Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Work from Home Blues Beaten with Jadyn Hailey - E32 image

Work from Home Blues Beaten with Jadyn Hailey - E32

E32 · Home of Healthspan
Avatar
28 Plays3 months ago

Feeling overwhelmed by remote working? Struggling to get back to a healthy work-life balance? 


For the last five years, as working from home has become more common, lots of people find themselves feeling isolated, and even more stressed and burnt out than before. 


The lack of social interaction is taking a toll, leaving people feeling emotionally drained and struggling to maintain a balance between their work and personal lives. In this episode, we explore how establishing routines that prioritize both wellness and social connection can be a gamechanger. Understanding the importance of morning and night routines, efficient stress management, and valuable social interactions can be key to rejuvenating your mind, body, and spirit to live a more vibrant, healthy life.


Jadyn Hailey is a health and wellness content creator and podcast host, whose approach encompasses mind, body, and soul. Focused on preventing burnout and integrating wellness into daily life, Jadyn shares her thoughtful routines and practices aimed at maximizing health and personal fulfillment. Through personal exploration, she has crafted a balanced lifestyle emphasizing consistency over perfection. Jadyn actively engages with her audience, including on her hit podcast, ‘Busy Yet Pretty’, to inspire improved well-being, drawing on her own experience of overcoming gut health challenges and embracing holistic wellness. Her insights into mindful living and social connection are particularly resonant, making her a valued figure in health optimization discussions.


“I decided not to try to aim for perfection when going on this wellness journey, but instead try to aim for consistency.” - Jadyn Hailey


In this episode you will learn:

  • How and why Jadyn emphasizes the importance of balancing morning and night routines for optimal wellness and productivity.
  • The significance of starting your day positively with practices like journaling and meditation, which can enhance performance and make for a goal-fueled day.
  • Jadyn's approach to preventing burnout, including the role of breaks and mindful breathing during the day.
  • The impact of evening habits on morning energy levels and how Jadyn approaches sleep hygiene for better rest.
  • Jadyn's nutritional regimen, and the role of a balanced diet in maintaining energy and wellness.
  • The importance of social connections and how working from a café or having 'work dates' can enhance social interaction and feed the soul.



Resources

  • Connect with Jadyn on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadynhaileyy 
  • Listen to Jadyn’s podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/busy-yet-pretty/id1604034708
  • Shop all the products Jadyn mentions in this episode: https://alively.com/products/jadyn-hailey


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

The Role of Social Interaction in Mental Health

00:00:00
Speaker
For anyone who works for themselves, I extremely recommend getting that social time in. And it's hard because especially since like COVID and stuff, everyone has just been homebound and been used to that and being okay with that. And depression has risen drastically since then because everyone's used to staying home and we do need that for our soul. Again, like our mind and body we provide for in wellness, but what about our soul?

Introduction to HealthSpan Podcast

00:00:27
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.
00:00:41
Speaker
Jayden, hello. Andrew, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to talk about all things wellness today. I am excited to speak with you as well. It's been a long time coming. I've certainly been following your content. We've caught up, but I'm really excited to have you on the show.
00:00:57
Speaker
Because I think you you do such a good job thinking about it across the entire spectrum and truly model what not just theoretically living a healthy life can look like, but actually what it means to do it.
00:01:11
Speaker
and In that, i mean it it starts from the morning you when you wake up.

Morning Routines for Wellness

00:01:16
Speaker
can Can you share a little bit about your morning routine? For sure. so Wellness is a whole. Of course, it's not just one thing. You can't just take one supplement and be like, you know, check, done. I don't need to do anything else. Wellness starts from the morning you wake up to go to bed. It's how you live your lifestyle. and Honestly, I always say this, but your morning routine starts with your night routine. That's where everything really is connected so I even for my morning routine like today I got up I started my morning on a positive note and I feel like society has so much pressure on us to win win win and of course we want to achieve our goals and
00:01:54
Speaker
We want to get to the place of success that we want to be. But at the same time, we want to get the most out of our life. And which I think is very similar to what you say about your podcast and everything where we really want to get the most out of our life and not just how long can we live. So, of course, the mix of it both. But.
00:02:11
Speaker
I think it's really important to start your day off for you and not necessarily for work or for your career because everything in the end, it's you. So whether that's meditation in the morning or reading your favorite book, doing something away from necessarily work or career related thing can really help you perform the best in your careers and in your goals.
00:02:34
Speaker
So when you said you started this morning really positively, what was it that you did to make sure you had that you were controlling what's coming into your mind and and that intent?

