What if the single most powerful health intervention isn’t a supplement, workout, or therapy, but sleep?

In this conversation, former Navy SEAL and leading sleep expert Dr. Kirk Parsley joins Susan to share how years of working with the world’s most elite warriors revealed the devastating impact of sleep deprivation, and the extraordinary healing that happens when we finally rest.

From Ambien addiction to brain inflammation, hormones, aging, stress, and recovery, Dr. Parsley pulls back the curtain on what happens when we neglect our body’s most essential repair mechanism. He explains why sleep is the foundation of every other “pillar of health,” how it regulates hormones and epigenetic expression, and why six hours a night is slowly destroying your energy, focus, and longevity.

You’ll hear:

• The fascinating story of how a high school dropout became the Navy SEALs’ go-to medical doctor
  
  
  
• What happens in your brain when you use sleep aids, and why they don’t work
  
  
  
• The connection between sleep, hormones, metabolism, and aging
  
  
  
• Why stress, inflammation, and sleep deprivation are at the root of nearly every chronic issue
  
  
  
• How to repair your sleep cycles naturally, and finally wake up feeling restored
  
  
  

This episode is raw, real, and life-changing. If you’ve ever thought “I can get by on six hours,” this conversation will change your mind, and maybe even your future health.

P.S. Stay tuned for part 2 on sleep next week with Chris Winters!

Learn more about our guest Dr.Kirk Parsley

Kirk Parsley completed SEAL training at the age of 19 and served as a 60-gunner on SEAL Team Five in Coronado, California. He left the SEAL community in 1994 to pursue a college education. Later, he re-entered the US Navy to attend the military's medical school in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was commissioned as a Navy Officer in 2000.

After completing medical school, internship, and residency, Kirk returned to the SEAL teams as the physician for the West Coast SEAL teams. Kirk was tasked with helping the world's most elite warriors optimize and maintain their performance after eight years of sustained combat. It was during this period that he noticed a significant gap between "healthcare" and true "health optimization."

Read Dr. Kirk’s full bio on the show notes!

RESOURCES:

Connect with Dr. Kirk Parsley:

Website: https://docparsley.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirkparsley/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleepremedy/

Find all of Kate and Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:

https://healthyawakening.co/2025/11/03/episode89

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Connect with Kate: https://theradiantlifeproject.com/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

Some friendships lift you up. Others leave you drained, itchy, or a little emotionally swollen.
(Think of it as a friendship allergy.)

In this fun-yet-insightful mini, Susan and Kate unpack what “friendship allergies” are, those subtle relationship dynamics that your system just can’t tolerate anymore. From lack of reciprocity to emotional one-way streets, they explore how tuning in to what irritates your energy can actually lead you to deeper, more aligned connections.

In this episode:

• What a “friendship allergy” is and why it matters
• How to spot the relationships that drain rather than nourish you
• Why self-awareness is the cure for repeating old dynamics
• How aligned friendships support healthy hormones, mood & genetic expression
  
  
  

This mini will make you reflect, and maybe rethink the company you keep, so you can surround yourself with people who feel like medicine, not hives.

RESOURCES:

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/31/episode88

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach
• Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

Connect with Kate King:

• Kate’s Website: https://TheRadiantLifeProject.com

Kate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theradiantlifeproject

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

Did you know your friendships are shaping your biology every single day?

From the way your genes express themselves to how your body handles stress, your connections literally change your chemistry.

In this episode of Everyday Epigenetics: Raw, Real, Relatable, Susan Robbins and Kate King explore the fascinating science of how friendship affects your mental, emotional, and physical health. They unpack what’s really happening beneath the surface when you feel seen, supported, or stressed in your relationships, and how those interactions send powerful messages to your genes.

Here’s what they dive into:
How healthy friendships boost feel-good hormones like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, and why that matters for longevity and resilience.

Why conflict, disconnection, and toxic friendships can actually increase cortisol and inflammation in the body.

The importance of reciprocity and emotional safety, and how honest communication helps regulate your nervous system.

How different “health types” experience connection, from the social connector to the solo recharger.

