The Art of Manliness - Why You Don’t Follow Through on Your Health Goals — and How to Fix It

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00:01:13.380 Brett McKay here,

00:01:14.440 and welcome to another edition

00:01:15.480 of the Art of Manliness podcast.

00:01:17.960 Most of us know what we should do to be healthier.

00:01:20.440 Eat better, move more, sleep well.

00:01:23.220 The real challenge, actually following through.

00:01:25.880 On today's show, I talked to behavioral psychologist,

00:01:28.820 Amantha Ember, author of The Health Habit,

00:01:31.560 who argues that the missing piece

00:01:32.840 in most health advice isn't more information.

00:01:35.100 It's learning how to bridge the gap

00:01:36.420 between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

00:01:39.240 Amantha first outlines four habit hijackers

00:01:41.380 that sabotage your best laid plans

00:01:42.980 and shares practical, research-backed tactics

00:01:45.300 to overcome each one.

00:01:46.800 We then dive into some specific health habits

00:01:48.880 that will give you a lot of transformative bang

00:01:50.660 for your buck.

00:01:51.620 We discuss how restricting your sleep

00:01:53.060 can help you sleep better,

00:01:54.340 the truth about the popular 10,000 steps

00:01:56.160 a day recommendation,

00:01:57.600 the underrated power of an after-dinner walk,

00:01:59.540 and more.

00:02:00.660 After the show's over,

00:02:01.520 check out our show notes at aom.is slash healthhabit.

00:02:16.340 All right, Amantha Ember, welcome to the show.

00:02:18.780 Thanks for having me, Brett.

00:02:19.780 So you wrote a book called The Health Habit.

00:02:22.360 You are a behavioral psychologist.

00:02:25.320 I'm curious, how did you think about

00:02:29.140 using your behavior psychology

00:02:30.740 to help people establish and maintain healthy habits?

00:02:34.780 Because there's a lot of books out there

00:02:36.160 about eating right, exercising.

00:02:38.740 What did you think you bring to the table

00:02:40.420 as a behavioral psychologist

00:02:42.240 as to the discussion about health?

00:02:44.200 Well, it was actually a bit of an aha moment.

00:02:46.660 I was in my local bookshop.

00:02:49.120 I was under a little bit of pressure

00:02:52.000 from my publisher at Penguin

00:02:53.760 to put in a proposal for my next book.

00:02:56.560 And I'm a huge consumer of health

00:02:59.820 and well-being kind of books.

00:03:01.800 And I'm a massive experimenter on myself.

00:03:04.360 And it just kind of occurred to me

00:03:05.960 as I was browsing through the many titles

00:03:08.560 that exist in any bookshop

00:03:10.240 around how to improve your health,

00:03:12.100 that if any of them actually worked

00:03:15.600 in the sense that you read the techniques

00:03:18.780 and you changed your behavior

00:03:20.580 and suddenly you were healthier

00:03:22.740 and those new habits stuck for life,

00:03:25.340 then there would be no market for health books.

00:03:28.840 And I thought the missing thing

00:03:31.220 from all these health books

00:03:32.460 is actually the psychology around

00:03:34.500 how do you make all this great health advice stick?

00:03:37.940 And so the idea for The Health Habit

00:03:39.320 was taking a lot of science-backed,

00:03:42.800 evidence-backed strategies

00:03:43.860 for how can we improve our sleep,

00:03:46.920 our nutrition,

00:03:48.020 the way that we move or exercise,

00:03:49.920 but actually give people the psychological tricks

00:03:53.300 to make those great habits stick for good.

00:03:57.160 Yeah, I'm sure if there's any doctors listening

00:03:59.140 who are family practitioners,

00:04:00.960 they've probably seen this.

00:04:02.400 They can tell their patients,

00:04:03.640 well, you need to quit smoking,

00:04:05.660 you need to start eating right,

00:04:06.920 you need to start exercising.

00:04:07.880 And then the patient doesn't do it.

00:04:10.720 Information is not enough.

00:04:12.300 You have to be sort of a psychologist

00:04:14.080 to help your patients implement these things

00:04:16.660 you're telling them that they know they need to do.

00:04:18.600 That's exactly right.

00:04:19.680 I mean, I don't think there's too many people listening

00:04:21.900 that would be thinking,

00:04:24.800 oh, is exercise really good for me?

00:04:26.720 Of course, exercise is good for us.

00:04:28.220 We all know that,

00:04:29.780 yet gym memberships go completely unused every month

00:04:33.720 because there's a real gap between knowing something

00:04:35.900 and actually doing the thing.

00:04:38.420 What keeps people from following through

00:04:40.180 on their health goals?

00:04:41.320 They say, I'm going to start running,

00:04:42.740 I'm going to start weight training,

00:04:43.720 I'm going to start eating right,

00:04:45.100 but then they don't do it.

00:04:46.220 What are the big obstacles there?

00:04:48.040 I mean, is it just misguided ideas about habits

00:04:51.600 or behavior change?

00:04:53.380 What do you think is going on?

00:04:54.360 Well, when I was researching for the health habit,

00:04:56.880 I identified that there were four main barriers

00:05:00.340 that get in the way for a lot of people.

00:05:02.220 I call them hijackers and very briefly,

00:05:05.600 there are four of them.

00:05:06.440 The first one is motivational.

00:05:08.200 So where you kind of feel like you have to do the thing,

00:05:11.240 but you don't really want to do the thing.

00:05:13.120 So there's a motivational barrier at play.

00:05:15.180 The second are relational barriers

00:05:17.340 where perhaps the social norms in your life

00:05:19.740 are making it harder for you to do the thing

00:05:22.440 that you want to do.

00:05:23.720 Let's say you're trying to eat more healthy,

00:05:25.380 but you live in a household

00:05:27.080 where everyone loves junk food.

00:05:29.360 There's going to be a relational barrier at play.

00:05:32.360 The third are environmental hijackers.

00:05:35.360 This is where the physical or digital environment

00:05:38.200 that you're living and working within

00:05:40.440 is just not setting you up for success.

00:05:43.000 And the fourth one are cognitive hijackers

00:05:45.860 where you're just feeling really stressed

00:05:48.040 or exhausted or overwhelmed.

00:05:49.580 And when we feel that way mentally,

00:05:50.960 it's really hard to change our behavior.

00:05:53.820 Do different people get hung up

00:05:54.920 on the different hijackers?

00:05:57.060 Well, often at different times in our life

00:05:59.720 and for different habits that we're trying to change,

00:06:02.420 there might be a different hijacker in the way.

00:06:05.640 Like, so for example, let's take the, you know,

00:06:08.280 the idea of someone wanting to quit sugar

00:06:11.140 and a really common barrier there are environmental barriers

00:06:15.060 where if you're like a lot of people,

00:06:17.560 you've probably got sugary snacks in your pantry,

00:06:21.760 perhaps at eye level,

00:06:22.900 perhaps in a transparent container.

00:06:25.240 And if that's your home environment,

00:06:28.840 there's a massive environmental hijacker at play.

00:06:31.320 Like if, you know, the sugary treats or snacks

00:06:34.420 are within plain sight whenever you walk into your pantry.

00:06:37.840 So that's one example.

00:06:38.800 You know, another example around say motivational hijackers

00:06:42.300 is that most people know they have to exercise

00:06:45.800 or should exercise, but they don't really love it.

00:06:48.400 And so there's often for people

00:06:49.840 a big motivational barrier at play there.

00:06:52.280 Whenever someone's looking at, okay,

00:06:54.900 what's preventing me from doing the thing I want to do,

00:06:58.040 whether it's eating right or exercising

00:07:00.360 or getting better sleep,

00:07:02.100 is there a way to figure out which hijacker is the obstacle?

00:07:06.960 There is.

00:07:07.800 I designed a really simple survey.

00:07:10.140 It's in the health habit book,

00:07:11.340 but I'll also give you a link

00:07:12.780 that you can pop in the show notes

00:07:14.000 for anyone to just for free,

00:07:15.980 just assess what is the biggest hijacker

00:07:18.400 getting in the way of you successfully

00:07:20.300 making a change to your behavior right now.

00:07:23.140 Okay, well, we'll link to that

00:07:23.980 and that'll be a great thing that our listeners can do.

00:07:26.560 So you have these different hijackers,

00:07:28.800 but you provide ways to overcome these habit hijackers.

00:07:33.080 Let's talk about motivational hijackers.

00:07:35.180 What are some tactics that people can use

00:07:37.820 to overcome motivational hijackers?

00:07:40.200 So let's say there's this thing they want to do,

00:07:42.240 they just don't feel motivated to do it.

00:07:44.600 What are some research-backed tips

00:07:46.600 that they can start implementing

00:07:47.780 to maybe boost their motivation a little bit?

00:07:50.340 Okay, so my favorite one,

00:07:51.700 and this is the one that I personally use most often,

00:07:54.280 is temptation bundling.

00:07:56.260 So this is how it works

00:07:58.160 and an example of the science that it comes from.

00:08:00.200 So there was one particular study

00:08:01.440 and there's been many studies done on temptation bundling

00:08:04.440 that looked at how could we get people

00:08:07.160 to exercise more often.

00:08:08.640 So they recruited a couple of hundred people

00:08:10.360 at a university campus

00:08:11.740 and they looked at their exercise behavior.

00:08:15.080 So specifically, how often did they visit the gym

00:08:18.000 on campus for 10 weeks?

00:08:20.940 And people were split into three different groups.

00:08:23.600 So there was one group that was given an iPod,

00:08:26.620 which I know really dates this study.

00:08:28.340 It was done over 10 years ago.

00:08:30.220 And they were given an iPod

00:08:31.340 and it was preloaded with top-ranking audio books.

00:08:35.180 And these participants were told,

00:08:37.000 use this iPod, but only when you're at the gym,

00:08:41.200 only use it when you're exercising

00:08:42.660 and enjoy these brilliant audio books.

00:08:45.960 The second group were given the same iPod,

00:08:48.920 same audio books,

00:08:49.860 and they were told, look, listen to it when you exercise,

00:08:51.880 but also just enjoy it for the next 10 weeks

00:08:54.480 whenever you want to listen to an audio book.

00:08:56.460 And then the third group were given $25

00:08:59.260 and that was it,

00:09:00.480 which is actually quite a lot of money

00:09:01.600 for these university studies, but no iPod.

00:09:04.600 What the research has found

00:09:06.440 is that the people that were in group one,

00:09:09.280 the people that were given the iPod and said,

00:09:12.500 only listen to these audio books

00:09:14.540 when you're doing exercise,

00:09:16.440 went to the gym over 50% more often

00:09:20.600 than the cash group, which was the control group.

00:09:24.080 The second group that had the iPod,

00:09:26.100 but listened to it whenever they wanted,

00:09:28.200 they also went to the gym more often.

00:09:30.200 It was about sort of 25, 30% more often,

00:09:32.420 but not as frequently as the group

00:09:35.280 that only listened to the iPod

00:09:37.780 when they were exercising.

00:09:39.600 So this is an example of temptation bundling

00:09:41.540 where you're pairing the undesirable activity

00:09:45.920 of exercising with something

00:09:48.460 that is inherently pleasurable,

00:09:50.360 in this case, some great audio books.

00:09:52.760 And so for example,

00:09:53.740 how I use this technique in my life

00:09:56.520 is I actually love weight training.

00:09:58.620 I have no motivational issues there,

00:10:00.400 but I do have a motivational problem

00:10:02.540 when it comes to cardio exercise.

00:10:04.580 So I own a very expensive exercise bike

00:10:07.820 and I actually hate using it.

00:10:09.780 And so a few years ago,

00:10:11.020 I created a rule for myself

00:10:12.600 where one of my guilty pleasures

00:10:14.820 is watching The Bachelor,

00:10:17.100 which I think, I don't know,

00:10:18.100 I feel like it's in,

00:10:18.620 it's like 200th season now or something,

00:10:20.860 but I am a sucker for bitchiness on TV. 1.00

00:10:24.200 And I feel, you know, quite guilty

00:10:26.580 just sitting on the couch

00:10:27.480 and watching The Bachelor.

00:10:28.540 So what I did is I created a rule for myself

00:10:30.400 and I said,

00:10:31.180 I'm only allowed to watch The Bachelor

00:10:33.460 when I'm on the exercise bike.

