Tag: health and wellness

  • The Profound Importance of Sleep. (Hint: It’s essential)

    Sleep is one of the most essential, yet often overlooked, pillars of health. Despite the importance of sleep, modern society often treats sleep as an afterthought, with work, entertainment, and social obligations taking precedence. However, scientific research has continually shown that sleep affects nearly every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. From cognitive function and emotional regulation to immune system strength and longevity, getting adequate sleep is critical for a healthy life.

    The Science of Sleep: Stages and Cycles

    Sleep is not a uniform state; rather, it occurs in cycles that repeat throughout the night. These cycles consist of different stages:

    • Light Sleep: The transition from wakefulness, where the body begins to relax and prepare for deeper rest.
    • Deep Sleep: The most restorative phase, during which the body repairs tissues, strengthens the immune system, and consolidates memories. Most deep sleep occurs in the early part of the night.
    • REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep: The dream stage, essential for learning, creativity, and emotional regulation. REM sleep is most abundant in the latter half of the night.

    Each stage serves a crucial function, and disrupting sleep cycles—whether through poor sleep habits, alcohol consumption, or an inconsistent schedule—can have significant negative effects on overall health.

    How Sleep Changes Throughout Life

    Our sleep patterns change as we age. Infants require a great deal of sleep, sometimes up to 17 hours a day, as their bodies and brains develop. During adolescence, the circadian rhythm naturally shifts later, leading to later sleep and wake times—a fact that school schedules often fail to accommodate. As we reach adulthood, sleep stabilizes, but many adults fail to prioritize it, leading to chronic sleep deprivation. Understanding these changes can help individuals and policymakers create better sleep-supportive environments.

    The Role of Adenosine and Sleep Pressure

    One of the key drivers of sleep is adenosine, a chemical that builds up in the brain throughout the day. This accumulation creates sleep pressure, making us feel tired. However, substances like caffeine can block adenosine receptors, temporarily masking feelings of fatigue. Caffeine has a half-life of about six hours, meaning that even hours after consumption, half of the caffeine remains in the system. This can delay sleep onset and reduce sleep quality, especially if consumed later in the day.

    The Misconceptions About Melatonin and Napping

    Many people turn to melatonin supplements to help with sleep, but it’s important to understand their role. Melatonin helps signal to the body that it’s time to sleep but does not necessarily keep you asleep. For those struggling with frequent awakenings, addressing other factors—such as light exposure, stress, or bedtime habits—may be more beneficial.

    Napping can also impact sleep. While short naps (20-30 minutes) can be refreshing, napping too late in the day can reduce sleep pressure and make it harder to fall asleep at night. Proper nap timing is crucial for those looking to balance rest with maintaining a solid nighttime sleep schedule.

    Sleep and Its Profound Impact on Health

    The effects of inadequate sleep extend far beyond feeling groggy the next day. Research has linked sleep deprivation to a multitude of serious health risks:

    • Cognitive and Emotional Health: Lack of sleep reduces the brain’s ability to process and retain information. It also weakens emotional regulation, making individuals more prone to irrational decision-making and heightened emotional reactions.
    • Memory and Trauma Processing: Studies suggest that proper sleep aids in learning new information and skills, as well as in processing traumatic or distressing memories, helping individuals either forget or rationalize them more effectively.
    • Neurodegenerative Diseases: Chronic sleep deprivation has been associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease due to the buildup of harmful proteins in the brain that are typically cleared during deep sleep.
    • Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health: Sleep loss is linked to higher blood pressure, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disturbances that can lead to diabetes. It also negatively affects metabolism, increasing the likelihood of weight gain.
    • Reproductive Health: Both men and women experience declines in reproductive health when sleep is inadequate. Testosterone levels, sperm quality, and menstrual cycle regularity can all be negatively impacted.
    • Immune Function and Disease Resistance: Insufficient sleep can weaken the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to infections. It can even reduce the effectiveness of vaccines by impairing the body’s ability to produce antibodies.
    • DNA and Gene Expression: Research has shown that sleep deprivation can alter the expression of genes, including those related to inflammation, stress response, and cellular repair.