Simple ways to strengthen your social ecosystem and nurture friendships that truly support your biology.

This conversation bridges heart and science, reminding us that friendship isn’t just nice to have, it’s a vital part of our epigenetic health. The people you surround yourself with can either activate your stress genes or your thriving ones.

So, who in your life helps your genes feel safe enough to flourish?

RESOURCES:

Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/27/episode87

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach
• Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

Connect with Kate King:

• Kate’s Website: https://TheRadiantLifeProject.com

Kate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theradiantlifeproject

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

Your nervous system is the command center for how you feel, safety, stress, connection, even joy all start here.

In this powerful mini episode, Kate takes you deeper into Polyvagal Theory, the science of how your body responds to stress and safety, and how learning this language can change the way you relate to yourself and the world around you.

Building on insights from Dr. Navaz Habib and Dr. Arielle Schwartz, Susan and Kate break down the three core states of the nervous system, how to recognize when you’re stuck in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, and the simple ways to come back home to balance.

In this episode:

• What “polyvagal” really means and how it affects your daily life
  
  
  
• The difference between dorsal, sympathetic, and ventral vagal states
  
  
  
• How to know when you’re dysregulated (and what to do about it)
  
  
  
• Practical tools like breathwork and awareness to restore calm and flow
  
  
  

Whether you’re healing from stress, deepening self-awareness, or simply curious about how to regulate your body and mind, this is a must-listen for understanding yourself on a whole new level.

RESOURCES:

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/24/episode86

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach
• Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

Connect with Kate King:

• Kate’s Website: https://TheRadiantLifeProject.com

Kate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theradiantlifeproject

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

In this fascinating and much-anticipated conversation, Susan sits down once again with the one and only Dr. Cam McDonald, CEO and Chief Educator of pH360, mentor, and longtime friend, to explore one of the hottest topics in the health world today: AI in medicine.

We’re diving deep into the difference between using general AI tools like ChatGPT to make health decisions versus precision medical AI systems designed specifically for clinical use, like CLIA, the cutting-edge AI developed by pH360.

Dr. Cam breaks down how CLIA has been built over 15 years of real-world medical data from 140 countries, offering a truly individualized, evidence-based approach that considers your genes, environment, biology, and lifestyle, not just generic “one-size-fits-all” answers from the internet.

In this episode:

• Why using ChatGPT for health advice can be risky, and sometimes dangerous
  
  
• How CLIA’s advanced data modeling transforms AI into a medical precision tool
  
  
• The three V’s that make data trustworthy: Volume, Veracity, and Variety
  
  
• How CLIA integrates with your pH360 profile, labs, DNA, and lifestyle data for truly personalized insights
  
  
• Real-world results from Susan’s clients, from dramatic cholesterol drops to reversing early kidney disease

Susan also shares her own story of using CLIA to optimize her thyroid health, improve sleep, and even lower her biological age, proving that the right technology, used correctly, can truly transform human potential.

If you’ve ever turned to ChatGPT or Google for health advice, you need to hear this one.

This conversation will completely change how you think about AI, medicine, and the future of personalized wellness.

Listen in to discover: Why not all AI is created equal — and how precision health technology like CLIA is rewriting the future of healthcare.

Learn more about our guest Dr. Cam McDonald:

Dr Cam McDonald is a leader, educator, PhD scholar and internationally recognised speaker on personalised and precision health. As a key executive & education leader at Precision Health Alliance – his mission is to eliminate chronic disease and pain by 2050, and having ‘healthy’ and ‘resilient’ as the norm. Dr Cam is an exercise physiology, accredited practising dietitian, PhD Scholar, a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, an experienced clinician and is an international leader in the application of personalised health, epigenetics. His focus is to educate individuals on how the whole environment impacts physical and mental health and disease. Dr Cam leaves an indelible mark on the audience through his ability to simplify the complexity of health science, infuse hope and stimulate action.

RESOURCES:

Connect with Dr. Cam McDonald:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drcammcdonald/

Website: https://precisionhealthalliance.org/

Find all of Kate and Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:

https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/20/episode85

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Connect with Kate: https://theradiantlifeproject.com/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

We stare at screens all day long, but what’s that doing to your eyes, your sleep, and even your genes?

