The Dr. Greg Wells Podcast

Marco is solving the “data confusion” problem: people are surrounded by wearable metrics and made-up scores, but don’t know what’s actually measured, what’s estimated, and what’s meaningful over time. His work helps people use reliable physiological signals (HR, HRV, temperature) longitudinally to manage stress, avoid bad training decisions, and improve performance and health.

In today’s conversation Marco Altini explores how wearable tech has shifted us from one-time lab snapshots to long-term physiology tracking in real life. He explains what wearables can measure accurately at rest (like heart rate and HRV), what they’re estimating (like sleep stages and readiness), and why the most valuable insights come from trends vs your own baseline. Marco also breaks down HRV as a practical stress marker, how wearables can flag “something’s off” (like infection), and the simple morning routine that makes HRV data useful.

You will learn what modern wearables measure well at rest (HR/HRV) and why movement still challenges accuracy. You will learn the difference between measured signals versus algorithmic estimates (sleep stages, readiness), and how to avoid being fooled by a single score. You will learn what HRV is (beat-to-beat variation), why it reflects autonomic stress load, and how to interpret changes day-to-day and across training blocks. You will learn why infection detection is usually non-specific (it flags stress, not the exact virus) but still useful for decision-making. You will learn how to start a consistent, one-minute morning HRV routine that produces actionable trends.

You will discover that the real superpower of wearables isn’t perfect accuracy—it’s longitudinal tracking: comparing today’s physiology to your history to spot meaningful change early.

Marco helps listeners solve the challenge of making better decisions under uncertainty—when training, work stress, sleep disruption, travel, or early illness is pushing the body toward overload—so they can adjust before stress becomes chronic.

Dr. Susan Biali Haas is an award-winning medical doctor, health and wellness expert, coach, speaker and author. She helps people worldwide to reduce stress, prevent burnout, improve mental health, and live with increased wellness and resilience. 

Dr. Biali Haas overcame burnout and depression at the beginning of her medical career, quickly becoming an internationally recognized influencer in health and well-being. With over two decades spent studying wellness and resiliency, twenty years of clinical experience with thousands of patients, and more than ten years coaching high performance clients worldwide, she expertly applies her experience and skills to equip people to live better lives.

Dr. Susan’s long list of speaking clients includes the US Navy, Google, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), McKinsey & Company, and Deloitte.

She also inspires a broad range of clients — from military leaders and senior executives to physicians and other healthcare professionals — to take control of their health and start living more impactful, meaningful lives. Dr. Susan has also provided focused support to patients with mental health challenges, providing virtual medical psychotherapy treatment during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A popular blogger for Psychology Today, Dr. Biali Haas’ posts on wellness, mental health and resilience have attracted over 10 million views. She has been featured on The Today Show and The Marilyn Denis Show, and her opinions have appeared in Oprah.com, Forbes, Fast Company, The Chicago Tribune, Health, Martha Stewart Living, People, InStyle, Elle, Prevention, The Washington Post, The New York Post and The Globe and Mail. She has also been a health columnist and “Embrace Life Expert” for Reader’s Digest Best Health.

In addition to her Doctorate of Medicine and Bachelor’s of Science in Dietetics from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Biali Haas has received a number of awards, including the Rakesh Goel Prize for most outstanding clinical skills, the UBC Medal in Dietetics, and the Woman of Worth Award in Health & Wellness. 

She loves to attend courses in preventive and lifestyle medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is continually on the lookout for the latest science and data that will help you to thrive in both work and life.

Dr. Biali Haas’ latest book, The Resilient Life, was released in Fall 2022.

Today I’d like to introduce you to Robbie Bent, the founder and CEO of Othership. 

At Othership, Robbie is on a mission to combat loneliness and its negative effects on our health. 

He’s building a platform that includes physical spaces, a mobile app, a concert tour, and a global community.

The Othership flagship location is a modern bathhouse that features a 50-person sauna, ice baths, and a tea room. They offer guided facilitation for hot and cold circuits, social hour, and performances like breathwork, sound experiences, and body-based movement. Their goal is to create a healthy social experience that can serve as an alternative to bars and is both fun and accessible.