00:10:36.840 And it completely changed my relationship

00:10:39.560 with riding on the exercise bike.

00:10:41.860 It also meant that I get through seasons

00:10:43.360 pretty slowly and I read all the spoilers,

00:10:45.380 but that's okay.

00:10:46.300 I still love the show.

00:10:47.800 So temptation bundling,

00:10:49.300 highly recommend it

00:10:50.420 if there's a motivational barrier at play.

00:10:53.040 I'm the same as you.

00:10:54.300 I have no problem.

00:10:55.700 I love weightlifting.

00:10:56.900 It's my passion.

00:10:57.940 I've done it for years.

00:10:59.160 Cardio is just a chore.

00:11:00.620 And so for me,

00:11:02.240 what I've done

00:11:03.020 with the temptation bundling

00:11:04.600 is I watch movies

00:11:07.400 while I'm doing the treadmill.

00:11:09.440 Like I'm just walking

00:11:10.100 at an incline on the treadmill.

00:11:11.440 And it's been awesome

00:11:12.340 because I've had this goal

00:11:13.300 for a long time

00:11:14.040 to become a cinephile.

00:11:15.160 Like I want to watch

00:11:15.800 the Criterion Collection,

00:11:17.140 like Seven Samurai

00:11:18.300 and Casablanca,

00:11:19.720 but just didn't have time for it.

00:11:21.440 So I thought,

00:11:21.860 oh, I can do that

00:11:23.020 while I'm doing cardio.

00:11:24.060 And so, yeah,

00:11:24.880 I just queue up a movie

00:11:26.020 and I'm on the treadmill

00:11:27.820 for an hour.

00:11:28.960 And I've gotten through

00:11:30.060 a lot of the Criterion Collection

00:11:31.500 just by doing

00:11:32.780 some temptation bundling.

00:11:34.140 I love that great example.

00:11:36.520 One tactic that you highlight

00:11:37.800 on how to overcome

00:11:38.880 motivational hijackers is,

00:11:41.120 and I've never heard of this one,

00:11:42.380 it's question-powered self-talk.

00:11:44.500 What is that?

00:11:45.840 Yes.

00:11:46.340 So often when we are trying

00:11:49.420 to do the thing,

00:11:51.260 like let's just,

00:11:52.180 you know,

00:11:52.400 stand the exercise example.

00:11:54.220 Okay, I need to exercise today.

00:11:56.360 It's not particularly motivating

00:11:58.660 when we tell ourselves,

00:12:00.640 okay, I need to exercise today.

00:12:02.360 What psychologists have found

00:12:04.200 is if we can actually

00:12:05.440 change that into a question,

00:12:08.020 we're much more likely

00:12:09.300 to do things.

00:12:10.660 So instead of going,

00:12:11.780 I need to exercise today,

00:12:13.460 saying to yourself

00:12:14.420 or asking yourself,

00:12:15.800 will I exercise today

00:12:17.700 makes us significantly

00:12:19.400 more likely to do exercise.

00:12:22.300 So what our brain is doing

00:12:23.960 when we're asking ourselves

00:12:25.240 a question as opposed

00:12:26.480 to giving it a statement

00:12:27.820 is we're tricking ourselves

00:12:30.540 into feeling like we have choice,

00:12:32.820 like we have autonomy

00:12:33.900 over the decision.

00:12:35.460 And when we feel like

00:12:36.560 we've got choice,

00:12:37.920 we're far more motivated

00:12:39.420 to do the thing.

00:12:40.780 So when we ask ourselves,

00:12:42.500 well, will I exercise today?

00:12:44.640 We think, oh, will I?

00:12:46.600 I've got a choice in the matter.

00:12:48.380 And then, you know,

00:12:49.500 because we're trying to be good

00:12:51.060 and trying to do the thing,

00:12:52.200 we will be much more likely

00:12:53.840 to go, yes,

00:12:55.580 I will exercise today.

00:12:58.200 That's really interesting.

00:12:59.080 Okay, I like that.

00:12:59.940 And I've seen that in my own life.

00:13:01.200 There's been times

00:13:01.720 where I've used digital nudges

00:13:04.060 to get me to do certain things,

00:13:06.340 like get up to walk.

00:13:07.580 With your Apple Watch,

00:13:09.020 you can set it

00:13:09.660 if you've been, you know,

00:13:11.020 sedentary for a certain amount of time.

00:13:12.420 It'll say,

00:13:12.900 time to get up for a walk.

00:13:14.460 And I'm like,

00:13:14.900 you're annoying. 0.90

00:13:16.120 Get out of here.

00:13:16.840 But I imagine if it just said,

00:13:18.080 hey, would you like to get up?

00:13:19.720 I'd be like, oh, you know what?

00:13:20.620 Do I want to get up?

00:13:21.360 Yeah, maybe I do want to get up

00:13:22.820 because it would give you

00:13:23.320 that sense of autonomy.

00:13:24.880 Yes.

00:13:25.440 So I really like that idea

00:13:26.320 of turning your self-talk

00:13:27.520 into a question.

00:13:28.840 Any other things

00:13:29.540 that you can do

00:13:30.180 to overcome motivational hijackers?

00:13:32.500 Yeah.

00:13:32.940 I mean, look,

00:13:33.420 there's quite a few in the book.

00:13:35.800 One that I have found

00:13:37.800 to be very effective

00:13:38.860 is fining yourself.

00:13:41.680 And what I mean by that is,

00:13:43.680 and look,

00:13:43.960 I'll give an example actually

00:13:45.100 from someone on my team at work

00:13:47.900 who used this.

00:13:48.800 So this particular teammate,

00:13:50.280 she is a crazy mad fan of Leeds.

00:13:54.740 So she follows the football

00:13:55.600 in the UK.

00:13:56.880 And she'd set herself the goal

00:13:59.100 of she wanted to read

00:14:00.340 one nonfiction book

00:14:02.460 for six months,

00:14:04.080 every week,

00:14:04.680 a new one every week,

00:14:05.860 which is a pretty impressive goal.

00:14:08.320 And she declared to the team

00:14:10.180 that if she did not hit this goal,

00:14:12.800 she was going to donate,

00:14:15.000 I think like $100 or something

00:14:17.400 to Manchester United,

00:14:19.300 i.e. the enemy.

00:14:20.840 And this kept her motivated.

00:14:22.440 I think she also had said

00:14:24.220 she was going to post

00:14:24.980 a picture of herself

00:14:25.900 on social media

00:14:27.120 wearing a Manchester jersey,

00:14:29.440 which of course

00:14:30.020 is just a disgusting thing to do

00:14:31.800 if you happen to go for Leeds.

00:14:33.540 So finding yourself

00:14:35.180 and giving that money

00:14:36.940 to somewhere

00:14:38.120 that you absolutely hate

00:14:39.540 can be very,

00:14:40.540 very motivating

00:14:41.100 to stick to a behaviour.

00:14:42.980 Let's talk about

00:14:43.400 relational hijackers.

00:14:44.580 What are some tactics

00:14:45.600 that are researched back

00:14:46.720 that can help us overcome

00:14:47.880 those relational hijackers?

00:14:49.760 So that's basically

00:14:50.480 our social environment

00:14:51.560 is getting in the way

00:14:52.760 of us accomplishing

00:14:54.220 or fulfilling

00:14:54.760 our health habit goals.

00:14:56.880 That's right.

00:14:57.540 And, you know,

00:14:58.280 I would say

00:14:58.960 if you're listening to this

00:14:59.980 and you feel like

00:15:01.000 you're someone

00:15:01.480 that's maybe a bit

00:15:02.260 of a people pleaser,

00:15:03.920 there's a good chance

00:15:05.280 that there might be

00:15:06.100 a relational hijacker at play.

00:15:08.660 And so we can actually

00:15:09.960 use those people pleasing

00:15:11.480 tendencies to our advantage.

00:15:13.180 And one of the most

00:15:14.600 effective things

00:15:15.440 that we can do

00:15:16.200 is to make a public pledge.

00:15:19.400 So this might be,

00:15:20.520 you know,

00:15:20.940 on a group WhatsApp group

00:15:23.160 to say, you know,

00:15:24.040 I am going to,

00:15:25.860 I don't know,

00:15:26.880 like eliminate

00:15:27.680 all unhealthy snacks

00:15:28.860 from my diet

00:15:30.240 for the next four weeks

00:15:31.700 or I am going to,

00:15:33.900 you know,

00:15:34.480 do the couch to 5K program

00:15:36.740 for the next eight weeks.

00:15:39.180 And if you announce

00:15:40.280 your goal publicly,

00:15:42.300 so it could just be

00:15:43.400 to your friends and family,

00:15:44.560 it could be on social media,

00:15:46.500 you know,

00:15:46.740 just somewhere public,

00:15:47.800 you're much more likely

00:15:49.720 to actually stick to that goal

00:15:51.940 because you don't want

00:15:52.560 to let other people down

00:15:53.440 and you don't want

00:15:53.880 to look like an idiot. 0.84

00:15:54.840 So it's really,

00:15:55.520 you know,

00:15:55.920 utilizing,

00:15:56.840 you know,

00:15:57.060 that tendency

00:15:57.640 that you,

00:15:58.740 you know,

00:15:58.960 you feel quite accountable

00:15:59.820 to the people around you.

00:16:01.640 Yeah,

00:16:01.720 I think it's also useful

00:16:02.440 to that public declaration

00:16:04.180 saying,

00:16:04.840 hey,

00:16:05.120 look,

00:16:05.420 I have this goal.

00:16:06.140 I want to eat better

00:16:07.700 or I want to exercise.

00:16:08.860 And you tell this

00:16:09.260 to your family

00:16:09.940 and you can say,

00:16:11.020 I want you to hold me accountable.

00:16:11.960 If you see me,

00:16:12.820 you know,

00:16:13.420 going for a fourth serving

00:16:15.480 of mashed potatoes,

00:16:18.040 like,

00:16:18.320 hey,

00:16:18.560 can you give me the nudge?

00:16:19.440 Like,

00:16:19.560 hey,

00:16:19.700 dad,

00:16:19.920 do you really,

00:16:20.680 don't tell them,

00:16:21.360 dad,

00:16:21.540 don't eat the mashed potatoes.

00:16:22.460 Like,

00:16:22.960 dad,

00:16:23.160 do you really want

00:16:23.700 to eat those mashed potatoes?

00:16:25.220 Because you want

00:16:25.700 to do the self-talk,

00:16:26.500 the will,

00:16:26.840 give them some autonomy.

00:16:27.720 Yeah,

00:16:27.840 yeah,

00:16:27.980 yeah,

00:16:28.220 yeah,

00:16:28.420 exactly.

00:16:29.720 What about environmental hijackers?

00:16:31.380 What are some tactics

00:16:32.020 to overcome those?

00:16:33.800 So I would say

00:16:35.300 if you don't know

00:16:36.960 where to start

00:16:37.400 or if you're thinking,

00:16:38.140 oh,

00:16:38.340 these all sound like barriers,

00:16:39.640 environmental hijackers

00:16:41.820 and overcoming those

00:16:42.820 tend to be some

00:16:44.360 of the most powerful strategies.

00:16:45.680 So one of the biggest things

00:16:47.720 that you can do

00:16:48.880 is to have a think

00:16:49.960 about the behavior

00:16:50.840 that you're trying

00:16:51.300 to change

00:16:51.860 and think about

00:16:53.280 what in your environment,

00:16:55.740 like,

00:16:56.100 what is your environment

00:16:57.180 setting you up

00:16:57.920 to be the default choice?

00:16:59.720 So let me give you

00:17:00.600 an example.

00:17:00.980 A lot of people

00:17:01.880 have the goal

00:17:02.880 to improve their sleep.

00:17:04.460 They want to stop

00:17:05.360 scrolling on their phone

00:17:06.860 before bed.

00:17:08.080 Very common

00:17:09.140 behavior goal.

00:17:10.600 And if your

00:17:12.260 phone charger

00:17:13.240 is on your bedside table,

00:17:16.160 I can tell you right now

00:17:17.160 that your environment

00:17:18.040 is setting you up

00:17:19.200 to fail.

00:17:20.200 It is very hard

00:17:21.780 to simply just rely

00:17:23.060 on willpower

00:17:24.420 to say to yourself,

00:17:26.160 okay,

00:17:26.440 even though my phone

00:17:27.840 is within arm's reach

00:17:29.340 before I go to bed,

00:17:30.580 I'm just not going

00:17:31.520 to scroll on it.

