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Improve Sleep Quality As A Busy Parent with Kristin Oja - E35
31 Plays3 months ago
Constantly feeling like you aren't getting enough sleep? Are you juggling what feels like an endless list of demands as a parent and partner, all while holding down a job?
Many parents find it difficult to get good quality sleep amidst the chaos of raising kids, leading to a constant state of fatigue and decreased well-being. Navigating this stage of life with sustained energy and vitality may seem daunting, especially when sleep is disrupted by your children. In this episode, we explore first-hand advice and routines for improving sleep quality, empowering you to reclaim restful nights and enhance your overall health as a parent.
Kristin Oja is the founder of STAT Wellness, as well as a nurse practitioner. She is dedicated to enhancing overall wellness through individualized health strategies. WITH her work at STAT Wellness, she combines her extensive knowledge and experience to provide comprehensive healthcare solutions. Highlighting the importance of sleep, nutrition, and social connectivity, Kristin's insights resonate with her audience online, through her podcast, 'Little By Podcast' and as a seasoned keynote speaker. She champions a practical, hands-on and holistic approach to health, advocating for a balance between advancing personal goals and maintaining life’s inherent enjoyments.
“Just laying in the bed does not mean your sleep quality is good.” - Kristin Oja
In this episode you will learn:
- The importance of differentiating between being and doing in everyday life and how it impacts overall happiness and quality of life.
- Strategies for maintaining a sleep routine and the significance of sleep quality, including insights on alcohol consumption and work habits before bedtime.
- How to create effective daily routines through habit stacking, combining tasks like workouts, sauna sessions, and setting mental triggers for relaxation.
- The value of social connection and purpose in wellness, alongside tips for deliberately crafting space for these pillars in life.
- Benefits of creating a stillness practice as a means to gain clarity, presence, and improve one's interpersonal connections.
- Nutrition advice and recommendations for incorporating dietary supplements, with emphasis on protein intake and the role of whole foods and meal diversity.
Resources
- Connect with Kristin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinojadnp
- Find out more about what STAT Wellness has to offer: https://www.statwellness.com
- Shop all the products Kristin mentions in this episode: https://alively.com/products/kristin-oja
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
https://alively.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Being vs. Doing
00:00:00
Speaker
we're human beings. We're not human doers. And I started to think about, well, what does my life look like? I am 24 seven doing. Now it's not bad, right? But where is the being?
00:00:10
Speaker
I've got to figure out how to be present. I've got to figure out how to be okay with doing nothing.
Podcast Introduction
00:00:20
Speaker
This is the Home of Health Spam podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices, and routines they use to live a lively life.
00:00:33
Speaker
Kristen, is so good to be with you today. you know, our journey together, we we met years and years ago, more than half a decade ago. trying to think, was it like...
00:00:50
Speaker
ah and And yeah, so I want to get into stat wellness. I want everything you're
Connection, Purpose, and Health
00:00:55
Speaker
doing. But before we do all that, how would you define yourself?
00:01:04
Speaker
And when you think about living your best life, your entire life, what does that mean to you? My life that I do not skip out on. I would argue like the connection, the purpose is very, very important to my old overall happiness. But my physical health, I would say sleep is probably one of the most important things.
The Importance of Sleep
00:01:23
Speaker
If you guys have not read the book, Why Sleep Matters, I think it's by Dr. Walker. I feel like you'll all be convinced of how important this pillar is when it comes to your wellness. My sleep is not perfect, but it's not because of me. I have a three-year-old and a two-year-old and they still wake up, right? So like, e no matter what I try to do, it's not perfect right now.
00:01:41
Speaker
But i think sleep and tracking sleep quality, because just laying in the bed does not mean your sleep quality is good. um but to me, it's been setting up boundaries and just saying, this is when I'm done working. This is when I'm done doing whatever I need to do. T That's beautiful. And that's so well aligned with you the home health span. that This is very much what we're focused on and the five
Social Connection and Wellness
00:02:03
Speaker
pillars. and I like where you started it on that purpose, on being connected. great Because that, in our experience, in my personal experience, in my personal life and in conversations, is the pillar most people forget about.
00:02:18
Speaker
ah they They get sleep, nutrition, fitness, mindset. It's gotten newer. right More people started getting it after what everybody's been dealing with, like COVID and post-COVID. But the social connection and purpose...
00:02:31
Speaker
People don't realize, wait, if I'm socially isolated, it's like smoking 15 cigarettes a day, right? Like I'm doing the same damage to my physical health as if I'm doing that. So I'm curious as someone who practices functional medicine and looks at the big picture, and if you're okay, would love to start with that pillar, that social connection and purpose pillar and how you deliberately make space for in your life and craft and don't just fit it in, but build around it.
00:02:58
Speaker
week because I know high sleep quality. And unless the variables change is probably pretty consistent.
00:03:07
Speaker
Yes.
Evening Routines for Better Sleep
00:03:18
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Well, your listeners probably know this, but alcohol will destroy your sleep quality. Like a glass of wine will just destroy that. um That is huge. The other thing really for me that does make a difference is um not electronics, but work.
00:03:33
Speaker
So if I did have my laptop up and I was doing work work, um I do see the impact of that in my sleep. I did not see the impact. Like if my husband and i were watching a movie or things like that, it didn't seem to change the quality of my sleep.
00:03:45
Speaker
So I think that's just like a way I was unwinding occasionally, not every night because it's not good to have electronics before bed. But work is more cortisol driven. And if you go to the cortisol curve, what are the things we need to do at bedtime to improve sleep quality? And it's very simple. It's we need to keep cortisol very low to naturally make melatonin, which is critical for the deep sleep. I mean, go into the path of physiology ah as much or as little as we want.
00:04:10
Speaker
But it's for me, alcohol and working at bedtime were like the biggest things. And then you know doing anything fun, hydrating. um My thing I do every single night. So I don't have data based on this. My team makes fun of me. And they're like, that's your self-care. And I was like, yeah, it kind of is.
00:04:27
Speaker
um I do my spa showers. And so I'm a big sauna person. So my 12-minute workouts that I do, I then get in the sauna. And then I do a spa shower.
00:04:38
Speaker
It's horrible. I work in the sauna. And that's how I've been able to consistently do that. I know that's not great, but it's what works for me. And then I do my spa shower. And so I just do a steam shower. And I put essential oils at the bottom.
00:04:50
Speaker
And I use it as a time of slow down my breathing and unwind for the day. and my spa shower is what symbolizes no more work. So I am done working. I'm done opening my laptop, checking emails on my phone.
00:05:03
Speaker
I'm slowing down my breath. And I'm kind of unwinding for the day. And I found that peppermint and lavender to me, they just like are the, so they're the best. I just like feel calmer. i feel ready to go to bed. And that's kind of my nighttime routine. Yeah. I'm going to do myself. Marco Polo.
00:05:35
Speaker
what What are we talking here?
00:05:48
Speaker
Yes, I mean, you've talked about several different layers there. And in your situation is indeed unique. And one of the things that's different now than when we first met is you actually work with your husband, right? So it's truly work-life integration for you. Can you say a little bit about how that works on the how you've made it a benefit to do it as opposed to you know just another stressor?
