151. Simple Health Hacks From A Doctor

Simple Health Hacks From a Doctor

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There are so many different pieces of health advice out there, that it can be hard to know which ones are best. On this episode of the Elemental Evan Podcast, Evan is joined by board-certified emergency physician Dr. Laura Hays. Together, they cover topics such as stress and how simply becoming aware both internally and externally can have dramatic impacts on your health.

In this episode, you'll learn a few simple health practices from Dr. Laura Hays that are free and easy to implement into your life. As always, stay tuned to the very end of the episode for the actionable steps that will help you implement the information contained in this episode into your life.

Do everything with good intentions and connect to your elements.

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is for educational purposes only, it is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Evan Roberts is not a medical professional and this podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Statements and views expressed on this show are not medical advice, this podcast, including Evan Roberts and any guests on the show, disclaims responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained in this episode. If you think you have a medical problem please consult a medical professional.

Transcript

Speaker: 00:00:00

Hey, what's going on, everybody.

: 00:00:01

Welcome to the elemental oven podcast.

: 00:00:03

Thank you all so much

for joining me today.

: 00:00:05

This is your host, Evan Roberts.

: 00:00:06

And on this show, I break down complex

health topics from a holistic perspective.

: 00:00:11

And on today's episode, I am

joined by the one and only Dr.

: 00:00:15

Laura Hayes.

: 00:00:16

She is a board certified emergency

physician, as well as a certified

: 00:00:21

health coach, which I personally

think is so awesome to see a blend

: 00:00:25

of the two, because there's a lot of

benefit in both of these roles and

: 00:00:29

being able to bring them together.

: 00:00:31

In my opinion is super valuable and

on today's topic, we are going to

: 00:00:35

cover quite a few different things.

: 00:00:38

But the main underlying thing is

definitely going to be stress and.

: 00:00:43

Really our ability to recognize stress

as well as our ability to manage our

: 00:00:49

stress, which I really cannot stress.

: 00:00:52

Enough how important stress actually is

in our health And how important it is

: 00:00:58

for us to get a hold on this problem.

: 00:01:01

Now on top of that, I love to have Dr.

: 00:01:04

Laura Hayes on here, because

since she is a legit doctor, it's

: 00:01:09

really cool for me to run some.

: 00:01:12

Topics and questions that are

probably not things you would

: 00:01:15

normally hear a doctor talk about.

: 00:01:17

Things like stress, which yes is

in the medical field and people

: 00:01:21

are talking about it, but it's

not always a super common topic.

: 00:01:25

And on top of that, there are tons

of other things that we get into that

: 00:01:29

I highly doubt you would hear your

average doctor talking about, which

: 00:01:34

I really love to get her opinion on.

: 00:01:36

I feel that she brings a

really fresh perspective.

: 00:01:39

That's definitely, obviously steeped

in a lot of years of studying and

: 00:01:44

really cool to have her backup.

: 00:01:46

A lot of these things that I've

been talking about for a really

: 00:01:49

long time, but it's cool to

just really get a professional

: 00:01:52

opinion here on the show to back.

: 00:01:54

A lot of these things up.

: 00:01:56

And before we jump in to the episode

today, I also wanted to mention to go

: 00:02:01

ahead and check out the show notes for

all of the sponsors and people that are

: 00:02:05

affiliated with the show that help keep

this show up and running, check out all

: 00:02:09

of the different products they have.

: 00:02:11

There's some incredible stuff in there.

: 00:02:13

And of course, I get a

discount code for all of you.

: 00:02:16

With these affiliated brands,

: 00:02:18

I use most of these products weekly.

: 00:02:21

Because I love them so much and they

actually work for me, which is huge.

: 00:02:25

I really will not sponsor

something that I do not believe in.

: 00:02:30

So therefore I'm only bringing you the

things that I feel actually work and are

: 00:02:34

of benefit and worth your time and money.

: 00:02:36

And plus it is a great way for you to

check out some of the things that I talk

: 00:02:40

about a lot of the time on this show and

see for yourself what benefits they hold.

: 00:02:46

So without further ado, let's go

ahead and jump into this really

: 00:02:50

awesome conversation with Dr.

: 00:02:51

Laura Hayes.

: 00:02:52

I know y'all are going to love it

and be sure to stay tuned to the very

: 00:02:56

end of this episode so that you can

get the actionable steps as well.

: 00:03:00

So that you can go ahead and apply all

of the knowledge that's found in this

: 00:03:03

episode, into your life today and start

making some changes to your life already.

: 00:03:09

All.

: 00:03:09

I hope you enjoy the episode

: 00:03:16

Hi, Evan.

: 00:03:16

I'm glad to be here.

: 00:03:17

Thanks for having me.

: 00:04:04

Um, what, Um, I grew up in New

England and my dad is a retired OBGYN.