Journaling and Meditation Benefits

00:02:44
Speaker
Definitely. I feel like I'm someone who I do as much as I can for wellness. But again, I'm realistic and I like to be realistic to other people. I don't have the time to journal five pages in the morning. But what I do have time for is a little journaling. And for that look, I use the ah five minute journal. Yeah. brand intelligent change my favorite journal because it takes literally three minutes in the morning and then two minutes in the evening but that little bit of gratitude and setting your intentions for the day can cause you to start your day on such a positive note
00:03:18
Speaker
And I feel like even something as simple as that is so helpful. Another thing I love to do is just try to meditate in the morning. Again, I don't have a lot of time in the morning, so it's not like I'm going to spend hours in the morning. If someone can do that, that's great. But personally, i I don't have the time for that. So for me, even if it's five to 15 minutes, that little bit adds up. And every single day, that little bit that you take for yourself in the morning will pay dividends in the future and how you perform for your work.
00:03:48
Speaker
It's so true. I read a book I can't remember some meditation or mindfulness, and the whole point was a single mindful breath in the day is infinitely better than zero. So don't set your bar so high of saying, hey, I can't do an hour, so I can't do anything. ah Just five minutes of that quiet, that stillness, that peace with yourself to set that tone. Do you use an app or how how do you meditate? How did you get into it?
00:04:14
Speaker
Yeah, so I've tried the calm app a few times. that I really enjoyed I've tried the open app, which is my current favorite. but Also, you can search up. There's free things like on YouTube or on Spotify and like guided meditations or if you just want to put music on and just, you know, zone out and meditate, it can be free and it doesn't have to always cost money, but there is really helpful ones like open and calm.
00:04:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's it's like so much else that we can get you can go play baseball or basketball for free, you whatever it is. um But having a professional coach, you're you're probably going to get better faster. And so the accreditation, these other things, if you can access some of that, I'm sure that helps. OK, yeah. So that that mindfulness, it sounds like you you really start your day with it. You have the journal, you have the meditation, you try to get in. And even at night, you bookend the day, you get that extra two minutes.

Daily Breaks to Manage Stress

00:05:06
Speaker
Is there anything during the day that you kind of step back and say, okay, you know, my my mindset, maybe I'm getting a little stressed right now, I'm going to do this breath work or anything like that? So, for instance, ah again, it's prevention before the problem. It's like burn out. And we and that's something especially in today's day and age, ah we all are burning out. There's too much stress on us. And there's way too much stress for us to handle. And we're we don't even realize how stressed we are until we realize, oh, I'm burnt out. And you want to avoid that. And of course, sometimes it's unavoidable. and We didn't realize how stressed we were. But again, prevention before the problem. So even taking time between work or between calls and being like,
00:05:49
Speaker
Okay, let's collect myself. And it's so easy just to want to go grab your phone between meetings and calls and be like, let me go tiktok scroll. Let me go scroll on social media. And trust me, I am guilty of it. We all are like, it's our it's second nature to go look at that. But at the same time, we do have to pull ourselves out of it. And again, do stuff for ourselves because those things that we do for ourselves is going to show how we show up for ourselves. It's going to improve how we do our work, how we set our goals, and how we achieve those goals. Even things like like like like I said, just doing breath work throughout meetings and calls. And something else I love to do is just
00:06:30
Speaker
journal throughout the day. I can write one little thing throughout the day, even if it's like a few sentences, that little notes just get it out. It just it leaves your mind and then you can start. They knew because sometimes you're just like, you're angry about something or you're sad about something or you're just emotional or maybe you're just not your few you feel lost and stuff. But those little things just getting it out on paper allows you to release it and let it go.
00:06:53
Speaker
How did you come to that? because I mean, there's hard science behind that and why it works. Did did you know that or was it something you just said, hey, this I'm doing this and it seems to work. And you came to it intuitively.
00:07:04
Speaker
For sure. and Honestly, like to me, it came really organically. I feel like it started with me and just, you know, ranting to people being like, oh, this, this, this, like, feeling just explaining how I'm feeling. And I'm like, okay, first of all, my mom or whoever, no one deserves to hear all my ranting. Of course, it's good to go back and forth and share how we feel and just get it out. But sometimes We you know have so much on our mind and it's easy to just want to say it and not even want to hear feedback to it. So you just kind of need to let it go and let it out. And you know if we're in a public situation, we're not going to just start ranting to ourselves out in public. but you'd You'd feel like uncomfortable doing that. So just as simple as opening your journal, writing a few sentences down, or even doing it in your notes app. saying something to yourself to just get it out lets you leave that in the past and move forward. And I think that's very important, especially when trying to push through the day. And specifically, that physical writing with the journal, there's something about the brain's connection with the hand when you different than speaking it different than typing it when you actually physically write it how it does transfer that cognitive load that just frees you out.
00:08:12
Speaker
yeah Wow. Okay.