00:06:11
Speaker
12-minute workout. I plug the sauna in because I have a sauna that takes a little bit to warm up. So I let it warm up in the 12 minutes. I have a second
Integrating Healthy Habits
00:06:19
Speaker
laptop that's half broken that I call my sauna laptop.
00:06:23
Speaker
So if it continues to break, I'm fine with it. So I bring my sauna laptop in. And I usually stay in the sauna for an hour. I'm like a sauna junkie. I feel amazing when I sauna. That like cellular detoxing, free of sweating.
00:06:36
Speaker
And I think part of it is because I mentioned my workouts are 12 minutes. I do sweat, but it's not the same as going for an hour run. sweating. And so the sauna has allowed me to kind of fill in that like cellular detoxing the sweating while still feeling like I can get organized with my day and answer emails and all of that sort of thing.
00:06:53
Speaker
um And then you're so sweaty, the first thing you have to do is shower. And I got to kind of tidy up my day with the laptop and the sauna. So I'm done. Like there's no more... Can we pause there? Because it's not just that you couldn't pay yourself.
00:07:04
Speaker
it's It was a high opportunity cost, too, because of your skill set, what you were making in the market before going. It's not just zero. It's zero versus, right? That there's high opportunity cost.
00:07:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dink. Yeah, yeah. We we were the same. Yeah.
00:07:57
Speaker
For sure. And I think it's because I'm actually, when I'm not in the sauna, more likely to multitask than when I'm in the sauna. Because now I feel like I'm doing something beneficial for focus at the work I'm doing. When I'm upstairs trying to work, I'm like doing laundry at the same time. I'm like stopping and folding things. like I'm in the sauna for an hour and probably more focused than in other times. And we use a term and you guys have probably heard this. We didn't come up with it. But habit stacking. And so for me, this concept of habit stacking is critical in my life.
00:08:25
Speaker
Like if I didn't have a way of stacking these healthy behaviors onto what I need to do or want to do, they would not happen on a daily basis.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, I do. I would sit for like two hours. Like literally if I ever am down there for too long, my husband will start texting me and he's like, Kristen, get out of the sauna. Like get out. um I am a, I told you I'm sauna junkie. Like I am like a snake. If I could live in like a desert and 120 degrees and go for an afternoon run,
00:08:55
Speaker
Like, love it. i But I know a lot of the listeners here or people that you've had on there are into the data on cold plunging and the research behind that. I love the research on cold plunging.
00:09:05
Speaker
I physically cannot cold plunge. Like I cannot handle the cold. Like i it the cortisol release to think of getting in that. Like it's just not healthy for like, I just can't. So I'm trying to figure out how to get some of that cold in my life because you can't run this hot all the time, right? I like hot drinks. I like hot food.
00:09:22
Speaker
i like a hot sauna. I like to exercise. I'm like, I know that my temperature is dysregulated, right?
Cold Therapy vs. Saunas
00:09:31
Speaker
Yes. Yes. Oh, I'm sure.
00:09:34
Speaker
But it's like, that it if you ask me what is the worst thing in the world, it's to be cold. It makes a ton of sense. And a word that's been mentioned so many times is purpose. Do you mind sharing? You said, hey, I get to do what my purpose is every day. Can can you share what that is?
00:09:48
Speaker
In the sauna for an hour and running in the heat of the day, but you will probably never see me in a cold plunge.
00:09:55
Speaker
So mine only gets to 140. um So a lot of infrareds will go up to 160. So mine's 140. And the reason I plug it in is because if I don't plug it in for my 12-minute workout, it will take me about the first getting a good sweat.
00:10:08
Speaker
And so then I have the other 40. But when I do the 12 minutes, and it only takes me about 8 minutes, because I've also pre-sweat for my 12-minute workout, you know got my body temperature up. So yeah, yeah. Stacking. Exactly. um So that that's how I do it. And and do you cold plunge?
00:11:15
Speaker
There's so many things in here that may seem obvious, but so few people do,
Crafting a Personal Mission
00:11:20
Speaker
right? To actually go through the exercise of what is my purpose? You know, I kind of intuitively knew it, but I use that Jim Lohr book. He has this whole kind of crafting your personal mission statement. Doing was super impactful, led to writing the book and led to me selling a company and and moving industries and all, like really, really shaped my life.
00:11:39
Speaker
One, but then two, that CEO of your own life. What is the life that I want? And then what are the steps to get there? Why wouldn't someone go through that? Right? Like if you don't know where you want to go, it's very unlikely you're going to get there.
00:11:51
Speaker
You don't know the direction direction you're going. Like, are you going to end up where you want? If you don't even know where you're trying to go, it's a, those are amazing exercises to go through.
00:12:06
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:11
Speaker
Right. Right.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yes.
00:12:22
Speaker
I like that.
00:12:28
Speaker
So one thing I'd like to go back to on you talk about being CEO of your life when we first connected, right? You're just just building setwatch. You're getting it off the ground. And one of the things you shared with me that it still stuck with me years and years later is before you were this super, super distance runner, like always running, doing all this.
00:12:47
Speaker
And then that side of your life almost got mortgaged to, hey, it's it's all in on this. And so I'm curious now in this season life where you're running an even bigger organization, you have two kids thrown in the mix.
00:12:59
Speaker
ah What does your fitness routine look like? And purpose. not How do you create time? Like I can't be disappointed in myself every day that I didn't meet the expectation of what I wanted to do.
00:13:11
Speaker
So that's kind of how it stemmed was through the lens of a core value to me is happiness and purpose and quality of life. And if anything interferes with that, I need to readjust it.
Prioritizing Self-Care
00:13:47
Speaker
So one of the first of all, I think my mindset is there is always more to be done. There's always a fire. And so like I just say, let the fires burn. And I know it's a cheesiest statement, but like we all have to put our oxygen mask on first. I'm not a good mom, a wife, a leader.
00:14:00
Speaker
If my oxygen mask is not on first from the lens of like, I dropped the ball all the time. I have so many things in my inbox. If I focus on all the things I, how I'm letting people down, like I couldn't sleep at night. Right. But instead I focus on, you know, why am I making that conscious decision? And it's my oxygen mask. Right. So i just want people to know that's kind of the lens.
00:14:18
Speaker
What my new thing of 2024 is that I evaluated is I had no moments, zero moments of nonproductive stillness and until 2024, like zero.
00:14:29
Speaker
So I evaluated and it doesn't mean that I wasn't doing things for me, but it was always with the purpose of benefiting myself. It was always productive. So it was reading a book about becoming better.
00:14:40
Speaker
It is listening to podcasts about becoming better. It is putting essential oils in the shower and focusing on my breath, being intentional with my breathing, right? Every single thing I did was beneficial or a thing I committed to a party or work or patient notes, right?
00:14:56
Speaker
And so I thought about like, we, you probably have heard this saying, but we're human beings. We're not human doers. And I started to think about, well, what does my life look like? I am twenty four seven doing.
00:15:07
Speaker
Now it's not bad, right? But where is the being? And so in 2024, my new thing was, I've got to figure out how to be present. I've got to figure out how to be okay with doing nothing.