: 00:04:10

So kind of grew up with medicine in

my family and my mom was a teacher.

: 00:04:15

So had that service element

all around me as a kid.

: 00:04:20

I was always really fascinated

in humans and science.

: 00:04:24

Science was sort of what I was good at,

and so I think I gravitated toward that

: 00:04:28

as I went through schooling and such.

: 00:04:30

And then, Probably, you know, later

when I went to college, I had a

: 00:04:34

little bit of a different path.

: 00:04:36

I decided initially that I wanted to

go into a science based field or I

: 00:04:41

thought I wanted to be a doctor, but

then halfway through my college career,

: 00:04:45

I actually pivoted and I ended up

transferring to art school, actually.

: 00:04:50

And I embarked on an education and

then later a career in photography.

: 00:04:55

So that took me...

: 00:04:57

To some interesting places and eventually

I kind of came back around and thought

: 00:05:01

yeah, this has been great, but I still

have this Need or this feeling this

: 00:05:07

value of service to others in this way.

: 00:05:09

So Long story short a you know

applied to medical school and I

: 00:05:14

got in I went to medical school

in Boston and and then deciding

: 00:05:17

on emergency medicine specifically

That came a little bit later on.

: 00:05:21

There were a lot of things that

appealed to me with emergency medicine.

: 00:05:25

Specifically, I really enjoyed

the notion of knowing a lot about

: 00:05:33

Everything instead of knowing

everything about one main topic.

: 00:05:38

Um, so, so yeah, that's kind of what

brought me into emergency medicine.

: 00:05:41

And then over this last few years, as

I'm sure you can understand and have

: 00:05:46

your own stories through the Covid

Pandemic, um, I was in a leadership

: 00:05:50

role for my, uh, at my hospital and.

: 00:05:53

You know, dealt with a whole series of

different stressors that came about during

: 00:05:58

those last few years, and eventually my

husband and I kind of started talking

: 00:06:04

about ways in which we could still

be of service to others, still be

: 00:06:07

doctors, but what else could we offer?

: 00:06:10

What else were we kind of?

: 00:06:12

Finding was our purpose, and that

led us down this little bit more

: 00:06:16

health coaching and consulting

realm that we're, we're doing now.

: 00:06:20

We're still both practicing emergency

medicine clinically, but we have a

: 00:06:23

stronger focus now on this kind of

other passion of ours, and that's

: 00:06:27

where we birthed our podcast,

and that's been really fantastic.

: 00:06:31

Um, so yeah, that's kind of,

sorry it was a little bit longer,

: 00:06:34

but that's, that's my story, and

that's what brought me here today.

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We would be working in the emergency

department and patients would say to us,

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you know, humbly, I guess I tell you the

story humbly, that patients would say,

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you know, Hey, can you be my doctor?

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Can, you know, you explain this in

a way that was never explained to me

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before, or now I understand X, Y, or Z.

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And lots of times it wasn't even

really pertinent to why they were, in

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acute need at the time, why they were

actually in the emergency department.

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But, um, and my husband would get the

same types of comments and questions.

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And, you know, again, we would come

home and talk about these things.

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And, um, and I have a

long background in yoga.

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I've been teaching yoga

for about 25 years now.

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And so again, we kind of, we started

thinking about this of how can we

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start helping people be healthier?

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And maybe avoid needing the

acute sick care, um, you know,

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or at least postponing that.

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So how can we add value to people's

lives before they meet us in the

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emergency department essentially?

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And of course, you know, things

happen, things come up, emergencies

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are emergencies and, uh, traumas and,

you know, illness and things like that.

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Of course they happen.

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But, um, That was sort of the

precipice for this whole next

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course or this next chapter and

in our careers and in our lives.

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And it's been, it's been great.

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I mean, even just having a podcast,

Evan, I'm sure you experienced this.

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You just get to talk to

interesting people and learn.

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We learn so much, you know, as you start

to embark on a new journey yourself, you,

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you learn so much in the process while

you're trying to teach others about things

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too, which is really fascinating and neat.

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Yeah, great question.

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And that's honestly, in my opinion, I'm

not sure what my husband Parker would say,

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but probably shares the same sentiment

that that's the most important one.

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I really feel that that is the

foundation for your wellbeing and

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it's, it's, it encompasses a lot.

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So the reason we call it this 360

awareness is because it's not just about.

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Knowing yourself or taking that

introspective view, learning your ins

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and outs, learning your intricacies,

what makes you who you are, understanding

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your body's signals, your mind's signals,

how the mind and body are connected.

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So that's part of it, and that's

the internal awareness part.

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But then, and a lot of researchers

and studies and lay people use the

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term external awareness, so they

differentiate between internal

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awareness, which is what I just

mentioned, but then external awareness.

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And we, Don't mind the term external

awareness, but I prefer that term

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expanded awareness or 360 degree

awareness because it's not just

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taking the view from the outside in.

