Why breathing less is important
I feel my back pressed against the chair and the warmth of my feet on the hardwood floor. I focus on the slow rise and fall of my belly, controlling the movement of my diaphragm. Up...
How To Use Ultradian Cycles To Best Capture Neuroplasticity
Our bodies send us clear signals when we need a break. Fidgetiness, hunger, drowsiness, loss of focus. Mostly, we override them. We find artificial ways to pump up our energy: caffeine, sugary foods, and our body’s own stress hormones — adrenalin, norepinephrine, and cortisol. A much smarter way would be to work with something we all have at our disposal: Our ultradian rhythms. These rhythms exist in all of us, and we can leverage them as a way to engage in focused bouts of deep work. This is not just another productivity fad. It is a biological fact that we are optimized for focus and attention within these 90–120 minutes cycles. In his first Premium AMA, Stanford professor Andrew Huberman spoke at length about how he uses ultradian cycles to manage his day and best capture neuroplasticity (even on the weekends!). In this post, I describe everything I’ve learned about ultradian cycles, how they work and how I personally plan on applying this to my life (definitely not on the weekends!). The Science Behind Ultradian Rhythms Most of our body’s essential processes run on a 24-hour cycle called a ‘circadian rhythm’. Circadian = “about a day” On a coarse level, the circadian rhythm manages the transition between wakefulness and sleep. In addition, it...
A 4-step protocol for learning that changes your brain
Is there anything you wish you had learned more about in school? For me, without a doubt: Neuroplasticity. The incredible feature that allows our nervous system to change in response to experience. I’m convinced I would have approached studying and learning very differently (and appreciated my young, plastic brain a lot more!). We’re Designed To Change Neuroplasticity is one of the most amazing yet underrated aspects of our biology. It's the biological equivalent of having a Growth Mindset: with hard work and good strategies, you can change the physical circuitry of your brain. Because here's the thing: All of us are born with a nervous system that isn’t just capable of change but is designed to change. This allows us to think differently, learn new things, forget painful experiences, and adapt to practically anything life throws at us. For a long time, it was assumed that only the young brain is plastic and can change. (Something about an old dog and new tricks?) But scientific research is now very clear: the adult brain is plastic. And that is the essence of the incredible breakthrough of neuroplasticity: your brain is not fixed. Instead, your brain can change in response to your experiences, thoughts, and actions. You can rewire your brain so new motor, cognitive and...
Neuroplasticity is the most underrated feature of your nervous system
All of us are born with a nervous system that isn’t just capable of change but is designed to change. That is the essence of the incredible breakthrough of neuroplasticity: Your brain is not fixed. Instead, it changes in response to your experiences, thoughts, and actions. This allows you to think differently. Learn new skills. Forget painful experiences. And adapt to practically anything life throws at you. For a long time, it was assumed that only the young brain is plastic. (Something about an old dog and new tricks?) But scientific research is now undeniable: No matter how old you are, you can rewire your brain so new motor, cognitive and emotional skills are burned into the neural circuitry. The most widely accepted conclusion of current research in neuroscience is that of neuroplasticity: Our brains grow, change and adapt at all times in our lives. “Virtually everyone who studies the brain is astounded at how plastic it is.” (Kurt Fischer, Harvard Medical School) The most underrated feature of your nervous system First, a quick note on how this works on a neurological level. Research has shown that consistently repeating an action leads to clear physical changes in the brain. Within our brains are billions upon billions of neurons, interconnected to form a complex set of...
A 5-week program to rebuild your sleep, energy, and stress resilience through breathwork and nervous system training.
Most sleep advice focuses on what you do at night. Sleep Systems focuses on what you do during the day—because that's where quality sleep is actually made or broken. Five weeks of live coaching, science-backed techniques, real data, and a small group to keep you accountable. Starting on May 4 until June 5, 2026: Private onboarding call before the program starts to discuss your sleep challenges, goals, and schedule. 5 weeks, two live sessions per week: Teaching on Tuesdays (60 min), breathwork practice + troubleshooting on Fridays (60 min). All sessions recorded. Breath and body-based practices throughout: breathwork, nervous system regulation, movement practices, nasal breathing, light and temperature inputs, and non-sleep deep rest. Practised live in sessions, with guided audio recordings from me for your daily practice (15–20 min/day) Your own progress tracker to log daily practices and see your improvement week by week. You'll leave with your personalised Sleep Systems Manual: your morning, daytime, and evening routines built around what actually works for your life. Small group for real-time coaching, personal feedback, and the kind of accountability that actually works. Early bird pricing: £400 / €470 / $550 Book a discovery call Who is this for? You’ve been working for 10–20 years. You've built...
