Exploring Lifestyle Improvements: Nutrition and Sleep Innovations

This chapter shares a personal journey into diverse interests, including books and gadgets, alongside a focus on health supplements like AG1. It also highlights the benefits of 8sleep's Pod 5, emphasizing its role in enhancing sleep quality and tracking health metrics.

Play episode from 02:19:29

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Episode notes

Kevin J. Tracey, MD is president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, a pioneer of vagus nerve research and author of the recent book, The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes.

This episode is brought to you by:

Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim (Use code TIM to get $350 off your very own Pod 5 Ultra.)

AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://DrinkAG1.com/Tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D plus 5 free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase.)

Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim (New clients get 3.50% base APY from program banks + additional 0.65% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance.) Terms apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 11/27/25 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB. Experiences will vary. Outcomes not guaranteed. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value.

Timestamps:

00:00 Tim’s intro: why he dismissed vagus-nerve hype

06:34 What the vagus nerve actually is, plus common myths

11:31 Breaking news: FDA approval for SetPoint’s RA implant + Kelly Owens’s turnaround

21:11 Inflammation 101: when healing turns harmful

31:37 Bioelectronic medicine: from lab insight to real devices

55:26 TNF, IL-1, and IL-6: immune drivers and what VNS modulates

56:06 Exercise & recovery: vagal signals, IL-6, and adaptation

56:30 Cold exposure & breathwork: sympathetic spike, parasympathetic payoff

59:04 Chronic inflammation today: prevalence, diagnostics, and uncertainty

59:53 Autoimmunity: genes, environment, infections

01:01:08 Stress hormones, personality traits, and metabolic fallout