00:17:32.280 I'm going to do

00:17:32.740 something else

00:17:33.220 or maybe I'll just

00:17:33.760 go straight to sleep

00:17:34.520 really, really hard.

00:17:35.580 So what you want

00:17:36.520 to do in that situation

00:17:37.920 is you want to disrupt

00:17:39.120 the default choice

00:17:40.320 because the default

00:17:41.280 choice in that environment

00:17:43.260 is to pick up your phone

00:17:44.640 and scroll before bed.

00:17:46.260 So to disrupt

00:17:47.340 that default,

00:17:48.660 you might want to,

00:17:49.560 for example,

00:17:50.760 take your phone charger

00:17:51.860 and put it in

00:17:53.140 a completely different room,

00:17:54.440 put it in the corridor,

00:17:55.300 put it in the kitchen

00:17:56.000 and instead

00:17:57.200 charge your phone there

00:17:58.820 because it is no longer

00:18:00.660 the default option

00:18:01.680 to go,

00:18:02.200 oh, I'm going to scroll

00:18:02.780 on my phone

00:18:03.380 before I go to bed

00:18:04.200 because your phone

00:18:05.000 is not near your bed.

00:18:07.200 I love that.

00:18:07.520 I think you can do that

00:18:08.140 with nutrition.

00:18:09.140 If you're trying

00:18:09.500 to eat better,

00:18:10.700 don't buy junk food,

00:18:11.860 don't keep it in the house

00:18:12.780 and instead buy lots

00:18:14.220 of healthy options

00:18:15.220 and make sure it's visible.

00:18:16.820 A hundred percent.

00:18:17.920 And look,

00:18:18.280 if you,

00:18:19.080 you know,

00:18:19.340 say have kids

00:18:20.360 that demand

00:18:21.540 the sugary treats

00:18:22.580 or whatever,

00:18:23.440 or maybe you've got

00:18:24.480 a spouse

00:18:24.940 that is refusing

00:18:26.120 to give up sugar,

00:18:27.320 for example,

00:18:28.240 what you can do

00:18:29.260 to disrupt the default

00:18:30.340 is instead of say

00:18:31.760 having those treats

00:18:33.240 at eye level

00:18:34.420 in the fridge

00:18:35.220 or in the pantry

00:18:36.120 and in transparent containers,

00:18:38.240 you can put them

00:18:38.980 in opaque containers,

00:18:40.700 you can put them

00:18:41.460 out of arm's reach.

00:18:43.320 So maybe you have

00:18:43.960 to get a step ladder

00:18:44.960 to reach those snacks

00:18:46.180 or maybe just put them

00:18:47.120 right at the bottom

00:18:47.900 of your pantry

00:18:48.620 or fridge

00:18:49.500 where you're just

00:18:50.180 not going to see them

00:18:51.200 every time

00:18:52.100 you're in those locations.

00:18:53.480 A big thing

00:18:55.040 that I've done

00:18:55.480 to overcome

00:18:56.000 environmental hijackers

00:18:57.020 or exercising,

00:18:57.940 it's paid off

00:18:58.500 big time for me

00:18:59.380 just having a home gym

00:19:00.180 because it just

00:19:01.420 makes it so easy.

00:19:02.580 I just walk down

00:19:03.180 to my garage

00:19:03.900 and I can exercise

00:19:04.940 and you don't even

00:19:05.860 have to have

00:19:06.240 like a whole home gym.

00:19:07.640 It could be,

00:19:08.160 you got a kettlebell

00:19:09.080 or you have some sort

00:19:10.600 of pull-up bar

00:19:11.340 and it's just there

00:19:12.480 in your house

00:19:13.140 and you remove

00:19:14.420 all that friction

00:19:15.320 from exercise.

00:19:17.020 You don't have to,

00:19:17.600 you know,

00:19:17.840 okay,

00:19:17.980 I got to get in the car,

00:19:18.980 drive to the gym,

00:19:20.180 work out,

00:19:20.640 drive back.

00:19:21.860 You can just do it.

00:19:23.480 Yes,

00:19:23.840 and friction

00:19:24.300 is really important

00:19:25.300 because when you're

00:19:26.000 trying to do

00:19:26.480 more of a behaviour,

00:19:28.040 if you can reduce

00:19:29.020 the friction

00:19:29.600 that is involved

00:19:30.560 in doing that

00:19:31.380 good behaviour,

00:19:32.180 like rather than

00:19:32.920 having to drive

00:19:33.500 to a gym,

00:19:34.140 it's right in your home

00:19:35.600 and I did the very

00:19:36.540 same thing

00:19:37.420 and have had

00:19:39.260 a home gym set up,

00:19:41.000 you know,

00:19:41.400 oh gosh,

00:19:41.880 since 2020

00:19:42.560 and it's easy.

00:19:44.500 You can also,

00:19:45.200 when you're trying

00:19:45.740 to not do a behaviour

00:19:47.560 or try to eliminate

00:19:48.540 a behaviour

00:19:49.340 is you can put friction

00:19:50.740 in the way.

00:19:51.900 But I do love

00:19:52.500 the idea

00:19:52.800 of removing friction,

00:19:54.080 something that I have

00:19:55.680 heard a lot of people

00:19:56.600 do successfully

00:19:57.320 that are trying

00:19:58.220 to do more exercise

00:19:59.660 is to sleep

00:20:00.920 in their gym clothes

00:20:02.180 because when you wake up,

00:20:04.000 there is no excuse

00:20:05.060 not to exercise

00:20:05.720 because you are

00:20:06.440 literally dressed

00:20:07.560 for the gym.

00:20:09.340 I also applied

00:20:10.520 this strategy

00:20:11.400 to parenting

00:20:12.460 many years ago

00:20:13.460 when my daughter

00:20:14.260 was in the earlier

00:20:15.040 years of primary school

00:20:16.160 and, you know,

00:20:17.280 for those that have

00:20:18.420 young kids,

00:20:19.460 you will know

00:20:20.100 that sometimes

00:20:20.900 getting them dressed

00:20:22.020 into their school uniform

00:20:23.240 takes a lot of time

00:20:24.820 and is a massive battle

00:20:26.340 that most of us

00:20:27.460 don't have the patience

00:20:28.500 for in the morning.

00:20:29.520 So,

00:20:29.820 I started dressing

00:20:31.080 my daughter

00:20:31.820 to go to bed

00:20:32.940 in her school uniform.

00:20:35.080 So,

00:20:35.420 she would wake up

00:20:36.220 and she would be dressed

00:20:37.340 and ready to go

00:20:38.520 and yes,

00:20:39.240 it would have some creases

00:20:40.220 but hey,

00:20:41.240 who cares?

00:20:42.040 Alright,

00:20:42.300 so environmental,

00:20:43.200 it sounds like,

00:20:43.680 look for friction points

00:20:44.580 and see if you can

00:20:45.300 reduce them.

00:20:46.020 That'll go a long way

00:20:46.960 or if you don't

00:20:48.020 want to do something,

00:20:48.860 increase the friction.

00:20:50.160 Let's talk about

00:20:50.880 cognitive hijackers.

00:20:52.220 What are some

00:20:52.580 research-backed tactics

00:20:53.660 to overcome those?

00:20:56.040 Well,

00:20:56.620 probably my favourite

00:20:57.980 one here

00:20:58.980 is the power

00:21:00.580 of a particular word

00:21:02.740 and that word

00:21:03.520 is don't.

00:21:05.040 So,

00:21:05.660 this comes from

00:21:06.340 some research

00:21:07.080 that was led

00:21:08.040 by Professor Vanessa Patrick

00:21:09.760 and what she did,

00:21:10.940 she got a group

00:21:11.320 of people

00:21:11.800 into the lab

00:21:12.700 under the guise of

00:21:13.660 she was just there

00:21:14.400 to teach them

00:21:15.220 some strategies

00:21:15.860 to make healthier

00:21:17.440 choices with their eating

00:21:18.800 and she divided people 0.99

00:21:20.100 into two groups.

00:21:21.560 One group

00:21:22.260 were taught to say

00:21:23.420 when presented

00:21:24.280 with an unhealthy

00:21:25.320 temptation

00:21:26.000 like chocolate,

00:21:27.400 they were taught

00:21:27.780 to say

00:21:28.160 I don't eat chocolate

00:21:29.940 and a second group

00:21:31.860 were taught to say

00:21:32.680 I can't eat chocolate.

00:21:35.000 So,

00:21:35.300 very similar strategies,

00:21:36.800 literally just changing

00:21:37.840 two letters,

00:21:39.020 can't versus don't.

00:21:41.460 Then,

00:21:41.960 everyone left the lab

00:21:42.960 but the crux

00:21:43.720 of the experiment

00:21:44.460 actually happened

00:21:45.600 when people

00:21:46.340 were leaving

00:21:46.980 the lab

00:21:47.860 and they were

00:21:49.080 presented with

00:21:50.140 an option

00:21:51.080 of two different

00:21:52.620 snacks.

00:21:53.740 So,

00:21:54.060 one option

00:21:54.720 was a chocolate

00:21:55.440 bar,

00:21:56.140 the second option

00:21:57.040 was a healthy

00:21:58.420 granola bar

00:21:59.200 or muesli bar

00:22:00.000 and what

00:22:01.360 the research

00:22:02.100 has found

00:22:02.600 is that

00:22:03.160 those that

00:22:03.880 were taught

00:22:04.400 to say

00:22:04.920 I don't

00:22:06.040 eat chocolate

00:22:07.320 were 50%

00:22:09.120 more likely

00:22:10.140 to take

00:22:10.840 the healthy

00:22:11.360 granola bar

00:22:12.340 instead of

00:22:13.140 the chocolate

00:22:13.740 bar

00:22:14.040 all through

00:22:14.780 just changing

00:22:15.560 one little

00:22:16.580 word

00:22:17.020 in their

00:22:17.560 self-talk.

00:22:18.760 So,

00:22:19.120 why that works

00:22:19.940 so well

00:22:20.320 is when we

00:22:20.800 say I can't

00:22:21.660 do something

00:22:22.300 which is

00:22:22.900 pretty reflective

00:22:23.640 of a lot

00:22:24.180 of people's

00:22:24.840 self-talk

00:22:25.720 like,

00:22:26.120 oh,

00:22:26.460 I can't do

00:22:27.200 this,

00:22:27.540 I can't do

00:22:27.900 that,

00:22:28.200 oh,

00:22:28.500 I can't

00:22:29.180 really eat

00:22:29.760 dessert

00:22:30.160 because I'm

00:22:30.520 on a diet

00:22:31.100 is we

00:22:32.380 just feel

00:22:32.820 a bit

00:22:33.220 restricted

00:22:33.780 and a bit

00:22:34.780 crappy

00:22:35.040 about ourselves

00:22:35.780 but when we

00:22:36.700 say I don't

00:22:37.680 do the thing

00:22:38.360 like I don't

00:22:39.600 eat chocolate,

00:22:40.120 I don't

00:22:40.980 eat dessert,

00:22:41.780 I don't

00:22:42.260 have sugar

00:22:42.840 as examples,

00:22:44.520 we actually

00:22:44.980 feel like

00:22:45.880 that is part

00:22:46.860 of my

00:22:47.300 self-identity

00:22:48.580 and as

00:22:49.320 humans,

00:22:49.980 we want to

00:22:50.560 act in a

00:22:51.120 way that

00:22:51.700 is consistent

00:22:52.320 with how

00:22:52.800 we see

00:22:53.240 ourselves.

00:22:54.220 So,

00:22:54.560 for me,

00:22:55.100 I used to

00:22:55.420 be a

00:22:55.740 massive

00:22:56.040 sugar

00:22:56.420 addict

00:22:56.740 and this

00:22:57.580 strategy

00:22:57.960 had the

00:22:59.020 biggest

00:22:59.420 impact

00:22:59.980 on me

00:23:00.580 quitting

00:23:01.220 sugar

00:23:01.580 and,

00:23:02.160 you know,

00:23:02.260 it's been

00:23:02.500 over a

00:23:02.880 decade

00:23:03.100 now

00:23:03.540 since I

00:23:04.240 quit

00:23:04.560 sugar

00:23:04.820 as a

00:23:05.280 daily

00:23:05.520 habit.

