I chose Function Health because it's the only platform that gives you access to the kind of health data most people never even get to see and the clarity to actually do something about it.
Think about it. 20 years ago, normal meant bar soap and a multivitamin.
Now we've got retinol, probiotics, red light therapy.
Everything's evolved except health care.
Those old annual labs, just 20 basic markers and half the story.
Function is what happens when healthcare finally catches up.
They test over 160 biomarkers across everything from hormones to inflammation and metabolism.
Plus, you can even add MRI and CT scans.
As a woman of a certain age, I was especially curious about my hormone and thyroid levels.
Understanding those shifts has helped me feel so much more in control of my emotional and physical balance.
Welcome to the new normal in health, not the outdated version you grew up with.
Your baseline, your body, on your terms.
Learn more and join using our link. Visit www.functionhealth.com slash headspace.
If you've ever started your own business, you know there's nothing small about it.
For me, every tiny decision feels huge because it is.
That's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is more than just a commerce platform.
It's a full command center for your business.
Their point of sale system connects your in-store and online operations seamlessly, even across multiple locations.
So whether your customer wants to buy online or pick up in store or have shipped to them, it's all smooth and simple.
And with first-party data and personalized tools, Shopify helps turn one-time shoppers into loyal customers without blowing your marketing budget.
And the results are real. Businesses using Shopify POS see on average an 8.9% sales lift compared to the market.
Get all the big stuff for your small business right with Shopify.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com slash Headspace.
Go to Shopify.com slash Headspace. Shopify.com slash Headspace.
Welcome to Radioheadspace. It's Eve here with you.
So you may have heard me talk quite a bit about why I got into meditation many years ago.
And if you haven't, it was because of crippling anxiety.
I was like a jack-in-the-box, reacting to every stressor in unhelpful ways and spending so much time worrying about things that might happen that I couldn't see any joy in my life.
Now, I bring this up today because I was very skeptical about starting meditation.
How on earth could sitting still with your eyes closed help in any way at all?
But it turns out it helps quite a lot. And I wanted to share some of the scientific research with you today, and one study in particular that seriously changed the way I thought about meditation and its impact, especially on our brain.
Now, this particular study was conducted in 2013 out of the University of Pittsburgh, and it was done over a period of eight weeks while participants took part in a mindfulness-based stress reduction course.
Now, I am not a neuroscientist, so I will do my very best to explain it.
They used MRI scanners to look at changes in the brain.
And these changes refer to a process called neuroplasticity, essentially a reshaping of the brain.
This happens throughout our life as certain parts of our brain are strengthened and weakened.
Anatomically, our brains have different areas, each associated with unique functions.
And these functions work when there are neural connections that spark these functions.
For example, when you learn a new language, you are specifically making connections or building pathways in a certain part of the brain associated with language.
And when it comes to meditation, it can activate an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex that is responsible for focus and higher level skills like critical thinking, decision making and planning.
And it also plays a role in moderating our social behavior, essentially how we show up in the world.
And while meditation can enhance positive traits, it can also deactivate negative traits.
So this study showed that the amygdala shrinks in response to meditation practice.
And this is the area which is often referred to as the fight or flight center.
It's responsible for fear, stress and processing strong emotions.
This is the part of the brain that kicks into high gear when we're stressed.
And if this is consistently activated, it can have a really big impact on our overall health and well-being.
And just to be clear, this does not get rid of stress or anxiety, but as the amygdala reduces in size, the prefrontal cortex, the area of our brain governing our awareness, concentration and decision-making becomes thicker.
So through meditation, we're actually increasing our capacity to manage stress and anxiety more skillfully when it does arise.
I think it's also worth noting that meditation doesn't make you perfect.
We are human beings at the end of the day and we're going to make mistakes.
And life is going to test us at times, sometimes in ways we can't even comprehend.
But isn't it better to be able to face any challenges we might have in a kinder and more constructive way?
For me, the answer is most definitely yes.
So I'll leave it there for today. If you would like to learn more about the science of mindfulness, head on over to headspace.com forward slash science.
And if you'd like to join me for a live meditation, I host a weekly live session on Mondays on my Instagram, which is at meditate with E.
