“Find things that you’re passionate about and go and work on those.”

In this episode, Michael Fox shares the story behind Fable and the journey that brought him to the world of mushrooms, food innovation, and purpose-driven business. We talk about entrepreneurship, the lessons he’s learnt across his three startups, failure, changing your mind as you learn, and how life experiences can quietly reshape what you care about and the work you want to do. We also talk about burnout, family, nature, gratitude, and what he values now.

Episode highlights

• Michael’s upbringing across small mining towns in Australia and the entrepreneurial instinct that showed up early

• The lessons he’s learnt across three startups and how each business shaped the next

• Failure, burnout, and what it takes to start again

• How his father’s cancer diagnosis changed the way he thought about food, health, and the wider food system

• Why changing your mind as you learn can be a strength

• The story behind Fable and why mushrooms became the foundation of the business

• What makes shiitake mushrooms so interesting from a flavour, nutrition, and processing perspective

• The difference between mushrooms and mycelium, and why that matters

• Michael’s thoughts on fibre, vitamin D, protein, and the health potential of mushrooms

• Raising money again and building with more discipline the second time around

• Family life, nature, gratitude, and what matters most to him now

Chapters

00:01:56 Michael introduces Fable and explains the company’s mushroom-based product
00:02:49 Growing up in Australia and early entrepreneurial instincts
00:05:17 What a bountiful life means to Michael
00:05:40 Advice for his 25-year-old self
00:06:10 Why passion for the product matters in business
00:07:01 His three startups and lessons from building consumer businesses
00:08:33 The original idea behind Shoes of Prey and what it taught him
00:13:27 Burnout, stress, and perspective during difficult seasons
00:15:43 How food, health, ethics, and the environment reshaped his thinking
00:18:02 Changing your mind as you learn
00:19:07 Why trying to convert people did not work, and what does
00:24:29 Why mushrooms
00:28:00 Shiitake stems, supply chains, and how Fable thinks about production
00:31:45 Mycelium vs mushrooms
00:36:13 Fibre, protein, calories, and vitamin D
00:40:16 Mushroom foraging tours and the Zac Efron Netflix feature
00:42:43 Fable’s restaurant and meal kit partnerships
00:44:11 Building a business that feels more aligned
00:45:39 Product-market fit, raising less capital, and building differently
00:48:05 Raising money and starting again after failure
00:52:40 Moving from the Sunshine Coast to Brooklyn
00:55:28 Nature, city life, and staying connected to what matters

Guest bio

Michael Fox is the co-founder of Fable, a food company creating mushroom-based products designed to help people eat less meat. Before starting Fable, he built earlier consumer businesses including Shoes of Prey and Sneaking Duck. In this conversation, he shares what those experiences taught him about entrepreneurship, customers, product-market fit, and starting again. Michael grew up in Australia, studied at the University of Queensland, and now lives in Brooklyn, where he moved to help grow Fable in the US market.

https://www.fablefood.co/

linkedin.com/in/michaelfox1

About the Bountifull Podcast
The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through conversations on personal growth, happiness, emotional wellbeing, resilience, health, creativity, and meaningful work. Hosted by Sian Simpson, each episode features interesting people from diverse backgrounds sharing real stories, practical insights, and life lessons to help us live with more joy, purpose, and connection.

https://bountifullworld.com/

“Music is one of the most powerful tools we have, and most of us aren’t tapping into what it can actually do.”

Music surrounds us every day—on the radio, in our headphones, in the background of our lives. But what is it actually doing to our brains, our emotions, and our bodies?

In this conversation with neurologic music therapist Emily Polichette, we explore why music has such a powerful impact on how we feel, think, and connect with others. Emily shares insights from neuroscience, mental health, and their own clinical work to explain why music can unlock emotions that words sometimes cannot reach.

Along the way we explore everything from why certain songs stay stuck in our heads, to the role music plays in emotional processing, anxiety, community, and even trauma recovery. Emily introduces the idea of “emotional constipation”—how modern life encourages us to suppress difficult emotions—and how music can help release and move those feelings in healthy ways.

The conversation moves between science and lived experience, touching on topics like neuroplasticity, mindfulness, cultural identity, and why singing or listening together can transform isolation into connection.