    Alcohol and Sleep: A Common but Harmful Misconception

    Many people believe that alcohol helps them sleep, but in reality, alcohol disrupts sleep architecture. It suppresses REM sleep, leading to fragmented, lower-quality rest. While it may help with falling asleep initially, the trade-off is lighter, less restorative sleep throughout the night.

    How to Learn More About Sleep

    For those interested in a deeper dive into the importance of sleep, Dr. Matthew Walker’s book, Why We Sleep, is a must-read. This book provides a comprehensive look at the latest sleep research and explains why sleep is fundamental to our health and survival. It is a fascinating and informative read that can help anyone understand the importance of good sleep habits.

    Additionally, the Sleep Foundation is an excellent resource for learning more about healthy sleep practices. Their website offers evidence-based information on sleep disorders, sleep hygiene, and strategies to improve overall sleep quality.

    The Broader Societal Impact of Sleep Education

    The consequences of widespread sleep deprivation extend beyond individual health. Improved sleep habits could revolutionize productivity, education, and healthcare. Schools that adjust start times to accommodate teenagers’ biological sleep needs see improved academic performance and mental health outcomes. Workplaces that prioritize healthy sleep habits see better efficiency and lower absenteeism. Even in medicine, a greater focus on sleep education could lead to better patient outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.

    Conclusion: A Call to Prioritize Sleep

    The science is clear—sleep is a cornerstone of health, and its benefits extend into nearly every aspect of our lives. After reading about the overwhelming evidence supporting the importance of sleep and its role in longevity, cognitive function, emotional stability, and disease prevention, I made significant changes to my own sleep habits. The improvements in my energy, focus, and overall well-being were immediate and profound. Because of this, I highly recommend that everyone take sleep seriously, implement better sleep practices, and consider reading further into the subject.

    As a general recommendation, adults should allow themselves at least 8 hours of sleep per night to experience the full benefits of rest.

    Prioritizing sleep is not a luxury—it is a necessity. By making sleep a priority in our personal lives and advocating for better sleep practices in society, we can create a healthier, more productive world for everyone.

  • It Wasn’t Motivation. It Was the Environment.

    He thought he was the problem.

    Busy job. High stress. Long days. By the time evening rolled around, the plan to walk, lift, or wind down early had already lost.

    Not because he didn’t care.
    Not because he wasn’t trying.
    But because it felt… hard. Most days.

    We set a simple baseline: walk daily, lift twice per week, and protect sleep. Nothing extreme. Nothing unrealistic.

    And yet, consistency was spotty.

    Then he went on vacation.

    No structured plan. No coaching cues. No accountability.

    And somehow, things shifted.

    He averaged 10,000–12,000 steps per day. He felt more energized. Sleep came easier. Movement wasn’t something he had to force—it just happened.

    Same person. Same body.

    Different environment.

    When he got home, things felt different again. Not necessarily a full regression, not a collapse of habits—but the same ease wasn’t there. Some days were harder. He was also coming off being sick, and his normal routine hadn’t quite settled back in yet.

    That’s when it clicked:

    The issue wasn’t discipline. It was context.

    The Lie We Tell Ourselves About Motivation

    Most people explain inconsistency the same way:

    “I just need to be more motivated.”
    “I need to be more disciplined.”
    “I need to want it more.”

    That sounds logical. It’s also usually wrong.

    Motivation isn’t a stable resource—it fluctuates. And more importantly, it’s heavily influenced by your environment.

    When things feel easy, we credit motivation. When things feel hard, we blame ourselves.

    But you’re not operating in a vacuum. You’re operating inside a system. And that system is either helping you or quietly working against you.

    Stress Changes the Game

    When that client was on vacation, his stress dropped.

    That alone changes everything.

    Lower stress means lower cognitive load. Lower cognitive load means more available capacity.

    And capacity is what drives behavior.

    Back home, the primary stressor waiting for him was his job. And when that stress ramps up, even simple habits can start to feel heavier than they should.

    By the end of the day, asking yourself to “just go for a walk” isn’t always simple. It can feel like one more thing in a day that’s already taken a lot out of you.

    Behavior change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens within your available bandwidth.

