Can you breathe your way to a better mood and reduced anxiety? This week’s guest says it's possible! Medcan consulting psychologist Dr. Amanda Beaman chats with the medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University, Dr. David Spiegel, a physician. Dr. Spiegel’s recent study with podcaster and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman revealed the mental well-being benefits of a kind of breathwork called cyclic sighing.

Mary Deacon has been pioneering efforts to improve Canada’s mental health for 25 years. She and Medcan CEO Shaun Francis ways to improve access and reduce stigma. It’s a conversation you don’t want to miss.

As temperatures fall, darkness and cold can make wellness behaviours more difficult. We might skip workouts to avoid going out in the cold, in favour of cozying up to a good book or movie. More time indoors and less sunlight can contribute to mental health issues. And some of us find it more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. So how can we stay healthy and happy through the colder months? Host Shaun Francis (pictured above) leads a tip-filled discussion with Medcan experts Dr. Peter Nord, Dr. Andrew Miners and Joanna Stochla, RD.

“We’re the most connected, and the loneliest generation ever,” says Dr. Jack Muskat, Medcan’s clinical director of psychology, (pictured above) describing the paradox of apps like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook. Inspired by a recent study showing that a one-week break from social media led to significant improvements in well-being, Dr. Muskat leads Eat Move Think producer Jasmine Rach on a social media cleanse of her own. It also features context from the bestselling Johann Hari book on the cognitive effects of social media and technology, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again.

When Walmart Canada’s executive vice president and chief operating officer first joined the company in August 2020, she introduced herself to her new 90,000 associates as a “recovering workaholic.” Since experiencing anxiety, postpartum depression and burnout in her 20s, Nabeela Ixtabalan (pictured above) has transformed the way she balances work and wellness—and is working to help Walmart Canada employees do the same. In this encore presentation of her conversation with Medcan CEO Shaun Francis, Nabeela discusses her self-care and employee wellness strategies.

In our last episode, How To Practise Mindfulness, Medcan psychologists Dr. Amanda Beaman (pictured above) and Dr. Jack Muskat put mindfulness under the microscope and explored its many benefits.

Here, try it out yourself with a 10-minute guided mindfulness meditation with Dr. Amanda Beaman. Download this episode for easy listening while on a walk, your commute to work, or to otherwise incorporate into your self-care routine.

Many of us are spending more time on screens. The constant buzz and beeps of phone notifications, increasing work demands—does anyone else feel like the pace of contemporary living is harming attention spans and creating more of a need to engage in mindfulness and meditation practices? Here, Medcan clinical psychologists Dr. Jack Muskat and Dr. Amanda Beaman (pictured above) explore the practice of mindfulness. What is it? How does one do it? And can it help to relieve anxiety and increase our focus?