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It's really about widening that aperture,

looking all around and seeing, you

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know, how are you perceived by others?

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I mean, your, your words, your

actions, those impact all the

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people around you every day, every

time you have an interaction,

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every time you open your mouth.

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So how are those impacting other people?

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And a lot of people have One or the

other, maybe they're very self aware

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internally, they understand what they

stand for, they know their values, their

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belief systems, and they understand

their physical cues, their emotional

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cues, all of those things, but that

same person could be very lacking in

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this more expanded or 360 awareness and,

um, and then the reverse is also true,

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maybe you do have a better understanding

of how others perceive you, but you

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don't necessarily Really understand

those connections within yourself.

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So again, that's, that's kind of a brief

description of it, and I'm happy to

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answer any questions you have about it.

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I can elaborate more, but that's really

the crux and the foundation of it all.

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And, and we really believe that,

especially from a medical background

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and being physicians, that's where you

can understand what your body needs and

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what your body is trying to tell you.

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Um, you know, we talk a lot in our

practice about red flags, you know, when

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your body is sending you a signal, your

body is putting up these little red flags

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saying, Hey, something's going on here.

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I think you should be

paying attention to this.

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And so having that deeper self awareness

is about pausing, acknowledging

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those red flags, seeing them for

what they are and then trying to

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interpret them and what they mean and

then making a plan to move forward.

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think that you, think a lot of it is

when you think about your internal

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awareness, you made me think of

the phrase connecting the dots.

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It's, it's really trying to assess and

analyze what your body's telling you.

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You mentioned, you know, you eat

something and then maybe you're

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in the bathroom 20 minutes later.

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Well, being more self aware is the

ability to pause and take a look

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and see if there is a connection.

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Maybe there's not a connection.

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It's not to say every time you

get the runs, it's because of

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that one thing you ate, but

looking for the connections there.

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And similarly, you know, I guess

I could extrapolate that to the

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external awareness piece too.

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It's kind of understanding why you may be

I'm getting the consistent reaction that

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you get from people when you think you're

saying something one way or coming across

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a certain way, but maybe You know, maybe

you're not getting the promotion that

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you really feel you deserve, or you're

pissing off a lot of people at work, or

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you're your family or something, and, you

know, being able to make that connection

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of, well, hey, wait a minute, why does

this seem to keep happening to me?

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And just being able to pause and it's

more about even taking a more of an

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objective view, if you will, taking your

own kind of emotion and attachment out of

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it and saying, okay, let me just, again,

widen that aperture and see things a

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little bit more objectively as a whole.

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It's, it's mostly that.

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It's how our financial stability

or our impression of our own

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financial stability really impacts

the other parts of our health.

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As you mentioned, if you.

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So if you are feeling like you

don't have financial stability, for

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example, then maybe you are going

to be putting in the extra hours at

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work and that's going to lead to more

stress and reduce sleep and burnout.

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There's also the consideration of the

socio economics of it too, of, you know,

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how, how can you really eat healthy or

make more conscious food choices when

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you are having to be more aware and

cognizant of your financial situation.

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Practices and maybe you can't afford

to eat organic or you can't afford

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certain things, and your default is

to hit up the fast food restaurant.

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That is really affordable

for a lot of people.

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So it's really, and again, you, I'm

glad you, I'm glad you preface this

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with saying that yes, we do not

claim to offer financial advice, but

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it's, we wanted to acknowledge that.

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It's a part of well being.

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It just is.

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And um, and I think with, if we hadn't

acknowledged it, then it would almost

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sort of be the elephant in the room.

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So it allows us with our clients

and people we work with to say, Hey,

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let's just think about this piece.

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We don't have to dive into it.

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We're not going to be your financial

planners or figure out what's

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lacking or what's in excess.

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It's just a matter of saying,

Hey, we acknowledge that this

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may or may not be playing a role

in your particular well being.

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And then how can we.

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How can we work with you to optimize

that part of your well being as well?

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Sure.

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It's, wow, what a huge topic.

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Right.

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Um, and you know, I, I come at

stress from many different levels.

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I'm human, of course, like we all are, and

we all experience stress to some degree.

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I also, I think, have a somewhat unique.

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Um, perspective in that I am on the

front lines of emergency medicine,

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which is this whole another, you know,

stressful situation and kind of how I've

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learned to navigate that over the years.

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But stress, like you said,

it's, it's a part of life.

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It's a part of everybody

and not all stress is bad.

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When we think about stress, acute

stress is different than chronic stress.

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And this is something that I'm sure

your listeners have contemplated before

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or heard, heard you talk about even.

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But acute stress.

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is not bad.

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It's, that's what helps us move.

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You know, stress response

is what gets you in motion.

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It gets you doing something.

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It produces an action.

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So acute stress isn't bad.