    And stress shrinks that bandwidth fast.

    Behavior Is a Product of Environment

    Here’s the shift most people need:

    Behavior isn’t just a reflection of who you are. It’s a reflection of where you are.

    On vacation, movement was built into the day. The environment invited it. There were fewer competing demands, and decisions were simpler.

    At home, movement required more intention. Time felt tighter. Stress competed for attention. And every habit required a bit more effort to initiate.

    Same person. Different inputs.

    Different outputs.

    That’s not a character flaw. That’s environmental influence.

    Why “Trying Harder” Fails

    When people notice inconsistency, their first instinct is to push harder—more rules, more pressure, more expectations.

    But effort doesn’t scale well under stress.

    If your environment is already creating friction, trying harder just means you’re fighting upstream every day. And eventually, that gets exhausting.

    Not because you’re weak. Because the system is working against you.

    You can’t outwork a poorly designed environment forever.

    Make the Environment Do the Heavy Lifting

    If behavior is influenced by environment, then the goal isn’t to become more disciplined.

    It’s to make the desired behavior easier to execute.

    Less friction. More default.

    Here’s what that looks like in practice:

    1. Reduce Friction Wherever Possible

    The harder something is to start, the less likely you are to do it. So lower the barrier.

    Lay out your workout clothes ahead of time. Choose routes that naturally increase your steps, like parking a little farther away or building in short walking loops. Make sure to keep healthy snacks on hand so better choices are the easy choices.

    Don’t rely on energy you may not have at the end of the day.

    Make the first step obvious and easy.

    2. Build Defaults Into Your Day

    On vacation, movement wasn’t optional—it just happened.

    You can replicate that in small ways.

    Take calls while walking. Add a short walk after dinner. Attach movement to something you already do daily.

    Defaults remove decision-making, and decisions are expensive under stress.

    If you have to decide every time, you’ve already made it harder than it needs to be.

    3. Simplify the Plan

    Complex plans tend to fall apart in complex lives.

    When stress is high, your plan needs to get simpler—not more detailed.

    Instead of setting a rigid expectation like going to the gym four days a week for an hour, zoom out. Focus on moving your body for 10–20 minutes, no matter what that looks like.

    Consistency comes from sustainability.

    Win the day with something you can always do.

    4. Design for Your Worst Days

    Most people build plans around their best days.

    That’s a mistake.

    You need a version of your habits that works when you’re tired, when work is stressful, and when time is limited. Because those days aren’t rare—they’re part of real life.

    If your plan only works when life is easy, it’s not a good plan.

    5. Remove Unnecessary Decisions

    Every extra decision is another opportunity to opt out.

    Pre-plan meals when you can. Set consistent windows for movement. Create simple, repeatable routines.

    The goal isn’t rigidity—it’s reducing mental load.

    Clarity beats motivation. Every time.

    Reframing Consistency

    This is the part most people need to hear:

    Inconsistency is rarely a character issue. It’s usually a systems issue.

    When your environment supports the behavior, consistency feels natural.

    When it doesn’t, everything feels like a grind.

    That doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your setup needs attention.

    A Better Question to Ask

    Instead of asking, “Why can’t I stay consistent?” try asking:

    “What about my environment is making this harder than it needs to be?”

    That question shifts the focus from self-blame to problem-solving.

    And that’s where real change starts.

    The Takeaway

    You don’t need more motivation. You need a better setup.

    Make it easier to succeed. Make it harder to drift. Let your environment carry more of the weight.

    Because when the system is right, consistency stops feeling like a fight—and starts feeling like something that just fits into your life.

  • Health Is Not a Moral Failing: Why Willpower Isn’t Enough

    Health is not a moral failing because the cards are almost always stacked against you. Willpower isn’t enough.

    Trying to “get healthy” in today’s world often feels like swimming directly against the current while food and supplement companies, diet camps, fitness organizations, medical research headlines, and that one guy you work with who moonlights as a personal trainer cheer you on from the shore. Everyone has advice. Everyone has certainty. And somehow, when it doesn’t work, the blame still lands squarely on you.

