I recently listened to Rich Roll Podcast 209, with Dr. Rhonda Patrick on longevity, epigenetics and microbiome health. Loved it; great show if you’re looking for an episode to listen to. They dive into some really interesting things about gene expression, telomere length and longevity, circadian rhythm, and the importance of microbiome health to immune health. Fascinating stuff.
Some take aways from this podcast episode:
Eat your fiber; it feeds your healthy gut bacteria. If you take a probiotic but don’t feed your body fiber, it’s like planting a seed but not watering the garden. Consider a Vitamin D3 supplement if you live north of the 30 degree latitude marker, because for months out of the year you won’t receive enough UVB rays for your body to convert sunlight to Vitamin D3. It’s important for circadian rhythm and sleep health to be exposed to a lot of light during the day; SAD is a real phenomenon. Take antibiotics only when needed for health, and avoid them in your food supply.
Meditation: One of the things they discussed in the podcast episode was meditation, and the evidence that supports it as a good practice for health and longevity.
Dr. Patrick expressed an interest in meditation because there’s evidence to support how healthy it is, but she doesn’t currently practice it. My curiosity is piqued when someone with a Ph.D. in biomedical science says that they want to take up meditation because of the scientific literature. This isn’t an enthusiastic practitioner who might be succeptible to confirmation bias because they love their meditation practice; this is someone with a lot of scientific savvy saying they don’t do it, but they’d like to. Compelling.
Dr. Patrick said that there’s evidence that people’s gene expression actually changes with meditation, which is… well, amazing. Pyschology Today, Huffington Post and Scientific American have all written articles on the topic.
Change your gene expression? That’s powerful stuff. (Not change your genetic makeup itself… just ones are turned on or off ie “expressed”, so no… it won’t allow you to mutate into one of the X-Men.)
I think I’d like my genes to express themselves better. (There’s a denim joke in here somewhere.)
Headspace: A Meditation and Mindfulness App
In the podcast, Rich Roll recommended the mindfulness app Headspace, which offers guided meditation practices and more right on your computer or mobile device.
The first ten sessions of 10 minutes each are free, then it requires a subscription which ranges from $7.99 per month if you commit to a year up to $12.95 if you go month-to-month.
I mentioned the app at a Wellness Retreat today, and several other people attending gave it a thumbs up, including Cory Halaby, the yoga instructor and certified wellness coach who first got me interested in mindfulness last year.
My first 10 minutes
I downloaded the app, found it easy to navigate, and did my first 10 minutes of guided meditation on Friday. I decided to do it in the 10 minutes before I needed to leave for preschool pick-up, that way I just stopped my regular morning activities ten minutes sooner than normal instead of interrupting something. It also meant I would pick up the kids in a more relaxed and peaceful state.
It went shockingly well. I enjoy guided meditation, since it’s easier for beginners. I felt more relaxed, and was much more productive than normal all afternoon. I felt more focused, aware and motivated.
I also felt skeptical and mildly suspicious that the placebo effect was kicking in, and I just finally had had enough of the clutter.
But for a 10 minute investment that absolutely left me feeling calmer on my way to reunite with my preschoolers, does it really matter if the benefits actually extended to my afternoon cleaning session?
I’m not sure it does.
We’ll see how things are going after the 100 minutes of free meditation (if I manage to stick with it…).
There are just so many articles online about how meditation can positively impact your brain, health, sleep, emotions… I like evidence. I like what shaping my habits based on evidence does for my overall health, mood and quality of life.
I’ve got to try this.
Ommm?
PS – if you find this information useful, you can support Rich Roll by making your next Amazon purchase through the affiliate link at the bottom of his website where it says “Shop at Amazon”. Since he provides me with hours of fascinating information for free, I thought I’d boost my karma by sharing the way you can help support his podcast.
PPS – I don’t actually believe in karma, I just shared that link because it felt like the right thing to do.
1 comment