00:23:06.740 One

00:23:06.760 tactic

00:23:07.060 you

00:23:07.240 recommend

00:23:07.520 for

00:23:07.960 overcoming

00:23:08.480 cognitive

00:23:09.080 hijackers 1.00

00:23:09.740 is using

00:23:11.060 the power

00:23:11.580 of a

00:23:11.860 fresh

00:23:12.180 start

00:23:12.640 to boost

00:23:13.640 your

00:23:13.940 health

00:23:14.440 habit

00:23:14.640 goals.

00:23:14.940 I think

00:23:15.080 this could

00:23:15.260 be useful

00:23:15.680 because we're

00:23:16.020 coming up

00:23:16.360 on a

00:23:16.620 new year.

00:23:17.320 What is

00:23:17.740 the fresh

00:23:18.520 start

00:23:18.800 tactic?

00:23:20.240 Yeah,

00:23:20.600 so the

00:23:21.120 fresh start

00:23:21.900 effect is

00:23:22.920 a really

00:23:23.460 handy

00:23:23.820 one and

00:23:24.900 it suggests

00:23:25.700 that when

00:23:26.360 you pick

00:23:27.060 a date

00:23:27.620 that is

00:23:29.020 like the

00:23:30.860 start of

00:23:31.600 a new

00:23:32.140 thing,

00:23:32.540 so it

00:23:32.820 might be

00:23:33.120 the start

00:23:33.440 of a

00:23:33.660 year,

00:23:33.880 January

00:23:34.140 1,

00:23:34.580 it might

00:23:34.940 be the

00:23:35.280 start of

00:23:35.620 a new

00:23:35.900 season,

00:23:36.660 like,

00:23:36.940 you know,

00:23:37.160 the start

00:23:37.740 of spring

00:23:38.960 or fall

00:23:39.620 or it

00:23:40.580 might be

00:23:41.020 even just

00:23:41.700 the start

00:23:42.340 of a

00:23:42.700 week,

00:23:43.040 like Monday,

00:23:44.400 we are

00:23:45.040 significantly

00:23:45.760 more likely

00:23:46.900 to stick

00:23:47.760 to the

00:23:48.180 habit that

00:23:48.960 we want

00:23:49.460 to do

00:23:49.980 because it

00:23:50.720 literally feels

00:23:51.740 like a

00:23:52.180 fresh start.

00:23:53.080 It's like

00:23:53.380 a new

00:23:53.920 chapter in

00:23:54.520 our book,

00:23:55.140 we don't

00:23:55.620 need to

00:23:55.940 worry or

00:23:56.480 think about

00:23:56.920 all the

00:23:57.460 times that

00:23:57.920 we've

00:23:58.160 failed in

00:23:58.740 the past

00:23:59.360 because it's

00:24:00.480 a fresh

00:24:00.840 start today.

00:24:01.520 So when

00:24:02.620 researchers

00:24:03.240 have looked

00:24:03.800 at people

00:24:04.140 that have

00:24:04.380 tried to

00:24:05.280 kickstart

00:24:06.220 a new

00:24:06.680 habit on

00:24:07.440 say a

00:24:08.280 Monday

00:24:08.560 compared to

00:24:09.420 a Thursday

00:24:10.220 or in

00:24:10.940 the middle

00:24:11.340 of a

00:24:11.620 month versus

00:24:12.180 the first

00:24:12.920 of a

00:24:13.200 month,

00:24:13.720 those that

00:24:14.460 start at

00:24:15.340 the start,

00:24:16.900 if you like,

00:24:17.340 of that month

00:24:17.980 or that week

00:24:18.680 or that season

00:24:19.520 are far more

00:24:20.720 likely to be

00:24:21.960 able to stick

00:24:22.640 to that new

00:24:23.260 behavior.

00:24:24.400 Another tactic

00:24:25.300 you highlight to

00:24:26.220 overcome cognitive

00:24:27.020 hijackers,

00:24:28.160 I've used this

00:24:28.780 with my own

00:24:29.160 health habits,

00:24:29.700 is giving

00:24:30.320 yourself a

00:24:30.840 hall pass

00:24:31.520 to bend

00:24:32.440 the rules.

00:24:33.300 Tell us

00:24:33.540 about that.

00:24:34.540 I love

00:24:35.220 this strategy

00:24:35.660 and I use

00:24:36.660 it for

00:24:37.380 myself across

00:24:38.640 several different

00:24:39.500 realms of my

00:24:40.020 life.

00:24:40.960 So we've

00:24:41.660 probably heard

00:24:42.260 of the term

00:24:42.960 hall pass

00:24:43.780 when it

00:24:44.140 comes to

00:24:44.640 say marriages

00:24:45.700 and having

00:24:46.660 a hall pass

00:24:47.320 if this

00:24:48.160 particular

00:24:48.520 celebrity

00:24:49.060 ever wanted

00:24:49.760 to spend

00:24:50.460 a night

00:24:50.800 with me.

00:24:51.520 But hall

00:24:52.200 passes are

00:24:52.900 really great

00:24:53.440 when it

00:24:53.680 comes to

00:24:53.960 changing

00:24:54.220 our

00:24:54.420 behavior.

00:24:55.160 So there

00:24:55.660 was one

00:24:56.040 particular

00:24:56.380 study that

00:24:57.240 looked at

00:24:57.920 people who

00:24:58.560 were trying

00:24:59.400 to do

00:25:00.220 more steps,

00:25:01.200 do more

00:25:01.540 walking in

00:25:02.340 a day.

00:25:03.240 And all

00:25:04.040 the participants

00:25:04.620 in this

00:25:05.300 study were

00:25:05.900 given the

00:25:06.380 goal of

00:25:07.020 doing 20%

00:25:08.360 more steps

00:25:09.360 than their

00:25:10.140 current

00:25:11.020 month's

00:25:11.960 average.

00:25:12.520 So it was

00:25:13.180 a bit of

00:25:13.420 a stretch

00:25:13.720 target.

00:25:14.340 So one

00:25:15.000 group were

00:25:15.900 basically told

00:25:17.000 to walk

00:25:17.680 every day

00:25:18.280 for 30

00:25:18.940 days and

00:25:19.900 try to hit

00:25:20.600 their goal

00:25:21.640 20% more

00:25:22.700 steps every

00:25:23.440 single day.

00:25:24.340 The second

00:25:25.180 group were

00:25:25.820 given two

00:25:26.700 hall passes

00:25:27.600 every week

00:25:28.740 for the

00:25:29.040 four weeks

00:25:29.520 of the

00:25:29.800 study.

00:25:30.340 So the

00:25:30.540 researchers

00:25:30.820 said,

00:25:31.200 look,

00:25:31.620 hit your

00:25:32.060 goal every

00:25:32.780 day,

00:25:33.320 but we're

00:25:34.240 going to

00:25:34.380 give you

00:25:34.640 two hall

00:25:35.260 passes so

00:25:35.960 you can

00:25:36.200 pick two

00:25:36.800 days whenever

00:25:37.420 you want

00:25:37.760 them to

00:25:38.020 be per

00:25:38.600 week where

00:25:39.620 you don't

00:25:40.060 need to

00:25:40.440 worry about

00:25:41.240 hitting your

00:25:41.800 steps target.

00:25:43.500 And what

00:25:43.880 the researchers

00:25:44.560 found is

00:25:45.520 that those

00:25:46.060 given the

00:25:46.660 hall pass

00:25:47.220 strategy were

00:25:48.220 actually more

00:25:49.160 likely to

00:25:50.080 hit their

00:25:50.520 daily steps

00:25:51.240 target and

00:25:52.680 when they

00:25:53.400 had a day

00:25:53.880 where they

00:25:54.240 failed,

00:25:55.000 they were

00:25:55.520 much more

00:25:56.260 able to

00:25:56.820 bounce back.

00:25:57.700 So they

00:25:57.980 were more

00:25:58.520 resilient.

00:25:59.360 So if

00:25:59.980 there's a

00:26:00.380 daily habit

00:26:01.060 that you're

00:26:01.560 trying to

00:26:02.360 create,

00:26:03.020 and I

00:26:03.220 think this

00:26:03.500 is particularly

00:26:04.120 good for

00:26:04.820 people trying

00:26:06.020 to turn over

00:26:06.800 a new leaf

00:26:07.340 with their

00:26:07.800 eating or

00:26:08.520 dieting or

00:26:09.140 something like

00:26:09.700 that, what 0.78

00:26:10.500 typically happens

00:26:11.360 is we're like,

00:26:11.920 okay, I'm

00:26:12.220 starting a diet

00:26:12.860 on Monday and

00:26:13.960 then by Thursday

00:26:14.920 we've, I

00:26:15.840 don't know,

00:26:16.920 binged on like

00:26:17.740 a bunch of

00:26:18.720 things that we're

00:26:19.420 trying to avoid.

00:26:20.960 We have this

00:26:21.620 thing that

00:26:22.060 psychologists call

00:26:23.480 the what the

00:26:24.180 hell effect.

00:26:25.320 And it's like,

00:26:25.700 ah, what the

00:26:26.300 hell, I've

00:26:26.760 broken the

00:26:27.220 diet, ah, I

00:26:28.320 may as well

00:26:28.700 just go back

00:26:29.140 to my normal

00:26:29.620 eating.

00:26:30.220 But hall

00:26:30.640 passes overcome

00:26:31.900 that because we

00:26:32.740 can simply just

00:26:33.360 say, well,

00:26:34.440 Thursday I

00:26:35.060 decided to

00:26:35.500 take a

00:26:35.800 hall pass and

00:26:36.540 I'm going to

00:26:36.920 get back on

00:26:38.200 the good

00:26:39.160 behavior regime

00:26:39.980 on Friday.

00:26:41.320 Yeah, it

00:26:41.520 gets rid of

00:26:41.800 that all or

00:26:42.280 nothing thinking.

00:26:43.380 Yes.

00:26:44.100 Yeah, I've

00:26:44.860 used that with

00:26:45.300 my own health

00:26:46.160 habits with

00:26:47.100 eating and

00:26:47.560 exercise.

00:26:48.100 Some days I'll

00:26:48.480 have days where

00:26:49.220 I need to

00:26:50.240 train and I'm

00:26:51.380 just not feeling

00:26:51.880 it because I'm

00:26:52.420 tired, I'm

00:26:53.060 stressed out, and

00:26:53.980 I say, okay, I'm

00:26:54.460 not going to do

00:26:54.940 my usual, my

00:26:56.240 program session.

00:26:57.660 I'm just going

00:26:58.360 for a walk.

00:26:59.740 And it's not

00:27:00.120 exactly what I

00:27:01.800 wanted to do, but

00:27:02.740 I at least moved

00:27:04.260 my body

00:27:04.840 intentionally.

00:27:05.740 Or when it

00:27:06.440 comes to

00:27:06.680 nutrition, I

00:27:07.880 track my

00:27:08.340 macros.

00:27:08.940 I try to hit

00:27:09.480 certain protein

00:27:10.620 and carbohydrate

00:27:11.260 and fat 0.99

00:27:12.380 targets.

00:27:13.500 But sometimes

00:27:13.880 you're at a

00:27:15.100 party and

00:27:15.620 there's pie or

00:27:17.320 cake and you

00:27:18.840 don't want to be

00:27:19.720 the guys.

00:27:20.320 I'm not eating

00:27:20.900 that.

00:27:21.240 I want to

00:27:22.720 enjoy it.

00:27:23.580 Food's a way to

00:27:24.340 socialize.

00:27:25.220 So I'm like,

00:27:25.560 okay, I'll have

00:27:26.480 some cake.

00:27:27.140 It doesn't

00:27:27.460 exactly fit my

00:27:28.140 macros.

00:27:29.340 I don't need to

00:27:29.820 have three slices,

00:27:31.080 but I can have a

00:27:31.540 small slice.

00:27:32.320 That's fine.

00:27:33.160 And I'm okay with

00:27:33.860 that.

00:27:34.020 I don't beat

00:27:34.320 myself up because I

00:27:35.280 just had a piece

00:27:35.920 of cake.

00:27:37.160 I think that's so

00:27:38.080 great.

00:27:38.260 It's also why

00:27:38.780 cheat days are

00:27:39.660 actually really

00:27:40.900 effective, according

00:27:42.000 to science.