The Othership app is a digital product that helps you shift your state whenever and wherever you are. It features over 250 guided breathwork classes that harness the power of breath and promote positive habits. It's a transformative tool that makes it easy, effective, and fun to regulate your state. 

Robbie and the Othership team also go on tour with live musical breathwork performances, it's like a journey inward with Cirque Du Soleil.

The Othership community is a growing and vibrant web of curious humans connected through both our physical space and digital offerings. They also have virtual group circles that offer a deeper opportunity to connect with others.

Robbie’s vision is to create space that encourages openness, awe, belonging, and interconnectivity for a more joyful life and living. 

In this podcast we talk about shifting states and experienceing peak moments that inspire awe and belonging.

Michael is fighting the core problem of stigma-driven silence—the belief that depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses are personal weaknesses. His work aims to shift the narrative to “sick, not weak”, so people get help sooner, caregivers understand better, and fewer individuals suffer alone.

In today’s conversation Michael Landsberg explores his journey from decades in Canadian sports media to becoming one of the country’s most visible mental health advocates. He shares how anxiety shaped his early life, how a family health crisis preceded a devastating depressive episode, and why speaking openly on-air in 2009 changed the direction of his life. Dr. Wells and Michael dig into how language shapes stigma, why “weakness” is the wrong frame, and how being truly understood is often the first step toward healing.

You will learn why mental illness stigma persists—and how a simple shift in language (“sickness, not weakness”) can change whether people reach for help. You’ll learn what depression can actually feel like from the inside, and why “normal stress” language can unintentionally minimize real illness. You’ll learn how honesty (shared with strength, not shame) can empower others to speak up—especially men and high performers who feel pressure to look “fine.” You’ll also learn why caregivers need support too, and how understanding—not fixing—is often the most powerful first move.

You will discover that loneliness isn’t about being alone—it’s about not feeling understood—and that finding one person who truly “gets it” can meaningfully reduce isolation and open the door to recovery.

Michael helps solve the challenge of how to talk about mental health in a way that reduces shame—so people struggling (and the people who love them) can move from silence to support without judgment.

Welcome back! This week I'm sharing a presentation I did on Sleeping Soundly at the 2023 Recovery and Sleep Summit.

I share some sleep physiology, how to improve your sleep, and what metrics to track when you are assessing your sleep with wearable technology.

Enjoy and let me know what you thought about this episode on social @drgregwells.

Dr. Eric Williamson is a highly respected fitness and nutrition expert with over a decade of experience in the field. 

He is the founder and head coach at Unlocked Fitness and Nutrition, where he helps clients achieve their fitness and nutrition goals through personalized, science-based strategies. He has also been the dietetics lead at Wells Performance for many years and we’re thrilled to have him on the team.

Dr. Williamson has a deep understanding of the body, mind, and performance, and is constantly striving to understand how each change to our lifestyle affects them. 

He has a PhD in exercise nutrition and metabolism from the University of Toronto, as well as a BA in Kinesiology and BSc in Nutrition and Dietetics from Western University, and multiple certifications in health and wellness, strength and conditioning and sports dietetics. 

He is an avid reader of scientific literature and personally experiments with different diets and exercise programs, gaining invaluable experience that he uses to help his clients. 

In this episode we explore the health risks of alcohol in light of new consumption recommendations.

Dr. Alex Auerbach is the Director of Wellness and Development for the Toronto Raptors, where he brings a wealth of experience in sports psychology and performance enhancement.

Prior to joining the Raptors, Dr. Auerbach served as the Director of Clinical and Sport Psychology for the University of Arizona.

He has also worked with NCAA Division-I schools in the Pac-12, ACC, and Big 12, where his work has included serving as the performance consultant for a Conference USA bowl-winning football team, ACC championship team, and student-athletes who continued in professional sport and/or the Olympic games.

Dr. Auerbach earned his doctoral degree in counselling psychology with a specialization in sport and performance psychology from the University of North Texas.

He has published research and presented at international and national conferences, serves as a journal reviewer for the Journal of Athlete Development, and has been nominated for and served in leadership roles for the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and Clinical Counselling Sport Psychology Association.