00:15:19
Speaker
And if anybody listening is like me, that is like the hardest thing to ever do is to be okay with sitting and doing nothing. And so I created this stillness practice.
00:15:30
Speaker
And in January, it was one minute. like I was like, I am literally just going to sit on this chair. Yeah, I was just going to ask you, like, can you give us an example of what that looks like in 12 minutes of squatting? I was just sitting.
00:15:41
Speaker
Like, I just had to sit. I couldn't be on my phone. I couldn't read. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't write in a gratitude journal. You know, that's still doing something. Right. And so then I built up the time to three minutes, to five minutes, to 10 minutes. That's kind of where I'm at now.
00:16:00
Speaker
Well, I found the one minute like pretty quickly. Kristen, you can do more than that. So the one minute was like a week. And then it like turned to 3 minutes. um And then I did that for a couple weeks. And then it turned to 5 minutes. And then it started to become harder because like my kids would wake up or something would happen. So 5 to 10-minute jump was much longer.
00:16:17
Speaker
And then trying to figure out where to fit that in. And this also goes with... I also said it's not going to happen every day. like I try to do this at 6am. But my kid might wake up at... say 6 or 5.45 or 5.30. So it's also just like, you know what? I intentionally made the decision to add stillness in my life. And that's enough.
00:16:34
Speaker
The intentional decision, it's not perfect. But I will tell you, starting your day with nothing, like absolutely nothing is where you get most of your answers. I always say like a lot of the things are inside of us, but we don't take the time to just sit there and just like b And so your mind is going. There's no way to turn your mind on off as you're practicing stillness. So you're still thinking, you're kind of grounding. And it's just been amazing to me. Like after that time, some of the clarity that just comes up or like some of the things I'm like, Oh shoot, I hadn't thought about in that a while. I need to reach out to so-and-so.
00:17:09
Speaker
It's just like giving yourself the space to be in your own thoughts. And, I was not doing that, I think, my entire life. like If you ask me like my entire life, I was not a sit on the patio and just stare type person.
00:17:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:17:30
Speaker
So inside, um I'd love to bring it out. Yeah. I mean, it gets back to the the seasons of life, right? in And meeting yourself where you are. and there are a couple different pieces there on that mindset shift for so many people.
Exercise and Sleep Tracking
00:17:42
Speaker
If it's not perfect, it's not worth doing. So hey if it's if I'm not getting 90 minutes in the gym, it's not worth going. Well, actually, research shows but the the benefit from going from zero to 10 minutes of vigorous exercise The unlock is infinitely bigger than going from 10 minutes to 90 minutes.
00:17:58
Speaker
So just that first 10 minutes, that's the biggest unlock you're going to get. Yes, is 90 better than 10? Yes. But is 10 infinitely better than zero? 100%. Knowing how much you have going on, I know one that most people deprioritize is sleep.
00:18:16
Speaker
And curious, how do you think about that? Because that's not one you can say, I'm just going to do 12 minutes and that's going to work. So how does your sleep routine look? So I will say sleep is the one thing in this phase of my life that I do not skip out on.
00:18:31
Speaker
I would argue like the connection, the purpose is very, very important to my old overall happiness. But my physical health, I would say sleep is probably one of the most important things. If you guys have not read the book, Why Sleep Matters, I think it's by Dr. Walker. I feel like you'll all be convinced of how important this pillar is when it comes to your wellness journey.
00:18:51
Speaker
Now, I will say my sleep is not perfect, but it's not because of me. I have a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old, and they still wake up. right So like e no matter what I try to do, it's not perfect right now. But i think sleep and tracking sleep quality, because just laying in the bed does not mean your sleep quality is good. but to me, it's been setting up boundaries and just saying, this is when I'm done working. This is when I'm done doing whatever I need to do. The TV goes off.
00:19:16
Speaker
And then I keep my wake time pretty consistent. And I will take my wait time wake time back if my sleep has to be up. So like for example, if I have to stay up till 11 PM because I have an event,
00:19:27
Speaker
Maybe I wake up normally at five. I might wake up at six that day to make sure I'm still getting a minimum of seven hours. My sweet spot is seven and a half hours. Like I want seven and a half hours of good quality sleep.
00:19:38
Speaker
And I track sleep to know what percentage of deep sleep I'm getting, because that is some of the most restorative sleep you can get when it comes to healing, storing memories, connective tissue, hormones, all of these things.
00:19:52
Speaker
What do you use to track? So I used to use the Wootband and then I kind of got used to all the data. And so now I use my Apple Watch on a like two to three times a week. You have to download at least the model. I have another app and I use Pillows.
00:20:06
Speaker
So if any of you guys have an Apple Watch and you don't want to buy another wearable, you can download the Pillows app and wear it a few nights a week and track your sleep and just kind of know like, yes, I'm doing well. So now I pretty much wear it three times a week because I know high sleep quality. And unless the variables change is probably pretty consistent.
00:20:23
Speaker
And when you were wearing, so when you were doing the whoop, you're probably doing every day, right? Like, cause you just don't take it off. You can charge it while it's on you. Did you in that period or this period now discover any insights of, Oh, doing X really increases quality doing Y really degrades my quality.
00:20:38
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Well, your listeners probably know this, but alcohol will destroy your sleep quality. Like a glass of wine will just destroy that. um That is huge. The other thing really for me that does make a difference is um not electronics, but work.
00:20:53
Speaker
So if I did have my laptop up and I was doing work work, um I do see the impact of that in my sleep. I did not see the impact. Like if my husband and I were watching a movie or things like that, it didn't seem to change the quality of my sleep.
00:21:06
Speaker
So I think that's just like a way I was unwinding occasionally, not every night. Cause it's not good to have electronics before bed. Right. But work is more cortisol driven. And if you go to the cortisol curve, what are the things we need to do at bedtime to improve sleep quality?
00:21:21
Speaker
And it's very simple. It's we need to keep cortisol very low to naturally make melatonin, which is critical for the deep sleep. I mean, go into the path of physiology ah as much or as little as we want. But it's for me, alcohol and working at bedtime were like the biggest things.
00:21:36
Speaker
And then you know doing anything fun, hydrating. My thing I do every single night. So I don't have data based on this. My team makes fun of me. And they're like, that's your self-care. And I was like, yeah, it kind of is. um I do my spa showers. And so I'm a big sauna person. So my 12-minute workouts that I do, I then get in the sauna and And then I do a spa shower.
00:21:58
Speaker
It's horrible. I work in the sauna. And that's how i been able to consistently do that. I know that's not great. But it's what works for me. And then I do my spa shower. And so I just do a steam shower. And I put essential oils at the bottom.
00:22:10
Speaker
And I use it as a time to kind of slow down my breathing and unwind for the day. And my spa shower is what symbolizes no more work. So I am done working. I'm done opening my laptop, checking emails on my phone.
00:22:23
Speaker
I'm slowing down my breath. And I'm kind of unwinding for the day. And I found that peppermint and lavender, to me, they just like are the so they're the best. I just like feel calmer. i feel ready to go to bed. And that's kind of my nighttime routine.
