This is not the episode you think it is. This conversation is not about convincing anyone to sleep away from their partner, and it isn’t just for people considering a “sleep divorce.” It’s for any woman who feels exhausted, wired, foggy, emotional, or disconnected from herself and is trying to understand what her sleep is actually telling her.

In this episode, sleep is treated as data, not a moral issue. We unpack why women both need more sleep and are more negatively impacted by sleep loss, how hormones and the nervous system change sleep across a woman’s lifespan, and why listening to your body around rest is often the first place intuition tries to get your attention.

In this episode, we cover:

• My personal experience with sleeping separately during pregnancy and postpartum
• Removing shame, secrecy, and “extreme solution” narratives around sleep
• Why women need more sleep than men, backed by research
• The role of estrogen and progesterone in sleep quality and REM sleep
• How sleep loss impacts the nervous system, cortisol, and intuition
• Viewing sleep and sleeping arrangements as information, not failure
• An introduction to the Traditional Chinese Medicine clock
• Energy, sensitivity, and what happens when two nervous systems are in different places
• The real benefits of sleeping together and when they actually work
• Why rest has to come before co-regulation and connection

The Summit Takeaway:
This episode isn’t asking you to change your sleeping arrangements. It’s asking you to listen to what your sleep is already communicating. Fixing your sleep isn’t about choosing distance. It’s about choosing clarity so whatever you choose next is actually aligned.

If this episode resonated, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s continue the conversation over on Instagram @alannacrawford_.
And if this landed for you, please like, share, or comment to help keep this podcast growing.

Have a beautiful week — I’ll be setting sail on a Caribbean cruise while the rest of you brave the polar vortex, and I wish I could pack you all in my suitcase.

Sources:

Horne, J. (2010). Sleepfaring: A Journey Through the Science of Sleep. Oxford University Press. Duke University Medical Center sleep research summaries

Baker, F. C., & Driver, H. S. (2007). Circadian rhythms, sleep, and the menstrual cycle. Sleep Medicine National Sleep Foundation reports on women and sleep

Mong, J. A., Baker, F. C., Mahoney, M. M., et al. (2011). Sleep, rhythms, and the endocrine brain: Influence of sex and gonadal hormones. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(45), 16107–16116.

Baker, F. C., & Driver, H. S. (2007). Circadian rhythms, sleep, and the menstrual cycle. Sleep Medicine, 8(6), 613–622.

Zhang, B., & Wing, Y. K. (2006). Sex differences in insomnia. American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Goldstein, A. N., & Walker, M. P. (2014). The role of sleep in emotional brain function. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

In this episode, intuition is explored through personal stories that only make sense in hindsight. The concept of “breadcrumbs” is introduced as the subtle moments, relationships, and experiences that quietly guide us toward our path. The episode breaks down the four clairs and shows how intuition has been speaking all along, even before there was language for it.

Topics Covered 

• Connecting past experiences to present purpose
• Breadcrumbs as quiet moments that make sense later
• Being drawn to places, people, and topics without knowing why
• Dream visitation versus ordinary dreams
• Learning choice and free will through tarot
• Intuition as a muscle you build

Summit Take Away

Intuition guides all life paths, not just spiritual ones.

If this resonated or sparked curiosity, continue the conversation over on Instagram @alannacrawford_.
Share the episode, leave a review, or send it to someone who’s been questioning their own intuition—your support keeps this podcast alive and growing.

In this episode, the relationship between the nervous system and intuition is broken down through both science and lived experience. Chronic stress, sympathetic dominance, and lack of safety in the body are explored as the real reasons intuition feels quiet or inaccessible. Regulation is presented as the foundation for clarity, self-trust, and active participation in health and healing.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why intuition goes quiet in survival mode
• Everyone has intuition, but not everyone can access it
• Nervous system regulation as the gateway to intuition
• Why healing cannot be outsourced
• The role of self-efficacy in health outcomes
• Navigating the healthcare system without giving your power away
• Why meditation is suggested and what it actually does
• How quickly the nervous system can begin to shift
• Why you can’t think your way into parasympathetic
• Intuition as body-based information
• How intuition communicates through physical sensations
• Simple daily nervous system regulation practices
• Creating safety before asking for answers

Summit Takeaway:
If you want clearer intuition, don’t ask better questions — create more safety.