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That's what helps us get

out of bed in the morning.

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It's what helps you put one foot in front

of the other when you're afraid to go

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out on stage and give your presentation.

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It's what helps you get dressed and

walk out the door for a first date.

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You know, those little surges

of acute stress are, are good

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and they're helpful to us even.

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And it's the chronic stress situations

that are detrimental to our health, that

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have have long-term health effects, um, on

our bodies, on our minds, on everything.

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And I guess I can kind of rewind and

talk a little bit about kind of how

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that stress response happens if, if

you allow me the floor to go through

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a little bit of the physiology.

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So, Essentially, your body senses a threat

and that can come in many different forms.

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You can see something, hear

something, feel something.

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It's just one of your

senses picks up on a threat.

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And then that threat is interpreted

by the amygdala, which is a part of

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your brain that processes emotion.

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And once it's processed that as a threat,

it this cascade of neurotransmitters and

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chemical release throughout your body that

tells your body you need to do something.

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There's an action that needs to be done

right now to protect you from this threat.

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And your hypothalamus kicks into gear.

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It sends signals to the pituitary gland,

which sends signals to the adrenal gland.

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And then your adrenal gland starts pumping

out adrenaline or epinephrine, and then

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that's sort of the acute, really fast

acting stress hormone that comes out.

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And then.

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After that happens and produces all of

its effects to rev you up, then cortisol

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starts to be produced when your body

says, okay, this thread is not going away.

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I need a little more.

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I need a little more oomph.

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Um, so it's really when we talk

about the stress response and there

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are more players involved, but the

two main ones are going to be your

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adrenaline and your cortisol and the

effects that that has on your body.

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We can all imagine, right?

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If we all pause for right now and

just think of a stressful situation.

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So you bring some to mind, you can almost

even start to feel that feeling come on.

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And again, it's a protective mechanism.

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It's, we're designed as very complex

creatures, and we're designed

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for these things to protect us.

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So, you know, these, this sympathetic

response or this, drive and the

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stress response is really designed

to shunt blood to the necessary

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organs that get you to move.

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So it's going to take blood

away from your digestive tract.

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It's going to shunt it out to your

muscles, to your heart, to make your heart

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pump faster, and it's going to constrict

some blood vessels and vasodilate others.

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It's going to make your respiratory

rate increase, so you're breathing

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faster, your pupils dilate.

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Um, it can show up as People can get

goosebumps or, you know, all, all kinds

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of sort of that adrenaline surge that

we can all relate to and identify.

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But the thing about stress is if

you don't allow it time to, for that

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system to come down or neutralize or

regulate in some way, and it stays in

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this sort of on state all the time,

that's when it becomes problematic.

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That's when our, our physical bodies

start to say, look this isn't good for me.

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I, you know, I can't, you

can't do that forever.

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And we see that come up in our

stressful lives these days.

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: 00:24:19

You know, we are walking around with

a to do list that's a mile long and we

296

: 00:24:24

have tons of roles and responsibilities

that are with us all the time.

297

: 00:24:28

and I mean, gosh, just even being

connected better to one another,

298

: 00:24:32

having the internet, having

social media, all of that stuff.

299

: 00:24:35

It's wonderful in so many ways when it

comes to connection, but it's added a lot

300

: 00:24:39

more chronic stress to a lot of people.

301

: 00:24:42

So I guess I'll kind of stop there

and let you comment or chime in or

302

: 00:24:47

ask a question, but really when we're

talking about stress being harmful to

303

: 00:24:52

us or harmful to our health and our

well being, it's that chronic state

304

: 00:24:56

of stress that we're referring to.

305

: 00:24:57

Not those acute stress

states that are helpful and

306

: 00:25:00

purposeful and need to be there.

307

: 00:25:02

It's that chronic, you know, shoulders

up a little bit, closer to your ears

308

: 00:25:07

all the time, um, you know, the things

that we can, we can all imagine.

309

: 00:25:22

And So many.

310

: 00:25:24

Um, yeah, everything.

311

: 00:25:27

I mean, if you think about the

short term effects, um, you know,

312

: 00:25:32

poor sleep, poor interpersonal

relationships, poor food choices.

313

: 00:25:39

Um, you know, those are kind of the

more immediate things, but then long

314

: 00:25:42

term, you know, stress has an effect

on our cardiovascular system, on our

315

: 00:25:46

arteries, our heart, our, you know,

our insulin and glucose regulation.

316

: 00:25:52

It has an effect.

317

: 00:25:53

impact on our immune system and

our ability to heal and heal our

318

: 00:25:57

wounds and avoid getting sick.

319

: 00:26:00

So, I mean, it really affects

every single system in our body.

320

: 00:26:04

I mean, stress has been linked

to certain types of cancers.

321

: 00:26:06

It's been linked to

anxiety and depression.