    There is a deeply ingrained tendency to moralize health — to assign virtue or failure to outcomes that are profoundly biased, contextual, and unequal. We pretend that health exists on a level playing field when it very clearly does not.

    The Quiet Judgments We Make (and Internalize)

    Weight and body size are an easy example. We make snap judgments about people’s habits, discipline, and character based on how they look. At the same time, we can swing so far in the opposite direction — defending body positivity without nuance — that we fail to support improvements in holistic health altogether.

    If someone relies on quick, processed meals, we assume laziness or indifference. What we rarely ask is:

    • How many hours are they working each week?
    • Are they exhausted and trying to buy back time with their kids?
    • Is life simply heavy right now?

    Mental health is treated similarly. We often tell people that exercise and proper nutrition will dramatically improve mental health outcomes — and while that may be true, it’s rarely helpful when someone is in the depths of it. When it hurts to breathe, when the world feels dark and overwhelming, information alone does not move the needle.

    Instead, people are left with the same conclusion over and over again: I must be the problem.

    Discipline, Shame, and the Illusion of Control

    The word discipline gets thrown around so often that anything less than perfect adherence is considered failure. There’s no scale. No spectrum. No acknowledgment of progress.

    And while it’s easy to villainize the health and wellness industry for this, I don’t think this is always a conscious moral failing on the part of individuals within it. Much like survival throughout history, relevance today often depends on belonging to a tribe. A school of thought. A camp with rules, identities, and certainty.

    Tribalism gives us a sense of superiority. It allows us to confuse different with wrong. And once we do that, it becomes very easy to assign moral value to health outcomes. After all, isn’t it just survival of the fittest?

    This mindset fuels narratives that make me wince:

    • “Good” versus “bad” foods
    • Hustle and grind culture that ignores the silent epidemic of chronic stress and sleep deprivation
    • “No excuses” messaging so rigid it creates guilt around missing a workout for your child’s birthday party or anxiety over a box of Christmas cookies

    None of this exists in a vacuum— and it’s why willpower alone isn’t enough.

    When the Industry Fails, People Blame Themselves

    The truth is, I fell for many of these traps myself.

    I was obese — objectively, not dramatically — and I responded the way so many people do: by trying to fix everything as fast as possible. I bought programs, supplements, and chased information with urgency and fear. The speed at which I tried to change my body and learn everything I “needed” to know felt like free-falling through quicksand.

    By the time I realized I was unnervingly skinny, it became painfully clear that proper education was either missing entirely or hidden behind premium-priced paywalls I couldn’t access at the time.

    As I’ve grown older and immersed myself in physiology, behavior change, and chronic disease research, one thing has become obvious: critical foundational information is often sidelined in favor of sexier solutions like nutrition plans and exercise programs.

    Domains of health are treated as if they must compete with one another. And that fragmentation is exactly how we end up with staggering rates of chronic illness, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and burnout.

    Why Moralizing Health Backfires

    When someone tells me they’ve “failed” at their health goals, it’s almost always because they’ve internalized this moral framework and placed too much weight on willpower. They believe they lacked discipline. They believe they didn’t want it badly enough.

    Accountability matters — but responsibility cannot rest entirely on individuals when the system itself is failing them.

    How could we expect everyone to succeed when health is treated like an unfair, unwinnable competition? When only those who “win” are deemed worthy of being healthy?

    You cannot willpower your way through chronic stress, sleep deprivation, environmental barriers, or nervous system dysregulation. Telling people to “try harder” often produces the opposite of the intended effect.

    Moralizing health breeds fear, guilt, doubt, anxiety, and avoidance. It does not create sustainable change.

    A Different Way Forward

    Health must be treated holistically and objectively.

    Objectivity allows us to become curious again — to experiment without shame, to learn without fear, to approach our bodies with something closer to childlike wonder rather than constant judgment.

    This perspective has fundamentally reshaped how I coach.

    I can no longer ignore:

    • Social determinants of health
    • Elitist ideology in wellness spaces
    • Rigid frameworks that don’t bend for real life
    • Misinformation and constantly shifting “truths”
    • The failure to truly follow the science
    • The way “willpower” and “motivation” get weaponized in health spaces

    Health education is a right, not a privilege.

