Most conferences quietly work against human health. In this episode, Dr David Bilstrom, MD joins me to unpack how light, sleep, food, stress and design choices can harm or heal attendees, and what it looks like when events start supporting real human biology instead of fighting it.

Conferences are supposed to help people connect, learn and grow. Too often they leave people wrecked.

In this episode of Return on Wellness, I sit down with Dr David Bilstrom, MD to talk candidly about what corporate events are doing to the human body, and what needs to change.

No shaming, no fluff, no wellness theater. Just an honest look at the patterns we have normalized:

Red-eyes and compressed travel. Windowless rooms. Over scheduled agendas. Heavy food, nonstop caffeine, late receptions. No movement, no daylight, no recovery.

Dr Bilstrom is a board certified physician who specializes in autoimmune and complex chronic disease. He sees what chronic stress and inflammation do long term. In this conversation, he connects that clinical reality to the environments we build for meetings, conferences, and incentives.

We get into:

• Why so many attendees arrive already depleted, inflamed and sleep deprived

• How schedule design, light exposure, meal timing, and environment impact immune function and brain performance in just a few days

• The difference between science based wellness and cosmetic activations that only look good in photos

• Practical shifts planners, venues and sponsors can make without blowing up budgets or agendas

• Why wellness at events now sits in the same lane as risk management, performance, public health and long term brand trust

This is not about blaming planners or suppliers. Most of us were handed broken templates and told to repeat them.

It is about accountability. We have enough information now to do better.

If you:

• Plan or approve conferences, incentives, sales kickoffs or internal meetings

• Run hotels or venues that host them

• Sell or sponsor wellness experiences

• Or you are just tired of leaving events exhausted or sick

This episode will give you a sharper lens and a starting point.

Listen in, pull one idea, and ask a simple question about your next program:

Are we harming, or are we helping?

Then adjust accordingly.

0:00 Intro: Why We Need To Rethink Corporate Events

1:42 Meet Dr David Bilstrom: Chronic Disease, Immunology And Events

4:20 The Uncomfortable Truth: How Traditional Conferences Harm Health

8:05 Attendees Arrive Depleted: Stress, Travel And Baseline Inflammation

12:30 Sleep, Light And Hormones: The Science Event Pros Ignore

17:55 Food As Fuel Or Failure: Rethinking Menus And Coffee Culture

23:10 Movement, Breaks And Brain Performance At Events

28:40 Science Based Wellness vs Shiny Wellness Theater

34:15 Designing Conferences That Heal: Practical, Budget Friendly Shifts

41:20 Risk Management, Liability And Brand Trust

47:05 What Planners, Venues And Sponsors Can Do Right Now\

52:30 Final Challenge: Are Your Events Helping Or Hurting?