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00:28:44.720 That's shopify.com

00:28:46.080 slash manliness.

00:28:48.140 And now back to the

00:28:49.520 show.

00:28:49.920 So let's talk about some

00:28:51.140 specific health habits.

00:28:52.340 So we established this

00:28:53.060 framework of how you can

00:28:54.340 use behavioral psychology

00:28:56.240 to overcome habit

00:28:58.480 hijackers.

00:28:59.380 You then have a section

00:29:00.620 in the book where you

00:29:01.160 talk about specific

00:29:01.800 health habits that you

00:29:03.260 picked out that you

00:29:04.780 thought based on

00:29:05.620 research would provide

00:29:06.760 the most bang for your

00:29:07.860 buck.

00:29:08.480 So let's see how we can

00:29:09.820 apply this framework to

00:29:11.140 help stick to these

00:29:11.880 different health habits.

00:29:13.100 The first health

00:29:14.220 habits you focus on

00:29:15.120 relate to sleep.

00:29:16.480 You've struggled with

00:29:17.560 insomnia, but now

00:29:18.900 you're a great sleeper.

00:29:20.240 What are some of the

00:29:21.560 health habits that you

00:29:22.760 implemented in your own

00:29:23.880 life to make sleep

00:29:25.200 better for you?

00:29:26.660 Yeah.

00:29:27.020 Okay.

00:29:27.340 Let me talk about the

00:29:28.200 one that has had by far

00:29:30.200 the biggest impact.

00:29:31.380 So I am someone that

00:29:33.280 has struggled with

00:29:34.740 insomnia during my

00:29:36.900 twenties, during my

00:29:37.800 thirties, and then in

00:29:39.220 my forties where I am

00:29:40.460 now, it's pretty much

00:29:41.860 gone.

00:29:42.320 So what happened in my

00:29:44.300 twenties is I was

00:29:46.020 living in Sydney at the

00:29:46.940 time and every morning

00:29:48.840 I would drive across

00:29:51.460 the Sydney Harbour Bridge

00:29:52.500 to get to work and it

00:29:54.680 would be early in the

00:29:55.280 morning and I would

00:29:56.400 always be tired.

00:29:57.500 And one morning, it's

00:29:59.360 about eight o'clock in

00:30:00.040 the morning, I thought

00:30:01.360 to myself, I wonder if

00:30:03.480 there are people that

00:30:04.780 don't actually feel

00:30:06.180 constantly exhausted

00:30:07.820 like I do.

00:30:09.260 And I thought, well,

00:30:10.860 what a stupid thought.

00:30:11.780 Of course there are

00:30:12.580 people that feel that

00:30:13.560 way.

00:30:14.120 And then I thought,

00:30:15.880 huh, I wonder if I've

00:30:17.580 got a problem because

00:30:18.600 I'm always tired.

00:30:20.840 And so I got to the

00:30:21.440 office that morning and

00:30:22.560 I Googled sleep doctor

00:30:23.600 Sydney and I booked

00:30:25.060 myself in to see a

00:30:26.660 sleep doctor.

00:30:27.600 And what sleep doctors

00:30:29.360 typically recommend is

00:30:30.620 to go into their rooms

00:30:32.260 or a hospital and do an

00:30:33.360 overnight sleep test

00:30:34.500 where you're hooked up

00:30:35.960 to about 30 or 40

00:30:37.460 different electrodes

00:30:38.380 and it's very

00:30:40.040 uncomfortable and then

00:30:41.080 the doctor says, okay,

00:30:42.120 now sleep.

00:30:43.040 So it's not a fun night

00:30:44.320 but at least it's a

00:30:45.380 night where, you know,

00:30:46.400 you can get some data

00:30:47.340 on what is going on.

00:30:49.920 So I did that.

00:30:50.860 I felt like I had a

00:30:51.400 terrible night's sleep

00:30:52.100 but, hey, nothing new

00:30:53.040 because most nights

00:30:53.840 were terrible night's

00:30:54.760 sleep.

00:30:55.100 And I went back to see

00:30:56.360 the sleep doctor a

00:30:57.120 couple of weeks later

00:30:57.940 with the results.

00:30:59.360 And, you know, he said,

00:31:00.780 look, the good news is

00:31:02.000 that there's nothing

00:31:02.920 physiologically wrong.

00:31:04.700 You know, you don't

00:31:05.080 have, you know,

00:31:05.640 sleep disorder.

00:31:06.600 You don't have sleep

00:31:07.240 apnea.

00:31:08.400 But I guess the bad

00:31:09.800 news is that it means

00:31:11.200 that it's psychological

00:31:12.520 and there is no magic

00:31:14.200 pill to fix that.

00:31:16.200 And so what he

00:31:17.680 prescribed, so to

00:31:19.280 speak, was sleep

00:31:20.900 restriction.

00:31:22.160 So he asked me, how

00:31:23.920 many hours do you reckon

00:31:25.600 you're spending in bed

00:31:26.920 right now?

00:31:28.120 And I told him that at

00:31:29.680 the time I was getting

00:31:31.260 into bed at about 9pm

00:31:33.140 and I was getting out

00:31:34.340 of bed at about 7am.

00:31:35.940 And so that's 10 hours

00:31:37.940 in bed, which might seem

00:31:39.480 like a lot of time.

00:31:40.580 But in my sleep-deprived

00:31:42.140 brain, I thought, well,

00:31:43.640 the longer I'm in bed,

00:31:45.360 the better the chance

00:31:46.520 I've got of catching

00:31:47.680 some sleep, which I think

00:31:49.280 is how a lot of

00:31:49.960 insomniacs think.

00:31:51.460 It kind of feels

00:31:52.300 rational, but it's

00:31:53.340 actually not.

00:31:54.320 So the sleep doctor then

00:31:55.440 asked me, how many of

00:31:56.900 those 10 hours do you

00:31:58.080 think that you're

00:31:58.620 actually spending sleep?

00:32:00.000 And I thought about

00:32:01.840 it and I said, I

00:32:03.340 reckon maybe six

00:32:04.400 hours.

00:32:05.540 And so he said, okay,

00:32:06.160 what you're going to

00:32:06.560 do now is you are

00:32:07.780 going to limit the

00:32:08.720 time that you are in

00:32:09.780 bed to just six hours

00:32:11.900 per night.

00:32:13.560 And so he said, keep

00:32:15.360 your wake time the

00:32:16.460 same.

00:32:16.900 So keep getting up at

00:32:18.320 7am because, you

00:32:19.920 know, one of the

00:32:20.340 other habits I talk

00:32:21.240 about in the book is

00:32:22.580 having a consistent

00:32:24.480 rise time or

00:32:25.620 consistent wake time.

00:32:26.540 But he said, you're

00:32:27.720 only now allowed to

00:32:29.160 spend six hours per

00:32:29.980 night in bed, which

00:32:30.720 means you're going

00:32:31.180 to go to bed at

00:32:32.060 1am.

00:32:33.620 And I was in

00:32:35.220 shock because going

00:32:37.200 to bed at 9pm

00:32:38.040 versus 1am, that's

00:32:39.200 a very big change.

00:32:40.460 I thought, how am I

00:32:41.080 going to stay up so

00:32:41.780 late?

00:32:42.960 But he said, this is

00:32:43.500 really important because

00:32:44.340 we need to retrain your

00:32:45.880 brain to associate

00:32:47.460 bed with sleep as

00:32:49.760 opposed to bed with

00:32:51.500 catastrophizing and

00:32:52.680 ruminating and

00:32:53.920 worrying that you're

00:32:54.660 not getting enough

00:32:55.160 sleep.

00:32:55.900 So for the first few

00:32:57.220 nights, I managed to

00:32:59.120 stay up until 1am and

00:33:00.460 by the time my head

00:33:01.660 hit the pillow, I

00:33:02.700 was out and I was

00:33:04.520 managing after a few

00:33:05.580 nights to have a

00:33:06.800 really solid six

00:33:08.260 hours of sleep.

00:33:10.000 And then once I was

00:33:10.660 managing to do that

00:33:11.540 for a few nights, the

00:33:12.960 sleep doctor then said

00:33:14.040 you can extend your

00:33:14.860 window by half an hour.

00:33:16.160 So I was allowed to go

00:33:16.900 to bed at 1230 instead

00:33:19.040 of one in the morning.

00:33:20.160 I did that for a few

00:33:21.140 nights until I was

00:33:22.140 sleeping pretty

00:33:22.640 consistently for six

00:33:23.540 and a half hours and

00:33:24.700 gradually brought back

00:33:26.580 that go-to-bed time

00:33:27.940 until I was in bed

00:33:29.140 for about eight

00:33:30.200 hours, which is what

00:33:31.300 I'd estimated at the

00:33:32.340 time was how much

00:33:33.560 sleep I needed.

00:33:35.160 So sleep restriction

00:33:36.020 therapy is generally

00:33:38.400 with most sleep

00:33:39.240 doctors when there's a

00:33:40.080 psychological issue,

00:33:41.540 generally the first

00:33:42.500 point of call is what

00:33:43.780 I found and it is so

00:33:45.280 effective.

00:33:46.680 Okay, so a sleep

00:33:47.240 restriction, you're only

00:33:48.180 going to be in bed for

00:33:49.080 the amount of time you

00:33:50.120 are actually asleep each

00:33:51.880 night and you're doing

00:33:52.580 that so that you only

00:33:53.600 associate your bed

00:33:55.240 with sleep.

00:33:56.080 So to start out,

00:33:56.840 you're going to count

00:33:57.660 back the hours you do

00:33:58.980 sleep a night from your

00:33:59.840 wake time and that's

00:34:01.280 going to be your new

00:34:02.460 bedtime and that's going

00:34:03.500 to be much later than

00:34:05.180 you're typically going to

00:34:06.200 bed to start.

00:34:07.960 I did something recently,

00:34:09.480 it wasn't exactly sleep

00:34:10.660 restriction, but I was

00:34:11.640 trying to retrain my

00:34:12.560 sleep schedule and it

00:34:13.920 involved staying up till

00:34:15.480 midnight every night and

00:34:17.760 it was pretty daunting

00:34:19.680 or demoralizing to make

00:34:21.480 yourself stay up late

00:34:22.240 when you don't want to

00:34:23.640 and you're not used to

00:34:24.620 it because I love going

00:34:25.680 to bed early.

00:34:27.100 So knowing that it's

00:34:27.760 hard to do, what can

00:34:29.580 we do?

00:34:29.920 What sort of tactics

00:34:30.680 that we talked about

00:34:31.560 earlier can we use to

00:34:33.200 stick to sleep

00:34:33.880 restriction so that you

00:34:35.000 can get the benefit of

00:34:36.700 it?

00:34:37.020 Yeah, and look, sleep

00:34:38.700 restriction, this is a

00:34:41.180 good one to think about

00:34:42.640 temptation bundling

00:34:43.920 because you are going

00:34:45.460 to be dreading those

00:34:46.820 hours that you are

00:34:47.820 forcing yourself to

00:34:48.980 stay awake.

00:34:50.020 So try to make it, try

00:34:53.300 to make those hours

00:34:54.180 fun.

00:34:54.960 Like don't do

00:34:55.580 something stimulating

00:34:56.460 because that is not

00:34:57.900 going to be helpful in

00:34:58.660 terms of sleep.

00:34:59.340 But you might say, you

00:35:01.060 know, save up episodes

00:35:02.500 of your favorite podcast

00:35:04.380 to listen to in those

00:35:05.780 hours where you're

00:35:06.620 trying to stay awake.

00:35:07.760 Or you might save up

00:35:09.420 episodes of your

00:35:10.380 favorite TV show

00:35:11.540 because, you know, TV

00:35:12.360 watching is a pretty

00:35:13.180 passive activity.

00:35:15.020 So I would recommend

00:35:16.220 that people think

00:35:16.960 about what is

00:35:17.800 something that they

00:35:18.820 can really look

00:35:19.720 forward to to make

00:35:21.300 staying awake those

00:35:22.380 extra few hours more

00:35:24.220 doable and maybe even

00:35:25.460 a bit more enjoyable.

00:35:27.040 Yeah, that's what I

00:35:27.700 did.

00:35:28.000 I started playing

00:35:29.280 video games.

00:35:30.160 I'm not a big video

00:35:31.120 gamer, but I started

00:35:32.540 playing this video game

00:35:33.540 again that I've already

00:35:34.060 played two or three

00:35:34.940 times.