Preparing the Mind for Rest
00:22:37
Speaker
There's something to these mental triggers, right? Like ah you Bob Bauman, the coach for Lionel Machan, and prior to that, Michael Phelps, he talked about the routine Phelps had of the music. He knew the playlist he had what he was going to wear, the steps he was going to take. He'd been through it all.
00:22:53
Speaker
And it just triggers the brain, hey I'm going to set up to win. And we know, ah believe the most powerful sense for memory is smell. I can't remember if it was Schopenhauer or somebody would have these rotten apples as they were writing and and doing different things. And so that trigger of, oh, that peppermint, that lavender smell, your brain, your body, now, oh, that's time to shut down. That's time. And it that alone, I'd be curious how much that helped on sleep latency and and these other pieces of like, oh, now now I really get it.
00:23:22
Speaker
So can ask schedule-wise, does that mean your 12 minutes and sauna and spa shower are all after the kids are in bed? Like this is of the day? OK. Yes.
00:23:33
Speaker
And that's how I've been able to be consistent. So I go down. I do my 12-minute workout. I plug the sauna in because I have a sauna that takes a little bit to warm up. So I let it warm up in the 12 minutes. I have a second laptop that's half broken that I call my sauna laptop.
00:23:47
Speaker
So if it continues to break, I'm fine with it. So I bring my sauna laptop in. And I usually stay in the sauna for an hour. I'm like a sauna junkie. I feel amazing when I sauna. That like cellular detoxing, the degree of sweating.
00:24:00
Speaker
And I think part of it is because I mentioned my workouts are 12 minutes. I do sweat. But it's not the same as going for an hour run. sweating. And so the sauna has allowed me to kind of fill in that like cellular detoxing the sweating while still feeling like I can get organized with my day and answer emails and all of that sort of thing.
00:24:17
Speaker
um And then you're so sweaty, the first thing you have to do is shower. And I got to kind of tidy up my day with the laptop and the sauna. So I'm done. Like there's no more opening the laptop after that. And then it's the shower and the essential oils.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah, you know, there's been a big thing in recent years. You can't multitask. The the human brain doesn't work for multitasking. And that that is true on what we may do on a screen. but like I can't have a conversation with you and engage and then be writing an email. I'm just really context switching constantly and and doing both poorly.
00:24:48
Speaker
But there's a different thing of combining, right? So there's this movement on social fitness of, I know when we first met, at that time you didn't have kids, and the weekend, it wasn't just that you would go in and get your workouts, you would do it with your husband. This was time we got together, and so it was at the social aspect plus the fitness.
00:25:06
Speaker
And this, hey, the sauna, it's it's increasing my BDNF, like I can do all this and get my sweat in, and I can wrap my day and start this mental process. So... Combining like that you can multitask. Would you say that's fair to say?
00:25:20
Speaker
For sure. And I think it's because I'm actually, when I'm not in the sauna, more likely to multitask than when I'm in the sauna. Because now I feel like I'm doing something beneficial for me and I'm focused at the work I'm doing.
00:25:30
Speaker
When I'm upstairs trying to work, I'm like doing laundry at the same time. I'm like stopping and folding things. like I'm in the sauna for an hour and probably more focused than in other times. And we use the term, and you guys have probably heard this, we didn't come up with it, but habit stacking.
Habit Stacking Techniques
00:25:43
Speaker
And so for me, this concept of habit stacking is critical in my life.
00:25:48
Speaker
Like if I didn't have a way of stacking these healthy behaviors onto what I need to do or want to do, they would not happen on a daily basis. So I just want to go back to that. You sit in the sauna for an hour?
00:25:59
Speaker
Yeah, I do. I would sit for like two hours. Like literally if I ever am down there for too long, my husband will start texting me and he's like, Kristen, get out of the sauna. Like get out. I told you I'm sauna junkie. Like I am like a snake. If I could live in like a desert and 120 degrees and go for an afternoon run,
00:26:17
Speaker
Like, love it. i But I know a lot of the listeners here or people that you've had on there are into the data on cold plunging and the research behind that. I love the research on cold plunging.
00:26:28
Speaker
I physically cannot cold plunge. Like i cannot handle the cold. Like i it the cortisol release to think of getting in that, like it's just not healthy for... Like I just can't. So I'm trying to figure out how to get some of that cold in my life because...
00:26:41
Speaker
you can't run this hot all the time, right? I like hot drinks. I like hot food. i like a hot sauna. I like to exercise. I'm like, I know that my temperature is dysregulated, right? Our Ayurvedic listeners are just having a conniption right now. Yes. Oh, I'm sure.
00:26:56
Speaker
But it's like that it If you ask me what is the worst thing in the world, it's to be cold to the bone. Like I get nauseous. It's this visceral response. So for all of you cold plungers out there, there is so much data to support it. And I wish I was there with you, but I'm not. You'll see me in the sauna for an hour and running in the heat of the day, but you will probably never see me in a cold plunge.
00:27:14
Speaker
What is the temperature of the sauna? So mine only gets to 140. um So a lot of infrareds will go up to 160. So mine's 140. And the reason I plug it in is because if I don't plug it in for my 12-minute workout, it will take me about the first 20 minutes to start getting a good sweat.
00:27:31
Speaker
And so then I have the other 40. But when I do the 12 minutes, and it only takes me about 8 minutes because I've also pre-sweat for my 12-minute workout, you know, got my body temperature up. It's stacking. Yeah. Yeah. Stacking. Exactly. um So that that's how I do it. And and do you cold plunge?
00:27:47
Speaker
I do when I can. Right. So like last week I was at a friend's in Atlanta. He had a cold plunge as part of the workout. We we jumped in at the end. When I was in Finland, I did the you know the sauna on the lake and then jump in the ice lake um where it's cut out. It's like below freezing.
00:28:02
Speaker
And so I like it. the When I live in Bermuda in the winter, I figure, you know, 60 to 80 minutes of swimming in that water Honestly, feels way colder. The temperature is not absolutely cold like a cold plunge.
00:28:16
Speaker
But I can tell you, I get all over cold plunge in five minutes, right? Like back warm. After those swims, it's seven hours. Like I'm in woolen socks, hoodies. I worked with people in Minnesota. And in the winter, they look like normal. And I've just all wrapped up because I'm cold for the next eight hours from the amount of time. And you're putting out so much body heat when you're swimming in the ocean like that.
00:28:40
Speaker
um So I like both, right? My ideal would be, and I've never had them next each other, is that 25, right? where And that's what I was doing in Finland, where you can just bounce and get the flush both ways. yeah That would be my ideal situation.
00:28:58
Speaker
I've tried to warm up with a cold shower because I've had so many people tell me that their mental clarity is so much better. Like my patients cold plunge all the time. And they're like, you will never sleep deeper. They like are advocates for it.
00:29:08
Speaker
So like, okay, going to try like a cold shower for like two seconds. Even that I'm like, it negatively impacts my sleep because the thought of that cold shower is just, yeah. So maybe again, next time I'll be working out longer and figuring out some temperature balancing in my life. Yeah.
00:29:23
Speaker
Maybe, but I mean, this is again, finding what works for you. our whole point is, it doesn't matter. You go to PubMed and say, hey, here are the 20 top things. You know, one to seven don't matter if you're not going to do them.
