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Speaker 1: After years of being obsessed with health optimization and spending

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Speaker 1: far too much money on gadgets and supplements that promised

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Speaker 1: the world but delivered very little, I have narrowed down

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Speaker 1: just three non negotiable health habits that have genuinely transformed

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Speaker 1: my energy levels, my mood, and overall well being. These

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Speaker 1: aren't trendy wellness rituals that look good on Instagram but

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Speaker 1: do nothing for your body. These are science backed practices

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Speaker 1: that have made a huge difference in my daily life.

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Speaker 1: So today I want to share with you three simple

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Speaker 1: habits that I swear by and they are all very

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Speaker 1: easy to apply. Welcome to How I Work a show

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Speaker 1: about habits, rituals and strategies for optimizing your day. I'm

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Speaker 1: your host, doctor Amantha Imber. So let's get into my

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Speaker 1: three non negotiable health habits. The first one is having

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Speaker 1: a conceit distant wake time otherwise known as goodbye Monday

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Speaker 1: morning jet lag. So something I do religiously is I

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Speaker 1: wake at the same time every single day, even on weekends. Okay,

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Speaker 1: now I know what you're thinking, Amantha, those Sunday sleepins

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Speaker 1: and what dreams are made of? Okay. I used to

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Speaker 1: feel the exact same way until I learned about the

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Speaker 1: science behind consistent rise times. Here's the thing. Bearing your

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Speaker 1: wake time is basically giving yourself mini jet lag every

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Speaker 1: Monday morning. So if you typically wake at six am

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Speaker 1: on weekdays but sleep in until nine am or even

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Speaker 1: eight am on weekends, it's like flying from Melbourne to

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Speaker 1: New Zealand and back every single week. I mean no

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Speaker 1: wonder mondays can feel so brutal your body clock is

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Speaker 1: completely confused. When I interviewed Professor Eric Prather for my

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Speaker 1: book The Health Habit, he told me that getting up

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Speaker 1: at the same time every day is the number one

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Speaker 1: thing we can do for our sleep. It helps train

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Speaker 1: our circadian clock and sets in motion our homeostatic sleep drive,

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Speaker 1: which you can think of that as a balloon that

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Speaker 1: fills with sleepiness throughout the day. Since implementing this habit,

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Speaker 1: I fall asleep more easily, experience fewer night wakings, and

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Speaker 1: perhaps most importantly, don't start every week feeling like I've

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Speaker 1: just stepped off a long haul flight. Okay, let's move

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Speaker 1: into my second non negotiable health habit, which is daily exercise,

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Speaker 1: but with an important twist, I allow myself two hall

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Speaker 1: passes each week. So my routine includes four weight training

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Speaker 1: sessions where I'm now lifting weights that would have seemed

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Speaker 1: impossible to my teenage self, and I go for two

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Speaker 1: to three runs or more realistically slow jogs every week.

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Speaker 1: Let me tell you though about the Hall pass system,

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Speaker 1: because that has been a game changer. So research shows

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Speaker 1: that people who allow themselves occasional planned breaks actually exercise

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Speaker 1: more consistently than those who set rigid, unforgiving routines. I

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Speaker 1: learned this from Assistant Professor Marissa Shariff's research, which found

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Speaker 1: that participants with two Hall passes per week, in other words,

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Speaker 1: permission not to hit their daily step goal twice a week,

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Speaker 1: hit their step target forty percent more frequently than those

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Speaker 1: without this flexibility. This approach prevents what psychologists call the

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Speaker 1: what the hell effect, that moment when you miss one

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Speaker 1: workout and decide your entire exercise plan is ruined so

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Speaker 1: you might as well give up completely. Instead, I use

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Speaker 1: my hall passes strategically, and this flexibility has helped me

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Speaker 1: maintain my exercise habit for years, not just weeks. Alright.

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Speaker 1: Tip number three, My final non negotiable is including twenty

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Speaker 1: to thirty grams of protein with every meal. As someone

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Speaker 1: who once spiraled into a sugar fueled frenzy that culminated

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Speaker 1: in eating raw sugar straight from the container. Yes, true story.

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Speaker 1: You can read about it in the Health Habit, I

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Speaker 1: have learned that protein is my secret weapon against blood

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Speaker 1: sugar chaos. Professor Abby Ryan Smith explained this to me

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Speaker 1: that adequate protein helps keep us full, it stabilizes blood glucose,

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Speaker 1: and it prevents those midday slumps that have us reaching

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Speaker 1: for the biscuit tin. So by anchoring each meal with protein,

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Speaker 1: I experience fewer cravings, more sustained energy, and improved mental clarity.

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Speaker 1: It's not always easy, especially at breakfast when the world

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Speaker 1: wants to push cereal on you, but the payoff in

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Speaker 1: terms of stable mood, FOD and energy has been huge.

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Speaker 1: So these three habits now form the rock solid foundation

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Speaker 1: of my health routeam. They're simple enough to maintain long term,

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Speaker 1: but impactful enough to make a genuine difference. If you

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Speaker 1: like today's show, make sure you hit follow on your

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Speaker 1: podcast app to be alerted when new episodes drop. How

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Speaker 1: I Work was recorded on the traditional land of the

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Speaker 1: Warrangery people, part of the Cool and Nation. A big

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Speaker 1: thank you to Martinimber for doing the sound mix,