Optimizing Night Routine for Better Sleep

00:08:13
Speaker
That's amazing. Yeah. You mentioned your morning routine actually starts with the night before, right? You start your day with how you end the day prior. How do you think about sleep and prioritize that in your own life?
00:08:28
Speaker
So when I say that to people, some people are very much caught up in being like, what do you mean by that? But if you think about this, if you're going to bed at three in the morning and you know eating in bed and watching TV all night long and scrolling on your phone, and all the blue light to your eyes, you're going to wake up not feeling good. So you can't perform your best for your morning routine. And that ends in not having the most productive, successful and getting the most out of your day for yourself. so Again, everything starts with your night routine. And for me personally, I like to go to bed early. And of course, we have those nights where, you know, we go out with some people and you know, that's it's all about balance. It's all about balance. So you do not need those days in your life. But it's really important for the majority of your time, you know, 80 20, the majority of your time to have that steady and really
00:09:20
Speaker
Organize night and morning routines because that is what's going to help you perform the best So even if that's going to bed at 10 o'clock 8 o'clock 9 o'clock Whatever that is going at at a time that's going to suit you and do the best for you it's really easy to fall into temptation and just start scrolling or watching TV and But if you really just be strict on yourself with that, you are going to feel so good and realize, gosh, going to bed early and having that night routine feels better than staying up and getting that temporary happiness of watching TV. Yeah. And and you pay for it so much the next day. Definitely. So for you personally, I mean, what is your consistent time? So maybe you have the night with friends, you you break from it, but that 80%, what is your kind of time in bed?
00:10:09
Speaker
Totally. So I personally and I work for myself so i I am a little more flexible with my schedule and I and work around like five to six but then I always try to start winding down for the day around like six thirty which is very early I know but it's just you know getting wind down for the day whether that's starting to cook dinner or I've already eaten dinner and then um around, I try to eat around like, be done eating around two to three hours before bed. So I'm not, you know, full and feeling that negative effects later. But ah I do try to eat around like, five to six. And then after that, I'll kind of have my night. Of course, it's all about being realistic. So I will watch some TV, I'll call my mom, catch up with friends and stuff and use that time.
00:10:55
Speaker
But again, it's really important to start to wind down because that's what our bodies are meant to do is go, you know, our cortisol and everything, we need to start winding down. And I really like to just pick up a book for a few minutes after watching TV. And that really what once you're done with any blue light, yeah, again, it's like your your body actually begins to rest because even if we're tired and watching tv or on our phones our body is still pushing to stay awake even if we feel like we are it's time for us to actually start resting and go to bed and allow us to rest but even as simple as turning off the tv after a little bit turning off my phone getting to bed early and that could be for me.
00:11:38
Speaker
It's usually around like nine, nine to nine 30 and stuff. I feel like a good time. And then for me, I feel like I'm someone who needs a lot of sleep, especially for my hormones. And I feel like for me, that's, I will get nine to 10 hours of sleep, but it's a lot for a lot. like For me, but honestly, I feel the best and I work the best with that amount of sleep.