322

: 00:26:10

A lot of chronic stress can also

play a role now, we're discovering

323

: 00:26:14

in Alzheimer's and diseases that

people develop later in life.

324

: 00:26:17

So it's, it's really something that

has become kind of a buzz worthy

325

: 00:26:22

topic nowadays, but it really does

have lasting impact on your health

326

: 00:26:28

and on your life if, if it's left

unmanaged, really, for too long.

327

: 00:27:56

Wow.

328

: 00:27:57

Well, that's a, it's a hard one.

329

: 00:27:58

I mean, as you mentioned, a lot

of us and I myself included, I

330

: 00:28:03

don't get this right all the time.

331

: 00:28:04

And I have certainly struggled

with times in my life where I

332

: 00:28:09

have been chronically stressed.

333

: 00:28:11

I mean, I mentioned COVID earlier.

334

: 00:28:13

I mean, Um, being an emergency physician

and a director and chief, chief of

335

: 00:28:19

my department for those three years.

336

: 00:28:21

Um, that was a whole new level

of stress and it was chronic.

337

: 00:28:26

It was three years straight pretty

much and almost resistant to my

338

: 00:28:31

usual, uh, mitigation and regulatory

mechanisms despite my efforts at them.

339

: 00:28:38

So, um, you know, it is, it's

hard to, it's hard to recognize.

340

: 00:28:42

And A lot of us kind of go through,

we're on this autopilot mode, we

341

: 00:28:47

have those mile long tasks and to

do lists, like I mentioned, but

342

: 00:28:51

we feel like we're managing them.

343

: 00:28:54

And, On a superficial

level, we are managing them.

344

: 00:28:58

We're getting the things

done that need to be done.

345

: 00:29:00

We're showing up at work.

346

: 00:29:01

We're remembering the birthday.

347

: 00:29:03

We're bringing the kids to school.

348

: 00:29:05

We're making it to the

after school events.

349

: 00:29:08

We're getting the groceries.

350

: 00:29:09

We're keeping our household tidy.

351

: 00:29:11

We're doing all the things that

are on that list, and then some.

352

: 00:29:15

So it feels like we're managing them.

353

: 00:29:17

We think we are, but that's

also potentially the person

354

: 00:29:22

who is more irritable.

355

: 00:29:24

They're not showing up when the

friends are having a get together.

356

: 00:29:27

They're not sleeping great at night,

or maybe they're sleeping okay, but

357

: 00:29:32

it's because they're now having a

glass of wine, or a beer, or a cocktail

358

: 00:29:36

every night before they go to bed.

359

: 00:29:38

And I guess I would say at some

point Living in that chronic state

360

: 00:29:45

of chronic stress is not sustainable.

361

: 00:29:47

Something is going to pop up that red

flag somewhere is going to show up and

362

: 00:29:53

it's just a matter of being willing

to see it and being open to taking a

363

: 00:29:58

pause in your life and saying, okay,

let me step back and think about these

364

: 00:30:04

parts of myself and what's happening.

365

: 00:30:06

I think Evan, honestly, one of the

drivers for My interest in this well

366

: 00:30:13

being space, if you will, and my

husband's too, is, you know, healthcare

367

: 00:30:17

in general lacks resources in this

area, you know, most primary care

368

: 00:30:24

doctors that people see, you're going

to maybe see your primary care doctor

369

: 00:30:28

once a year for your regular checkup.

370

: 00:30:31

They're going to order

the basic labs on you.

371

: 00:30:33

They're going to ask you how

much alcohol do you drink?

372

: 00:30:35

Do you smoke?

373

: 00:30:35

How much exercise are you getting?

374

: 00:30:37

But in reality, unfortunately, the

way the system is today, they have

375

: 00:30:41

about 15 minutes to spend with you.

376

: 00:30:43

And if you're seeing your doctor more

regularly than that, then that might

377

: 00:30:46

mean that's because you have Um, and

378

: 00:30:53

I think it's important to remember that

there's a lot of focus on preventative

379

: 00:30:57

medicine and preventative care.

380

: 00:30:58

And for me, and a lot of others, that's

where the space of well being comes in.

381

: 00:31:03

It's, it's not about necessarily what

disease process do you have or what

382

: 00:31:09

disease process are you at risk for?

383

: 00:31:11

Yes, those are important, but it's, How

can all of these other parts that make you

384

: 00:31:15

who you are, all these other aspects or

arenas of your life, how are they either

385

: 00:31:20

working for you or working against you

right now at this moment in your life?

386

: 00:31:23

And then how can we adopt some sustainable

practices so that you can live healthy?

387

: 00:31:30

It's not just about increasing

our longevity and living longer.

388

: 00:31:33

It's about increasing our health span

and extending the number of healthy

389

: 00:31:38

years that we have on this earth.