How to improve focus as you age: sleep, recovery & your nervous system
If you've been beating yourself up lately because you can't focus “like you used to”… read this: Deep focus isn’t something you force. It’s something you protect. Now, what do I mean by that? It means prioritising sleep, building recovery into the day, and learning how to down-regulate your system instead of running it in high gear all the time. Especially as we get older… As we age, the brain doesn’t lose its ability to focus, but it does become less energetically efficient at doing so. Cognitive control tends to peak earlier in adulthood (between 27 and 36 years) and then decline. Over time, the brain becomes more conservative with how it spends its resources. So if you’re like me and you’re past that peak, don’t panic! This doesn’t mean a loss of intelligence, creativity, or depth. In fact, many higher-order skills improve with age. (I do genuinely feel wiser with a richer internal life than I did in my 20s 😉) It simply means that brute-force strategies that used to work (long hours, constant pressure, pushing through fatigue) now come with a much higher energy cost. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="407"] Image source: [Authors], “Li, Z., Petersen, I. T., Wang, L., Radua, J., Yang, G., & Liu, X. (2025). The...
What a three-day darkness retreat taught me about fear, my body, and my mind
I spent three days in total darkness on the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand. In this piece, I share what that experience was like—the moments of ease and discomfort, what came up when there was nothing to distract me, and what I’m taking forward from it. Night 1: Entering total darkness K., the retreat lady, quickly showed me around the sealed earth dome, —“Here’s how you turn on the air ventilation system, do that after every breakfast and dinner, when the air outside is cool. Here’s the shower. Here’s how you can communicate with us. Any questions?”—and then, she was gone. I stood in the middle of the dome, with a small torch in my hands. K. had told me to use the light to get my bearings and organize my stuff, and to turn off whenever I felt ready. Those first moments felt incredibly strange. I had just come off a 3-day boat trip with friends, a final wild night in our favorite restaurant in Phuket, and suddenly I was here, alone in this bare cell-like room. My friend, Ben, was in the hut next to me, but everything went so quickly and we did not have a chance to give each other...
My 2025 ta-daaaa list and 2026 Principles
Just learned about the *ta-daaaaa* list, from my friend Yasmin Vantuykom. Ever heard of these? It’s basically a list of things you’re proud of having accomplished (instead of only ever fixating on the hundreds of things you need to/could do/should do.) 2025 was my first entire calendar year of self-employment, running my breath- and body-oriented coaching & retreats business. (I still can’t really believe I’m actually doing this!) There’s lots of great stuff about it: The flexibility, the intellectual challenge, doing something I believe is meaningful… BUT… As you might expect, the level of self-motivation and self-belief required, day after day, is pretty relentless. So, if you’ll indulge me: I’m going to pat myself on the back just a little bit for some of the things I’ve done this year. No big end of year review. No major goal-setting. Just a quick run-down of what I’m most excited about from this year, plus the 3 principles I’ll take with me in 2026. 🔹 15 private coaching clients Out of everything, probably most proud of the reflections of these incredible people I got to work with. From Commercial Directors, to a Neurotech startup founder, to an Investment Fund General Partner, to Software Developer, to IT specialist. All highly ambitious, curious, driven people who...
Why your body can’t switch off (and how to change it)
The number 1 thing I work with clients on is this feeling of chronic activation. "Hard to switch off." "Always tense." "My body feels 'on' even when I'm supposed to be relaxing." It shows up in your body: Tight jaw, clenched belly, shallow breathing, that “always on” hum under the surface. It shows up in your attention: Quick to react, hard to slow down, bouncing between tasks without ever feeling done. It shows up in your sleep: Tired but unable to drop in, waking up through the night, or starting the day already depleted. One of the key ideas I explain to them is this: Relaxation is not an on-off switch. Your nervous system doesn't relax just because you sit down on the couch, step away from your screen, or turn off the lights. After months or years of running in overdrive, your nervous system has literally forgotten how to downshift. Your baseline of autonomic arousal has crept up. What now feels "normal" to you is actually a state of chronic sympathetic activation. Think about it: when was the last time you felt truly, deeply relaxed? Not exhausted, not crashed on the couch scrolling your phone, but genuinely at ease in your body? Every muscle loose, every limb heavy, deep...
How to shift your nervous system in less than 60 seconds
If you struggle with low energy, lack of motivation, or feeling stuck in procrastination, you're likely experiencing nervous system dysregulation. This simple breathwork technique helps shift your state from hypoarousal to your optimal Window of Tolerance in under a minute. I keep this Post-It on my computer to remind myself to SHIFT MY STATE. I tend to wallow when I’m feeling flat. To beat myself up for not being productive. To wish I had more drive. Of course I know fully well that wishing and wallowing doesn’t do anything for me. Action does. So I need a physical cue to remind me that focus, energy, motivation are states I need to actively create. The Breath Technique: From Hypoarousal to Energized An easy and quick way to do that, especially when you’re already sitting down behind your computer, is using your breath to generate energy: Take 15 seconds of vigorous, deep breathing: inhale strongly through your nose, exhale with a quick, powerful “ha” or “pah” sound Hold on full lungs for 6-15 seconds Repeat for 2-4 rounds You might feel a bit silly but you’ll quickly get over that once you realize that you’re creating a very rapid physiological shift in your system: Activating sympathetic nervous system, raising...