Magnesium for Sleep and Health

00:12:00
Speaker
So just timing out right. And again, I wake up perfectly happy and energized. And my cortisol is good in the morning when I started it with my night routine. Good. Yeah. And do you track your sleep at all? Do you use any of the trackers?
00:12:15
Speaker
I have. I honestly felt like just being able to look at the time and really know the time I go to sleep is the best. But again, there's really good trackers to track your sleep throughout the night. Something I am investing in because I'm like, I need to try and and get this, but um the aura ring, I've heard it's great. So I think I was going to order it this week. I'm like, I keep hearing really great things about it, but um I heard the aura rings really good for your sleep and being able to track it. But currently I'm not using a sleep tracker.
00:12:43
Speaker
Have you tried anything that's made a difference in your sleep, whether it's like wearing an eye mask or certain kinds of sheets? You know, some people see potter or colder um or even sleep supplements that have you used any of those? Definitely. So um I feel like it's really important to sleep not very hot with too many blankets and everything and, you know, setting it the temperature right. And, you know, sleeping in a cooler state, yeah it has it's scientifically shown to have better sleep. And something for me is magnesium. I swear by magnesium. And I feel like that's something where a lot of people now it's, you know, getting it the recognition they deserve, but it's a supplement that I really think is important for honestly, everyone. We're all deficient in magnesium. But at the same time, it's something for some of us really, really need it. We didn't know how much we needed it until we, you know, start supplementing it. And then our sleep is just significantly better. And not only that is we see That affects us how we feel throughout the morning and the day. And then we have more energy, so we burn it, so we sleep better. And then, you know, it's just for a cycle. Yeah. It's the whole thing. What kind of magnesium do you take? You know, there's triglycerides, bioglycine. They're all different forms. Do you know, do you take pill form? Do you take a powder? What kind of magnesium do you do? Yeah, so I've taken magnesium, L-3N8 and glycinate. So I've taken a few different strains of it, and I know there's some that are better, you know, for your stomach. and
00:14:09
Speaker
I'm someone who has suffered with stomach problems in the past, so I've dabbled in all different kinds, but I feel like it really just whatever works best for you. um Some brands I really like is Symbiotica. That's a favorite. And then I also love JS Health, that one I've taken for a while. And those are my top top two favorites. And do you take that just before bed? Like post-dinner pre-bed is when you take your magnesium or when do you do that?
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, so I um sometimes change depth of the day, whether it's a pack like a packet or if it's, you know, a fill form. So um a capsule form, I usually will take more mid throughout like, ah in the getting into the evening time, but then if it's a liposomal packet, I'll usually take it more like, okay, I'm starting to get closer to bed because sometimes those hit pretty quick. Yeah, yeah they get in the bloodstream a little.
00:15:01
Speaker
Yeah. And so do you, are are you light sensitive, noise sensitive, anything like that that you say, hey, besides the cool environment, these are the other things that kind of create my sleep haven. Definitely. So I'm someone who I do not like to sleep in silence, but thankfully I actually do live in the city. So it's kind of, I get that, the the sirens, the horns and everything. So I do get that noise, but I feel like something that a lot of people don't realize is when they're struggling with sleep is it kind of has to do with the noise too. Sometimes we can't,
00:15:30
Speaker
settle down with it being silent, which you would think it's the opposite way around, but some people need that, you know, white brown noise to kind of, you know, put them to sleep or even if you just put on a like a sound bath music, it's as simple as searching up on Spotify, like sound bath music. And that can really help you wind down. Also something I really like is the hatch alarm clock. I have that and it really, really helps my sleep. It,
00:15:56
Speaker