00:35:35.480 It's called Red Dead

00:35:36.340 Redemption.

00:35:37.160 You're basically a

00:35:37.760 cowboy in the American

00:35:39.000 West.

00:35:40.280 And it can be

00:35:41.280 stimulating because you're

00:35:42.240 a bad guy and you're

00:35:43.180 shooting other bad guys.

00:35:44.460 But I would just go on

00:35:45.300 there to ride my horse

00:35:46.240 in this fictional

00:35:47.240 American West and go

00:35:49.100 hunting for bears.

00:35:50.520 And it was actually

00:35:51.580 really relaxing.

00:35:53.000 And so you mentioned

00:35:53.640 some other things you

00:35:54.640 can do for your sleep.

00:35:56.380 You know, wake up at

00:35:56.940 the same time.

00:35:58.040 That's a big one.

00:35:59.200 And then also, I think

00:36:00.400 the stuff that people

00:36:01.000 already know, establish

00:36:02.200 a good going to bed

00:36:03.340 routine, practice good

00:36:04.420 sleep hygiene, you know,

00:36:06.200 set a time where, okay,

00:36:07.160 I'm going to get off my

00:36:08.020 smartphone, get off

00:36:08.960 Twitter or X, Instagram,

00:36:11.360 and I'll do something a

00:36:12.600 little bit more

00:36:13.000 relaxing.

00:36:14.460 Yes, those are all

00:36:16.100 really important.

00:36:17.300 And then when we wake

00:36:18.940 up in the morning, one

00:36:20.280 of the most important

00:36:21.140 things to do is to

00:36:23.140 get exposure to

00:36:25.360 daylight, to sunlight.

00:36:27.380 So doing that just

00:36:28.780 resets our circadian

00:36:30.560 rhythms.

00:36:31.400 It resets essentially

00:36:32.220 our body clock and it

00:36:34.240 makes it easier to fall

00:36:35.920 asleep at night.

00:36:36.920 You know, research shows

00:36:37.660 that even just getting

00:36:38.460 out for five to ten

00:36:39.740 minutes into natural

00:36:41.480 light and daylight in,

00:36:43.460 you know, the first

00:36:43.980 hour or two after

00:36:45.340 waking can be incredibly

00:36:47.800 effective at resetting

00:36:49.040 our body clock.

00:36:50.400 So let's talk about

00:36:50.940 habits we can implement

00:36:52.040 to improve or increase

00:36:54.120 the amount of we move

00:36:55.160 during the day.

00:36:55.840 Because you highlight a

00:36:56.500 lot of research about

00:36:57.480 what not only just

00:36:58.920 exercise, but just

00:37:00.240 general movement can do

00:37:01.640 for our health.

00:37:02.700 One health habit you

00:37:03.580 recommend is VILPA.

00:37:05.180 This is an acronym.

00:37:06.060 So V-I-L-P-A. 1.00

00:37:07.500 What is VILPA?

00:37:08.300 So VILPA stands for

00:37:10.180 Vigorous Intermittent

00:37:11.400 Lifestyle Physical

00:37:12.540 Activity.

00:37:13.500 It is a mouthful, but it

00:37:15.860 is incredibly effective,

00:37:19.280 particularly for those that

00:37:20.740 hate exercise or say, I

00:37:22.300 don't have time for

00:37:23.180 exercise.

00:37:23.760 So what VILPA is, and

00:37:26.200 remember it's lifestyle

00:37:27.260 physical activity.

00:37:28.600 These are just moments that,

00:37:30.200 you know, might be a one or

00:37:31.360 two minute moment in your

00:37:32.600 day where you're like

00:37:35.040 somehow incorporating

00:37:36.400 quite vigorous physical

00:37:38.680 activity into your day.

00:37:40.380 So, you know, like an

00:37:41.360 example might be if you

00:37:42.900 say catch the bus or the

00:37:45.160 train or subway to work

00:37:46.780 and you're running late

00:37:47.880 and you sprint the final,

00:37:50.460 you know, four or five

00:37:51.460 hundred meters.

00:37:52.660 That is an example of

00:37:54.260 VILPA.

00:37:55.000 It's not exercise like you

00:37:56.620 didn't, you know, map out

00:37:58.380 a minute in your day to do

00:37:59.340 this exercise.

00:37:59.920 It was simply just part of

00:38:01.660 your lifestyle for that

00:38:03.480 particular day.

00:38:04.140 You know, another example

00:38:05.520 is where maybe it's

00:38:07.380 after school, after work

00:38:09.040 and you're out in the

00:38:10.520 backyard and you're

00:38:11.580 playing chasey with your

00:38:13.800 kids and you're doing

00:38:14.940 some intermittent bursts

00:38:16.000 of running around.

00:38:17.020 Again, it's not exercise

00:38:17.820 that you planned, but it

00:38:19.220 just happens to be in

00:38:20.360 your lifestyle where

00:38:21.200 you're doing, you know,

00:38:21.860 a one or two minute

00:38:22.660 burst of pretty vigorous

00:38:24.500 physical activity.

00:38:26.420 So what a huge research

00:38:28.580 study found into

00:38:30.280 VILPA.

00:38:31.120 And this is looking at

00:38:32.060 people who had

00:38:33.600 three to four

00:38:34.980 bouts, if you like,

00:38:36.440 of VILPA.

00:38:37.240 So those one to two

00:38:38.200 minute intense

00:38:39.220 physical activity moments

00:38:40.520 in their day

00:38:41.760 were 40%

00:38:43.500 less likely

00:38:44.500 to die

00:38:45.800 early.

00:38:46.680 So, you know,

00:38:47.300 when we look at like

00:38:48.020 all cause mortality,

00:38:49.360 they basically

00:38:49.960 had dramatically

00:38:51.160 reduced

00:38:52.000 the chances

00:38:52.820 of dying

00:38:53.840 prematurely

00:38:54.640 from diseases

00:38:55.680 that were

00:38:56.260 largely preventable

00:38:57.400 if we can

00:38:58.400 be healthier

00:38:59.480 with our

00:38:59.960 habits.

00:39:00.980 So it's

00:39:02.020 a really great

00:39:02.960 thing to actually

00:39:03.760 deliberately incorporate

00:39:04.940 into your day.

00:39:05.960 Like maybe

00:39:06.620 instead of just

00:39:07.600 randomly

00:39:08.280 running late

00:39:09.400 to catch transport

00:39:10.320 to your

00:39:11.300 workday,

00:39:12.260 you can just

00:39:13.220 challenge yourself

00:39:13.880 every morning.

00:39:14.860 I'm just going to

00:39:15.380 sprint that final

00:39:16.260 500 meters

00:39:17.300 to the bus stop,

00:39:18.300 for example,

00:39:19.040 or every afternoon

00:39:20.260 I'm actually going to

00:39:21.160 plan a game,

00:39:22.480 you know,

00:39:22.760 with Tracy,

00:39:23.280 with the kids,

00:39:23.880 or when I take

00:39:24.520 the dog for a walk,

00:39:25.420 I'm just going to

00:39:26.180 sprint those last

00:39:27.420 few blocks

00:39:28.320 with the dog

00:39:29.340 to get some

00:39:30.200 VILPA into my day.

00:39:32.100 One thing that we

00:39:32.440 do in our family

00:39:33.140 is we have this

00:39:34.620 rule,

00:39:35.540 I guess this would

00:39:36.160 be an implementation

00:39:36.960 intention,

00:39:37.880 I think you talk

00:39:38.300 about this

00:39:38.780 in the book,

00:39:40.540 but it's our

00:39:41.620 rule to get

00:39:42.960 some VILPA is

00:39:43.740 if there are

00:39:44.800 stairs,

00:39:45.620 we take the

00:39:46.300 stairs.

00:39:47.180 I got this

00:39:47.940 from Michael

00:39:48.440 Easter,

00:39:48.900 he's an author

00:39:49.340 who writes

00:39:49.720 about health

00:39:50.120 and fitness,

00:39:51.000 and he has

00:39:51.360 this statistic,

00:39:52.400 I don't know

00:39:52.700 if it's true,

00:39:53.840 but it's

00:39:54.240 basically 2%

00:39:55.300 of the population

00:39:56.040 take the stairs

00:39:56.780 if there are

00:39:57.300 stairs.

00:39:58.320 And so we

00:39:58.600 tell our kids

00:39:59.280 and ourselves,

00:40:00.220 all right,

00:40:01.160 McKay's,

00:40:01.700 we're 2%ers,

00:40:02.940 if there are

00:40:03.480 stairs,

00:40:04.520 we're taking

00:40:05.060 the stairs.

00:40:05.900 And you see this

00:40:06.620 a lot at the

00:40:06.980 airport,

00:40:07.720 especially because

00:40:08.820 you got your

00:40:09.480 big giant suitcase

00:40:10.200 and it's so

00:40:11.020 tempting to be

00:40:11.600 like,

00:40:11.840 all right,

00:40:12.020 we're taking

00:40:12.360 the escalator,

00:40:13.040 can you just

00:40:13.300 stand there

00:40:13.680 with you?

00:40:14.180 It's like,

00:40:14.360 nope,

00:40:15.140 we got to

00:40:15.480 get your

00:40:15.800 suitcase,

00:40:16.260 hold it,

00:40:16.680 and you got

00:40:17.000 to go up

00:40:17.280 the stairs.

00:40:18.000 And it's a

00:40:18.460 short little

00:40:18.980 workout.

00:40:19.560 I mean,

00:40:19.660 it is vigorous.

00:40:20.840 It is,

00:40:21.700 it is.

00:40:22.300 Yeah,

00:40:22.580 I love that,

00:40:23.240 be in the

00:40:23.660 2% club.

00:40:24.400 Another habit

00:40:26.420 you recommend

00:40:26.880 for getting

00:40:27.480 some more

00:40:27.760 movement is

00:40:28.580 to get at

00:40:29.280 least 7,500

00:40:31.000 steps in a

00:40:31.800 day.

00:40:32.600 Why just

00:40:33.060 7,500?

00:40:34.400 Typically,

00:40:34.960 the number

00:40:35.260 you hear

00:40:35.560 thrown out

00:40:35.960 there is

00:40:36.200 10,000

00:40:36.680 steps.

00:40:37.000 Absolutely.

00:40:38.520 Most people,

00:40:39.920 if they've

00:40:40.220 got a

00:40:40.520 walking goal

00:40:41.120 or a

00:40:41.440 steps goal,

00:40:42.220 it's 10,000

00:40:43.060 steps a

00:40:43.540 day.

00:40:43.920 And there

00:40:44.460 is absolutely

00:40:45.540 no science

00:40:46.720 behind that

00:40:47.660 number.

00:40:48.540 Where it

00:40:48.940 actually came

00:40:49.640 from is

00:40:50.460 that a

00:40:51.340 company in

00:40:52.000 Japan found

00:40:53.080 that the

00:40:53.880 Japanese

00:40:54.200 symbol for

00:40:55.400 walking looks

00:40:56.880 like the

00:40:57.320 number 10,000

00:40:58.680 or the symbol

00:40:59.940 for 10,000

00:41:00.460 looks like a

00:41:01.180 man walking.

00:41:01.840 So they

00:41:02.060 thought,

00:41:02.440 oh,

00:41:02.800 okay,

00:41:03.320 you know,

00:41:03.940 let's create

00:41:04.960 this,

00:41:05.400 I think it

00:41:05.660 was a

00:41:05.840 pedometer

00:41:06.240 that suggests

00:41:07.440 that you

00:41:07.660 should do

00:41:07.940 10,000

00:41:08.380 steps a

00:41:08.780 day and

00:41:09.380 that is

00:41:09.880 how the

00:41:10.280 myth was

00:41:10.680 created.

00:41:11.700 But when

00:41:12.440 there have

00:41:13.020 been meta

00:41:13.980 analyses

00:41:14.400 conducted

00:41:15.160 around how

00:41:16.480 many steps

00:41:17.640 per day

00:41:18.460 actually reduces

00:41:20.260 the chance

00:41:21.320 of dying

00:41:21.980 early from

00:41:22.860 things like

00:41:23.500 heart disease,

00:41:24.660 what they

00:41:25.200 found is

00:41:26.040 that typically

00:41:26.600 it's about

00:41:27.240 7,500 to

00:41:28.540 8,000 steps

00:41:29.720 a day.

