This week on The Living Experiment, we’re celebrating power of the pause — the importance of taking regular breaks, and the rewards of getting into agreement with our bodies’ natural energy-production and repair cycles. We reveal the biological necessity and scientific importance of ultradian rhythms —the regular fluctuations between output and recovery that allow our bodies to maintain optimal energy, focus and vitality. And we offer practical guidance on recognizing your body’s “need a break” signals, and building more brief, health-supporting pauses into your day.  Whether you want to improve your energy, metabolism, hormonal balance and mood, minimize stress and inflammatory conditions, or just want to get more good stuff done during the course of the day, ultradian rhythm breaks are your best friend. Here’s how to make the most of them…

Episode Highlights:

• Why trying to be consistently productive all day long doesn't work (3:00)
• Circadian and ultradian rhythms in the body and why they matter (6:30)
• Why managing time is less effective than managing energy (11:00)
• “You need to have a valley to have the next peak” - the rules of the ultradian healing response (12:00)
• The scientific research behind ultradian rhythms (13:00)
• How to know when you need a break, and the wide range of break options (15:00)
• How our go-go-go corporate culture undermines productivity and creativity (22:05)
• The relationship between ultradian rhythms and key health factors (26:00)
• How taking regular breaks can reduce emotional reactivity and improve willpower (27:30)
• Simple ways to pause during the day (30:20)
• Key takeaways (42:10)
• Experiments for the week (44:00)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Drink a glass of water each time you take a break. 

Pilar suggests: Book two 15-minute interval breaks to check in on your body. 

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Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• Check out the ultradian rhythm chart at Pilar's blog (pilargerasimo.com) to see how your energy rises and falls throughout the day.
• Visit The Energy Project blog for more information on managing energy to improve productivity.
• Can't turn out all the lights? Consider getting some blue blocking glasses.
• Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with us and get notified when a new episode is available.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you can automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “ Habits 101”  Master Class for FREE at livingexperiment.com/habits.

 

This week on the Living Experiment, we’re talking about travel—the real challenges it poses for health-seeking people, and smart things you can do to make it easier on your body and mind.Dallas starts by sharing about his recent run-in with hotel bed bugs. Then we get into the more typical array of pesky problems that most health-concerned travelers face, from limited food options, disrupted sleep, and excessive seat time, to dealing with special temptations, increased stress and social isolation. We share some of our best tips and tricks for pre-trip preparation and also for rolling with whatever conditions you’re faced with out on the road, up in the air, and while stuck in random hotels. We wrap up with some easy experiments you can try out on your next trip. 

Episode Highlights:

• Why traveling (especially for work) can take a huge toll on your health (3:25)
• Dallas shares his unfortunate encounter with bed bugs (4:45)
• The challenges of healthy eating on the road, and why planning and preparing so important (8:00)
• Why breakfast is a big deal (11:00)
• Packing “low-maintenance” food for the trip (12:15)
• Pilar’s "Quick-Trick Snack Stack" (14:50)
• The special lure of cravings on the road (16:20)
• Finding healthy options away from home (19:00)
• Consider bringing some condiments (23:10)
• Weighing your options — eating junk vs. not eating at all. (25:00)
• Getting to sleep in weird hotel rooms (27:30)
• The worry of waking up on time (32:55)
• Why relying on TV to wind down or fall asleep is a bad idea, and how to avoid it with a bedtime ritual (34:15)
• Staying "regular" when you are off your normal schedule and out of your normal environment (39:30)
• Fitting in exercise (or not) (41:30)
• The value of getting out and about (46:50)
• Being where you are vs. being consumed by your digital devices (48:30)
• Experiments for the week (54:00)

Weekly Experiments: 

Share the love! 

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there. 

Resources:

• For tips and tricks on planning for and finding healthy food on your trip: “Whole30 Business Travel 101” and “Whole30 On the Road & In the Wild (Part 1)”
• For a fast, portable breakfast or anytime mini-meal, check out Pilar's Quick-Trick Snack Stack
• Dallas's More Social Less Media program can help you assess your relationship with technology.
• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and future episodes.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

On today’s episode of The Living Experiment, we’re talking about seasons: the natural fluctuations your body goes through during the cycles of winter, spring, summer, and fall, and the nutrition, fitness and life-rhythm strategies you can use to stay healthier through all of them. Dallas shares his simple but powerful, science-based model for eating, moving and sleeping in accordance with the seasons.I offer up some insights about the value of observing nature’s ebb-and-flow patterns—rather than being driven by the non-stop madness of modern-day mass culture. Together we explore the ancient wisdom our human bodies still carry about patterns of dark and light, warm and cold, exertion and recovery. And of course, we wrap up with some seasonally appropriate experiments you can run in your own life.  