In this mini, Susan and Kate dive into the world of blue-light blockers and why these simple glasses can be one of the easiest hacks for better focus, calmer evenings, and deeper sleep.

Susan walks you through her three favorite pairs (clear, amber & red), how each one works, and the science behind how light influences melatonin, circadian rhythm, and recovery. If you spend your days under artificial light, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode:

• How blue light impacts your eyes, hormones, and energy levels
• The difference between clear, amber, and red lenses (when to use each one)
• How nighttime light disrupts melatonin and sleep quality
• Simple bedtime swaps, from red bulbs to blue-light-free evenings
  
  
  

Short, practical, and surprisingly illuminating, this mini will make you think twice before your next late-night scroll.

RESOURCES:

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/17/episode84

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach
• Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

Connect with Kate King:

• Kate’s Website: https://TheRadiantLifeProject.com

Kate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theradiantlifeproject

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

Motherhood is beautiful, and brutally honest.

We hear so much about what to expect when you’re expecting, but what about what comes after?

In this heartfelt and eye-opening episode of Everyday Epigenetics: Raw, Real, Relatable, Susan and Kate sit down with Ellen LeBleu, registered nurse, board-certified coach, and mom of two, to talk about the part of motherhood no one prepares you for the after.

Ellen shares her journey from ICU nurse to postpartum coach, supporting women who feel blindsided, overwhelmed, or completely rocked by new motherhood. Together, the trio dives into everything from the fourth trimester and setting boundaries to healing from birth trauma, balancing self-care, and navigating social media pressure.

This episode is a must-listen for every expecting or new mom, and anyone who loves and supports them.

In This Episode:

The truth about the “fourth trimester” what no one tells you about postpartum life

How to prepare emotionally and practically before the baby comes

Healing from unexpected or traumatic birth experiences

Why your environment and emotional wellbeing shape your baby’s genetics

The role of partners, grandparents, and boundaries in postpartum recovery

How creativity, community, and mindfulness support thriving motherhood

Real talk about social media, comparison, and the myth of the “perfect mom”

Whether you’re a brand-new mom, an expecting parent, or someone supporting a growing family, this episode offers the honest conversations and gentle reminders we all need:
You are not alone. You are allowed to ask for help. You are doing better than you think.

Learn more about our guest Ellen LeBleu:

Ellen LeBleu is a Registered Nurse and Board-Certified Coach who helps overwhelmed moms in the thick of it, whether they’re newly postpartum or a few years into motherhood, reclaim their sense of self. Through compassionate, practical, and values-based coaching, Ellen supports women in prioritizing their well-being, creating nourishing routines, and rediscovering joy, confidence, and calm. She offers virtual coaching sessions designed to meet moms exactly where they are, without guilt or pressure, just real, meaningful support.

And for links:

Website: RenewalWellnessCoaching.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postpartum_renewal

RESOURCES:

Connect with Ellen LeBleu

Website: RenewalWellnessCoaching.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postpartum_renewal

Find all of Kate and Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:

tps://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/13/episode83

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Connect with Kate: https://theradiantlifeproject.com/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

Sometimes the smallest practice makes the biggest impact. In this feel-good mini, Susan and Kate dive into one of their favorite daily rituals, gratitude lists, and how something as simple as writing three things you’re thankful for can shift your entire mood, calm your nervous system, and even influence your genetic expression.

They share personal stories (including one involving a deer, a car, and a life-changing hike!) and practical tips for using gratitude to turn a bad day around.

In this episode:

• How gratitude affects your body, mind, and even your genes
• The simple 3-step practice that can transform your mood
• Real-life stories that show the power of reframing your day
• Why gratitude is the ultimate nervous system reset
  
  

This one’s short, sweet, and guaranteed to leave you feeling lighter and more inspired.

RESOURCES:

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/10/10/episode82

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach
• Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

Connect with Kate King:

• Kate’s Website: https://TheRadiantLifeProject.com

Kate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/theradiantlifeproject

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast