Reflections on the ending of Healthy-ish

Holley Hello, how are you Hello?

I'm well, how are you flyss?

I'm sad this is it. This is the grand finale.

It's the finale. It's the finale. How are you feeling?

Well?

Very mixed actually, like, I'm really excited that and I'm very proud of the four years that healthy Ish and Extra healthy Ish has existed when I've been on the mic it was here before that. Very well, grateful for all the guests who've come on, and extra extra thankful for all the listeners. So yeah, I'm buoyant from that, but also feeling quite sad to close this podcast once and for all.

I'm sure it's such a big achievement. It's been amazing as a regular listener and then so times co host. It's been an absolute trait. It's sad to imagine a world without Healthyest.

Oh, thank you well, it's been delightful having you on the pod every Friday and Thursday. You know, we're Thursday this year with Friday last year. But thank you for showing up and bringing some really interesting stories. So let's just have one final one from you. What's been well? What's grabbing your attention? On Body and Soul Online, this week.

Well, I know you love. A social media trend said.

You brought one to the end. Thank you.

Yes I have, Yes, I have.

So my pick of the week is why the wellness world can't get enough of brain flossing.

Oh this is brilliant. I think this is the best ever it might be.

It's not using dental floss on your brain, as it sounds, thank goodness. It's actually listening to certain frequencies of music to help you focus and calm down. This is called bilateral stimulation and involved sound traveling rapidly between your left and right ears, which triggers each side of the brain, and people have described this as feeling like flossing, pulling, or tingling feelings, overwhelming emotional releases, and waves of calm after listening, which I think sounds pretty good.

Now, I've just come from a yoga class, and I would say I feel all of the above after yoga.

So maybe you don't need to floss your brain then.

Well, look, I'm into anything to make myself feel better anyway. Carry on.

True.

So unlike white or pink noise, which sometimes people use to help calm down, but it's not quite enough. There is evidence that bilateral stimulation can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for our flight or flight response. So in theory, this alternating stimulation of each side of the brain can help us move from a state of like panic and flight or flight into rest, which I think

How do we access this sort of music and noise.

So the best thing is that you can find these freequencies on Spotify or on YouTube, so they're really accessible for anyone who needs them. You can listen to them anytime, like you're in free rerest state. Yeah, and it's free. It's great. Therapist doctor Caroline Fenkel said that it can simulate similar effects of meditating and deep breathing and it does calm the nervous system.

So I think it's great.

I like this flossing for your brain.

Yeah, I'll be flossing.

Well, I'm just going to start flossing now this podcast is over.

But actually, when you first said flossing, I could just all I could think I was a dance move that my kids still do.

So it's very far from that.

Was flossing lockdown era.

It was, but it still lingers.

Yeah, oh it's still lingers. It's around now.

Not to put you on the spot, but did you have a do you have a favorite episode? Well, I am putting you on the spot. That's probably did you have a favorite or do you have a favorite episode of Healthy Ish one that really sticks out for you?

Just to pep yourself up a bit there, No.

No, I didn't mean that.

I just want you to share now an amazing and I know, I know, yeah, an amazing guess that we may have had that struck a chord with you.

The one that comes to mind is the interview you did in twenty twenty two with doctor Anna Lemke. She is a psychiatrist and currently the Professor and Medical Director of Addiction Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine.

And she wrote a.

Book called Dopamine Nation, which you spoke to her about. And I loved this because the book is all about our dependence on digital devices and what it's doing to our mental health and why actually having a dopamine fast is the best thing you can do. And I love all content about dopamine and morning routines and things like this. So I thought this was such a great chat and one I think about quite often.

Yeah, I loved her. She was brilliant.

I really I've always well, I did get a kick out of interviewing you know, people who really know their dare I say, shit, She's been in the space for forty years, She's done lots of research, She's worked with addicts across gambling and alcohol and drug like, she was just amazing And yeah, I mean she's worried that we are addicted to dopamine and that perhaps all of us are addicted some on some part of the spectrum when it comes to well, our phones. And I think, actually, interestingly,

And my god, I know a lots thank.

You and the ones around tech stepping away from your phone, you know, managing your Doveman levels always did so well. So I feel like this is just such a hot topic for people right now, Like we recognize the impact that this technology is having on us, and we want any advice and help that we can do to curb our dependence.

Yeah, I love it, and I love this someone who is so qualified considers addictions to alcohol and drugs almost on the same level as being comparable to social media.

They don't mean it. It's fascinating.

Now, Holly, I'm not bringing a story this week. I have to perhaps indulge you listeners, well, indulge me for a bit because I need and you because I thought, after four years, I want to close off this podcast with a few of my biggest learnings in health and wellness. Perhaps the biggest is probably to preface this is we all know what works. We know deep down what's going to work for us, and they're really when it comes to better health and wellbeing, there is no one.

Size fits all approach.

It's really about working out what works for you and trusting your intuition because you know and we know what works for us. The basics work the simple stuff. Eat thirty plants, eat the rainbow each you know, try and eat as much of the rainbow thirty plants a week, less processed foods, move more, get up from your desk, walk around, don't take the bus, get off a bus to like all those little things.

Actually sleep sometimes.

Sleep sleep manager, sleep hygiene. We all know this now, and it's just about doing the tiny bits every day that add up to a lot over the course of a week or a year.

Really, I love that, and things trend and like new techniques and things come up, but at the end of the day, it's just those basic building blocks.

Yeah.

And the other little thing I will throw in is that one thing that I perhaps I was never really into meditation. Well I never have been, and a lot of people talk about how wonderful it is, But for me, the breath work side of things, I think that repeatedly comes up and just taking time to stop and take ten breaths can actually change, you know, the state of your body. It can and take you from your parasympathetic to your sympathetic.

Is that the right way around?

Yes, sometimes it gets so confused with those and it can. Actually it actually helps in the course about our busy days. So that was the other, perhaps the thing that was just reiterated to me over all the interviews.

I like that and I think similarly to the bilateral stimulation. Actually, breath work is not something that you have to do a class for or anything. You can whip it out of your pocket whenever you need it.

Yeah, absolutely, And I just thought I was trying some interesting observations things that perhaps you know, listeners, you love hearing about, you love learning about. We're obsessed with neuroscience, dopamine. As I said, morning routines. Whenever we did any episode around morning routines, oh, the downloads were phenomenal. We're also pretty stressed out and as I said, want to break free from tech. We are loving saunas and ice bars,

Yeah, we love to find out what it is, even if it's insane.

Absolutely, and we also love anything to do with better sex.

Yeah, we do.

Always a welcome you guys. It's nice the sex is wellness, you know. And that's been a good shift. It's probably happened partially while you've been doing the podcast too, Lou.

Yeah, it actually it has. And that's an interesting point. Actually, over the four years, I've really noticed the trend and the movement culturally around health and wellness and perhaps how it's changed from trusting influences to now trusting bonafie experts, which speaks to my heart as I'm really all about science backed information.

I love it.

But anyway, Holly, I just want to say, well, firstly, a big thank you to all the listeners who have stuck around, who've pressed play and have told us and shared with us how much you enjoy the podcast.

Thank you to all the.

Guests who've given up their time to chat to me and Holly. Thank you to you for being such a great co host.

Thank you Chelys, you've taught us all so much. And this world, well you're still here and you'll still.

Be doing it. Watch these space people. I will be back.

Yes it won't be the same, but we'll be hearing from you soon, I'm sure.

Thanks hold see you later.

Thanks everyone, Bye,