    When we stop shaming people for where they are, when we focus on behavioral psychology and foundational health, when we remove people from the uphill battle that modern wellness has become — that’s when change becomes possible.

    If You’ve Ever Felt Like You Failed…

    This post is for the people who may not have even recognized how deeply health has been moralized. For those who didn’t realize that shame alone may have been holding them — or their clients — back.

    If reading this makes you breathe a little easier, feel a little more grounded, or look forward with a bit more hope, then it’s doing its job.

    You are allowed to start.
    Allowed to try, to fail, adjust, and try again.
    You are allowed to persevere.

    Health is not a moral test you pass or fail. Willpower is a tool—not the foundation.

    And you are not broken for struggling in a system that makes it harder than it needs to be.

  • Foundations First! Why Do I Coach Holistic Health?

    The more I read about human physiology—and the more I study the chronic conditions affecting the majority of the population—the clearer something has become:

    The health and wellness industry is pouring most of its energy into too narrow of a field.

    We’ve decided that health can be solved with:

    • The right training style
    • The right diet camp
    • The right supplement stack
    • Or the right level of intensity

    And if it doesn’t work for you?
    The implication is usually that you failed.

    I’m pushing back on that.

    Not because exercise, nutrition strategies, or performance goals don’t matter—but because they are often layered on top of foundations that were never built in the first place.

    What I Mean by “Foundation-First”

    When I talk about foundation-first coaching, I’m talking about four things:

    • Sleep
    • Stress
    • Environment
    • Education

    These are not exciting.
    They don’t sell well.
    They don’t make for dramatic before-and-after photos.

    But they influence every single bodily system.

    When these foundations are addressed early, one of two things usually happens:

    1. A large portion of the problem resolves itself
    2. Or we can confidently rule them out as the bottleneck

    Either way, progress becomes clearer and more sustainable.

    This is what holistic health actually looks like—not treating systems in isolation, but recognizing that improving foundational inputs benefits the whole human at once.

    What I’m Pushing Back Against

    I’m explicitly pushing back against the idea that we can fix widespread health issues with:

    • CrossFit (or any single training modality—nothing against CrossFit on it’s own.)
    • The Carnivore Diet (or any all-or-nothing eating pattern)
    • Supplementing our way out of poor sleep, chronic stress, or environmental mismatch
    • Skipping “boring” fundamentals because they don’t sell well

    Yes—you can build big biceps while sleeping poorly.
    But big biceps won’t protect your cardiovascular system from the effects of chronic undersleeping.

    Health and performance are not the same thing.

    And holistic health is far more than the guy telling you that you can eat an entire pizza if you just follow his program.

    Why This Shift Happened for Me

    This shift didn’t happen because I accidentally stumbled into better habits.

    It happened because of research.

    I became increasingly interested in physiological adaptation—how the body responds to stress, recovers, and changes over time. The deeper I dug into topics like sleep, circadian rhythm, environment, and behavior change psychology, the more I realized how niche this foundational knowledge is treated in the industry.

    Somehow, we’ve decided that:

    • Fancy lighting
    • Extreme transformations
    • And profit-driven certainty

    Are more valuable than teaching people how to work with their biology instead of against it.

    I will forever be changed by learning the basics well.

    Not because everything else is wrong—but because I now understand what everything else is built on.

    The Problem with All-or-Nothing Health

    Many popular “health solutions” feel all-or-nothing:

    • Intense training plans
    • Restrictive diets
    • High accountability pressure
    • Expensive programs that promise certainty

    When they fail—and many do—people are left wondering why health seems to work for everyone else but them.

    Often, the issue isn’t motivation or discipline.

    It’s foundational health.

    We already struggle with shrinking attention spans and constant distraction. Expecting people to maintain extreme interventions without stable foundations sets them up to fail—and then blame themselves for it.

    What Foundations Actually Do

    Foundations:

    • Remove guesswork
    • Reduce friction
    • Treat the whole human
    • Create capacity for experimentation

    Think about how many times you’ve jumped head-first into a new program or diet, only to realize two or three weeks later:

    • You don’t feel motivated anymore
    • You don’t feel better
    • And it cost more money than you’d like to admit

    Foundational habits don’t require:

    • Motivation
    • Subscriptions
    • Fancy e-books
    • Or constant decision-making

    They are building blocks.