390

: 00:31:40

Um, so sorry, I think I got off topic

there, but, um, but again, I think

391

: 00:31:45

it's more about just stepping back,

taking a pause and Um, I think even

392

: 00:31:51

the sort of core concepts of well

being, you can use those as a little

393

: 00:31:54

inventory or a checklist to just say,

how am I doing on my self awareness?

394

: 00:32:00

How am I doing on my fitness?

395

: 00:32:02

How am I doing my nutrition?

396

: 00:32:03

What's, what are my emotional and

relationship circles like these days?

397

: 00:32:07

Am I feeling socially connected?

398

: 00:32:09

Am I feeling emotionally satisfied

with where I am with my relationships?

399

: 00:32:12

Um, you can even ask yourself about.

400

: 00:32:15

Your financial stability, and then,

you know, the, the other one that

401

: 00:32:18

I don't think we've touched on at

all, but, you know, how is my sleep?

402

: 00:32:21

Am I giving myself some time to recover,

to rejuvenate, to let all of these

403

: 00:32:25

processes and things that are happening

in my body throughout the day settle

404

: 00:32:29

in at night when I'm sleeping and

really do their work behind the scenes?

405

: 00:32:33

So I think well being and these

concepts of well being act and serve

406

: 00:32:38

as a, as a good checklist for people.

407

: 00:32:40

And that's.

408

: 00:32:41

Probably, I mean, gosh, I think if you

just checked in with yourself once every

409

: 00:32:45

few months and ran that list of those six

things, you'd probably be, be pretty good.

410

: 00:34:56

a level of stress.

411

: 00:34:58

You bring up a good point because, you

know, you said you were meditating a

412

: 00:35:02

lot and I mean, it becomes a practice.

413

: 00:35:03

It's called a practice for a reason and

you have to allow yourself some grace

414

: 00:35:07

and some self compassion to say, you

know, I'm going to start this practice

415

: 00:35:11

and I'm not going to get it perfect

every time, but let's see if this helps.

416

: 00:35:15

And one thing that I recommend to my

patients, to my clients, to my friends,

417

: 00:35:19

whoever will listen, um, is to just start

with a really small digestible nugget.

418

: 00:35:25

Like.

419

: 00:35:26

Take 30 seconds of your day and just

sit, just be by yourself, take a pause.

420

: 00:35:32

I tell my kids, I use the term take

a beat, I just, I don't know where I

421

: 00:35:35

got that from, but I just tell them

like, girls, just like, let's just

422

: 00:35:38

take a beat, you know, and we just

kind of sit and it's like 30 seconds

423

: 00:35:41

or a minute, you know, where you

can just like be quiet, have some

424

: 00:35:46

semblance of just being with yourself.

425

: 00:35:48

And honestly, if you just did

that for 30 seconds, I mean, you

426

: 00:35:52

can set the little timer on your

watch or your phone or something.

427

: 00:35:56

And if you get to the end of that

30 seconds and you feel like Oh

428

: 00:36:00

my gosh, that was impossible.

429

: 00:36:01

I mean, it's only 30 seconds, you know, so

I would, I would encourage that person who

430

: 00:36:06

gets to the end of 30 seconds and feels

like, oh my gosh, that was just brutal.

431

: 00:36:10

Well, you know, that probably is

a practice that you should try to

432

: 00:36:13

incorporate a little bit more and maybe

that's your sign or your signal that,

433

: 00:36:17

um, you're running, uh, on, you know,

434

: 00:36:24

And I think, you know, I talked,

um, in one of the podcast episodes

435

: 00:36:27

about just finding, finding that

practice that works for you.

436

: 00:36:32

But again, it starts simple.

437

: 00:36:33

I mean, we all go to the bathroom.

438

: 00:36:36

Every day, multiple times, and

we are, myself included, I'll

439

: 00:36:40

include myself in the we here.

440

: 00:36:42

We are so used to just grabbing our

phone, we go to the bathroom, we check

441

: 00:36:47

our email, we're looking on social media,

we're doing whatever, and like, I have

442

: 00:36:52

to really remind myself to not do that.

443

: 00:36:55

Like, like, why can't I just

go to the bathroom for five

444

: 00:36:59

minutes and not have my phone?

445

: 00:37:01

Um, so I've really tried

to incorporate that.

446

: 00:37:04

And again, it sounds silly, but I've

tried to incorporate that into my

447

: 00:37:08

regular practice of, engineering little

moments of mindfulness throughout my

448

: 00:37:13

day where I can just be present and

then see what's coming up for me.

449

: 00:37:17

Um, and the other practice that I think

is helpful when I, uh, teach my yoga

450

: 00:37:22

class, I oftentimes will give them

a little challenge at the end or a

451

: 00:37:25

little assignment and say, okay, when

you, you know, when you do this, when

452

: 00:37:29

you go home, I want you to try this.