00:29:35
Speaker
Right. Number eight is the number one thing for you. If that's something you'll actually do and stick with, because that's going to have the impact. The first seven aren't. You may try for a day or a week and then you'll stop or you never get started to say, okay, I'm not going to do anything.
00:29:46
Speaker
So it's all about finding what works for you. and And I like how you do it with giving the grace to yourself on the season of life. Like, hey, look, when before I had my own business, when I was someone else's employee and I had no kids, I was running a marathon. I was doing all this.
00:30:01
Speaker
Then when I was a building a business with no kid, then I was doing this. And now I have two kids and here's what I'm doing. And it's not a one and done for all time. This is the right answer. It's the right answer for me now and keeping that open.
00:30:12
Speaker
Well, think this goes back to what such a core value for me is, like that purpose and the happiness and setting those expectations on myself and failing negatively impacted my happiness.
00:30:25
Speaker
So how do i change that to continue to propel happiness and purpose? Like I had to, right? like I can't be disappointed in myself every day that I didn't meet the expectation of what I wanted to do.
00:30:37
Speaker
So that's kind of how it stemmed was through the lens of a core value to me is happiness and purpose and quality of life. And if anything interferes with that, I need to readjust it. Yeah. And so I'd love to talk about about that mindset and stress management. And some part of it is that social connection, right? The balance with the cortisol is the oxytocin you're getting from the social connection.
00:30:58
Speaker
ah Part is having that grace. Part is the exercises of knowing where I want to go and putting the steps in place. But kind of on a day-to-day, week-to-week, are there any tools? Are there any practices you incorporate to to build that equanimity and maintain it?
00:31:13
Speaker
So one of... So first of all, I think my mindset is there is always more to be done. There's always a fire. And so like I just say, let the fires burn.
Self-Care Before Helping Others
00:31:21
Speaker
And I know it's a cheesiest statement, but like we all have to put our oxygen mask on first. I'm not a good mom, a wife, a leader, if my oxygen mask is not on first.
00:31:29
Speaker
So I come at this from the lens of like, I drop the ball all the time. I have so many things in my inbox. If I focus on all the things I... how I'm letting people down. Like I couldn't sleep at night, right? But instead I focus on, you know, why am I making that conscious decision? And it's my oxygen mask, right? So I just want people to know that's kind of the lens.
00:31:45
Speaker
What my new thing of 2024 is that I evaluated is I had no moments, zero moments of non-productive stillness and until 2024, zero. like zero So I evaluated and it doesn't mean that I wasn't doing things for me, but it was always with the purpose of benefiting myself. It was always productive.
00:32:04
Speaker
So it was reading a book about becoming better. It is listening to podcasts about becoming better. It is putting essential oils in the shower and focusing on my breath, being intentional with my breathing, right? Every single thing I did was beneficial or, ah a thing I committed to a party or work or patient notes. Right.
00:32:23
Speaker
And so I thought about like, we, you probably have heard the saying, but we're human beings. We're not human doers. And I started to think about, well, what does my life look like? I am 24 seven doing now. It's not bad. Right. But where is the being?
00:32:37
Speaker
And so in 2024, I, so my new thing was, I've got to figure out how to be present. I've got to figure out how to be okay with doing nothing. And if anybody listening is like me, that is like the hardest thing to ever do is to be okay with sitting and doing nothing. And so I created this stillness practice.
00:32:57
Speaker
And in January, it was one minute. Like I was like, I am literally just going to sit on this chair for a minute. And I'm just gonna like see what happens. And I did not say like, you're going to breathe this way. You're going to do this. Like i was just sitting.
00:33:09
Speaker
Like I just had to sit. I couldn't be on my phone. I couldn't read. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't write in a gratitude journal. You know, that's still doing something. Right. And so then I built up the time to three minutes, to five minutes, to 10 minutes. That's kind of where I'm at now.
00:33:22
Speaker
and And so how long in these jumps? So how long did you give yourself at one? Because I think the steps are also really important. Well, I found the one minute like pretty quickly. Kristen, you can do more than that. So the one minute was like a week.
00:33:34
Speaker
And then it like turned to 3 minutes. And then I did that for a couple weeks. And then it turned to 5 minutes. And then it started to become harder because like my kids would wake up or something would happen. So like the 5 to 10-minute jump was much longer.
00:33:46
Speaker
And then trying to figure out where to fit that in. And this also goes with... I also said it's not going to happen every day. like I try to do this at 6am. But my kid might wake up at... six 6 or 5.45 or 5.30. So it's also just like, you know what? I intentionally made the decision to add stillness in my life. And that's enough.
00:34:03
Speaker
The intentional decision, it's not perfect. But I will tell you, starting your day with nothing, like absolutely nothing, is where you get most of your answers. I always say like a lot of the things are inside of us, but we don't take the time to just sit there and just like b And so your mind is going, there's no way to turn your mind on off as you're practicing stillness. So you're still thinking, you're kind of grounding. And it's just been amazing to me. Like after that time, some of the clarity that just comes up or like some of the things I'm like, Oh shoot, I hadn't thought about in that in while. I need to reach out to so-and-so it's just like giving yourself the space to be in your own thoughts.
00:34:41
Speaker
And, I was not doing that, I think, my entire life. like If you ask me like my entire life, I was not a sit on the patio and just stare type person. Can I ask some specifics on the mechanics?
00:34:53
Speaker
So one, where are you doing this? Is it inside? Is it outside? So inside, um I'd love to bring it outside, but it's literally, i have a sitting area right next to my bed and I sleep on that side of the bed.
00:35:04
Speaker
So I like literally like wake up and I sit on the chair. This is like before I've even like taken my electrolytes, I've hydrated, I've done anything else. And I just kind of like wake up and just kind of sit with myself.
00:35:15
Speaker
And again, like I have zero expectations for anything. like It's just to be still. And that, I think, has kind of helped me. I'm hyperactive, first of all. I definitely have ADHD. I don't take any medicine for it.
00:35:27
Speaker
I'm very hyperactive. I run very hot. like You guys are probably like seeing some of these things from this episode already. like i It's allowed me to take a step back in so many other places in my life. right like The act of just being present...
00:35:44
Speaker
then allows you when you're in conversations, instead of trying to skip to the next thing or interrupt the person, it's a lesson of, okay, I'm here. Like I'm just still. And i I honestly believe it's helped me connect deeper with my patients because I started running more and more behind this year.
00:36:00
Speaker
Yeah. So on that, I would like to highlight for listener, and this is, this is whether you call it meditation, whatever it is, the the benefit and the point is not the five or 10 minutes.
Impact of Stillness
00:36:11
Speaker
It's what you then take when you get off the cushion, out of the chair, to that presence in your life, to that noticing in your life.
00:36:19
Speaker
And that's the the cascading benefit. So the the other question, because you say your your mind's running, all these things are coming through. You you want to remember certain things like, hey, it pops in. I don't want to lose it again.
00:36:29
Speaker
Do you keep a notepad near you or anything like any way to get that so you don't lose it? No. No, not till after. Because I felt like if I was journaling, I'm still setting expectations for myself. The time period, I do absolutely nothing. When the time is off, like I have an alarm. like So at 10 minutes, I just like sit there and I know I don't have to worry about what time it is because it's going to alert me.