Reflection prompts:
Where in your life are you asking for answers before offering safety?
What would change if you regulated first?

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs it. To continue the conversation, find me on Instagram @alannacrawford_.
I’ll see you next Wednesday.

** sited source **
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191

Welcome back to The Summit Effect.

Funny enough, this episode drops on New Year’s Eve — a night basically synonymous with alcohol. So today, we’re diving straight into a question I get asked all the time… and one I personally wrestled with for years:

Can you drink alcohol and still be on a spiritual path?

Short answer?
For most people — yes.
But the why, the how, and the when matter more than almost anything else.

In this episode, we explore alcohol through both lenses — science and soul — without shame, labels, or spiritual superiority. We talk about when alcohol can coexist with intuition, when it absolutely can’t, and why the nervous system is the real gatekeeper of intuitive clarity.

This conversation might ruffle feathers. Sobriety is a powerful and necessary path for many — and I deeply respect it. But healing isn’t black and white, and spirituality isn’t a performance. This episode is about nuance, honesty, and learning to trust your own body instead of outsourcing your knowing.

The Summit Takeaway: 

“Spirituality isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence. Alcohol doesn’t make you less spiritual — disconnection does. Your only job is to notice: does alcohol bring you closer to yourself… or further away today?”

You are a human living a human experience — grace is part of the path.

And the experience itself?
That’s the real teacher.

This is one of those conversations that doesn’t end when the episode does. Come continue it with me on Instagram @alannacrawford_ and let me know what landed for you.

If you’ve ever tried to understand intuition or energy and thought, “This feels too abstract,” you’re not alone. Most spiritual education jumps straight to the deep end without giving people the buy-in, grounding, or tangibility they need to actually use these tools.

In Episode 1, Alanna explains why — and offers the starting point she wishes she had years ago.

What you’ll hear:

• Why intuition and energy feel so “unreliable” at first
• How her clinical training made her intuitive gifts stronger
• Why she wants to become the practical, everyday bridge into intuition
• The difference between feeling energy vs. interpreting it
• What this podcast will actually teach you over the long run

Summit Takeaway:
Start simple. Intuition becomes powerful when it becomes usable.

If today’s episode made intuition feel a little more human and a lot more doable, hit follow so you never miss an episode. We’re just getting started, and every week I’m giving you one practical tool to help you understand your body and your energy more deeply.

**reference from episode**

Body Literacy = Knowing your internal language.
These 8 questions build that fluency:

1. Nervous System: Am I regulated or activated?
2. Hormones: Do my energy + mood make sense for where I am in my cycle?
3. Metabolism: Did my meals support stable blood sugar today?
4. Digestive Axis: How is my gut talking to me through bloating, cravings, or mood?
5. Pain Patterns: Is tension showing up as information, not a problem?
6. Sleep Cycles: Do I feel restored or wired-tired?

Intuition: Did anything feel like a yes/no in my body today?

The Summit Effect is where physical healing meets energetic healing — and where you learn to become an active participant in your own health.

Hosted by Alanna Crawford, Osteopathic Manual Practitioner and Reiki Master Teacher, this podcast explores the way your body, your intuition, and your identity are always in conversation with one another.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by labels, protocols, “Top 5 signs you’re ____” posts, or the sense that you should already know what you need — this is your reminder that you are not a diagnosis or a category. You are a whole human being with a lived experience that is uniquely yours.

Each week, we dive into:

• The relationship between anatomy, the nervous system, and energy
• How to develop and trust your intuition
• Understanding your symptoms, emotions, and patterns
• Taking your power back in your health and your life

Expect grounded science, real talk, and space for your soul to explore itself.
Mostly solo episodes — with the occasional guest who brings perspective, expansion, or something that wakes up a part of you that’s been waiting.

Whether you're returning to yourself... or stepping into the next evolution of who you’re becoming —

The climb begins here.