Plays music as you go to bed and winding down you can pick which music and um and it's not like pop music it's like sound bath music to really allow your body to rest and then it also wakes you up but not a sounding loud alarm clock but it instead it would see a very. Light and quiet but it still wakes you up when you have to wake up but it it just does it so your heart's not racing right when you wake up and you know when messing up your cortisol.
00:16:22
Speaker
Definitely, I was a swimmer. And so we'd get up crazy early. And I just remember, it must have been a spike in cortisol, just the anxiety or we get at the dead sound just before you could hear it turned on before the buzzing went. And my brain would just go to this very uncomfortable place. And I'm sure that gave you like such a like, it just started your day off and more of like, you know, fight or flight. Exactly fight or flight.
00:16:45
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. You mentioned you've had stomach issues in the past. What does your nutritional routine look like now? I mean, it's something you're clearly very thoughtful about.

Gut Health Essentials

00:16:56
Speaker
Definitely. I feel like something that I lacked a lot in my life in ah back a few years ago when I was trying to figure out my stomach problems was a good probiotic. I feel like I would take, you know, once in a while a probiotic when, you know, I was taking an antibiotic, maybe prescribed, you see a probiotic, but I never realized how important it is to take care of your gut and your gut is connected to your brain and your mind, how you feel. It's everything. It's honestly, to me, the the root and the start to everything. So I started taking a really good probiotic. My personal favorite is the symbiotic one. I feel like I've done really, really well by taking that for a few years now. I love ah um oh collagen. I think collagen is super important. I love using bone broth. and i
00:17:43
Speaker
Of course, like ah collagen powder is a great tube, but I feel like getting it straight from bone broth is super important from the gelatin. And I feel like it really just lines the coating of your gut. So, so nice. And especially have it in the morning on an empty stomach. Okay. Do you have a, is there like a local bone broth place in LA that you get it from or where do you do?
00:18:06
Speaker
Definitely. So I feel like anyone can really find it at the farmer's market, depending on where you live. And if you don't find one at the farmer's market that you really like, I feel like it's really good to, or if they don't carry that the farmer's market where anyone lives, it's really good to even go look at as simple as your local grocery store. Most likely they have a bone broth. Typically I like to buy it from a glass jar, but if not, then you can buy it from the cartons and stuff.
00:18:30
Speaker
usually on the shelf and stuff but ah it's really important to incorporate bone broth especially for someone who's struggling with gu issues is that the first thing in the day you can see me set on empty stomachs was that you talk about your. Journaling and meditative start to the day what ah what about the nutrition start to the day and kind of routine through.
00:18:51
Speaker
so I really actually start my morning with water and Celtic sea salt. I'll actually add in like some cucumbers too to really get you know the electrolytes. I think it's super important because we crave salt throughout the day and I think it's important to supplement that in our drink to get the amount of minerals we need. so I start off with Celtic sea salt in my water in the morning and then that's where I move into the bone broth. Then after that, I yeah i usually kind of start my morning a bit.
00:19:17
Speaker
I feel like it really, I think fasting is great, but it really depends on the person. To me, I used to fast a lot, but my needs currently I need to eat in the morning. So I usually eat and in the morning within an hour of waking up and I'm not just eating a sugary, you know, sugary food and stuff. Like you have to have something that balances your blood sugar. So whether that's starting your morning with eggs or maybe a high protein yogurt, a cashew yogurt. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of protein powders. I think they're great for some people. I don't tolerate them that well with my okay issues I've had in the past. So I personally love to have protein in the morning and healthy fats. So whether that's avocado toast on like a good sourdough bread.
00:20:03
Speaker
So you're not, you have in the past, but you you don't fast now. You do the Celtic sea salt with the water, cucumber, then the bone broth. And then within an hour you have a balanced kind of healthy fat plus protein breakfast.

Nutrition and Sleep Quality

00:20:19
Speaker
Is there any snacking or do you wait until lunch? And then what does lunch look like?
00:20:24
Speaker
Usually I will um wait until lunch, ah you know, and rather than snacking. So I really get that, you know, that meal for the day. And I feel like for lunch, it, you know, that's the time where everyone's, you know, working and they're trying to, you know, be successful and try to get as much as you can done. So it's not.
00:20:41
Speaker
great to have a very heavy food, but don't get me wrong, we all do it. But personally, I really enjoy a, again, another high protein thing, healthy fats, and getting enough fiber. People don't realize how important fiber is in their diet. So whether you're getting that from a high fiber bread and or high fiber crackers, fiber is super important, oatmeal. But um for lunch, I'll usually have a organic salad with protein, or I'll have something. It really just depends on what I had for breakfast that morning, but something that always has healthy fats and protein in it. Well, I mean, I guess the plants from the salad are going to have a lot of that dietary fiber. Definitely, definitely. Do you snack before dinner, or do you typically keep it to the the meals?
00:21:27
Speaker
but Before dinner, I usually do get a snack like midday and with that being usually a matcha with a nut milk, I'll usually get like a choice of like almond or I'll do like a coconut milk with a matcha and I think I not having caffeine too late in the day is very important and this at least is something that matcha has a different effect to the body when being caffeine. So I feel like matcha is a really great way to get some sort of, you know, being able to finish off the day strong, but without getting, you know, that spike of caffeine. Yeah. I see a lot of people taking, having energy drinks throughout like, like three PM. I'm like, what are you doing? Like, this is not the way to, this is not what you're supposed to do. So I feel like it's very destructive on the body to have something such as an energy drink. halfway through the day but um I really do like to have a little healthy snack whether that's cucumbers with like salt and then like a side of you know an avocado really depends on what type of snack but even something such as popcorn again I'm high on I love fiber I really really push fiber on people so I think it's really good to get an organic non-gmo popcorn as well.
00:22:39
Speaker
You bring up a good point on the the caffeine side, because I think there are going to be a number of people who say, oh, well, no, I can drink black coffee at dinner and I fall asleep fine. But I think without the sleep tracker, one, you don't know the true quality of your sleep. And if you're stealing from your room sleep or your deep sleep, non-room sleep, that could be a real problem in terms of early onset dimension and everything.
00:23:03
Speaker
But then separately, you don't know the but for that. Hey, if I went a couple months without caffeine, what would it look like if I didn't do this? And. That's and like so much, I think, of what you're saying of if you're used to just having alarm or used to just picking up and going straight on social media when you wake up and you say, oh, but I'm fine. You don't know the difference of not waking up with that cortisol spike and what that would feel like day to day and how it would impact everything else. and so Just hearing from people like Jayden, who've really and mean very thoughtfully experimented with this and honed what your life looks like, I'd encourage listeners to experiment as well. you know Try some of these different models of what these people are doing. In dinner, you said very similar the thoughts around the lunch. Not too heavy, you're trying to digest before you go to sleep. Protein, fats, and fiber, is that fair to say?
00:23:59
Speaker
Exactly. So um usually just trying to get all you know the healthy food groups out of the day. But back to what you were saying really quick, I think it is really important for everyone that's different and trial and error. And sometimes you don't know the destructive things that you're doing to your body until you're out of it. And I feel like sometimes we're wrapped up in what we're doing and we think it's normal because you know we're getting through the day. So it's normal if we're having three energy drinks or even one energy drink throughout the day and we think it's normal until we're out of it and we see, oh my gosh, my sleep is so much better. I feel so much better. I'm actually more awake, but without this energy without the energy drinks because I'm getting enough sleep throughout the day. But um yeah, I really think it's important to get back onto like the food groups, getting enough of protein, healthy fats and fiber.
00:24:48
Speaker
and I mean, you sound incredibly thoughtful in how you balance out those different food groups. and Certainly, you're not supplementing with protein powders, but you do have the magnesium. are there other You have the probiotic, the magnesium. Are there other supplements? You say, hey, I notice I need more of X, Y, or Z.
00:25:06
Speaker
Definitely. I feel like this is a supplement or not everyone knows of it, but it's for women's health. Usually I, um and depending on women's hormones and stuff, but personally I find it really helpful is inositol. It helps the sugar in the body and that is really helpful for women's hormones, whether that's for their periods, fertility. And another thing that I love taking is again, like I, I'm very big on probiotics. I think a good probiotic one that, you know, theyre Usually, it's ah kind of expensive and it leans more expensive. I promise you how you feel. and I mean, doctor bills are more. So it's I really have to say, like buying a good supplement can help you so much and actually heal your gut. um And also just like taking things that, again, it's trial and error, what makes you feel the best.
00:25:56
Speaker
If you do the math on a per-day cost right and you say, okay would this help me sleep better? How much would I pay for one good night's sleep, much less a year's good night's sleep? Or how much would I pay to have this much extra energy or be in this better mood throughout the day? and and Does it compound and and carry over like that?
00:26:14
Speaker
the and unless anatheol and off the tall. That is really helpful. And also with pairing that with, I really like the adrenal support from symbiontica. That's really helpful also for um women's health too. Again, like I feel like women's hormones is something that is being brought more to light, which is really great. But it ah we are all in, ah I mean, with the stress of society and our cortisol levels, I'm someone who runs with very balanced cortisol. And I feel like it's been so helpful too.
00:26:45
Speaker
you know sub use supplements that are actually going to help that and not only do that in a supplement form, but really look back into what does my routines look like because if you have imbalanced cortisol, that's really going to affect you know how you do how you go throughout the day.
00:27:01
Speaker
Especially for women, I think it's important for men, but probably more so for women, getting that tested younger, great not waiting until you start seeing issues, but trying to figure out what that baseline is so that earlier you can see when things are going off to to do that course correction.
00:27:17
Speaker
Like you said, doctor's bills are so much more expensive. The more we can be preventative and say, hey, you know i I'm 17, I'm 18, I'm feeling great now. Let me know this is my baseline. So when things start to go awry, I know what my personal baseline should be that I'm i'm trying to track back to.

