Have you ever wondered why your brain feels like it's working against you when actually, it might just be waiting for you to understand it?

This week I'm joined by Dr. Hannah Critchlow, neuroscientist, Cambridge University researcher, and author of 21st Century Brain, and this conversation genuinely shifted something for me.

Hannah has a way of taking the science of your brain and making it feel like something you can actually use, today. Not in a "10 steps to fix yourself" way.

What we explore together:

• Why does your brain fear uncertainty more than pain itself, and what does that mean for how you handle stress and change?

• Did you know emotional intelligence is a bigger predictor of life satisfaction than IQ, and that it can actually be trained?

• How is your gut shaping your mood, your empathy, and even how kind you are to complete strangers?

• What are sleep, nutrition, and movement really doing for your brain, and why do amino acids matter so much at night?

• Why is walking in nature one of the most underrated tools for emotional regulation?

• What does the rise of AI relationships mean for real human connection, and what are we at risk of losing?

• Why is curiosity our greatest superpower, and how do we protect it?

Love, Sarah Ann 💛

Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard: A Simple Way to Eat, Think and Feel Well: https://amzn.eu/d/0a0d1MQr

This episode is sponsored by:

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More from me: 

The Great British Veg Out 

How to support your gut by eating more, not less 

https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…

 Reset Your Health

If your body feels off  after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start!  

 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r... 

Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks 

 https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma... 

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The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

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Timestamps 

00:00:00 Intro 

00:04:08 Why Our Brains Fear Uncertainty More Than Pain 

00:16:01 How to Build Habits That Protect Your Brain 

00:21:00 Hannah's Personal Story: PhD Burnout and Starting Over 

00:28:00 What Happens to Your Brain During a Breakup 

00:35:13 How to Move Forward After Loss or Grief 

00:37:46 Sleep, Nutrition and Movement: The Brain's Three Pillars 

00:43:09 Essential Amino Acids and Why You Can't Sleep at Night 

00:46:05 What Emotional Intelligence Really Is (And Why It Beats IQ) 

00:49:41 How to Train Empathy: Self-Compassion and Reading Fiction 

00:52:27 Brain Synchronicity: The Science of Human Connection 

00:56:13 Gut Feelings, the Vagus Nerve and Intuition 

00:59:25 How a Healthy Gut Makes You More Altruistic 

01:00:15 Emotional Regulation: What to Do When You Can't Switch Off 

01:05:26 Why Alcohol Makes Emotional Regulation Worse 0

1:08:58 How We All See the World Differently: The Duck, The Rabbit and The Dress 

01:15:44 Loneliness, Mitochondrial Health and the Cost of Disconnection 

01:17:01 AI, Human Connection and What We Risk Losing 

01:38:50 What the Pandemic Taught Us About Face-to-Face Connection 

01:41:24 Why Collective Intelligence Is Our Greatest Superpower 

01:42:07 What "Live Well Be Well" Means to Dr. Hannah Critchlow

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