actually support your health, strength, and longevity.  Instead of adding to the noise in women's fitness, this conversation gives you the clarity and confidence to focus on what truly matters If this episode made you flip your workout routine — share it!

Andrew McGonigle, author of The Physiology of Yoga, talks with J about the confluence of studying medicine, teaching anatomy, and finding identity. They discuss going to medical school at a young age, transcendental meditation, getting a job at TriYoga, moving to California, debunking misleading claims, addressing pain, shoulder surgeries and knee replacements, professional landscapes, being a teacher, down-regulation, reasons for asana, relationship to aging, engaging spiritual aspects, and developing a sense of inquiry and awe.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM. Say thank you - buy J a coffee. Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.    

Huxley is an example of having a good attitude about publicly acknowledging errors and learning from them. He earned the nickname “Darwin’s bulldog” for his very vocal support of Darwin’s work, and he wanted to promote science and education, particularly to people that didn’t normally have access to those things. Research: Bernoulli, D., Jenkyns, H.C. “Thomas Henry Huxley, a stone tablet, coccoliths, and deep-sea sediments in the high Alps.” Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 112, 1661–1669 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-023-02330-5 Bowen, Keith. “Thomas Henry Huxley.” Ebsco. 2024. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/thomas-henry-huxley Burkhardt, Richard W.. "Jean-Baptiste Lamarck". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Dec. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Baptiste-Lamarck Darwin, Charles. “On the Origin of Species.” JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. London. 1859. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1228/1228-h/1228-h.htm Desmond, Adrian J. "Thomas Henry Huxley". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Jun. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Henry-Huxley Dolan, John R. “The famous and lesser-known illustrations of Thomas Huxley’s Bathybius.” History of Oceanography. International Commission of the History of Oceanography. https://oceansciencehistory.com/2020/07/13/the-famous-and-lesser-known-illustrations-of-thomas-huxleys-bathybius/ “Freshwater Bathybius.” Nature 4, 49–50 (1871). https://doi.org/10.1038/004049b0 “The Great Debate.” University of Oxford Museum of Natural History. https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/great-debate “The History of Evolutionary Thought.” Understanding Evolution. Berkeley University. https://evolution.berkeley.edu/the-history-of-evolutionary-thought/1800s/early-concepts-of-evolution-jean-baptiste-lamarck/ Huxley, T.H. “Agnosticism.” K. Paul, Trench. London. 1889. https://archive.org/details/a622650700huxluoft/page/169/mode/1up Huxley, T.H. “Aphorisms and Reflections. From the Works of T. H. HUXLEY, Selected byHenrietta A. Huxley. Macmillan and Co. London. 1907. Accessed online: http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/Book/Aphor.html Huxley, T.H. “Autobiography and Selected Essays.” Riverside College Classics. 1909. Accessed online: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1315/1315-h/1315-h.htm#link2H_4_0007 Huxley, T.H. “Collected Essays, Volume V: Science and Christian Tradition.” https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15905/15905-h/15905-h.htm Huxley, T.H. “Evidence as to man's place in nature.” D. Appelton and Co. New York. 1863. https://archive.org/details/evidenceastomans00huxl/page/n1/mode/2up Huxley, T.H. “On Some Organisms Living at Great Depths in the North Atlantic Ocean.” Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. viii., new Series, 1868, pp. 203-212. http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/SM3/bathy.html Huxley, T.H. “On the Relations of Man to the Lower Animals.” Project Gutenberg eBook. 2001. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2932/pg2932-images.html Joshi RS. “The Inner Root Sheath and the Men Associated with it Eponymically.” Int J Trichology. 2011 Jan;3(1):57-62. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3129131/ Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste. “Zoological Philosophy.” Macmillan. London. 1914. https://archive.org/details/ZoologicalPhilosophy Lyons, Sherrie L. “Thomas Henry Huxley : the evolution of a scientist.” Prometheus Books. New York. 1999. McGraw, Donald J. “Bye-Bye Bathybius: The Rise and Fall of a Marine Myth.” Bios, vol. 45, no. 4, 1974, pp. 164–71. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4607257 “Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1963.” The Nobel Prize. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1963/summary/ Pearce, JMS. “Thomas Henry Huxley.” Hektoen International. Sept. 18, 2020. https://hekint.org/2020/09/18/thomas-henry-huxley/ Schwartz, Joel S. “Darwin, Wallace, and Huxley, and ‘Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation.’” Journal of the History of Biology, vol. 23, no. 1, 1990, pp. 127–53. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4331120 “Thomas Henry Huxley.” Darwin Correspondence Project. University of Cambridge. https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/thomas-henry-huxley “Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895).” Humanist Heritage. https://heritage.humanists.uk/thomas-henry-huxley/ Tunstad, Erik. “Darwin's Bulldog: Thomas Huxley 200 Years.” Prosa. July 10, 2025. https://prosa.no/artikler/aktuelt/darwins-bulldog-thomas-huxley-200-ar Wyhe, John van. “It ain't necessarily so ...” The Guardian. Feb 9, 2008. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2008/feb/09/darwin.myths See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka — professor of religious studies, author of The Others: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny — is here to answer one of the most controversial and fascinating questions of our time: what if many of humanity's oldest spiritual encounters weren't interpreted correctly at all?Dr. Pasulka breaks down:- Shocking similarities between alien abductions & purgatory that first pulled her into UAP research- Whether historical Catholic supernatural experiences would be interpreted today as UFO encounters- Why many researchers believe we need to radically rethink the concept of “aliens”- Physiology of UAP encounters and how experiencers may access altered states or different parts of the brain- Carl Jung's theory that UFOs could emerge from the unconscious mind- Why belief in nonhuman intelligence is rapidly increasing, and why it may function as a modern religion- Reports throughout Catholic history describing encounters with nonhuman entities- Whether aerospace engineers and scientists are receiving “downloads” or ideas from nonhuman intelligence- Recent deaths and disappearances of scientists connected to nuclear and aerospace programs (Are they connected to UAP research?)- Why proof of nonhuman intelligence may NOT destroy religious belief- Why some people believe AI could be the antichrist, while others think resisting AI is the true danger- Whether governments are in a position to confirm historical religious events- Psychedelics, altered states, and historical encounters with nonhuman intelligence- Why certain people appear far more open to supernatural experiences than others- Hidden role sci-fi plays as a framework for understanding modern UFO phenomena- Real function of religion and how humanity uses belief systems to explain what science still can't- Measurable physical & neurological benefits of prayer- Whether humanity is heading toward a religious revival, or if religion has become too politicized to recoverThis episode of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown explores the intersection of UFOs, religion, consciousness, AI, mysticism, Catholicism, neuroscience, psychedelics, government secrecy, and the future of human belief itself.If you're interested in UAP disclosure, nonhuman intelligence, ancient religions, consciousness research, alien encounters, spiritual experiences, or the future of AI, this conversation will challenge everything you think you know!Pre-Order Dr. Diana Walsh Pasulka's new book, THE OTHERS: UFOs, AI, and the Secret Forces Guiding Human Destiny, out July 28th: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250394866/theothers/Follow us on Substack for Exclusive Bonus Content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bialikbreakdown.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BialikBreakdown.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube.com/mayimbialik⁠⁠⁠See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.