00:41:30.260 That is the

00:41:30.940 magic number.

00:41:32.560 So I

00:41:33.520 would love

00:41:34.160 it.

00:41:34.360 If listeners

00:41:35.180 just adjust

00:41:36.220 past their

00:41:36.680 daily

00:41:37.020 steps

00:41:37.380 goal,

00:41:38.040 make it

00:41:38.340 a little

00:41:38.580 bit lower,

00:41:39.380 7,500 steps

00:41:40.800 because there's

00:41:41.300 actually science

00:41:42.360 behind that as

00:41:43.240 opposed to

00:41:43.640 10,000 steps

00:41:44.660 which is purely

00:41:45.460 a marketing

00:41:46.020 gimmick.

00:41:47.300 So any

00:41:47.640 tactics that we've

00:41:48.460 talked about

00:41:48.800 earlier and how

00:41:49.420 you can implement

00:41:49.980 this happen and

00:41:50.620 stick to it?

00:41:51.900 Yeah,

00:41:52.300 look,

00:41:52.680 I personally

00:41:54.080 love the

00:41:55.020 whole past

00:41:55.500 strategy for

00:41:56.360 this and

00:41:57.200 I think one of

00:41:57.920 the interesting

00:41:58.320 things about

00:41:58.760 the whole past

00:41:59.300 strategy,

00:42:00.200 as I described,

00:42:01.140 there was a

00:42:01.800 study that

00:42:02.300 actually looked at

00:42:03.360 people who

00:42:04.080 had a

00:42:05.120 steps goal

00:42:05.940 and the

00:42:06.600 impact of

00:42:07.500 incorporating

00:42:08.280 hall passes.

00:42:09.300 So, you

00:42:10.020 know, it

00:42:10.520 might not be

00:42:10.960 possible every

00:42:11.700 day to do

00:42:12.600 7,500 steps.

00:42:14.520 So just give

00:42:15.300 yourself two

00:42:16.340 hall passes a

00:42:17.360 week and say

00:42:18.320 to yourself,

00:42:18.700 this is my

00:42:19.080 daily steps

00:42:19.700 goal but

00:42:20.360 there's going

00:42:20.660 to be two

00:42:21.160 days every

00:42:21.920 week where I

00:42:23.160 give myself

00:42:23.820 permission to

00:42:24.740 not meet my

00:42:25.460 steps target for

00:42:26.200 whatever reason.

00:42:26.820 Maybe you found

00:42:27.640 yourself in

00:42:28.220 back-to-back

00:42:28.740 meetings and you

00:42:29.460 just had no

00:42:30.220 chance to get

00:42:31.140 out for a

00:42:31.620 walk, for

00:42:32.000 example.

00:42:32.920 So use the

00:42:33.860 hall pass

00:42:34.360 strategy to

00:42:34.920 make yourself

00:42:35.340 more likely to

00:42:36.420 get that daily

00:42:37.180 steps count.

00:42:38.580 Another health

00:42:38.980 habit-related

00:42:39.460 movement that

00:42:40.080 you talk about

00:42:40.640 is taking a

00:42:41.600 walk after a

00:42:42.420 meal.

00:42:42.820 Why that

00:42:43.820 habit?

00:42:45.220 Okay, so I

00:42:46.140 think that most

00:42:46.740 people know that

00:42:47.640 when it comes to

00:42:48.700 blood glucose or

00:42:49.960 blood sugar

00:42:50.500 levels, which is

00:42:51.920 what happens in

00:42:53.480 your body when

00:42:54.220 you eat something

00:42:55.500 or do certain

00:42:56.460 things, particularly

00:42:57.660 if you have like

00:42:58.320 a big sugary

00:42:59.540 high-carb

00:43:00.660 snack, you're

00:43:01.440 going to cause

00:43:01.940 your blood

00:43:02.560 glucose levels

00:43:03.400 to spike and

00:43:04.840 then crash.

00:43:06.180 And you will

00:43:06.640 have experienced

00:43:07.220 this crash if

00:43:08.280 you've ever felt

00:43:09.360 really tired or

00:43:10.820 brain foggy or

00:43:11.900 even hungry, like

00:43:12.980 just after you've

00:43:13.920 had a meal,

00:43:14.820 sort of, you

00:43:15.060 know, typically

00:43:15.400 about 30 minutes

00:43:16.500 after you've had

00:43:17.500 that kind of a

00:43:18.500 meal.

00:43:19.480 And, you know,

00:43:20.320 there's not many

00:43:21.880 nutrition experts

00:43:23.220 that would disagree

00:43:24.640 that we need to

00:43:25.820 try to keep our

00:43:26.600 blood glucose levels

00:43:27.660 as stable as

00:43:28.680 possible.

00:43:29.120 So any strategy

00:43:30.420 that we can use

00:43:31.880 that's going to

00:43:32.520 help stabilize our

00:43:33.700 blood glucose

00:43:34.240 levels, particularly

00:43:35.280 after we eat, is

00:43:36.860 really, really good

00:43:38.140 for managing our

00:43:38.980 health and managing

00:43:39.840 our energy.

00:43:40.920 And so what

00:43:41.880 researchers have

00:43:42.920 looked at is what

00:43:44.000 is the impact of

00:43:45.300 after we have a

00:43:46.620 meal, and let's

00:43:47.380 just say that it

00:43:48.320 is a meal that

00:43:49.160 would normally spike

00:43:50.140 our blood glucose

00:43:50.920 levels, like a

00:43:52.500 really big bowl of

00:43:53.420 pasta is something

00:43:54.360 that will typically

00:43:55.100 spike most people's 0.99

00:43:56.900 blood glucose

00:43:57.400 levels, is what

00:43:58.840 if we actually

00:43:59.380 move after that

00:44:00.660 meal?

00:44:01.240 And they've

00:44:02.020 looked at all

00:44:02.500 sorts of movement

00:44:03.280 patterns, like

00:44:04.300 moving straight

00:44:04.840 after the meal,

00:44:06.060 moving for one

00:44:07.420 minute versus 10

00:44:08.560 minutes versus an

00:44:09.520 hour, and what

00:44:10.600 they found is that

00:44:12.120 on average, the

00:44:13.520 best thing we can

00:44:14.160 do after we've

00:44:15.280 eaten is about

00:44:16.820 half an hour or

00:44:18.040 so after we've

00:44:18.980 eaten, just have

00:44:20.680 some gentle

00:44:21.400 movement incorporated

00:44:22.380 into your day for

00:44:24.060 about 10 minutes.

00:44:25.840 So if you aim

00:44:27.100 after, say, your

00:44:28.180 lunch or your

00:44:28.980 dinner, about

00:44:30.080 half an hour

00:44:30.540 afterwards, just

00:44:31.700 to go for a 10

00:44:32.760 minute leisurely

00:44:33.720 walk around the

00:44:34.520 block, you will

00:44:35.940 significantly increase

00:44:37.920 the chance of your

00:44:39.280 blood glucose level

00:44:40.300 staying pretty

00:44:41.180 stable, and you'll

00:44:43.200 significantly decrease

00:44:44.740 any spike that was

00:44:45.920 going to happen.

00:44:47.400 I've actually

00:44:48.320 experimented with

00:44:48.860 this, and it's

00:44:49.280 true.

00:44:49.860 So there was a

00:44:50.280 period a couple

00:44:50.800 years ago where I

00:44:51.380 was using a

00:44:51.880 continuous glucose

00:44:52.700 monitor, and I

00:44:54.420 heard about this

00:44:55.040 research about

00:44:55.540 taking a walk

00:44:56.320 after you eat can

00:44:58.060 help reduce blood

00:44:59.320 glucose spikes,

00:45:00.420 particularly if you

00:45:00.860 eat a high-carb

00:45:01.460 meal.

00:45:01.980 And it's true. 0.56

00:45:02.840 If I didn't take

00:45:03.460 the walk and I

00:45:04.080 ate a carby,

00:45:05.240 sugary meal, my

00:45:06.700 blood sugar would

00:45:07.280 go up to 140,

00:45:08.480 150.

00:45:09.700 But then if I

00:45:10.260 waited 30 minutes,

00:45:11.880 it was interesting.

00:45:12.700 I had to wait 30.

00:45:13.440 If I did it right

00:45:14.060 after I ate, if I

00:45:15.180 did the walk, what

00:45:16.200 would happen?

00:45:16.660 The spike would

00:45:17.240 just be delayed.

00:45:18.560 Because I think

00:45:19.080 what happens is your

00:45:19.840 body, it takes about

00:45:20.640 half an hour, 45

00:45:21.480 minutes for your body

00:45:22.860 to start breaking

00:45:23.500 down the carbs

00:45:24.160 into glucose.

00:45:25.480 And so if you do

00:45:26.340 it too early, all

00:45:27.700 it's going to do is

00:45:28.340 it's going to delay

00:45:28.920 that glucose spike.

00:45:30.360 But if you time it

00:45:31.800 so that you do the

00:45:33.020 movement right when

00:45:34.340 your glucose is

00:45:34.960 spiking, your body's

00:45:35.780 digested and sending

00:45:36.560 the glucose to the

00:45:37.580 different parts of

00:45:38.120 your body, you move

00:45:39.480 your muscles and your

00:45:40.260 muscles are just

00:45:41.120 basically vacuums for

00:45:42.620 glucose, like your

00:45:43.420 muscles run on

00:45:44.120 glucose.

00:45:45.100 And so you get those

00:45:45.780 vacuums going by

00:45:46.640 moving your body, it

00:45:47.400 just sucks up that

00:45:48.160 glucose.

00:45:48.740 And if I took a walk

00:45:49.660 30 to 45 minutes

00:45:50.900 after I ate, the

00:45:51.700 glucose monitor would

00:45:52.500 just be up to 120, it

00:45:53.980 wouldn't be as high.

00:45:54.980 So it does work, it

00:45:55.940 is really powerful.

00:45:57.180 It totally does.

00:45:57.760 And I love that you've

00:45:58.560 mentioned continuous

00:45:59.340 glucose monitors, which

00:46:00.760 for those that haven't

00:46:01.700 heard of CGMs, if you

00:46:03.020 imagine something that's

00:46:03.980 about the size of a

00:46:05.440 ping pong ball, flattened

00:46:07.240 and stuck to your

00:46:07.980 tricep with a little

00:46:09.240 needle that pierces

00:46:10.360 your skin, it's

00:46:11.240 basically a way of

00:46:12.060 getting a continuous

00:46:13.280 read on what your

00:46:14.320 blood glucose levels

00:46:15.340 are doing.

00:46:15.940 They typically last

00:46:16.580 for a couple of

00:46:17.100 weeks and they sync

00:46:18.640 with an app on your

00:46:19.760 phone and I've

00:46:21.120 experimented with

00:46:21.980 them at different

00:46:22.600 times over the last

00:46:23.640 few years and I

00:46:24.680 find that it is

00:46:25.720 such a great tool

00:46:26.600 for actually changing

00:46:27.960 your behaviour because

00:46:28.900 you've got the data

00:46:29.800 right there in front

00:46:31.140 of you.

00:46:31.460 There's no, oh

00:46:32.380 well, you know,

00:46:33.240 Samantha said this or

00:46:34.140 research said this but

00:46:35.300 is it going to work

00:46:35.920 for me?

00:46:36.600 You can see the

00:46:37.300 data and when you

00:46:38.980 can actually see how

00:46:40.180 the inside of your

00:46:41.040 body is responding to

00:46:42.540 different tactics or

00:46:43.940 experiments that you're

00:46:44.840 trying, you're much

00:46:46.460 more likely to keep

00:46:47.340 going with those

00:46:48.260 experiments when you

00:46:49.040 can see, oh, they're

00:46:49.800 actually working for

00:46:50.620 me.

00:46:51.320 What about just

00:46:51.740 making a regular

00:46:52.600 workout part of your

00:46:53.740 routine?

00:46:54.240 Any advice there?

00:46:55.740 Oh, look, definitely

00:46:57.280 a regular workout is a

00:46:58.700 great thing and what

00:47:00.300 we overestimate is how

00:47:02.420 long we have to spend

00:47:03.980 working out.

