PodRecs #001: Sleep, Sex & Skipping
Hey,
Welcome to the very first edition of PodRecs, your weekly roundup of the coolest stuff recommended by the world’s most interesting and successful people on your favorite podcasts.
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This week we have:
Chief biohacker and recommender of stuff Ben Greenfield with the latest and greatest wearable tech for better sleep
Jamie Wheal lifts the lid on a supplement to enhance sexual pleasure and performance (don’t act like you’re not curious)
The latest health drink that Joe Rogan’s cracking open on the podcast (yes, it’s got CBD in it)
The Minimalists’ guide to home workout equipment (lol)
A book on the Comanche people that I just had to include after hearing it recommended on two different podcasts recently
Just so you know, I do my best to avoid sharing podcast sponsors, or the books that guests are self-promoting. I go digging for the recommendations that happen organically.
That’s what you’re here for, right?
Cool. Let’s get into it.
1. Keep a cool head: Q&A on Ben Greenfield Fitness
I take what Ben Greenfield says with a healthy dose of high mineral, unrefined, organic sea salt.
As a career bio hacker and self-experimenter, his podcast is always packed with recommendations.
This recent Q&A is no exception.
Ben has a rather elaborate sleep routine that involves gadgets, wearable tech, supplements and who knows that else.
This is the latest sleep hack I’ve heard him mention:
Ebb Sleep CoolDrift Luxe - Get it here
Ben drops this recommendation during a conversation about how cold exposure can increase heart rate variability, which helps with stress.
The study he references talks about cold being applied to the neck, which leads to him mentioning Ebb.
Ebb is basically a headband that you wear in bed that cools your forehead to the optimal temperature for sleep.
“If you have racing thoughts or if you have a hard time falling asleep, the cooling of the forehead actually causes you to be able to go back to sleep or to get to sleep faster,” Ben says.
So, it turns out that cooling the forehead could decrease sleep latency or help you to fall back asleep after you've woken up, and this is almost like a chiliPAD for your forehead.”
The company’s founded by sleep expert Dr Eric Nofzinger and there have been several clinical studies that seem to back up his claims.
The reviews on Amazon are mostly positive and, if you’re interested, you can learn more about Ebb here.
I’m naturally skeptical of this kind of stuff, but if you’re having a really hard time sleeping you’ll probably try anything, right?
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
2. Sex Magic: Jamie Wheal on The Kyle Kingsbury Podcast
I could have filled the whole newsletter with PodRecs from this episode.
Jamie Wheal is the co-author of the book Stealing Fire, which is about flow states and achieving higher states of consciousness.
But this conversation is all about sex.
But not sex as most of us know it.
Honestly, I don’t really know what that is. But from was I can tell it’s a deeper, more ritualistic, tantric, yogic approach to sex.
I realise this is a little “out there” but I found the conversation intriguing and, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to have better sex?
Wheal’s most interesting recommendation is:
Neo40 Nitric Oxide Formula - Get it here
This comes during a wide-ranging conversation about “substance-enhanced” sexual pleasure and performance.
Wheal says that nitric oxide, a neurotransmitter known as “the bliss molecule”, has been linked to better sex.
We produce nitric oxide naturally in our nasal passage, but Wheal recommends Neo40 nitric oxide supplements.
“Nitric oxide is interesting both as a shifter of consciousness, a transporter molecule, as well as a vasodilator, which is obviously nice for sexuality.”
Vasodilators are chemicals that help to open up blood vessels (and we all know blood flow is important for sex).
Wheal says you can increase nitric oxide through diet (beets and arugula), but taking supplements like Neo40 will raise your baseline prior to sexual activity, increase engorgement and sensitivity, and “facilitate state shifts in consciousness”.
Wheal says the biggest benefit of opening up the blood vessels with nitric oxide is what he calls “passive erection” (not having to worry about staying hard).