00:36:49
Speaker
So then once I'm like out of it, if there's something that's still lingering in my mind, I then jot it down on my phone. I have like a note section. And so I'll just set it on there as like a reminder to like go back and think about or if there's an act I want to do or if a person...
00:37:03
Speaker
A lot of times, honestly, it's a person that pops into my mind. like I just like sit there and I'm like, I need to check in on them. And I found that those moments... It's like very interesting. like A lot of those people have needed me to check in on them. like it's It's just... kind of like I get kind of goosebumps when I think about it. of like When you just allow the stillness, the domino effect it has on all of these other pillars.
00:37:24
Speaker
Because you also start to realize when you're sitting there... like you know what? I haven't gone on a date with my husband in a long time. So then you get out of that and you're like, Cam, we haven't been on a date in 3 weeks.
00:37:35
Speaker
I'm going book a babysitter. like We need to go. like it's It's not even this like super deep, profound thing. Sometimes it is. But it's just this awareness in your life that...
00:37:46
Speaker
you have zero expectations because I've done the meditation. Like I've done the meditation. That became something that I felt like i was following rules. I had certain breathing I wanted to do. i had certain things. And so I don't even count that in the stillness because to me, stillness is zero expectations and doing nothing.
00:38:03
Speaker
Like nothing. And so, but you're exactly right. It's the after effect. That is what I think has been so impactful for me. And that that really summarizes the difference between Westerners and Easterners meditating of Westerners meditate for the effect. Like, hey, I'm doing this for this reason versus like the whole point is that stillness.
00:38:23
Speaker
So it was only the mindset you were taking to meditation that made it that. That's not really what is. You're just sitting there. You're exactly right. But it's that, it's like this deeper issue of like high performing and am I doing this well enough?
Meditation: East vs. West
00:38:36
Speaker
You know? yeah And I think that's such the problem with a lot of people that go into this mindset of like, well, i I meditated, but I thought about this the whole time. So I didn't get into the meditation or my heart rate didn't lower enough as I meditated that I hoped for it. These are things I said to myself and you're right. That's not what Easterners, that's not part of, it's such an intricate part of who they are and their culture.
00:38:58
Speaker
that I just like admire. And I looked at, for me, how all of these things became to-do list and I wasn't doing them well enough. or you know So think it's so... If any of the listeners are listening into this as far as... You don't have to do all of these different things.
00:39:16
Speaker
But thinking about where is the place that you're you have the most room for growth And I think starting there with the smallest thing. like Maybe you're like me and you're like, I have never sat in a chair for a minute and not done something productive.
00:39:30
Speaker
I promise you, if you start there, it's going to domino effect. And my favorite saying is a Tanzanian proverb that is little by little, a little becomes a lot. And it is that step. It's the little bit that makes a difference over time. And I think that's why Stout Wellness has grown so much because we meet our patients where they're at and we give them that hope that it will make a difference over time.
00:39:53
Speaker
It will. You just have to take the step.
Nutrition and Health
00:39:56
Speaker
Exactly. Right. And then then build build on each other. So you touched on, hey, I do this even before I take my electrolytes. So as someone in the functional health world, what what does your nutrition stack look like in terms of meals and real food timing as well as things you supplement into it?
00:40:13
Speaker
OK, so I, again, kind of real life, um electrolytes is like an every morning must do. Like, I really feel a difference. I've been doing that for years and I always will. um Before that, it was lemon water. I feel better with electrolytes. It literally energizes me. I love coffee and I still drink coffee.
00:40:31
Speaker
i don't need coffee. Like the electrolytes, like I am like I can feel a difference in my brain. I also will add trace minerals into them just because like if you do filtered water and things like that, a lot of the minerals are taken out. So electrolytes and trace minerals are the first thing. And that's like 24 ounces. Like I just try to drink as much water as I can first thing in the morning.
00:40:50
Speaker
The last like year or so there's been a little bit of talk in functional medicine. So my morning routine has changed a bit. ah used to then drink coffee like right away. I'm now starting to try to delay my coffee until I eat food.
00:41:02
Speaker
um And I have noticed a difference with that. I do think it makes a difference. and A lot of my patients have too. We don't have meta-analysis on any of that. But I do feel you can experiment and see if you feel better.
00:41:13
Speaker
So electrolytes are really big for me. My breakfast is really my favorite breakfast to do. And I do this most days, even in winter, is a really big smoothie. I feel like if I skim on my nutrition later in the day, that at least I started with spinach and kale and berries and nuts. And like, I tracked the macronutrients in my smoothie one time. And I'm starting my day with a 700 calorie smoothie.
00:41:36
Speaker
Like it is not low calorie at all, which when I was like looking at other phases of my life, trying to tweak body composition, i was like, this is a 700 calorie smoothie. But I believe nutrition is Yeah, it's nutrient dense calories, right? Because you can get those same 700 calories without any real nutrients in it. And so this is a very purposeful 700 calories you're throwing out.
00:41:57
Speaker
Yes. And sometimes when I go with patients, if I'm running behind, my lunch might not happen at the exact time I'd like it to happen. So I also get all of those calories, all of those nutrients for my brain health. So I usually drink that as I get ready. Then on my way to work is usually when I have a coffee or when I get to the office.
00:42:12
Speaker
um The team knows I like the organic coffee. They have a machine in the basement, blah, blah, blah, blah. blah um So then I have my coffee. Lately, this year, what I've done that has really made a big difference in my lunch quality... Have you heard of thistle meals?
00:42:25
Speaker
um So I've done a lot of meals, but this is by far my favorite. They're plant forward. So you have to add animal products if you want it. It's a total vegan company, but you can add animal proteins if you want them. They deliver it twice a week because it's so fresh. It's like these huge salads and each of their salads probably has...
00:42:46
Speaker
15 different plants on it, which if I'm sure you've seen the research that 30 different plants per week is really when people tend to have best longevity. We know plant diversity is is very helpful.
00:42:58
Speaker
And so this has helped me get a really big salad with tons. They all have 9 to 10 grams of fiber, and they have 20 grams of plant-based protein. and if you add animal, 30. um And they're in a salad.
00:43:10
Speaker
You just open them up and eat them. Yes, they're in plastic. That's not ideal. i reach I reach out to them to get like a bamboo container. They're working on it. They said the problem is with all the vegetables they do, it gets soggy.
00:43:21
Speaker
And so they have not found a solution for that yet. But I highly suggest thistle. I think it's if you're really crammed on time. And then my husband, he cooks dinner and we're very basic with dinner. It's like a protein, a vegetable and a grain.
00:43:34
Speaker
It's really, really simple. And he's a great cook. So it's always delicious. But big smoothie in the morning, tons of calories, tons of nutrients. This little salad is my new norm that I love. And then my husband cooks dinner.
00:43:46
Speaker
You've mentioned protein a couple of times. Do you add protein to that morning smoothie? I do. i am We're really big into protein right now. I feel like in our culture, we are.
00:43:56
Speaker
Now, this doesn't mean that we need to be having... like I have people come in that are trying to get 250 grams of protein. like There is definitely a point where I feel like it is excess... But protein has been really helpful based on research to keep you full longer, to help you build muscle. um And to me, muscle is one of the core components. Like muscle is your greatest asset as you age.