You’ll likely never listen to music in quite the same way again.

Episode Highlights

• Why music activates so many different areas of the brain at once

• How music can access emotions that words sometimes cannot reach

• The concept of “emotional constipation” and why modern life suppresses feelings

• How playlists can be used intentionally to support mood and mental wellbeing

• The role of rhythm, tempo, and sound in regulating the nervous system

• Why singing or making music together builds connection and community

• Music’s role in trauma recovery and collective healing

• The power of silence and listening in emotional processing

• How music can become part of your personal toolkit for difficult seasons

• Why curiosity, play, and creativity matter more than musical ability

Chapters

00:00 Why music preference is so fascinating
00:32 What it means to live a bountiful life
04:54 Discovering music therapy and the science behind it
07:30 What a music therapy session actually looks like
11:00 Why music activates the whole brain
13:26 How music can rebuild neural pathways after injury
15:15 Using music to support mental health and anxiety
18:45 Music as mindfulness and attention training
21:30 The idea of “emotional constipation”
27:50 Neurologic music therapy and the science of rhythm
34:10 Why the brain is so responsive to music
40:10 Music, identity, and living authentically
44:10 Silence, sound, and emotional awareness
51:00 Music and healing in trauma-affected communities
54:35 Building a personal music toolkit for life

Guest Bio

Emily Polichette is a neurologic music therapist working at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute in Utah. Their work explores how music can support emotional wellbeing, neurological rehabilitation, and human connection.

Emily specialises in neurologic music therapy, an evidence-based approach that uses rhythm, sound, and musical engagement to support cognitive, emotional, and physical health. Their work spans mental health care, trauma recovery, and community research projects exploring the role of music in healing and cultural identity.

Through both clinical practice and research, Emily is deeply interested in how music engages the brain, regulates the nervous system, and creates spaces where people can express emotions that may be difficult to put into words.

About the Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a podcast about personal growth, wellbeing, and how to build a more joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, resilience, science, and practical wisdom for living well.

https://www.bountifullworld.com/

What happens after trauma? Western culture often gives us a binary: move on or stay broken. In this episode, psychologist Dr. Thea Comeau offers a more nuanced and humane alternative: integration.

We explore post-traumatic growth not as a neat redemption story, and not as a requirement, but as a possibility that can sit alongside pain, grief, confusion, and ongoing struggle. Thea explains how trauma can shatter our assumptions about safety, identity, and how the world works, and why healing is rarely neat or linear. For some people, recovery means finding their way back to who they were. For others, it means building something new.

We also talk about what helps in the aftermath of trauma: surviving minute by minute, finding 1% more comfort where you can, taking manageable bites of processing through titration, and letting go of the idea that there is a “right” way to suffer or heal. Thea shares why “at least…” statements are so often harmful, why support matters, and how trauma can sometimes clarify what matters most.

This is a grounded conversation about complexity — about making room for suffering without reducing someone to it, and allowing space for growth without forcing it.

Key points covered / episode highlights

• What post-traumatic growth is, and what it is not

• Why trauma can disrupt identity, safety, and a person’s sense of meaning

• The difference between surviving, healing, and growing

• Why healing after trauma is often non-linear

• The five areas of post-traumatic growth

• The role of titration: processing a little, then stepping away

• Why “at least…” statements can minimise pain rather than honour it

• The importance of being heard, supported, and taken seriously

• How trauma can shift values, priorities, and relationships

• Why integration can be a more honest frame than “moving on”

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: trauma, suffering, and the idea of integration
07:16 What is post-traumatic growth?
07:16 What is trauma, and what helps in the early days
15:10 Why growth is not the “right” outcome
16:53 Thea’s Northern Ireland research and values change after loss
20:50 The five key areas of post-traumatic growth
23:39 Misconceptions about growth, and why it should never be expected
34:08 Why disruption matters, and what happens when core beliefs break
38:37 How growth happens, what helps, and why social support matters
46:36 The harm of “at least…” statements and how to better support someone
53:12 Matching the right tools to the right phase of healing
55:08 Trauma, complexity, and the false binary of “move on or stay broken”