Episode Highlights:

• How our human rhythms got out of sync with nature: the disorienting influence of electric lights, artificial temperature controls, jet travel, standardized daily schedules, and more (2:45)
• How the agricultural and industrial revolutions radically de-seasonalized our diet, activity, sleep and other lifestyle patterns (5:00)
• The value of embracing a nature-designed, seasonal model of health rather than a standardized, modern-era prescription (8:00)
• The biological (hormonal, neurological, metabolic, immune) effects of circadian and seasonal rhythm disruption (12:00)
• Strategies for getting back in touch with more seasonally appropriate rhythms (15:15)
• Why eating locally and seasonally is a great place to start, and why seasonal oscillations (between lighter, plant-based, higher-carb diets and heavier, meat-and-fat rich diets) can make sense (16:45)
• Why all this applies to you (at least somewhat) even if you live in a very consistent climate (21:00)
• The difference between short-term "corrective" phased eating interventions and a more sustainably healthy seasonal approach, especially for the microbiome (24:00)
• Following our intuitive appetites (rather than diet dogma) toward more seasonally appealing eating choices, and why summer is a fine time to eat fruit (27:20)
• Beyond diet, changing your exercise approach (power, strength, speed, endurance, etc.) and sleep cycles with the seasons (29:40)
• Moving beyond cultural programming and habitual repetition toward natural body wisdom (31:30)
• Observing the yin and yang energies of winter and summer, and the transitional subtleties of spring and fall (33:00)
• Dallas walks us through how he approaches seasonal eating, and why it's actually pretty easy (36:30)
• The importance of giving yourself permission to listen to and trust your own body (38:50)
• Timing your fruit intake — and why permanently cutting out entire food groups is rarely necessary (40:15)
• A recap of the logic of the Seasonal Model (45:35)
• Recommended experiments for the week (47:25)

Weekly Experiments 

Share the Love! 

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources

• Check out Dallas's Whole9 Seasonal Model of Health(infographic).
• Get a year's worth of seasonally-appropriate nutrition, fitness and lifestyle suggestions in "The Fitness Almanac" (featured article from Experience Life magazine)
• Subscribe to our newsletter (so you can stay up to date with us and future episodes).
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

In this episode of The Living Experiment, we talk about mornings - the challenges they present for many, and some smart strategies for redesigning them in ways that work better for you. Pilar shares the central elements of her flexible, minimalist morning practice, and Dallas shares his mindful coffee-making approach. We explain the underappreciated power of your first waking moments, and offer a fleet of suggestions for creating healthier, more rewarding mornings - without taking on a bunch of new, time-consuming commitments. Finally, we serve up some practical experiments to help you consciously reclaim your mornings so you can more successfully start each day on your own terms.

Episode Highlights

• The value of creating a morning practice in a way that develops self-efficacy and gets your day off to a positive start (3:00)
• How exposing yourself to your smartphone (or any mass media) first thing in the morning stresses you out, makes you vulnerable to unhealthy impulses, and robs you of your best ideas (5:25)
• Pilar's low-key morning routine, and the value of rightsizing your daily commitment (9:05)
• How Dallas uses a conscious coffee-making ritual to build some reflective centering time into his days (10:45)
• The importance of savoring and noticing your practice experience — vs. "just doing it." (12:00)
• How taking control of your morning sets up a successful day (19:10)
• Think you are too busy for a morning practice? (23:23)
• Dealing with barriers to establishing your morning ritual (26:15)
• Good reasons to make your bed every morning (29:50)
• Dallas's morning routine (33:40)
• Feeling resistance, and doing it anyway — plus, the value of noticing how you are NOT doing it (37:00)
• Claiming "you time" as a form of self-respect and self-preservation (38:45)
• The art of moving purposefully into a restful state (39:50)
• Permission to do it your way (44:30)
• This week's experiments (47:20)

Weekly Experiments

Dallas suggests: Take a minute in the morning to mindfully make your bed.

• Commit to making your bed every morning in a slow, patient, mindful way.
• Take three deep breaths as a pause before the rest of your day.

Pilar suggests: Try adopting a 1- to 3-minute practice every day for a week.

• Create a checklist to track your progress throughout the week.
• Record the barriers you face when trying to complete your practice.

Share the Love! 

Each week, we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment  on Facebook,  Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there. 

Resources

• Read more about Pilar's morning mini-practice.
• Subscribe to our newsletter (so you can stay up to date with us and future episodes).
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.