    They’re boring—but they work.

    They create a system so that future you doesn’t have to keep asking, “Why isn’t this working?”

    Why This Approach Gets Skepticism

    We are hardwired for extremes.

    Big changes feel meaningful.
    Quiet consistency feels underwhelming.

    But here’s the truth:
    If you’re ready to make extreme changes to your diet or training, you’re also ready to make smaller, equally substantial changes that support your long-term holistic health.

    Foundations don’t limit you—they free you.

    They give you the stability to explore other approaches without constantly starting over.

    This Is the Season I’m In as a Coach

    This post is for people who have been chewed up and spit out by the health and wellness industry.

    It’s also me clearly delineating where I stand.

    I’m not saying everything out there is wrong or nothing else works.

    I’m saying holistic health is bigger than trends—and deeper than marketing.

    As long as I see gaps where foundations need to be built or repaired, I will address them with clients first. This is the season I’m in as a coach.

    You don’t have to sprint toward me or buy into anything overnight.

    You can walk nearby.
    Ask questions.
    Follow along at your own pace.

    And trust that building the foundation will support whatever comes next.

    If you are ready to make a change but feel like you need support, check out my coaching services by clicking the button below!

    Services

  • Welcome to Real life: The origin story of Better health

    Hi, I’m Kyri Jones.

    And like a lot of people I work with today, I didn’t start in a good place with my health.

    In my late teens and early adulthood, I struggled with my weight. When I tried to enlist in the U.S. Army, I was classified as obese—33% body fat—and told to come back after I got it under control. I wanted to change, but I had no real understanding of how.

    So I did what most people do.

    I chased trends.
    I bought supplements.
    I followed whatever advice was loudest at the time.

    And I ended up swinging from one extreme to another—overweight to underweight. At one point, I looked and felt worse than when I started.

    That’s when it clicked:
    The problem wasn’t just what I was doing—it was how I understood health in the first place.

    A Different Approach to Health

    In 2018, I decided to take a different path.

    I invested in learning—earning my certification as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and later adding specialties in fitness nutrition, functional training, and sleep and recovery coaching.

    But more importantly, I kept going beyond certifications.

    I spent time studying physiology, diving into research, and learning from experts like Dr. Matthew Walker on sleep, Dr. Robert Sapolsky on stress, and evidence-based approaches to nutrition and long-term health.

    Because I didn’t just want better health habits—I wanted to understand why it works.

    And over time, things started to change.

    Not through extremes.
    Not through hacks.
    But through small, consistent habits that actually fit into real life.

    Why This Exists

    Fast forward to today—after military service, deployments, building a family, and stepping into life as a stay-at-home parent—and I kept noticing something:

    The same problems are still everywhere.

    People are overwhelmed.
    They’re exhausted.
    They’ve tried everything—and nothing sticks.

    And every day, they’re being sold quick fixes instead of being taught how to build something that lasts.

    That’s where this comes in.

    Who This Is For

    This is for the people who don’t have perfect schedules.

    Busy parents.
    Working professionals.
    People trying to juggle responsibilities while running on low energy and low time.

    It’s for the ones who:

    • Struggle with consistency
    • Feel stuck with their weight or energy
    • Know they need to make a change, but don’t know where to start

    And maybe most importantly—it’s for people who are tired of starting over.

    What I Believe

    I don’t believe in extreme diets.
    I don’t believe in shortcuts or “hacks.”
    And I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions.

    Health isn’t something you force—it’s something you build.

    Small habits. Big change.
    Build health that lasts.

    My approach is simple: meet you where you are, help you build momentum, and guide you step-by-step until you don’t need me anymore.

    Because the goal isn’t dependence—it’s independence.

    If You’re Here

    You don’t need to overhaul your entire life overnight.

    You don’t need more noise, more pressure, or another plan you can’t stick to.

    You need a way forward to better health habits that actually work in the life you’re living right now.

    That’s what this is about.

    If that’s what you’ve been looking for—stick around.

    Check out coaching services