Balancing Health Routines and Social Life

00:27:35
Speaker
I completely agree and I think it's like you just said so important to get that in the charts to kind of go back and know where your baseline is because you know we get the minute we get into adulthood or later on in life we are hit with so much you know stress and you know tragedy from things and circumstances in your life where it's unavoidable and you have nothing to do but to internalize that so it's very important to know your baseline and how you feel so you can track back to that down again.
00:28:03
Speaker
I mean, you talked about at the beginning, right, being really... discipline, but I wouldn't say strict or rigid with your sleep routine so that you had the flexibility to be social and and go see friends and do that. And you know that's something I think people who are are very thoughtful about their health and can get a bad name for saying, oh, well, you're just sacrificing all joy. But that is part of health is that whole social connection side. And it sounds like you deliberately carve that piece out. How do you think about
00:28:37
Speaker
how you create space for that in your day or your week or your month, that that social connection piece. It's getting the most out of your life, and it's not always about being so strict on yourself. But again, it's like we want to feel good. If you are going out every night and drinking every night, you're going to not feel the best, and you're not going to be able to perform the best throughout the day. So I think it's really important to, of course, have that balance, the 80-20,
00:29:01
Speaker
at the same time, like personally, my form of joy and going out that you know, is not necessarily on my routine is kind of staying out with you know, I'll go out with my mom or go out with some friends and stuff, but I personally don't enjoy drinking. It's not just something that I personally like, but if someone does, it's totally okay in moderation. Yeah. But I think it's really important when you know when you do this and you've gotten that socialness because you need that for your life and happiness because that feeds your soul. Even if it's not feeding your body or your mind necessarily, it really does feed your soul and you do need that. But at the same time,
00:29:37
Speaker
supplement that for when you get home and knowing that okay tomorrow i'm gonna get started back on my routine again to feel good because if you can just have that cycle every single day going out you're not gonna feel good.
00:29:49
Speaker
Yeah. So you work for yourself and you have a a pretty early routine that you're you're trying to shut down pretty early during a normal day. Are you, are you out? Do you you try to get some of that other human interaction and like the matcha, for example, is that something you make at home or is your like is that one of your kind of routines to say, Hey, you know, at this point of the day, I like to get up. I like to walk out. I go to this local shop and it's just part of my routine. Do you have things like that?
00:30:16
Speaker
Definitely. For anyone who works for themselves, I extremely recommend getting that social time in. And it's hard because it's easy, especially since like COVID and stuff, everyone has just been homebound and been used to that and being okay with that. And it's great to be able to work from home. And I mean, you everyone's lucky if you get to do that, but also at the same time,
00:30:38
Speaker
it's shown has the depression has like rizin drastically since then because everyone's used to staying home and we do need that for our soul again like our mind and body we provide for in wellness but what about our soul we do have to get out we do have to have a social time so for me personally whether that's me going a match or a coffee and you know seeing some friends and talking for a little bit. That little bit feeds my soul and gets me out of the house. Another thing that I think is really important is just taking a walk with someone. It's as simple as taking a morning walk with someone and just catching up. It doesn't have to be three hours long. It can be 30 minutes. It can be 30 minutes of just catching up and getting to see some someone. And let's say you are fully strapped down. You have so much work to do throughout the week. You can also have a work day.
00:31:27
Speaker
always have work dates throughout the week and I will meet up for matcha or coffee with someone and just work on our computers will be dialed in but that allows you to still get out and get that social time.
00:31:38
Speaker
I haven't really thought about that side. so It's a way to still get the work you need to get done, but kind of create some forced social time because you're doing it alongside someone else. Do you have a second group of, hey here are the four or five people I typically ask and say, hey, this is a really intense week. I need a couple hours to go work with you. Would you like to to try this? How do you do that?
00:32:01
Speaker
Totally. So um I think it's really important, of course, to reach out to, you know, your friends and stuff. But at the same time, it's good to reach out to people who are, you know, acquaintances, because maybe you can contribute and you can learn from them and go back and forth. So again, like having a work date, whether that's you work in your computer or just sharing, you know, ideas to each other, it's really good to sometimes reach out to someone that you haven't really connected yet or haven't taken the time to connect with yet because you can learn something from them and they can learn something from you and not only that it pushes you outside of your comfort zone which is again really good for those who are home and working from home you feel strapped down and you know you're not leaving so being able to put yourself out of your comfort zone is extremely important for social and social situations.

Networking Through Work-Related Socializing

00:32:49
Speaker
Yeah, it's there there's so much research on that too. of It's always uncomfortable. And so you ask people on the front end, do you want to do this? And they always say no. yeah And then when they give them two different groups to go do it, and the group that does it, they're always happy they did. They're always happier than the other group. Because it's always easier to just sit by yourself. That's easier. But that's not how life is lived.
00:33:08
Speaker
Exactly. And that's why I always say there's no excuses, even if you have so much work to do. And and if you work from home, from your computer, then go do it at a cafe with somebody like go but an hour to two hours just sitting at a cafe working and you it's there's no excuses. You have to just put yourself out there and do that. And for people like me, who've not ever really done that, how what is the response typically like? So how you're saying it's not always close friends. it Sometimes in the acquaintance, it and can Take me through an example of someone maybe that you didn't know super well you did this one. Yeah. So honestly, I will, I will, I'm very social. So I will go up to a cafe, even if I'm alone working at a cafe and go up to someone and be like, Hey, like been introduced myself because you never know who they are and how you can help them have, you know, and not even work aside to connect on just a social set, like being just as a personal way, like who are you? And like, I want to hear about you and,
00:34:07
Speaker
Again, even being like if you're in an Uber or an a car service is very easy to just go on your phone, but ask how their day is. You do need that social time and you know you'll probably never see them again, but you will leave you know with an amazing story and gang to let them share about their life and vice versa and get to hear about them. but When it comes to working at a cafe, I really like to ask people personally who I'm not very close with, and I built some of my best relationships and friendships from doing that because you have to take the first step sometimes. You know, sometimes you want something, but you're a little too scared to say it, but you know what? Not everything is going to come to you, and sometimes you have to take initiative in that.
00:34:48
Speaker
We talk a lot, my co-founder, about serendipity. and It's a beautiful word. and At the same time, you can increase your surface area for more serendipitous interactions. right You would have much less serendipity sitting in your house, working on your computer, than going to a cafe. Then going to a cafe and proactively going up and introducing yourself. and and so You're just creating all these opportunities that expand your universe of serendipity. It's amazing.
00:35:18
Speaker
Definitely, definitely. Again, it's like, but we're very strapped down to work and as great as work is, and we do want to be successful, but in order for us to not burn out and have that success and the life that we want to live and, you know, be healthy, we have to have that soul feeding activities as well.
00:35:35
Speaker
I got to create the time for it. Well, definitely. You talked about one of the things you really like doing sometimes is the the walks in the morning with with other people. And it doesn't have to be a three hour walk or anything. What does your movement and fitness routine look like?