00:44:15
Speaker
So a lot of, as you can see, like I'm still trying to maintain my muscle. I mentioned that earlier. I'm trying to get enough protein to maintain my muscle. It all goes back to the role that plays in our health span, our ability to get up off the ground, right? Some basic things, keep metabolic health and blood sugar balance.
00:44:31
Speaker
So yes, I add protein. I go back and forth. I do like a whey protein. I have no issue with dairy and whey is 100% bioavailable. So you just absorb it really well. And there was some research I was reading, especially with pregnancy on helping with glutathione levels that I really liked because glutathione is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body that helps with cellular rejuvenation, specifically in the liver and the
The Role of Supplements
00:44:52
Speaker
lungs.
00:44:52
Speaker
So if there's any way to optimize that, I'm like, yes. um So I do an unflavored whey is probably my favorite. What brand? So it depends on which one. I like the raw, um raw way that's from New Zealand. And it's in like a brown paper bag. um And you can buy it on Amazon. It has like zero flavor and you just add it in. It's super easy. We use thorn products.
00:45:12
Speaker
So I will occasionally use like they have a chocolate and a vanilla if I... like ah I like a chocolate dark cherry smoothie that sometimes I'll do and my kids like it too. um But a lot of those smoothies when you get them, they just have a lot more ingredients than I love. like I like to get more from food.
00:45:26
Speaker
um Same thing. like I really like cachava if I'm doing a plant-based because I kind of alternate. But even that, it just has so many ingredients. So a lot of times I'll just do like a organic hemp seed protein powder or a pumpkin seed protein powder And I like Sprout Living and Nativa.
00:45:42
Speaker
Those are some ones I will use that are great. But i I tend to rotate a lot. And I think part of the reason for that is they all have slightly different nutrients in them. And we also know in functional medicine, when we eat the exact same thing every day, you can start to develop some sensitivities over time.
00:46:00
Speaker
depending on your gut microbiome and your gut lining. So diversity is good for all of us, but I go between a whey and a plant-based, and I can also say send you send you those exact ones if any of the listeners are open. Yeah, and you said you use Thorne products. I guess you meant for your practice, but I assume also personally. So do you... do you Like, I just started Thorne glutathione.
00:46:19
Speaker
Do you supplement with extra glutathione or... So I have not seen good experience with oral glutathione. Personally, we do more IV glutathione. It's by no means harmful. I just don't know if it has that same glutathione boost that intravenous does. So we do a push.
00:46:35
Speaker
And then we do a lot of oral NAC, which is NAC, which is the precursor of glutathione. And we tend to hear better results from our patients with that. Again, we don't have much great research. Thorne might have more than I'm aware of.
00:46:47
Speaker
But yes, I love Thorne. And then we use Fullscript. They have been amazing. They're a dispensary that has all um third-party tested, high-quality supplements. And as medical providers, we can use specific brands like Orthomolecular, Metagenics,
00:47:02
Speaker
um in a grade of therapeutics that you should get from a medical practitioner. If anybody's selling them on Amazon is doing them illegally. So they're probably not good quality. ah But yeah, Fullscript is great.
00:47:14
Speaker
So what do you personally take? So we talked some protein. We talked to electrolytes. What else do you supplement with? Magnesium. um I think probably just because of my lifestyle and how hot I run and maybe my muscles are tight, I burn through magnesium.
00:47:29
Speaker
And a lot of people do. A lot of people have estimated that 80% of America is deficient on magnesium and it plays a role in over 500 processes in our body. So I have taken magnesium throughout my whole life.
00:47:40
Speaker
I have to take it during the day. Which form? So magnesium glycinate is my preference because it doesn't impact the gut and it tends to have better absorption. And it's really good for muscular health, brain health.
00:47:52
Speaker
There are some other forms of magnesium that are great, too, that we use. But that's my favorite for 99% my patients. But I have the opposite effect with magnesium. So I can't take it at night. It like wires me. And I've had ah like three other patients over my like decade long that have had the same response. So it is definitely rare. i kind of go back to the ADHD side that the calming things have the opposite effect.
00:48:14
Speaker
So I do a magnesium glycinate powder in the electrolytes in the morning. And Thorin has a really good one. The magnesium bisglycinate powder. I will take an omega-3 probably for the rest of my life. Omega-3s, the hard part is when you live in America, we get so many omega-6s and not enough omega-3s.
00:48:34
Speaker
So we can be so intentional and eat salmon and ground flaxseed and chia seeds and walnuts and flax oil. But like if you ever go out to eat, there's so much omega-6s. if you ever open a bag at all for crackers, whatever it may be, even if they're organic and they're gluten free, like there's so much sunflower oil, all of these different things.
00:48:51
Speaker
um And I monitor my omega three levels. And if I don't take a fish oil, I cannot get them high enough, like even eating all those things. And I put ground flaxseed and chia seeds in my smoothies every day. I snack on walnuts. I eat salmon a couple of times a week.
00:49:04
Speaker
So I just, I need omega threes and most of America does. So that's another thing that I supplement all the time. yeah, These are kind of obvious, I'm sure. But vitamin D is something I take summer and winter.
00:49:14
Speaker
When i I never, ever get sick, if I'm ever off my vitamin D for months on end is when I'll end up getting a cold. And I'm like, I haven't been taking my vitamin d So omega-3s, magnesium, vitamin D, for me and like 90% of my patients, those are things that most Americans need um that I take. The other things I supplement in, depending on what's going on in life and how my labs look,
00:49:36
Speaker
So surprisingly, I like have never had cortisol issues. I like monitor that so closely because every single person's like, Kristen, like you've been working, you work all like you're going to get burned out You're going to get burned out is what everybody tells me.
00:49:47
Speaker
And so I do saliva testing like all the time to watch my cortisol curve. And to this day... I've never had a cortisol imbalance. Like it just like has this beautiful curve. And I tell people, I think it's like the way people are wired.
00:50:00
Speaker
Like, I don't know if you believe in this too, but I think there's people that just like, we we don't have the physiological response to the outside stress in our world. And i can you can handle stress.
00:50:12
Speaker
This has been a big conversation with my daughter for years, but especially kind of last month or two of there's not good or bad, right? Something happens and then we create the story around it.
00:50:22
Speaker
So there are a lot of people from the outside are like, oh my God, that seems like so much, right? Their cortisol levels go up hearing your story. Whereas your story for you is it's exciting. I'm good. And so you think about when a lion is chasing a gazelle,
00:50:38
Speaker
Physiologically, the heart rate's the same all Their muscles are tense, everything. But I bet one of them has higher cortisol levels than the other because there's a very different story being told about what's going on.
00:50:49
Speaker
And so I think because you're crafting it, you have the agency. The story is just so different. Yes. Yes. And i think that's important to kind of evaluate. And this is where we talk about like, don't do what your neighbor is doing, right? That's not you. We're all as unique as a fingerprint. And like, that is a message everybody should hear a thousand times. Like, and you talk about this, what works for me may not work for you. Right.