Guest bio

Dr. Thea Comeau is a registered psychologist, researcher, and Assistant Professor at Concordia University of Edmonton, where she directs training for the PsyD in Clinical Psychology program. Her work sits at the intersection of trauma and thriving. She's spent years studying how people find positive transformation after some of the worst experiences of their lives. Her doctoral research at McGill University took her to Northern Ireland, where she explored how personal values shifted among families who had lost loved ones to the conflict. That question, how do people hold pain and still build something meaningful, continues to drive her research, her teaching, and her clinical practice. She's also deeply invested in the wellbeing of the next generation of therapists, studying how training impacts clinician development and wellness.

About Bountifull Podcast

Bountifull is a personal growth and wellbeing podcast exploring how to live a joyful and meaningful life. Through conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore psychology, science, resilience and practical wisdom for living a good life. 

https://www.bountifullworld.com/

“Sometimes not knowing the rules is the thing that lets you see what’s possible.”

Mallun Yen’s life and career have been shaped by not quite fitting the mould — and learning to see that as an advantage.

Growing up as the daughter of immigrants, Mallun often felt like an outsider. She spent years trying to blend in, to understand the unspoken rules around her. But over time, she realised that being on the edges gave her a different perspective — one that allowed her to observe more closely, spot patterns, and see opportunities others might miss.

Her career reflects that same thinking. From starting as a lawyer, to leading intellectual property at Cisco, to building a company from zero to public in just three years, Mallun has consistently taken paths that didn’t quite follow the traditional route. Not having the “right” background became a strength — freeing her from assumptions about how things are supposed to be done, and allowing her to think differently.

In this conversation, we explore the deeper lessons behind that journey — from the importance of relationships and feedback, to the courage it takes to speak openly about things that are often left unsaid.

Mallun shares candid reflections on identity, grief, mental health, and menopause — and the power of talking about experiences that many people carry quietly. Her perspective is grounded and thoughtful, offering a reminder that connection often starts with honesty.

We also explore her work with Operator Collective, a venture fund built around community, bringing together experienced operators to support founders based on real-world experiences with people who have been there, done that, and are currently doing it.

This is a conversation about perspective, courage, and rethinking where value comes from — and a reminder that not fitting the mould might be the very thing that allows you to build something meaningful.

Episode Highlights

• Why being an outsider can become a powerful advantage

• The freedom that comes from not knowing “the rules”

• How feedback can shape better decisions and relationships

• Rethinking what it means to be “political” at work

• The role of community in building companies and careers

• Why sharing personal stories creates connection

• The reality of grief, mental health, and high performance

• Opening up conversations around menopause and women’s health

• Building a different kind of venture capital model

• What it means to live a bountiful life

Chapters:

00:00 – Thinking differently by not knowing the rules03:00 – Growing up as an outsider and trying to fit in10:00 – Observation, pattern recognition, and advantage15:00 – Learning relationship building and feedback20:00 – Sharing stories, grief, and mental health25:00 – Menopause, identity, and workplace realities30:00 – Career journey from law to founder to VC35:00 – Building Operator Collective40:00 – Feedback, naysayers, and decision-making44:00 – What it means to live a bountiful life

Guest Bio:

Mallun Yen is the Founder and CEO of Operator Collective, a venture capital fund and community designed to bring experienced operators into startup investing. The fund manages over $150 million and brings together operators from leading technology companies including Salesforce, Stripe, and Slack.

With more than two decades of experience across law, technology, and venture, Mallun has built and scaled organisations from startups to Fortune 100 companies. She previously served as Vice President of Worldwide Intellectual Property at Cisco, where she led global strategy and played a key role in major acquisitions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallun/

About Bountifull:

Bountifull is a podcast where we explore what it means to live a bountiful life in a world that often feels fast, noisy, and complicated. Through thoughtful conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, we explore the ideas and experiences that shape how we live, and how we can have more joy in our lives, every day.

“Notice the nature around you — and take time to just be.”

In this conversation, Holli-Anne Passmore explores the powerful relationship between nature, wellbeing, and meaning in life. Her work focuses on how small, everyday interactions with the natural world can shift how we feel, think, and experience our lives.