453

: 00:37:30

And one of the things that I've

recommended, and a lot of people

454

: 00:37:33

have actually given me feedback

like, Wow, that was amazing.

455

: 00:37:35

I don't ever think to do that.

456

: 00:37:37

I encourage them to drive home with

no music and put the windows down.

457

: 00:37:42

And, It's, it's amazing.

458

: 00:37:45

It feels so invigorating and refreshing

and you feel so connected to the world.

459

: 00:37:50

And I mean, again, it sounds

ridiculous sometimes when I

460

: 00:37:53

hear myself say it, but try it.

461

: 00:37:55

If you've never done that,

it's, and it's so tempting.

462

: 00:37:58

You maybe get like two minutes into

your drive and then you want to put

463

: 00:38:01

the radio on or you want to turn

on the podcast or something, but,

464

: 00:38:04

um, if you can kind of really force

yourself to just resist that urge.

465

: 00:38:10

And especially when it's the

weather's great and I mean, it's

466

: 00:38:12

just, there's something about that,

that will bring you into a state

467

: 00:38:16

of mindfulness and being present.

468

: 00:38:18

And, and it's, once you start

practicing those moments, you'll

469

: 00:38:22

find that they're a little bit

easier to incorporate into your life.

470

: 00:39:31

Yeah, it's that notion of kind of

just bringing it back to basics.

471

: 00:39:34

And I think even with nutrition

and fitness, sometimes you just

472

: 00:39:39

bring it back to the basics, and

that's a great place to start.

473

: 00:39:43

Um, you know, what kinds of things

were we eating back then, and we

474

: 00:39:46

didn't have all this processed

stuff, and even from a fitness

475

: 00:39:49

standpoint, I mean, just go for a walk.

476

: 00:39:51

Outside.

477

: 00:39:52

That's, that's great.

478

: 00:39:53

It's so good for you.

479

: 00:39:54

You know, don't, sometimes I think

as humans, uh, we, we tend to

480

: 00:39:58

overcomplicate things and sometimes

simple, uh, can be really nice and

481

: 00:40:03

really healthy and, uh, keep us well.

482

: 00:40:52

Yeah, it's a good point and

I think it underscores the

483

: 00:40:54

point that it's all connected.

484

: 00:40:56

You can't separate the mind and the body.

485

: 00:40:59

It's all connected in there.

486

: 00:41:02

All of the choices that you make

throughout your life are going

487

: 00:41:06

to affect some other part of you.

488

: 00:41:09

Um, and, you know, that's a, so I think,

I'm glad you brought that up because

489

: 00:41:13

it does, again, it underscores that

point that it's all, it's all connected.

490

: 00:42:06

Gosh, well, pregnancy is such a whirlwind

of emotion and physical changes, just

491

: 00:42:14

gigantic transformation in so many ways.

492

: 00:42:17

And I think that, Um, the key point I

would make is that the healthier you

493

: 00:42:25

are, the better equipped you are to

care for your child and your family.

494

: 00:42:30

And that means during pregnancy as well.

495

: 00:42:32

I mean, I meet patients all the

time as an ER physician who are

496

: 00:42:37

pregnant and they're going through

something and you know, they're,

497

: 00:42:41

they're very worried about the baby.

498

: 00:42:43

And of course we have

to consider the baby.

499

: 00:42:45

But.

500

: 00:42:46

One thing we often talk about is,

look, we need to make sure that you are

501

: 00:42:50

the healthiest you can be right now.

502

: 00:42:51

We, right now, we need to take care of

you so that you can continue with this

503

: 00:42:56

pregnancy, so that you can continue

to be successful in this process.

504

: 00:43:01

And, um, so again, I think I would say

that that's kind of the main point is.

505

: 00:43:06

I mean, you got to take care of mom.

506

: 00:43:07

And if mom is taken care of and

mom is healthy and mom's well

507

: 00:43:11

being is accounted for, then

that's what's best for the child.

508

: 00:43:16

And, you know, in the postpartum period

in particular, gosh, I don't think

509

: 00:43:20

this would be a much bigger topic

than you want to get into right now,

510

: 00:43:23

but just to keep it, uh, generalized,

uh, as you introduced it in that way.

511

: 00:43:27

But, you know, Um, mom's well

being is not just about self care

512

: 00:43:34

or, you know, allowing mom to go

have a 15 minute nap or something.

513

: 00:43:39

Yes, those things are important,

but it's really about mom feeling

514

: 00:43:43

supported and feeling acknowledged

and accepting of her choices, what she

515

: 00:43:49

feels is best for herself or her baby.