00:51:11
Speaker
And I think there's a lot of comparison in the United States. I hear this a lot. And it's always like, well, let's take a deep look at like, what actually works
Personalized Health Choices
00:51:20
Speaker
for you? How do you feel good?
00:51:21
Speaker
Like I have people that are like, I feel so good um on a vegan diet, but I'm getting a lot of pressure to eat animal products. And I'm like, let's eat a vegan diet. I can show you 30 articles right now of why a vegan diet is great, right? and then I work with someone else and they're like, I can't go a meal without an animal protein. Like I can tell a difference and starved an hour later.
00:51:38
Speaker
Let's eat animal proteins, right? Like, I think that this thought that there's a like one size fits all lifestyle is just absurd. And that's what we also do is we look at patients labs, we meet them where they're at, and we kind of figure out what is the best path for them. And that's the same things that I do, right? Like, I was vegan for nine years, and loved it. It worked for me for a season.
00:51:59
Speaker
And then it started not working for me. And then I started adding in some animal products. I like to say I'm a flexitarian, right? Like I just, I kind of you what my body needs. And so There's not a right or wrong answer in any of this. All right. So you do a lot. You've covered a lot.
00:52:13
Speaker
um If you had to pick five must-haves, I feel like you already mentioned a lot of these, but electrolytes, I would take them on an island with me. My sauna, I would take with me. That's a must have.
00:52:25
Speaker
um One that we have not talked about, which you kind of will probably think this is crazy. We haven't talked about it. I am a big advocate for LDN, which is low dose naltrexone. I'm like probably taking it totally off topic, but I would take that with me. I'm a huge proponent. It is by prescription and it is compounded.
00:52:42
Speaker
We can go into that, but that is like, I will take that with me to a deserted island. Can I bring a barbell? Can I bring a barbell? Yeah, yeah absolutely. bring a barbell A barbell is definitely like I have to have a barbell like that.
00:52:54
Speaker
And then I would say my last one is probably an interesting one, but I would have to have some form of music. Like one of my must haves is music because if I'm ever and I actually don't get in bad moods that often, but the thing that will get me out of a bad mood the fastest is not always a workout or a sauna or ah a spa shower music.
00:53:14
Speaker
Music and me, it is like a way to totally transform how I feel. So I would say electrolytes, a barbell, Aldean, my sauna and music would be my five must haves for the rest of my life.
00:53:27
Speaker
Amazing. And for somebody you listening to this, it's look, five five is even a lot for me. oh What's the one step you would recommend for somebody to get started? In my 2024 self, my one step would be sit with yourself. like Sit with yourself because you know.
00:53:44
Speaker
You know what is the best next step
Self-Discovery and Balance
00:53:47
Speaker
for you. You just might not be taking enough time to figure it out. So my my advice is just give yourself the space and sit with yourself.
00:53:57
Speaker
And also be honest with yourself. Because I think there's a lot of times we're doing things that don't serve us well. And we don't take the time to recognize it or make some of those tough decisions.
00:54:08
Speaker
Whether it's a toxic job for you, whether it's a toxic relationship, whether it's this thing you've been doing because everybody around you is doing it. you know just My advice is sit with yourself.
00:54:19
Speaker
And we've talked about all of this, right? For Healthspan, Healthspan, Healthspan. But the the point of Healthspan is to also enjoy the life that we're living. What would be your, or is your one guilty, or it may be totally guilt-free, but kind of thing.
00:54:34
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. I love a martini. i really love a martini. And I know like there is so much research and more and more coming out about the negative effects of alcohol in our health.
00:54:45
Speaker
The cancer correlations, the sleep correlations, like it is very prevalent. But my husband and I, on a Friday night, like we will make a martini at home. We try different gins. We sit on the patio. This is a night that I don't do my 12-minute workout and get in sauna. i usually fit it in before the bedtime.
00:55:01
Speaker
And I'm the crazy neighbor that's in the front yard doing kettlebells for my 12 minutes while the kids are running around the neighbors. like That's me. um They make fun of me all the time and send videos. But yeah, I think for me, that is my guilty pleasure. And I actually had a conversation with our staff. And I said, okay I've been honest with myself. If I gave up that martini, you know or we'll just say alcohol in general, let's say I could have 5 more years of life.
00:55:25
Speaker
Let's say I'd live from 95 instead of 90. Would I make that conscious decision to stop drinking today? And you know I decided myself, like no, we have some of the best conversations. We relax.
00:55:38
Speaker
I am not promoting alcohol, by the way. like We know it's bad for us. But that is a conscious decision that I know is not good for me, that I still enjoy. And therere there's so much to that routine for us.
00:55:49
Speaker
I think that's an important place as we wrap in that longevity really is those two components, the lifespan, adding those years at the end, as well as the healthspan, adding the life to the years that we have as we go.
Life Enjoyment vs. Health Maintenance
00:56:01
Speaker
And there's a reason this show and Alively everything, we really focus on the former because the issue we're facing in today's society is not that you're going to die, right? Like the issue is, no, we have amazing ways to keep you alive. There are all sorts of machines in everything, but the quality of your life in those latter years is really, really hampered if you're not doing some of these macros well.
00:56:24
Speaker
And so find the things, whether it's martini, whether it's chocolate ice cream, whatever it is, that you get in to enjoy it and then do the things to make sure you enjoy it the whole time. Yes, that's exactly right. And I do have some patients that they will drink a glass of wine and they feel hungover the next day. They didn't sleep well.
00:56:42
Speaker
And that bleeds into their quality of life. Right. So like sometimes my recommendation is like, is that glass of wine worth it if you feel horrible the next day and you didn't sleep at all? So you have to also think about these guilty pleasures. Do they bleed into the quality of life for you on the other days?
00:56:56
Speaker
Because I would not be making the same decision if that were the case. Yeah. I mean, it's it's not my thing, but like, it's finding your thing. Like we're each allowed to have our thing. Mine is never sugar. Like never, ever. I can go my entire life. I have zero sweet tooth. I never need sugar. I never need anything like that.
00:57:12
Speaker
And then can I say just one positive guilty pleasure? great Traveling. Like that is like, that is the only thing my husband and I will spend money on. Like we will spend money on travel. Um, because when you see the world, you realize how small we really are. Right. Right.
00:57:27
Speaker
When you see more of the world and the different cultures and the different people and the way they interact with each other, like you start to realize, okay, I am one person in this world.
Travel for Perspective
00:57:38
Speaker
My situation, my issue, what I'm complaining about, like this is so small in the grand scheme of things. And so that is my like guilty pleasure that is healthy that we will always do no matter what.
00:57:50
Speaker
Well, you should. Well, Kristen, this has been amazing. I know how busy every day is for you. And I'm so grateful you took the time to to carve out all of this to share with me and share with our listeners.
00:58:02
Speaker
Absolutely. I love this. And hopefully you guys got something out of this, like one thing you can start implementing. Because, you know, again, that's my my purpose is to provide impact. And um anything you do, any single thing you do tomorrow to make yourself a little bit better is moving in the right direction.
00:58:17
Speaker
Well, thank you. Until next time. Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home of Healthspan podcast. Remember, you can always find the products, practices, and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other healthspan role models on Alively.com.
00:58:33
Speaker
Enjoy a lively day.