We often think of nature as something we have to travel to — mountains, oceans, national parks. But what if the real shift comes from simply paying attention to what’s already around us?

Holli-Anne shares that it’s not just time in nature that matters — it’s the quality of attention we bring to it. Noticing the sky, the trees, the small details in everyday life can create a measurable impact on wellbeing, helping us feel more connected, calm, and alive.

The conversation also explores the difference between feeling good and living a meaningful life, why boredom is essential for creativity, and how slowing down can help us understand what truly matters.

This is a grounded, practical conversation about how to live more fully — not by doing more, but by noticing more.

Episode Highlights

• Why nature is not “out there” — it’s all around us

• The science of nature and its impact on wellbeing

• Why noticing nature matters more than time spent outdoors

• The emotion of “elevation” and feeling deeply connected

• Meaning vs feeling good — what actually matters

• Why boredom is essential for creativity

• Living at “human speed” instead of constant hustle

• How nature can reduce loneliness and increase connection

• Understanding the environments where you feel most alive

• The concept of “enough” and letting go of more

Chapters

00:00 — How nature impacts wellbeing03:00 — What makes life feel meaningful09:50 — What a bountiful life really is11:20 — Why boredom matters19:20 — What is nature connectedness24:20 — Nature prescriptions and mental health29:00 — Cognitive benefits of nature33:30 — Meaning vs feeling good36:00 — Nature, time, and “enough”39:20 — Finding environments that suit you46:00 — Nature in cities and everyday life54:40 — What people misunderstand about nature58:50 — Tools for tough days01:03:30 — Final reflections on living well

Guest Bio

Holli-Anne Passmore is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Concordia University of Edmonton and a leading researcher in nature connectedness, wellbeing, and meaning in life. She is the Director of the Nature-Meaning in Life Research Lab and her work focuses on practical, everyday interventions that help people improve mental health, reduce loneliness, and live more meaningful lives through their relationship with the natural world.

The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through thoughtful, honest conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds. Each episode weaves together real stories, practical ideas, and personal reflections on topics like well-being, resilience, connection, creativity, and meaning. In a world that can often feel noisy and disconnected, Bountifull offers a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what matters, helping listeners find more joy in their lives, every day.

https://www.bountifullworld.com/weekly-question/

When full-time work ends, the daily structure and identity that came with it shifts, sometimes in ways people don’t anticipate. In this conversation, Klay Williams shares what he’s learned from coaching people through this transition, including insights from a documentary series following three individuals navigating retirement.

Klay’s background is unusual. He began as a purpose coach working with Fortune 500 executives at companies such as Google and Airbnb. During the pandemic, he noticed older adults increasingly reaching out — not for career advancement, but for something else entirely. That pattern led him to shift his practice and create The Just Beginning Project, focused on retirement transitions.

This conversation explores both the practical and personal dimensions of retirement: how routine, relevance, and daily rhythm change when work structure falls away. We discuss why financial planning addresses only part of the picture, how long-standing patterns can resurface, and what Klay has observed about loneliness, identity, purpose and contribution during this stage of life.

Topics explored:

• The shift in routine, identity, and daily structure in retirement
• Why people often feel unfulfilled even after careful planning
• How the loneliness epidemic shows up for older adults- The difference between following inherited expectations versus your own path
• What happens emotionally when people feel replaced after leaving work
• Practical approaches to retirement that go beyond finances

This is a thoughtful exploration of a life phase that many plan for financially but few prepare for emotionally, and what Klay has learned from working directly with people moving through it.

Watch the docuseries here: www.justbeginning.info/

Chapters:

• 00:00 – Life beyond full-time work
• 05:12 – Klay’s shift from executive coaching to retirement transitions
• 12:45 – What changes when work structure disappears
• 20:30 – Planning financially versus preparing personally
• 29:10 – Loneliness, relevance, and contribution
• 38:25 – Inherited expectations and identity
• 47:50 – Feeling replaced after leaving work
• 56:40 – What carries forward into life beyond career

Guest Bio – Klay Williams

Klay Williams is the founder of The Just Beginning Project, an initiative focused on supporting people as they move beyond traditional careers and into retirement. He began his career as a purpose coach working with Fortune 500 executives at companies including Google and Airbnb. During the pandemic, he noticed a growing number of older adults seeking guidance not about career progression, but about life after work. That shift led him to refocus his practice and create a documentary series following three individuals navigating retirement in real time. His work centres on the practical and personal realities of this transition.

