The 7 Types of Rest You Need... 

Most of the time my sleep is pretty decent but this isn’t all the rest you need; there’s actually 7 types!  

1. Physical rest: Both passive (night time sleep & naps as required) and active rest (massage, stretching, ergonomic chairs/keyboard etc) 

2. Mental rest: cognitively deload your mind by writing down your tasks, making checklists (e.g. you’re doing the grocery shop), zone out (and do nothing.. literally do nothing) 

3. Social rest: Spend more time with people who give you energy and if you fancy yourself an introvert, build more time in your day to day to be on your own 

4. Spiritual rest: Involve yourself in something bigger than just you; volunteering, working on something that drives your purpose in life, faith based activities if you are religious 

5. Sensory rest: Reduce your overstimulating environment – turn off notifications, limit video meetings if you can, reduce time spent on social media 

6. Emotional rest: Be authentically yourself – for this spend more time around people you can be YOU 

7. Creative rest: take a brief (or long) walk through a garden, forest, museum... or go to a book store, library – engage with something that can allow you to appreciate something beautiful 

The list might seem overwhelming... yet ANOTHER list of things to do. But it’s not.

You likely to do many of these things already, but perhaps you might have a specific deficit in number 3 or 7 for example... work on the ones where you feel you are lacking that specific type of rest. 

(7 types of rest from Dr Dalton-Smith's book Sacred Rest) 

What You Need To Know About Egg Freezing... 

So women have a finite number of eggs in their biological baskets aka the ovaries... and an increasing number of women are looking to preserve these eggs and their fertility as they age... enter egg freezing. (aka “oocyte cryopreservation” ) 

The ovaries are the fasting aging organ in the body.. why? The answer isn’t clear but we do know that as the ovaries age, not only does the total number of eggs decline in number but the quality declines too (i.e. more changes in dna, genetic material) 

So what actually happens? 

The ovaries are stimulated to overproduce eggs which are then extracted out by doctors during a procedure which involves passing a fine needle through the vagina under ultrasound guidance.  

The viable eggs from this extraction are frozen and stored until called upon! (e.g. IVF etc would be the next stage if the woman wanted to proceed) 

Even with these wondrous new technologies, nothing is guaranteed.

A lot of the data we have comes from women under 30 and it’s estimated that the survival of eggs after the thawing is 90-97 percent, the subsequent fertilisation rate is up to 79 percent, the fertilised embryo implantation rate between 17-41 per cent and then the overall pregnancy rate per oocyte can be as low as 4.5-12 per cent. 

Aside from this, there are also medical risks associated with hyperstimulation of the ovaries too.  

While the technology still has more developments to come and we have more questions to answer, it certainly has revolutionised the fertility world where previously this sort of thing would be in the realms of sci-fi only! 

How To Get More Iron In Your Diet Cheat List...

Underrated items that are iron rich:

1. Nutritional yeast, lentils and tofu! For example 100g of tofu has 3.5mg of iron which is almost ¼ of the RDA for women and almost ½ for men 

2. Dark leafy green are rich in iron and many are even higher in iron when cooked, e.g spinach, kale, broccoli (add these to smoothies, soups and stews) 

3. When eating any of the above items, pair with vitamin C to further increase your iron absorption 

4. An easy, convenient way to add small amounts of iron to your diet is simply to cook more with cast iron pans or skillets! (some of the iron from the cookware leeches into your food.. so yes, you end up eating the metal!) 

5. Don’t shy away from foods fortified with iron (many cereals and bread) 

Remember, if you are iron deficient, you CANNOT eat your way out of iron deficiency. 

 P.S if you want to learn more useful science, order my book “This Book May Save. Your Life”

P.P.S if you’ve already read or listened to it, please drop a rating or review on amazon (every little one helps!)

Random Names For Random Things in The Human Body... 

1. Crapulence: That nauseating feeling you get after eating or drinking too much. 

“I’ve just eaten 3 pizzas and an oreo milkshake and I’ve got an overwhelming sensation of crapulence!” 

2. The bridge of tissue between the two nostril holes is the columella nasi. 

3. The cry of a new born baby is called a vagitus (from the latin “vagire” meaning to wail). In fact there is a rare term known as vagitus uterinus; a rare term referring to crying in utero (?!) described by J.B von Fischer in 1730 

4. If you ever find it difficult to rouse yourself in the morning and get out of bed...you are experiencing dysania 

“I usually set my alarm for 7am and wake up at 10am..I’m a total dysaniac”

5. The biological fireworks display you see when you close your eyes and rub them or press on your eyeballs is called phosphenes; a visual perception of light. 

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was In My 30s.. 

1. Be willing to be embarrassed more. For many paths in life, embarrassment is the cost of entry. If you aren’t ready to look a fool, you will never become a master.  

2. Slow down: life is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s easy to get carried away with toxic productivity, caffeinate yourself and keep pushing relentlessly towards the next goal and the next... but that isn’t sustainable. Take your time, pursue your goals with alignment and inspiration not blind, furious ambition. 

3. You are the manifestation of your cumulative experiences: your “diet” includes more than just what you eat orally but what you consume in every aspect of your life – who you spend time with, what you watch, listen to or subscribe to 

4. Stop and introspect more often: I used to get bogged down with my failures when I felt stuck, a simple reframing exercise helps.. a lot. When you feel you have hit a wall... shift your perspective from “I can’t believe I HAVE to do this” to “I GET to do this”. Many situations have an opportunity.. no matter how terrible it might seem 

5. Don’t limit yourrself: Life is short. 4000 weeks (ish). Start today. 

5 Surprising Things Which Aren’t Fruit or Vegetables That Are Good For You! 

1. Olive oil: rich in polyphenols which have prebiotic like effects for your gut and fuel your gut bacteria. Olive oil also contains an anti inflammatory compound called oleocanthal.  

   Olive oil has a very mild laxative effect as it stimulate gut motility (especially when consumed on an empty stomach) promoting bowel regularity and reducing constipation. 

2. Tea: You might think of tea as a “plant” food but it’s rich in flavonols (a type of antioxidant found in colourful foods). So having a cup of green tea (or two) during the week will help you get your plant consumption up! Green tea especially is a good source of catechins, another class of anti inflammatory compounds. 

3. Popcorn: Oh yes. You like this one already. Popcorn, since it’s a whole grain, is typically less processed than refined grain and has more nutrients... and more fibre! If you are a diabetic or prediabetic, it makes for a good snack (especially if made at home) as it can help modulate your blood glucose response than other high sugar snacks. 

4. Coffee: Rich in chlorogenic acid (a polyphenol) and it’s a fermented bean rich in prebiotics! And yes, both instant and decaffeinated coffee count  as much as the original stuff! 

5. Dark chocolate: You like this one too! Dark chocolates over 70% cacao contain a high concentration of polyphenols comparable (and higher sometimes) than even blueberries! Plus its a decent source of fibre to boot! (as if you needed any more reason to enjoy chocolate)