About three years ago, I wrote a series of articles called Sleep Better Now that described how to get the best night's sleep possible. I just re-read these articles and almost every detail and habit I've explained is still being practiced by me to this day. Over three years, I have made some minor tweaks and improvements from trying new recommendations and based on what I've learned from my data. Those upgrades (new tools, tactics, and habits) are divulged here...
Read moreUpgrade Your Health and Happiness with Gratitude
Skimming through your social media feeds during the holiday season, especially the week of Thanksgiving, you might think that every one of your peers is constantly brimming with joy and thankfulness due to their countless blessings. But, let’s be honest, this is only a once-annual occurrence for most people. Thanks to the obligatory status updates and bombardment of turkey day marketing, we’re all reminded that it’s time to express our gratitude.
Over-commercialism and Hallmark-ism aside, I think it’s great to have a national holiday in which we are encouraged to be thankful for what we have and those around us. The tradition of sharing this day with family over a large meal is one I truly enjoy (in particular, the socially acceptable binge eating), and I’m sure I’m not the only one that really looks forward to it. However, there is mounting evidence showing that expressing gratitude regularly has a profound impact on overall health and happiness. Perhaps giving thanks should be a daily ritual as opposed to a yearly tradition (minus the food coma).
Read moreHacking Your Hangover: A How-To Guide for Prevention and Recovery that Works
Brace yourselves... The holidays are coming. All those upcoming celebrations and gatherings - Halloween (the entire weekend for many people), Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, and more - bring with them many opportunities to consume copious amounts of alcohol with friends and family. It's true that drinking alcohol, especially on a regular basis, can sabotage your health, performance, and longevity goals. However, enjoying yourself on the infrequent special occasion won't completely derail your ambitions, especially when done right. Inevitably, after an evening of enjoying alcohol, hangovers ensue sapping us of our energy, health, cognitive performance, and holiday spirits. Follow my advice, and you will minimize your headache, hangover, and regrets while still having fun.
Read moreLife Upgrade: Shopping at the Farmers Market
If you're regularly buying groceries and preparing your own meals already, congratulations. You're already well ahead of the curve and most likely a lot healthier than the fast-food eating, microwavable meal munching majority. Most shoppers prefer to purchase their groceries from the nearby supermarket because it is more accessible and convenient. If this is your preferred method, then I would like to issue a challenge to you, because you have no idea just how much you are missing by skipping your local farmer’s market. Find out when and where your nearest farmer's market is taking place (here's a good place to start) and mark it on your calendar. This is a weekly habit that will benefit you and your community. Offering a healthy, fun social experience and unique benefits, shopping in the farmer's market is more than just buying what you need for the week.
Read moreWhat's In Your Fridge?
Great habits are formed more easily by building an environment that is conducive to them. When it comes to optimizing overall health, performance, appearance, and longevity, there's no question that having healthy eating habits is critical. Make the habit of eating healthy close to fail-proof by stocking your fridge and shelves with high-quality foods and eliminating any sort of temptations that will interfere with your goals. You will avoid decision fatigue, save time, and even avoid stress by stocking up on the same nutritious (and delicious) foods every time you visit the grocery store, or better yet, farmers market.
Read more15 Minutes to Less Stress, More Focus, and Better Health (There's an App for That)
What if there was an app that could help you reduce stress, increase your attention span, boost your immunity, sleep better, forgive more easily, appreciate life and those around you more, be more creative, be more happy, and get more done? Sounds too good to be true, right? But there is an app for that - it’s called Headspace. This isn’t an exaggeration or woo-woo pseudoscience stuff either; this is the real deal backed by many years of research and confirmed by recent advancements in neuroimaging. And despite how relatively new Headspace is, it is simply a tool to guide the user in a practice that has actually been around for thousands of years - mindfulness meditation.
Read moreThe Essential Podcast Guide for Health, Fitness, Science, and Lifestyle
Podcast content spans a wide range of topics including health & nutrition, bio-hacking, entrepreneurship, personal development, daily news, comedy, entertainment, music of virtually every genre, and much more. Podcasts are generally presented by a host who is an expert in his or her field and provides monthly, weekly, or even daily episodes that can be streamed, downloaded a la carte, or automatically pushed to your device(s) once you subscribe to them. The episode format varies widely from genre to genre, host to host, and even episode to episode. This variety is growing and is exactly why I consume so many podcasts regularly, and a big part of why their popularity is quickly rising.
Read moreCoachella Week Crash Course
Let's be real… with the inevitable tidal wave of wine and matzo from Passover or the ham and mashed potatoes from Easter, that Coachella body of yours is in dire need of a reset. I am going to run through a quick explanation of how to recover from your cheat weekend...
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