Learn more about Klay here: www.klayswilliams.com/

Bountifull Podcast:

The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through thoughtful conversations about personal growth, purpose, health, money, and connection. Featuring scientists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and experts from diverse fields, the show looks at the practical and human side of building a meaningful life.

Explore our podcast episodes here: www.bountifullworld.com/podcast/

Follow us on Instagram here:

www.instagram.com/bountifullpodcast/

We talk a lot about women’s cycles — hormonal, emotional, seasonal — but rarely about men’s. In this episode, Jed Diamond helps bring men into the conversation.

With over 50 years of experience working with men and families, Jed explains how men move through powerful biological and emotional rhythms across their lives. From daily and seasonal hormonal shifts to the deeper transition of male menopause, these cycles influence mood, energy, libido, relationships, and identity — often without men or their partners realising what’s happening.

Rather than framing midlife as a crisis, Jed offers a different lens: a threshold. A moment where the first half of life gives way to a second mountain — one shaped less by proving and producing, and more by purpose, connection, and contribution.

We also explore Irritable Male Syndrome, unpacking why irritability, anger, withdrawal, and low mood can emerge at any age, and how stress, diet, isolation, and unresolved trauma interact with male biology. Throughout the conversation, the emphasis is practical and compassionate, grounded in real-life patterns rather than blame or stigma.

This episode is an invitation to build literacy around men’s inner lives — for men themselves, and for anyone who lives, works, or loves alongside them.

In This Episode, We Explore

• How men’s hormones fluctuate and influence mood, energy, and behaviour

• What male menopause is — and why it’s often misunderstood

• The relationship between testosterone, irritability, depression, and withdrawal

• Irritable Male Syndrome and its biological, psychological, and cultural roots

• How stress, diet, sleep, and connection affect men’s emotional wellbeing

• Why midlife can be a transition rather than a crisis

• The role of friendship, vulnerability, and emotional awareness in men’s health

Chapters:

• 00:00 – Midlife, hormones, and men’s health
• 02:25 – Jed Diamond’s story and why this work matters
• 09:30 – Do men have cycles?
• 18:40 – Male menopause and midlife change
• 29:20 – Irritable Male Syndrome
• 39:15 – Relationships and emotional wellbeing
• 50:20 – Purpose, ageing, and the second half of life

Guest Bio: Jed Diamond
Jed Diamond, PhD, is a leading voice in men’s health, hormones, and emotional wellbeing. He is the founder of MenAlive and the author of 17 books, including Surviving Male Menopause and The Irritable Male Syndrome. For more than five decades, his work has focused on helping men understand life transitions, emotional health, and relationships.

https://menalive.com/

About the Bountifull Podcast
The Bountifull Podcast is where we explore what it means to live a bountiful life. Through thoughtful, honest conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, the podcast explores joy, resilience, health, purpose, and the small choices that shape how we live every day — especially in a world that often rewards more, faster, and louder.

Over on email every week we share a question for reflection and conversation — you’re welcome to join if that feels useful, sign up here.

In this episode of the Bountifull Podcast, we explore the often-hidden role of shame and stigma in shaping how we live, relate, and see ourselves — and why understanding them is essential to living a truly bountiful life. Through a thoughtful, grounded conversation with clinical psychologist Magenta Silberman, we unpack how shame differs from guilt, how it quietly embeds itself into identity and self-worth, and how it can limit joy, connection, and meaning when left unexamined.

Shame is an internal and deeply personal experience — less about what we’ve done and more about who we believe we are. Unlike guilt, which can motivate repair and help us grow, shame tends to drive silence, withdrawal, and disconnection. We explore how shame can be adaptive in small doses, helping guide behaviour and social belonging, but becomes harmful when internalised or amplified by stigma, cultural expectations, or environments that clash with our values.

