As we get older, our bodies slow down - it starts to take longer to get back to 100 percent, when recovering from the gym or a sports-match.

But longer periods of rest-days can compound, and lead to our fitness goals slipping out of reach. So how do we prevent that?

Do we shift our routines to something less-intense, and lower-impact, to get more days in the gym? Or readjust our workout-splits?

BodyTorque Fitness Founder and Coach Alex Flint joins the Health Hub to discuss.

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Everyone's using headphones and blasting sounds at full-volume now; noise-cancelling ear-phones are as common and cheaper than ever; live shows and events with crowds are a must for most adults, and children are being left to their devices - listening to music and game-sounds without knowing what's too loud for their ears.

So how can we protect our hearing, and prevent hearing loss? When should we see a specialist or get tested?

What are we doing that's causing damage? and how can we judge what our hearing levels are like? 

With Tim Beveridge to talk about it: ENT Surgeon and Hearing Specialist, Dr Michel Neef

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Westmere Medical Centre's Dr John Cameron joins Newstalk ZB's Tim Beveridge to talk the important of seeing your GP regularly. 

They also explore the reasons why people avoid the doctor.

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A new study finds poor sleep is tied to rising cancer risk for those under 50, with irregular sleeping patterns and insomnia being three times more likely to get cancer within five years.

But sleeping can be hard to do, especially if you're younger and faced with the stresses of today, or the distractions on your phone. 

You could also do shift-work at irregular hours to make your living, in that case, you delay sleep for later or force yourself to run on empty.

So what can be done about improving our sleep quality, and what are we doing wrong - and more to the point, how do you recognise chronic sleep deprivation?

Sleep Expert and Director of Sleep Well Clinics, Dr Alex Bartle talks to Tim Beveridge.

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Nowadays our phones have the ability to track our exercise and sleep habits, and if it's not our phones, it's our smartwatches.

These tools can monitor our heart-rate, count our steps, say how many calories we've burned, and tracks how far we've walked, biked, or run.

There's all these metrics and stats that your smartwatches can provide you - but how crucial are these devices? What info can they bring us that's practical in getting us to our fitness goals?

With Tim Beveridge to talk about it: one of New Zealand's most celebrated high-performance coaches, one who trained Dame Lisa Carrington, three time Coast-to-Coast winner, and six-time Halberg Coach of the Year Winner - Gordon Walker.

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The weather is getting colder and the nights are getting longer, that means only one thing... soup season!

Soup is a great meal to get in lots of nutrition with less cost and less effort. 

Chef Allyson Gofton joined Tim Beveridge for Health Hub to chat all things soup. 

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Hearing loss is one of those things that sneak up on you. 

In most cases, it's not something you notice as a sudden change - but you may catch yourself lip reading a little bit more often, or turning up the volume on the TV gradually over a few weeks or months.

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The weather is cooling down and winter is almost upon us... 

That means winter sports will be starting up soon if they haven't already, and your muscles will be tighter and more vulnerable to injury than in the warmer months. 

What injuries are more likely when it's colder out, and how can we avoid them? 

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We've been hearing for a while an increasing concern around a lack of information about healthy eating. 

You head to the doctor for a minor issue that's been bugging you for a while, and you're more likely to head home with a script for panadol and ibuprofen than a few print outs on maintaining a balanced diet. 

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For decades we've watched as professional athletes spend a whole lot of time warming up behind the pre-game interviews on game day, from stretching to sprinting and everything in between. 

The professionals take it seriously and so do the amateurs - parents will know the rush to show up an hour or two early to make enough time for a thorough warm up on a Saturday morning. 

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