“If you think about most men, how much of our bandwidth during sex is dedicated to getting and keeping an erection? … The idea there is to say what if I can boost nitric oxide and take that whole bandwidth offline and I can now go slowly, we can now engage in positions and arrangements that I would normally not be able or willing to do if it was just pure fiction-based play.”
He says that women can also use nitric oxide supplements for engorgement and sensitivity, but at lower doses.
Fascinating, right?
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor and neither is Jamie Wheal. Please, for goodness’ sake, do some research or consult your doctor before popping nitric oxide pills. This isn’t medical advice.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
3. CBD Energy: The Joe Rogan Experience with Russell Peters
You know how when Joe has his comedian mates on the podcast and they change subjects faster than a trivia show on TV?
Well, this is what happened here.
Russell asks Joe about an Instagram post of a fridge full of drinks in his studio.
“You gotta try those things, man. CBD drinks. Get your 25 milligrams of CBD with each little serving there, fella,” Joe says.
What’s he talking about?
Kill Cliff CBD Drinks - Get them here
“Does it do anything?” Russell asks.
“Yeah! CBD’s fucking great, period. You should get as much of it as you can,” Joe says.
“It alleviates anxiety but it’s really good for people who have joint issues, really good for people with arthritis.”
Unlike most of the energy drinks on the market that are full of crap, Kill Cliff is supposedly “clean”, low calorie, sugar free, and naturally flavored.
The company’s founded by a US Navy Seal and seems to be creating buzz among athletes and other high performers.
They also have a “performance blend” which doesn’t contain CBD.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Youtube
4. Minimalist workout: The Minimalists Podcast with Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus
I realize this PodRec isn’t particularly novel.
But I found it interesting because a lot of us have been working out at home lately.
That means we’ve been buying workout gear to use at home.
But minimalists don’t like having heaps of unnecessary stuff.
So… what workout equipment makes the cut for them?
It turns out Joshua isn’t really minimalistic at all. He has a Peloton bike, Power Blocks, a pull-up bar, weighted vest, and resistance bands.
But Ryan? His latest go-to is the humble…
Jump rope - Grab one here
“I bought a jump rope for the first time. I'm 38 years old, I've never in my life jumped rope. This is a totally new thing for me but I've been having a blast learning how to jump rope,” Ryan says.
“It's an amazing form of exercise. It's not only so good for your cardio system, your lymphatic system, it burns a tremendous amount of calories. It's amazing for your brain.”
If you want to be a true minimalist, he says you can forget the rope and just hop up and down on the spot.
I think he was only half joking.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube
5. History lesson: Joe Rogan (again) and The art of Manliness recommend the same book
I typically won’t include two PodRecs from the same podcast in one edition of the newsletter.
But I’ll make an exception here because I’ve heard this book recommended twice recently.
First, by the host of The Art of Manliness podcast, Brett McKay, in an episode with professor of literature, Alan Jacobs.
Second, by Joe Rogan on an episode with bowhunting businessman Aron Snyder.
What’s the book?
Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne - Get it here
The book’s subtitle is Quanah Parker and the rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History.
Brett brings it up during a conversation about reading “at whim” and stumbling across the story of the Comanche tribe.
“Fantastic book. It was one of the best books I’ve read.”
Joe brings up the book during a conversation about how Native Indians hunted without any modern technology.
He’s recently been binge-reading books on Native Indian history, including Empire of the Summer Moon.
“It talks about their lifestyle and talks about the hardships that they had to go through, mostly bow and arrow hunting for deer and buffalo. That life must have been insane.”
If you’re looking for a break from self-help and business books, this might be worth checking out.
JRE w/ Aron Snyder
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Youtube
Art of Manliness w/ Alan Jacobs
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
That’s it!
I hope you enjoyed these PodRecs.
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Follow me on Twitter and be sure to let me know if you hear anything cool recommended on a podcast this week.
Have a beautiful day,
- Jonathan