00:47:05.480 So there's been some

00:47:06.200 great research into

00:47:08.040 not just HIIT

00:47:09.300 training, which I think

00:47:10.700 we all know is, you

00:47:11.840 know, high intensity

00:47:12.540 interval training, but

00:47:14.140 what is called

00:47:14.820 REHIT training, which

00:47:17.060 is basically boiled

00:47:18.880 down to shorter and

00:47:21.200 less frequent bursts

00:47:22.580 of all-out intensive

00:47:24.360 exercise.

00:47:25.220 So what some research

00:47:26.820 from McMaster's

00:47:27.620 University found is

00:47:28.900 that the smallest, if

00:47:30.680 you like, minimum

00:47:31.440 viable dose of

00:47:32.920 exercise that we can

00:47:34.040 do to get massive

00:47:35.320 benefits for our

00:47:36.280 cardiovascular health is

00:47:37.960 just a 40-second

00:47:39.660 micro-workout where you

00:47:42.060 do a little warm-up,

00:47:43.420 get your body warm for

00:47:44.340 two or three minutes,

00:47:45.460 then do an all-out

00:47:47.040 40-second sprint.

00:47:48.280 It might be sprinting

00:47:49.140 around the block for

00:47:50.260 40 seconds or doing a

00:47:51.940 sprint on an exercise

00:47:52.780 bike and then doing a

00:47:54.440 cool-down.

00:47:55.740 And you can get the

00:47:57.000 same kind of gains from

00:47:58.780 a micro-workout or

00:48:00.640 re-hit workout as you

00:48:02.060 can from going for

00:48:03.600 like a 40-minute,

00:48:05.020 45-minute jog.

00:48:06.400 It's absolutely amazing

00:48:07.360 and for anyone that is

00:48:08.740 saying, I don't have

00:48:09.380 time to exercise, well,

00:48:10.960 all you need is 40

00:48:12.180 seconds and you will get

00:48:13.240 some amazing benefits

00:48:14.460 from that.

00:48:14.980 Let's talk about

00:48:16.060 nutrition habits.

00:48:17.160 What hijackers frequently

00:48:18.620 get in the way of

00:48:19.360 sticking to nutrition

00:48:20.380 habits?

00:48:21.760 I would say that

00:48:23.240 environmental hijackers

00:48:24.960 are the biggest ones

00:48:26.200 here.

00:48:26.820 Like if you think about

00:48:27.900 what is in your fridge

00:48:29.880 and what is in your

00:48:30.920 pantry and how much

00:48:33.480 of that is the food

00:48:34.680 that you want to be

00:48:35.860 consuming more of

00:48:36.980 versus food that you

00:48:38.000 think that you should

00:48:38.740 be consuming less of,

00:48:41.040 like quite often

00:48:42.120 there's a lot of food

00:48:43.680 that we do want to be

00:48:44.320 consuming less of

00:48:45.180 that are at eye level

00:48:46.760 in plain view

00:48:47.880 whenever we go to

00:48:49.220 make a food decision.

00:48:51.140 So I would say

00:48:52.360 environmental hijackers,

00:48:53.520 if we can change the

00:48:55.140 physical environment

00:48:56.120 that we're living in

00:48:57.460 and working in to

00:48:58.980 make it really easy

00:48:59.980 and just natural to

00:49:01.500 select the thing that

00:49:02.380 we want to be eating

00:49:03.060 more of, like that

00:49:04.600 will go a huge way to

00:49:06.100 having healthier habits

00:49:07.300 when it comes to

00:49:07.880 nutrition.

00:49:08.800 And yeah, so you have

00:49:09.280 specific habits in this

00:49:10.420 environmental framework

00:49:11.280 that you talk about

00:49:12.480 that people can use

00:49:13.360 to reduce the

00:49:14.600 temptation to

00:49:15.260 sabotage your diet.

00:49:16.160 So the big one is

00:49:17.580 to reduce the amount

00:49:18.520 of hyperpalatable foods

00:49:19.700 like the really tasty

00:49:20.920 Oreos, Doritos,

00:49:22.200 and then the ultra

00:49:23.100 processed foods which

00:49:24.200 are typically hyperpalatable

00:49:25.820 as well.

00:49:27.080 Yes.

00:49:27.700 And just keep those

00:49:28.600 out of the kitchen

00:49:29.100 as much as you can.

00:49:30.860 Definitely.

00:49:30.960 We've had a guest

00:49:31.640 on the podcast

00:49:32.240 talk about the

00:49:33.460 microbiome, the gut

00:49:34.560 microbiome, and how

00:49:35.660 it affects everything

00:49:36.460 about health from

00:49:37.420 your weight to mood

00:49:38.840 to sleep.

00:49:40.060 And to support

00:49:40.640 your gut microbiome,

00:49:41.920 you recommend that

00:49:42.640 instead of taking

00:49:43.320 a probiotic, people

00:49:44.660 eat their probiotics.

00:49:46.100 So how can they do

00:49:47.080 that and make it a

00:49:47.980 habit?

00:49:48.960 Yeah, so eating

00:49:49.740 probiotics.

00:49:50.700 This is all about

00:49:51.480 eating fermented

00:49:52.860 food like things

00:49:54.380 like kefir, things

00:49:56.300 like sauerkraut,

00:49:58.100 kimchi, and, you

00:49:59.380 know, yogurt is

00:50:00.260 probably the most

00:50:01.160 easily accessible,

00:50:02.980 palatable probiotic

00:50:04.380 that you can eat.

00:50:05.480 And so, you know,

00:50:06.520 certainly what Tim

00:50:07.680 Spector, Professor

00:50:08.580 from the UK

00:50:09.840 recommends is, you

00:50:11.500 know, ideally having

00:50:12.860 some fermented

00:50:13.860 food, eating your

00:50:15.360 probiotics just in

00:50:17.060 small amounts, four

00:50:18.540 or five times a day.

00:50:19.860 So, you know, you

00:50:20.680 might have a couple

00:50:21.700 of tablespoons of

00:50:22.840 yogurt with your

00:50:23.900 breakfast, for

00:50:24.480 example, you know,

00:50:25.440 maybe like a little

00:50:26.140 bit of kimchi or

00:50:27.780 sauerkraut.

00:50:28.780 This is like a little

00:50:30.100 side, you know,

00:50:31.240 again, a couple of

00:50:31.760 tablespoons is all

00:50:32.620 you need with your

00:50:33.400 dinner.

00:50:33.860 So just, you know,

00:50:35.160 having small doses

00:50:36.140 throughout the day is

00:50:37.880 one of the best ways

00:50:38.740 to improve gut

00:50:39.600 health.

00:50:40.460 Yeah, what I do, I

00:50:41.420 started doing a while

00:50:42.160 back ago is I have

00:50:44.080 some kimchi with my 0.98

00:50:45.460 eggs at breakfast.

00:50:47.060 And it's not very

00:50:47.840 much.

00:50:48.160 I get this, this is a

00:50:48.800 little bag and I just

00:50:49.800 scoop out like a 0.97

00:50:50.580 serving of it, not

00:50:51.300 even a serving, it's

00:50:51.980 like a spoonful of

00:50:52.760 it, and I got to eat

00:50:53.920 that.

00:50:54.220 And the other one is I

00:50:55.180 eat yogurt, I eat

00:50:56.540 Greek yogurt for a

00:50:57.900 snack and probably get

00:50:59.820 all the probiotics I

00:51:00.640 need, just making

00:51:01.280 those really small

00:51:02.300 changes.

00:51:02.660 Yes, and it's far

00:51:04.400 cheaper than getting

00:51:05.260 expensive probiotics

00:51:06.420 from the chemist.

00:51:07.260 Correct, this is

00:51:08.100 true.

00:51:08.740 So if someone is

00:51:09.880 listening to this

00:51:10.920 episode and they're

00:51:12.420 feeling overwhelmed

00:51:13.320 by the health

00:51:14.520 habits they want to

00:51:15.220 implement, what do

00:51:16.580 you think is the

00:51:17.020 smallest habit you'd

00:51:18.920 have them start with

00:51:19.780 tomorrow to build

00:51:21.120 some momentum?

00:51:23.080 I would come back

00:51:24.580 to environmental

00:51:25.660 hijackers.

00:51:26.380 I would think about

00:51:27.100 what is the behavior

00:51:28.140 that you're trying to

00:51:28.980 change and think

00:51:30.640 about your environment,

00:51:31.740 your physical

00:51:32.500 environment at home

00:51:33.680 and work and any

00:51:34.560 other places where

00:51:35.220 you spend a lot of

00:51:35.940 time and think about

00:51:37.640 what is one change

00:51:39.080 you can make to

00:51:40.400 your environment to

00:51:41.760 make it easier to do

00:51:43.160 the thing that you're

00:51:43.940 trying to do more of

00:51:45.060 or to make it harder

00:51:46.120 to do the thing that

00:51:47.260 you're trying to do

00:51:47.980 less of.

00:51:48.700 I love it.

00:51:49.740 Well, Amantha, this

00:51:50.400 has been a great

00:51:50.740 conversation.

00:51:51.480 Where can people go

00:51:51.960 to learn more about

00:51:52.480 your work?

00:51:53.380 Well, they can go

00:51:54.240 to amantha.com or

00:51:56.700 they can check out

00:51:57.720 the health habit book

00:51:59.100 to learn more about

00:51:59.860 this and I host a

00:52:01.220 podcast called

00:52:01.860 How I Work where

00:52:02.880 I talk about

00:52:03.840 different rituals and

00:52:04.800 strategies that some

00:52:06.040 of the world's most

00:52:06.560 successful people use

00:52:07.400 to get more out of

00:52:07.980 their day.

00:52:08.860 Well, fantastic.

00:52:09.500 Amantha Ember,

00:52:10.080 thanks for your time.

00:52:10.460 It's been a pleasure.

00:52:11.280 Thank you so much,

00:52:12.100 Brett.

00:52:13.740 My guest is

00:52:14.260 Amantha Ember. 0.95

00:52:15.000 She's the author of

00:52:15.700 the book The Health

00:52:16.360 Habit.

00:52:16.720 It's available on

00:52:17.240 amazon.com.

00:52:18.380 You can find more

00:52:18.900 information about her

00:52:19.360 work at our website

00:52:20.080 amantha.com.

00:52:21.260 Also, check out our

00:52:21.820 show notes at

00:52:22.200 aom.is

00:52:22.980 slash health habit.

00:52:24.040 We find links to

00:52:24.600 resources when we delve

00:52:25.380 deeper into this topic.

00:52:31.220 Well, that wraps up

00:52:34.920 another edition of the

00:52:35.860 AOM Podcast.

00:52:36.680 Make sure to check out

00:52:37.320 our website at

00:52:37.860 artofmanly.com where

00:52:38.880 you can find our

00:52:39.180 podcast archives.

00:52:40.520 And while you're there,

00:52:41.120 sign up for our

00:52:41.700 newsletter.

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00:52:46.080 stay on top of what's

00:52:46.700 going on at AOM.

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00:52:53.240 And if you've done

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00:52:54.960 Please consider sharing

00:52:55.760 the show with a friend

00:52:56.400 or family member who

00:52:57.180 would think there was

00:52:57.540 something out of it.

00:52:58.120 As always, thank you

00:52:59.500 for the continued

00:52:59.880 support.

00:53:00.300 Until next time,

00:53:00.760 it's Brad McKay.

00:53:01.720 Remind you how to

00:53:02.260 listen to the AOM Podcast

00:53:03.100 but put what you've

00:53:04.180 heard into action.

00:53:18.340 Before we go, here's

00:53:19.420 another AOM episode to

00:53:20.480 check out.

00:53:21.120 I talked to Brian Tome

00:53:22.220 about his book, The

00:53:23.000 Five Marks of Man.

00:53:24.240 And we discussed why

00:53:25.120 some 15-year-old boys

00:53:26.420 carry themselves like

00:53:27.500 men while some

00:53:28.100 45-year-old men don't.

00:53:30.040 We get into vision,

00:53:31.160 purpose, creating more

00:53:32.200 than you consume, and

00:53:32.960 how men can still be

00:53:33.940 protectors today.

00:53:35.160 It's a strong,

00:53:36.500 straightforward

00:53:36.940 conversation.

00:53:38.120 Check it out at

00:53:38.700 aom.is slash marks.

00:53:40.580 That's aom.is slash marks.

The Art of Manliness - December 09, 2025

Why You Don’t Follow Through on Your Health Goals — and How to Fix It

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