He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant, a Licensed Psychologist, and a member of the United States Olympic Sport Psychology Committee.

Enjoy this episode where we delve into psychological flexibility!

This week I am sharing an interview I did on the Health Hacks Podcast with host Mark White. Here's the description from Mark's show:

The link to the Health Hacks Podcast is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/protect-your-energy-optimize-your-health-supercharge/id1468178367?i=1000608660088

Welcome to the latest episode of Health Hacks with Mark L. White! In this episode, we are thrilled to have Greg Wells, Ph.D., as our special guest. Dr. Wells is a scientist, physiologist, and bestselling author who has dedicated his career to helping people optimize their health and performance. In this episode, we will be diving into the topic of Powerhouse - Protect Your Energy, Optimize Your Health & Supercharge Your Performance.

Dr. Wells will be sharing his expert insights on how we can protect our energy levels, optimize our health, and supercharge our performance to achieve our goals and live our best lives. Dr. Wells will be sharing practical tips and strategies that you can implement into your daily routine to improve your overall health and well-being. From optimizing your sleep to managing stress, he will be covering a range of topics that will help you achieve your health and performance goals.

So, whether you are an athlete looking to improve your performance or someone who simply wants to optimize their health, this episode is a must-watch. So, sit back, relax, and join us for an enlightening discussion with Dr. Greg Wells on Health Hacks with Mark L. White. More about this episode: We have all faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic, and now more than ever, it is critical to prioritize our health and wellbeing while maintaining high performance.

To address this reality the purpose and focus of the book is on helping people to have better energy and health via optimizing our mitochondria so that we can all create an upward spiral of wellness and peak performance. When we look into the physiology it becomes apparent that our health and human potential is 4 billion years in the making. Our mitochondria are small structures in all our cells that create the energy that we use to move, to think, to perform and to lead. The wonderful thing is that we can make create more of them to get more energy, we can make them stronger so we are more resilient, and we can heal them so we can be healthier in mind and body.

The key principles in Powerhouse are all based on the physiology of “hormesis” – simply that a little is good, a lot is not. For example, 3 minutes of meditation each day can improve brain function. Five minutes of cold water can sharpen your focus and improve mental health. A 15-minute walk decreases your risk of cancer but also improves problem solving and innovation thinking. Small micro wins daily can lead to exponential gains in health and wellbeing. The Powerhouse book is grounded in the latest scientific research and demonstrates how to elevate your energy, shift from tension to flow, and build your performance capacity.

Through the framework of breathe, move, energize, and thrive, I’ve tried my best to show people how to take concrete steps towards healthy high performance. Key Learnings:

• Why the science of human energy is 4 billion years in the making.  • How to breathe for relaxation, focus and consistent energy. • How activity can spark concentration, creativity, and innovation. • How stress can be a powerful spark for positive mental and physical growth. • What practices lead to a life where we can thrive personally and professionally.

How to pursue big goals (in sport, work, or life) without being limited by adversity — by building discipline, experimenting until you understand your “systems,” and leading yourself (and others) one step at a time.

In today’s conversation Sébastien Sasseville explores how a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes became a turning point that pushed him toward structure, endurance, and purpose. He shares what it took to summit Mount Everest, why the Sahara strips away expectations fast, and how running across Canada became a mission-driven way to help others living with diabetes. Along the way, Sébastien breaks down the mindset of execution under pressure: balancing control with letting go, focusing on the return trip (not just the summit), and finding meaning beyond performance.

You will learn how Sébastien trained for extreme goals by stacking skills, fitness, and logistics over years (not weeks), and how he “experimented” to understand his body well enough to perform safely with type 1 diabetes. You’ll hear why the desert is a masterclass in humility and presence, and how dropping expectations can actually improve performance and enjoyment. You’ll also learn how he translates endurance lessons into leadership: mission-first teams, disciplined execution, and purpose as the fuel that lasts.

You will discover why the most dangerous part of big goals is often after the win — and how elite performers stay focused on the “way down,” not just the summit moment.

Sébastien helps solve the common high-performer trap of setting ambitious goals but lacking the structure, patience, and process-focus required to execute consistently—especially when conditions are uncertain and discomfort is guaranteed.