The conversation looks closely at where shame shows up: in relationships, work, achievement, identity, parenting, mental health, and especially during the vulnerable transition into adulthood. We also examine how stigma — around mental illness, therapy, trauma, substance use, or identity — compounds shame and prevents people from seeking support, particularly in rural or conservative communities.

Importantly, the discussion moves beyond theory into lived experience, including the gap between performance and self-worth, the pressure of “shoulds,” and the quiet shame of feeling unfulfilled even when life looks successful on paper. We explore the body–mind connection through the lens of trauma and the nervous system, highlighting how shame can be felt viscerally and why avoidance so often becomes a coping strategy.

Ultimately, this episode offers a compassionate reframe: naming shame is the first step to loosening its grip. By bringing shame into awareness — rather than silence — we create space for connection, self-trust, and a more expansive, bountiful way of living.

Episode Highlights:

• The difference between shame and guilt — and why it matters

• How shame shows up in work, relationships, identity, and achievement

• Why shame thrives in silence and isolation

• The role of stigma in mental health and help-seeking

• How shame lives in the body and nervous system

• The pressure of “shoulds” and performance-based self-worth

• Why naming shame is a powerful step toward freedom and connection

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Why we avoid naming shame
• 05:00 – Identity, achievement, and living a bountiful life
• 11:30 – Shame vs guilt and why the difference matters
• 17:40 – When shame helps us — and when it harms us
• 25:45 – Performance, “shoulds,” and self-worth
• 30:40 – Stigma, silence, and asking for help
• 34:10 – Shame in the body and nervous system
• 45:30 – Naming shame and choosing connection

Guest Bio:

Magenta Silberman is a clinical psychologist based in Utah who works across assessment and therapy, supporting people through a wide range of mental health experiences. Her work is grounded in a trauma-informed approach, with a particular interest in identity, self-worth, and how shame and stigma shape our lives.

About the Bountifull Podcast:

The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through thoughtful conversations focused on personal growth, mental health, and everyday self-improvement. Each episode offers practical insights and reflective “how-to” ideas to help listeners build more joyful, resilient, and meaningful lives.

https://bountifullworld.com/

In this episode, Michael Breus, widely known as The Sleep Doctor, explores why sleep is not just a health habit, but the foundation of how we feel, think, and experience life.

Michael explains that sleep underpins our ability to experience joy, regulate emotions, focus, and build resilience. When we’re sleep deprived, positive emotions are dampened, negative thinking intensifies, and even small challenges can feel overwhelming. In his clinical work, he’s seen how improving sleep can create rapid, life-changing shifts—often faster than almost any other intervention.

The conversation moves beyond basic sleep hygiene to address the psychology of sleep, particularly anxiety and fear. Michael shares that many sleep issues are driven not by biology alone, but by emotional and nervous-system safety. When fear—financial, relational, or psychological—is present, heart rate stays elevated, making true rest impossible. Addressing the root cause, rather than simply medicating symptoms, is often where real healing begins.

Michael outlines five small, evidence-based changes that can dramatically improve sleep: waking at the same time every day, hydrating before caffeine, stopping caffeine by early afternoon, limiting alcohol in the evening, exercising daily (but not too late), and getting morning sunlight. He also emphasises the often-overlooked role of environment—especially pillows, air quality, and allergens—in sleep quality.

A key highlight is Michael’s chronotype framework—Lions, Bears, Wolves, and Dolphins—which helps people understand their natural sleep rhythms. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all schedule, he encourages aligning sleep, work, and relationships with individual biology.

Ultimately, this episode reframes sleep not as a problem to fix, but as a relationship to tend. When sleep improves, life doesn’t just feel easier—it becomes more spacious, joyful, and bountiful.

Episode Highlights

• How sleep supports emotional balance, focus, and everyday joy
• Why working with your natural sleep rhythm matters more than optimisation
• The connection between sleep, calmness, and nervous system regulation
• Simple, realistic habits that support better sleep over time
• Why rest helps us show up more fully in our lives and relationships
  

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Why Sleep Shapes How We Feel, Think, and Experience Life. Sleep as the foundation for mood, focus, energy, and joy.