Importance of Daily Movement

00:35:50
Speaker
How how do you think about that part of your life?
00:35:52
Speaker
Totally. I am someone who loves walking. LA is not the most walkable city versus you know New York or somewhere, but I do try to get my walking in. Even if I'm not necessarily walking outside every day, I will definitely walk on the treadmill, walk outside, and wherever I am, just getting enough steps in throughout the day is extremely important, especially if you are someone who sits at home all day and is working from home or in an office job it's so important to get moving around another thing i really like aside from working out um and movement and set is compression socks if you are someone who.
00:36:32
Speaker
works from home, definitely invest in ah compression socks or works from an office job. They're very great for circulation and that's something I really recommend. But when it comes to movement, I think it's very important, like I said, to get steps in during the day.
00:36:47
Speaker
but not only that is take some time to do some cardio or do some Pilates. I personally really like Pilates and people kind of look past it but it is actually a really great way to build muscle and to get a good sweat on and then if I am wanting a little more sweat then I can do some cardio and stuff but really just having the balance and what time of what I'm feeling at that moment is usually the workouts I do, but I will do it a few times a week and, you know, 30 minutes to an hour. Okay. So I hear a few times a week. So it's like three to five times range, but then every day you're getting some kind of movement with the walking.
00:37:26
Speaker
Definitely, definitely. A movement every day with walking for sure. I think that's important. And starting your morning off with movement is really important too. Okay, what do we so tell me more about that if you don't mind. when When you say start your morning off with movement, what does that look like?
00:37:41
Speaker
Totally. Sometimes um working out is great in the evening too, but again, it's like we need to start letting our body wind down a wine go at that time and, you know, not spark our cortisol levels. And that's time we're supposed to be, you know, centering with ourself and actually starting to get to rest. So as much as I do, of course, love an evening workout. I think it's very important to start your day off with a morning with morning movement, especially if you're someone who runs with excessive high cortisol in the morning. We do want our cortisol to be the highest in the morning, but you do if you have too much of it, it can cause stress and anxiety and build up all throughout the morning. And you can feel so anxious then throughout the day. So just getting rid of that excess cortisol that you may have is really important, which is why I do love a morning workout. And so usually I'll just get out my Pilates mat. I'll do some Pilates workouts, whether that's watching it from a YouTube video or just doing it from
00:38:40
Speaker
you know, my own routine from home. I think Bala Bands is a really good ah workout equipment. I love Bala weights, very great, especially for, you know, trying to build on like, be lean, but at the same time get some muscle. So I think Bala is a great brand if you if anyone is interested in Pilates weights. Okay.
00:39:01
Speaker
That's really helpful. Jayden, this has been fantastic. You've you've taken us on a ah real journey. you May I ask, so much of this stuff, it it has hard science but behind each of the things you do. did Did you study any of these things or is it just you kind of experimented through your own life and found what worked for you? How ah have you come to what your life design is like now?

Consistency Over Perfection in Wellness

00:39:27
Speaker
Totally. So a few years ago, I feel like I know I knew what it felt like to be at my lowest and feel my lowest with my health, my mind and my soul. And I feel like that's something where when you actually hit that rock bottom point, sometimes you do have to hit that again, like I say, prevention for the problem. But sometimes you do have to hit that rock bottom to actually realize I never want to be at that place again. And you want to feel good and you want to change your life.
00:39:52
Speaker
And again, and we'll try to change our life and then we'll plummet back down again. But it's really important just to realize consistency over perfection is very important. So when I felt that bad and felt that bad with my mind, body and soul, I realized I never want to feel that again. And I decided not to try to aim for perfection when going on this wellness journey, but trying to aim for consistency. So for me, I did just so much learning and reading and studying, whether that's books, reading about health and wellness on reading online. I mean, there's so much now, especially with the form of social media, that there's so much in this, of course, false information, too. But there's
00:40:33
Speaker
ah ah really good I feel like wellness is getting a really good light right now, especially since you know the time of lockdown because everyone's trying to improve themselves and realize they don't want to feel what they felt like before. That's such a perfect way to close that consistency over perfection. Definitely.
00:40:53
Speaker
It was a full tear. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Definitely. Find what's good that you can stick with consistently. And that's, that's what a great life is made out of. Definitely. I agree. Well, thank you so much. sha It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you. I can't thank you enough for sharing everything you did today. Thank you so much, Andrew. I really appreciate this. And I loved her conversation feeling so motivated. And thank you.
00:41:19
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home with 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 the lively.com. Enjoy day.