When addressing mental health concerns, especially in young people, first assess and meet their fundamental physiological needs (metabolic, sleep, exercise, nutrition) as these are physical prerequisites for mental health to even be possible.
Instead of viewing anxiety as a disorder, understand it as a natural physiological response that can be experienced, engaged with proactively, and managed by building specific skill sets.
Learn to control your internal state by understanding and turning the ‘dials’ of your physiology, such as mental focus, clarity, cognition, and energy levels, to gain agency over your body’s responses.
Prioritize teaching children and adults fundamental skills in breathing, nutrition, movement, and rest to make a significant impact on rates of poor mental health and empower them to thrive.
Recognize that the community and relationships formed around health protocols are often more valuable than the protocols themselves; foster intergenerational, ongoing physical communities for deeper engagement and support.
For teachers, parents, or coaches, embody health principles through your own actions and presence, as your state co-regulates the environment and models health effectively for others.
Develop self-awareness by regularly checking in with your body, for example, by asking ‘Where is my heart rate right now?’ to understand your internal state and physiological responses.
Create environments where individuals can volitionally engage with discomfort, like increasing heart rate through exercise, and then teach them skills to exit that state, building resilience and agency.
Prioritize breathing through your nose for 90% of your life, as it is a fundamental pathway to self-awareness, state control, and improved nervous system regulation.
To quickly lower your heart rate and regulate your state, practice the physiological sigh: inhale through the nose, follow with a second fuller inhalation, then exhale slowly and completely through the mouth.
Remove shoes during training to allow feet to function as the foundation for human movement, fostering deep sensory learning and improving awareness of how foot orientation affects overall body mechanics.
Learn that feelings of breathlessness or anxiety during physical exertion are often due to rising CO2 levels in the body, not a lack of oxygen, and improve CO2 tolerance through breath-hold training and nasal breathing during exercise.
Understand the science of caffeine and its timing, especially its impact on adenosine (sleep chemical) and the nervous system, to prevent it from compromising sleep and contributing to chronic anxiety.
Recognize that sleep is the foundation for mental health, emotional regulation, and learning; ensure sufficient, quality sleep to avoid increased amygdala activity and feelings of anxiety or moodiness.
Understand that not exercising is a depressant, and regular physical activity is a critical driver for maintaining a state of feeling alive, engaged, and powerful, rather than depressed.
Cultivate deep curiosity around every element of skill development, rejecting cynicism, to continuously improve and build skills in areas like breathing, walking, running, sleeping, and nutrition.
For school leaders and teachers, be thoughtfully disruptive by challenging and changing unhealthy practices, such as excessive sitting or homework that compromises sleep, to create healthier learning environments.
Integrate movement and opportunities for standing into the school day, as these are free physiological disruptors that can improve learning efficiency and brain health.
School leaders should invest in training staff to develop and model state regulation and optimal mental and physical health, as this commitment is crucial for students to trust health education.
School leaders should prioritize sunlight exposure and outdoor time for students and staff, integrating these elements into the daily schedule to support overall health and well-being.
School leaders should implement a deep physiologically oriented educational curriculum that teaches students how to navigate their nervous system in a complex, ever-changing modern environment.
Design learning and training experiences that are volitional and exciting, tapping into the dopaminergic system to increase motivation and deep engagement, rather than obligatory participation.
While starting with specific health domains like breath is good, avoid over-fixation on any single area; instead, zoom out to integrate all foundational aspects of physiology for holistic health and purpose.
For practitioners, make health diagnoses with health data by first assessing basic physiological biomarkers, such as sleep quality, exercise levels, nutrition, and metabolic needs, before considering other interventions.
For parents and practitioners, be cautious with labels like ‘disorder’ for natural physiological responses, as these can disempower individuals and prevent them from seeking lifestyle changes for different symptoms.
Use regular sauna sessions or other heat acclimatization training to prepare the body for hot environments, which can reduce physiological stress and anxiety during activities like sports.
Before intense physical activity, perform warm-ups that gradually bring up heart rate and prepare the pulmonary system, allowing for controlled physiological engagement rather than sudden high-intensity states.
Develop control over your feet by practicing movements like lifting only the big toe or only the small toes, which improves foot facility and body awareness.
For personal trainers, assess clients’ breathing patterns and rib cage function (e.g., front-to-back vs. side-to-side breathing) to select exercises that optimize muscular development and joint health, rather than exacerbating imbalances.
Explore cold plunges and saunas as tools to trigger specific neurochemicals (e.g., dopamine, norepinephrine) for free, understanding their mechanism to access states of focus and energy without external stimulants.
Coaches and educators should create environments where skills for high-stress situations can be trained with low consequence, allowing individuals to learn and have fun without the pressure of real-world stakes.
Community leaders and entrepreneurs should create local spaces where learning about health and fitness is perceived as exciting and countercultural, attracting young people voluntarily to engage with their physiology.
As a parent or coach, guide children to actively understand and feel the physiological differences when they engage in healthy behaviors (e.g., exercise, nasal breathing) versus unhealthy ones, fostering intrinsic motivation.