516

: 00:43:52

You know, there's so much guilt and

pressure and expectation and comparisons

517

: 00:43:57

that come with, um, Um, and what we um,

that it's, it's a space that I'm glad

518

: 00:44:03

is gaining a little more attention, I

think, from just the world and society

519

: 00:44:07

and the, even the healthcare system,

but, um, but yeah, I think we probably

520

: 00:44:13

all, as a society, need to give a little

more attention to the well being of

521

: 00:44:17

mothers, and I actually, Evan, if you'll

let me, uh, land you with a shameless

522

: 00:44:22

plug here, part of what we do at Lasting

Impact, I have developed this Kind of

523

: 00:44:28

side program than my baby pun intended

and it's called changing grace and it's

524

: 00:44:32

actually a well being program designed

specifically for moms And it focuses on

525

: 00:44:37

maternal well being and takes into account

some of these pillars of well being,

526

: 00:44:41

but it really More so helps them move

through a place where they may feel stuck

527

: 00:44:48

in their identity or role as a mother.

528

: 00:44:51

And while it's an important role, um,

it helps them to recognize that they

529

: 00:44:55

are more than, uh, more than that.

530

: 00:44:57

And, um, have a lot to offer themselves,

their family and the world around them.

531

: 00:45:01

So, um, so yeah, pretty passionate

about that topic if you can't tell.

532

: 00:45:06

So I'm glad you brought it up, but yeah.

533

: 00:46:37

No, I mean, I, you know, it's, it's

motherhood and postpartum and all that is

534

: 00:46:41

a different experience for every woman.

535

: 00:46:43

Of course, it's very unique and each woman

has her own challenges and struggles,

536

: 00:46:48

um, you know, certainly when it comes

to your physical health or your caloric

537

: 00:46:53

needs as you stated, you know, some

of that does depend on breastfeeding

538

: 00:46:58

or not breastfeeding, for example.

539

: 00:46:59

Um, you know, there's, there is

more, you need more calories if

540

: 00:47:04

you're burning them at that rate that

you are when you're breastfeeding.

541

: 00:47:08

Um, but it's just such a, I mean,

Um, that transition from never being

542

: 00:47:15

pregnant to being pregnant and then

that transition afterward or afterward,

543

: 00:47:20

um, you know, it's, it's a complete

transformation in, in your body.

544

: 00:47:25

I mean, your hormones are all over

the place and your body has just done

545

: 00:47:31

something that still blows my mind, even

the fact that I've done it multiple times.

546

: 00:47:35

It's like,

547

: 00:47:39

Um, so, you know, there's definitely room

for a lot more, um, you know, Uh, self

548

: 00:47:46

compassion and kindness to ourselves when

we are women going through that state.

549

: 00:47:51

And again, I think a lot of it, um, what

I would like to see and I think a lot of

550

: 00:47:56

other women would like to see is there

being more, uh, opportunity to have

551

: 00:48:00

discussions like this, to talk about,

you know, what is actually going on.

552

: 00:48:03

What are those, you know, what

are the expectations that We place

553

: 00:48:07

on ourselves, but also society

places upon us and, you know, how

554

: 00:48:11

do we, how do we counteract that?

555

: 00:48:13

How do we say, look, that's not

realistic or I'm, you know, that's

556

: 00:48:17

your opinion, it's not mine.

557

: 00:48:19

And, um, it's, it's an interesting,

it's an interesting space.

558

: 00:48:23

Um, I'm not, are you familiar

with the word matrescence?

559

: 00:48:25

Have you heard of that word, Evan?

560

: 00:48:28

So I'm, and I'm not a, you know, I'm not

a, you know, specialist in this area, but

561

: 00:48:34

there is this new accepted term called

matrescence and essentially it's this

562

: 00:48:39

term that describes the period of time

after a woman gives birth and becomes a

563

: 00:48:44

mother and it sounds sort of phonetically

similar to adolescence and in adolescence

564

: 00:48:49

that, as you know, describes your

transition from being a A kid to an adult,

565

: 00:48:55

essentially, and how our bodies go through

so much physical change at that time.

566

: 00:49:00

We go through so much hormonal change

at that time, emotional change, right?

567

: 00:49:04

It's such a huge time in our lives

where so much is happening at once.

568

: 00:49:10

And Um, if you think about it, so what

matrescence, or it's called matrescence,

569

: 00:49:15

what that describes is really this

period of time in a woman's life

570

: 00:49:19

after she's, you know, been pregnant

and then given birth where she's

571

: 00:49:22

also going through a lot of physical

changes, a lot of hormonal changes,

572

: 00:49:26

emotional changes, where again, things

are kind of all over the place again.

573

: 00:49:31

And I bring that up to say.

574

: 00:49:34

Sometimes when we label something or we

can give it a word or we can give it an

575

: 00:49:37

identity, um, it, it can open the door for

discussion and research and, um, bringing

576

: 00:49:45

Elemental Evan Show

Episode 151

25th Oct 2023

151. Simple Health Hacks From A Doctor

Simple Health Hacks From a Doctor

Transcript

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About the Podcast

About your host

Evan Roberts