Wanna Reduce Your Stress? There’s a Podcast for That.
Health and wellness gurus have been telling us to reduce our screen time as a way to reduce stress and promote our overall happiness and well-being. So it’s no surprise that an escape to an all-audio storytelling experience like podcasts is likely a step in the right direction. In fact, real scientists have studied the impact of podcasts on our brain. A UC Berkeley study concluded that listening to narrative stories can stimulate multiple parts of our brains — so whether it’s that adrenaline rush you get from true crime podcasts or a comedy podcast that boosts your endorphins*, there is a real chemical change that occurs in your brain while listening to podcasts.
But what if we can go beyond just the natural chemical reaction our brains have when stimulated by pleasant audio, but actually use podcasts to help us make the positive changes in our life recommended by medical experts to reduce stress?
The following is based upon the recommendations from Mayo Clinic on the top ways to manage your stress and live a healthier life**. These podcasts provide topical information and life-tested guidance from the hosts.
Tip 1: Get Active
The show is hosted by Sal Di Stefano, Adam Schafer and Justin Andrews who have over 50 years of combined fitness experience as personal trainers, club managers, IFBB fitness competitors and fitness thought leaders. The set-out to provide a truthful alternative to other sources of health and wellness information. Motivated by their belief that the “fitness world is filled with charlatans and snake oil salesmen pushing the latest and greatest (and sometimes downright dangerous) workout programs, supplements and faux science on the unsuspecting masses”, they came together and created Mind Pump as a platform to shed the light of truth on health, fitness and a host of other wellness topics.
We all need a little help to get active and figure out what works for us, Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth is the real deal and looks to improve your overall health — not just drop a few pounds.
Tip 2: Laugh More
Laughter really can be the best medicine, or maybe recovery from a Mind Pump inspired workout, but either way it is a great way to reduce stress and light up your endorphins. But in all seriousness, we love 2 Bears, 1 Cave hosted by friends and fellow stand-up comedians, Tom Segura and Bert Kreischer. Where they just hang out and talk some sh*t. This show is produced weekly and has over 70 episodes of gut-busting laughter and insane conversations. In a recent conversation that Ad Results Media had with Burt Kreischer, he said that comedians are drawn to podcasting because “Comedians are open books” and that lends itself to some of the most relatable storytelling around.
Tip 3: Be Creative
The show’s name is derived from the Buckminster Fuller quote “Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.” The podcast, hosted by Roman Mars, has the goal to expose the unseen and overlooked aspects of design, architecture, and activity in the world. Each episode generally focuses on a single topic or specific example of design, often including interviews with architects or experts in urban, industrial, graphic or other design. Take a listen to the one of more of the over 400 episode and focus on your creative side. We may not all be artists in the traditional sense, but that is exactly the point of the show — to discover beauty, inspiration and design in the world around us.
Tip 4: Get Enough Sleep
Self-described as the podcast with “Bedtime stories to help grown-ups fall asleep in the deep, dark night”, Sleep With Me is hosted by Dan Ackerman — but you can call him Dearest Scooter. Drew’s stories on the show are inspired by his childhood as the oldest of six children and past jobs as a fuzzy dice and iron-on patch salesperson, fruit fly monitor for the State of California, and librarian for one of the largest jails in the country. Sleep with Me is meant to distract listeners, keeping their minds occupied when they experience insomnia and gently lull them to sleep. Drew is open about his own struggles with insomnia and has dedicated his life to helping people achieve more therapeutic and restorative sleep.
Tip 5: Connect with Others
This past year has made it so difficult for people to connect with others the way we used to and this has made everyone’s lives more stressful. On the podcast, created amid the pandemic shutdown, Busy Phillips and her co-hosts Caissie St. Onge and Shantira Jackson help fill the void that may exist for people who have been isolated from friends and co-workers. You are instantly transported into their “virtual living room” and feel like you have been dropped into the middle of a conversation amongst friends. While this is not substitute for the real thing, this is not a bad substitute in a pinch and can help reduce your stress levels through distraction and laughter.
In addition to podcasters doing their part to help us all reduce our stress, there are a number of successful podcast advertisers that are taking up the cause. At Ad Results Media, we have the pleasure of working with some of the top brands in the mind and body space and are proud of the contributions our clients are making. Brands like Talkspace are revolutionizing access to mental healthcare experts and reducing their stigma around these services with their thoughtful advertising. Additionally Noom and Ritual are modernizing the weight loss and vitamin/supplement categories, respectively. When hosts are able to include their personal experiences with mind and body advertisers, they help to augment the resources available to their listeners and aid in the discovery of new solutions.
All in all, podcasting provides a tremendous contribution to the effort to advance the health and wellness of all people — through soothing media consumption, expert hosts and additive advertising.
*https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a34100126/podcast-brain-benefits/
**https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relievers/art-20047257
