Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition

This week I'm joined by Professor Sophie Scott, neuroscientist, stand-up comedian and Deputy Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, and someone who has dedicated her career to one of the most underrated forces in human life, laughter.
We explore the science of laughter, why it matters more than we think, and what it is actually doing to our brains, our bodies and our relationships.
Professor Sophie Scott is a Fellow of the Royal Society and one of the UK's leading voices on the neuroscience of laughter and communication. She has been named among the UK's top 100 scientists and is known for making complex science accessible and joyful including through her own stand-up comedy. She has spent decades studying why humans laugh, when we laugh and what happens in the brain when we do.
What we explore together:
-Why laughter is a social behaviour first and a response to humour second
-What rats, chimpanzees and cows can teach us about why we laugh
-What laughter actually does to the brain and body and why it is so good for us
-Why we are 30 times more likely to laugh with other people than alone
-The difference between fake laughter and real laughter and how your brain knows the difference
-Why laughter is one of the most powerful tools we have for connection and resilience
-What stand-up comedy taught a neuroscientist about human behaviour
Love, Sarah Ann 💛
My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today
👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
PULSETTO: Vagus nerve stimulation for stress, sleep and calm 👉 Use code SARAHANN at https://pulsetto.sjv.io/SARAHANN
The Great British Veg Out How to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more, not less. 👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start. 👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
👉 Practical beats perfect. Here's a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks. https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who read The Compassionate Cure each week. https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends!

📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/ 📹 Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast 💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:55 What is laughter, emotion or something else entirely
05:54 Why rats laugh and what that tells us about humans
09:07 The social function of laughter across species
12:00 What happens in the brain when we laugh
15:04 Why we are 30 times more likely to laugh with others
18:00 Real laughter vs fake laughter and how we tell the difference
21:02 What laughter does to your body physically
24:08 The link between laughter and pain relief
27:04 Why comedians are often the most serious people in the room
30:05 How Sophie became a stand-up scientist
33:02 What comedy taught her about the science of laughter
36:00 Laughter and resilience through difficult times
39:07 Can you train yourself to laugh more
42:00 The dark side of laughter and when it goes wrong
45:08 Laughter and embarrassment
48:00 Why we laugh at inappropriate moments
51:07 The neuroscience of humour
54:06 Gender differences in laughter and comedy
57:07 Laughter in relationships and what it signals
60:00 How laughter changes as we age
63:02 The link between laughter and memory
66:04 Can laughter actually make you healthier
69:08 Laughter and mental health
72:00 The science behind laughing gas
75:02 Final thoughts, every day is all there is

This week's Live Well Be Well Moment with Jordan Haworth, registered dietitian and gut health specialist.
We delve into why cutting out gluten and dairy might not be the answer to your bloating, what the nocebo effect is doing to your digestion, and why fermented dairy could actually be one of the best things you eat.
My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today. 👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
PULSETTO: Vagus nerve stimulation for stress, sleep and calm
👉 Use code SARAHANN at https://pulsetto.sjv.io/SARAHANN
More from me: The Great British Veg Out How to support your gut by eating more, not less https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start! https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma...
Join thousands reading The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends! 📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin 
📹 Subscribe https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah?si=UbuuWvMjAcTkELPN 
📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast?_r=1&_t=ZN-96iOW29jTRm

This week's Live Well Be Well Moment with Jordan Haworth, registered dietitian and gut health specialist.
We delve into the extraordinary connection between your gut and your brain, how stress shuts down your digestion, and what you can actually do to calm your nervous system through your gut.
My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today. 👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
PULSETTO: Vagus nerve stimulation for stress, sleep and calm
👉 Use code SARAHANN at https://pulsetto.sjv.io/SARAHANN
More from me: The Great British Veg Out How to support your gut by eating more, not less https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start! https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma...
Join thousands reading The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends!
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin 📹 Subscribe https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah?si=UbuuWvMjAcTkELPN 
📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast?_r=1&_t=ZN-96iOW29jTRm

This week I'm joined by Dr Jack Kreindler, physician, healthtech entrepreneur and founder of WellFounded Health and the Centre for Health and Human Performance, and someone who has spent 26 years asking one of the most important questions in medicine, what does it mean to not just fix disease, but to truly enhance human life?
We explore longevity, prevention, performance and what the most advanced medicine in the world is learning about how to live well for longer.
Dr Jack Kreindler qualified in medicine and physiology from University College London and spent a decade as an emergency physician before founding the Centre for Health and Human Performance in Harley Street in 2007. He is an honorary clinical research fellow at Imperial College London, founder and CEO of WellFounded Health and a leading voice on healthy longevity, human performance and the future of medicine. He has worked with elite athletes, extreme environment explorers and high performance executives across the world.
What we explore together:
Why medicine is shifting from fixing disease to enhancing physiology and what that means for you

What burning the candle at three ends is actually doing to your brain and body

Why cadence is king and how everything in nature and biology moves in waves

What the most advanced health testing actually looks like and what it tells us

The truth about longevity supplements, peptides and biohacking and who they actually work for

Why your history is still the most powerful diagnostic tool ever invented

What it really means to enhance a human life rather than just extend it

Love, Sarah Ann 💛
My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
PULSETTO: Vagus nerve stimulation for stress, sleep and calm👉 Use code SARAHANN at https://pulsetto.sjv.io/SARAHANN
The Great British Veg OutHow to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more, not less.👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your HealthIf your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start.👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
👉 Practical beats perfect. Here's a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who read The Compassionate Cure each week.https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends!📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/📹 Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:59 How Jack's view of medicine changed over 26 years
05:58 Burning the candle at three ends and what it costs you
09:04 Why cadence is king in biology and life
12:00 What a prevention first approach to health looks like
18:00 Your history from one cell to 38 trillion
21:02 What advanced health testing actually reveals
30:00 Hormones, menopause and andropause
33:02 Cardiovascular risk and how to assess it properly
36:00 Brain health, dementia risk and what you can do now
39:07 The gut microbiome and its role in everything
42:00 Extreme environments and what they teach us about health
45:08 Elite sport science applied to everyday health
48:00 The longevity space and what the evidence actually shows
51:07 Peptides, supplements and biohacking
54:06 What works, what doesn't and how to know the difference
57:07 AI and the future of personalised medicine
66:04 The bell shaped curve and why nothing works for everyone
69:08 What enhancing a human life really means
72:00 Not dying dull and what Jack has learned
75:02 Final thoughts on living well and being well

This week's Live Well Be Well Moment with Cindy Gallop, advertising icon, entrepreneur and founder of Make Love Not Porn.
We delve into why Cindy has never wanted marriage or children, what dating younger men has taught her, and the one filter she applies to every person she dates — that most people never even think to use.
My book 'Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today. 👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
PULSETTO: Vagus nerve stimulation for stress, sleep and calm
👉 Use code SARAHANN at https://pulsetto.sjv.io/SARAHANN
More from me: The Great British Veg Out How to support your gut by eating more, not less https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
Reset Your Health If your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start! https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r...
Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma...
Join thousands reading The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends!
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin 
📹 Subscribe https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah?si=UbuuWvMjAcTkELPN 
📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast?_r=1&_t=ZN-96iOW29jTRm