• 07:45 – Why Sleep Advice Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All. Chronotypes, circadian rhythms, and working with your biology.

• 15:20 – How Sleep Affects Mood, Emotions, and Joy. Why sleep deprivation amplifies negativity and dulls positive emotion.

• 24:10 – Sleep, Anxiety, and Nervous System Safety.

How fear, stress, and emotional load keep the body from resting.

• 36:30 – Simple Ways to Improve Sleep Without Perfection. Small, realistic changes that make a meaningful difference.

• 47:50 – Sleep, Relationships, and Shared Rhythms. Navigating different sleep patterns with partners and families.

• 55:30 – How Better Sleep Changes Resilience and Everyday Life. What becomes possible when we’re truly well rested.

Guest Bio

Michael Breus, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, board-certified sleep specialist, and best-selling author, widely known as The Sleep Doctor. With over 25 years of experience in sleep research and clinical practice, he is one of the few psychologists to pass the American Board of Sleep Medicine exam. Michael is the author of The Power of When and Good Night, and regularly appears in global media including The Today Show, Oprah, and CNN, sharing accessible, science-based insights on sleep and wellbeing.

https://sleepdoctor.com/

About Bountifull Podcast

The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through honest, thoughtful conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, sharing real stories, lessons, and reflections on work, life, and meaning.
https://bountifullworld.com/

In this episode, Cheryl Sew Hoy explains how gut health affects immunity, mental health, hormones, and resilience, drawing on both microbiome science and her own experience building Tiny Health. She shares how a deeply personal journey into motherhood led her to rethink gut health as a foundation for lifelong wellbeing, and why the microbiome - particularly in the first 1,000 days of a babies life - plays a critical role in immune health, resilience, and mental health.The conversation moves through what the gut actually does, why balance and diversity matter more than eliminating bacteria, and how the gut–brain connection works, including the surprising number of key hormones produced in the gut. Cheryl also explains why testing and education offer clearer direction than supplements or guesswork, and how factors like birth interventions, antibiotics, diet, sleep, and stress shape gut health over time.

Alongside this, she reflects on entrepreneurship, parenting, and sleep, and what it means to live a bountiful life that feels full, without taking life too seriously.

Episode Highlights

• How gut health influences immunity, mental health, energy, and resilience

• The gut–brain connection and the surprising number of hormones produced in the gut

• Why the first 1,000 days of a babies life matters for expecting parents, mothers and fathers.

• Testing versus guessing in a crowded wellness landscape

• What entrepreneurship teaches us about patience, perspective, and long-term thinking

• Living a bountiful life as something full, complex, and ongoing

Timestamps

• 00:00 — Why gut health matters and what sparked Tiny Health

• 09:00 — What living a bountiful life means to Cheryl

• 12:30 — Gut health basics and why balance matters more than trends

• 18:00 — The gut–brain connection and hormones made in the gut

• 26:00 — Diet, fibre, fermented foods, and supporting gut health

• 33:00 — The first 1,000 days and why gut health matters for parents

• 55:00 — Entrepreneurship, long-term thinking, and perspective

• 01:02:00 — Sleep, resilience, and not taking life too seriously

Guest Bio: Cheryl Sew Hoy is an entrepreneur, speaker, angel investor, and founder & CEO of Tiny Health, a health-tech company focused on evidence-based gut microbiome testing for families. She launched Tiny Health in 2020 after her first child faced eczema, sleep challenges, and food sensitivities, which led her deep into microbiome science and the importance of the first 1,000 days of life. Cheryl holds a bachelor’s degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and a master’s in Engineering Management and Data Mining from Cornell University. Before Tiny Health, she co-founded the software startup Reclip.It, which was acquired by Walmart Labs, and served as the founding CEO of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre (MaGIC), building the region’s startup ecosystem. She’s known for blending technical expertise with a systems perspective on health, startups, and resilient living.

About the Bountifull Podcast

The Bountifull Podcast explores what it means to live a bountiful life through honest, thoughtful conversations with interesting people from diverse backgrounds, sharing real stories, lessons, and reflections on work, life, and meaning.

https://www.bountifullworld.com/