Welcome to The Rise – your weekly dose of circadian sunshine, decentralised health wisdom, and actionable tips to help you live healthier, stronger, and more empowered.

This week we discovered that walkable cities outperform gyms, gut bacteria can eat “forever chemicals,” and your vagus nerve just became the hottest biohack in neuroscience – all reminding us that your body and the natural world remain the most powerful medicine we have.

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Much love and sunshine, ☀️
Sandy xx

 

Issue #93 • 9 November, 2025

🌅 Rise Report

The Best Exercise Prescription Might Be Your Neighbourhood Streets

Forget the fancy gym membership. A ground-breaking Nature study analysing over 2 million smartphone users just proved what our grandparents instinctively knew: walkable environments are health gold.

The numbers are stunning. People living in walkable neighbourhoods logged an extra 1,100 steps daily, with 42.5% more people meeting physical activity guidelines. When researchers tracked people moving from less walkable to more walkable cities, their moderate-to-vigorous activity jumped by a full hour each week.

Here’s what makes this research so beautiful: it wasn’t about intensity, fancy equipment, or complicated workout plans. It was simply about creating environments that made movement natural, easy, and enjoyable.

No gym intimidation. No expensive memberships gathering dust. No driving out of your way or forcing yourself to do exercises you hate (and under artificial lights mind you!). Just pleasant streets, safe footpaths, and the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.

Your environment shapes your health more than your willpower ever could. So, it’s time to lace up those shoes and explore your neighbourhood. See you outside!

Walking 50% to 70% lower risk of mortality_Unstoppables. Two women walking on a pavement near the beach

 

Your Gut Bacteria Might Be Your New PFAS Defense System

Remember when “forever chemicals” seemed inescapable? Cambridge scientists just discovered something brilliant hiding in plain sight – certain gut bacteria are actually PFAS sponges.

Researchers identified 38 bacterial strains that soak up these toxic chemicals, with some absorbing between 25% and 74% of PFAS within minutes of exposure. The bacteria—including common species like Bacteroides uniformis—store PFAS in dense clumps inside their cells, then ferry them straight out of your body as waste.

In mouse studies, animals with these helpful bacteria excreted significantly more PFAS than those without them. The bacteria even worked harder when exposed to higher PFAS levels, maintaining their clean-up efficiency.

PFAS hide in non-stick pans, waterproof clothing, food packaging, and drinking water, and they’re linked to cancers, fertility issues, and cardiovascular disease. If you thought your microbiome was just about digestion – think again. It’s also your frontline defence against toxic invaders.

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’

 

 

Ten Seconds of Humming Just Became Your Secret Weapon

Ready for something ridiculously simple that could change your health game? Try humming for just 10 seconds.

Scientists measuring nasal nitric oxide discovered it shoots up 15-fold during humming compared to quiet breathing. Why? The oscillating airflow from your hum creates this dramatic exchange in your sinuses, flooding your system with nitric oxide.

And here’s where it gets good: nitric oxide is your immune system’s hitman – it goes after invading bacteria, viruses, and fungi by literally disrupting their DNA and proteins. Your body’s been equipped with this built-in defence system all along.

But wait, there’s more . That vibration you feel when you hum? It’s stimulating your vagus nerve, which is your body’s main relaxation switch. This drops your heart rate, increases heart rate variability (a good thing), and lowers blood pressure by improving blood flow throughout your body.

The best part? Regular humming tones your vagus nerve like exercise strengthens a muscle, making you more resilient to whatever stress life throws at you.

The longer and steadier your hum, the deeper your body relaxes. So go ahead – hum in the shower, hum in the car, hum while you’re making dinner. It’s time to make your voice be thy medicine.

Humming 10 seconds increases nitric oxide by 1400%

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Vagus Nerve: The Wanderer

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in your body (technically a pair of nerves, one on each side), wandering from your brainstem through your neck, chest, and abdomen, connecting to organs including your heart, lungs, and gut. Think of it as your body’s superhighway of calm—the main controller of your parasympathetic nervous system.

“Vagus” means wandering in Latin, and wander it does! This remarkable nerve slows your heart rate, lowers blood pressure through vasodilation, promotes digestion and gastric secretion, and even triggers anti-inflammatory and immune effects.

Here’s the beautiful part: about 85% of vagus nerve fibres carry information FROM your organs back TO your brain, forming the bidirectional gut-brain axis. That’s why butterflies flutter in your stomach when you’re nervous, and why gut problems can trigger anxiety.

The decentralised health wisdom? You can activate this nerve naturally through humming (as we’ve just learnt), singing, deep breathing (especially long exhales), cold water exposure on your face, and even gargling.

Your body came pre-installed with this built-in stress reset button. Time to use it (keep reading to find out how).

🔥 Deep Dive: TL;DL

Your Vagus Nerve: The Missing Link Between Your Gut and Your Calm

If your gut’s off, your mood probably is too—and your vagus nerve is the missing link.

This week, we’re continuing our vagus nerve theme. Now that we know what it is, it’s time to explore just how clever your body really is, and how to tap into this built-in healing tool.

In today’s TL:DL, we’ll tap into Dr. Andrew Huberman’s latest research to reveal the remarkable things this “wandering nerve” is doing for you right now, and how you can work with it starting today.

 

Your Body Is Constantly Voting on How You Feel

Remember how 85% of vagus nerve fibres carry information from your organs to your brain? That means your body is literally voting on how you feel, moment by moment.

When your gut is inflamed or your heart rate spikes, those signals travel up the vagus nerve, shaping your mood, stress levels, and ability to stay calm. It’s a constant conversation between your body and brain—and once you understand that, it changes everything about how you approach your wellbeing.

The Vagus Nerve’s Hidden Talent: Your Heart’s Brake System

The vagus nerve doesn’t just carry messages, it also acts like a natural brake pedal for your heart.

Here’s how it works: your heart would naturally keep speeding up without intervention. The vagus nerve steps in to gently slow things down, especially each time you exhale. This built-in rhythm creates healthy variations between heartbeats, a key sign of a strong, adaptable nervous system.

And the best part? You can strengthen this “vagal brake” like a muscle. By practising slow, deliberate exhales – just 10 to 20 times a day – you train your body to activate calm more easily. Over time, this effect carries into your sleep, improving your heart rhythm even while you rest.

The Gut–Brain–Mood Connection, Finally Explained

You’ve probably heard that about 90% of your body’s serotonin, the “feel-good” chemical, is made in your gut. But here’s what ties it all together: that serotonin doesn’t need to travel to your brain. Instead, it communicates through your vagus nerve.

When your gut is healthy and your microbiome thriving, the vagus sends an instant message upstairs that things are balanced, which helps your brain produce its own serotonin for mood and calm.

That’s why low-sugar fermented foods and foods rich in tryptophan (like eggs, salmon, turkey, and pumpkin seeds) make such a difference. Your gut bacteria help turn tryptophan into serotonin, your vagus nerve delivers the message, and your brain follows suit. It’s one seamless system linking digestion, mood, and emotional balance.

The Path Back to Balance

What moves me most about this research is the elegant simplicity of it all. Your body already knows how to heal and regulate itself.

The vagus nerve is your built-in stress reset button, heart stabiliser, and gut–brain translator, all in one elegant system.

The path forward isn’t complicated:
– Feed your gut with fermented foods and tryptophan-rich meals.
– Strengthen your vagal brake with slow, deliberate breathing.
– And above all, trust that your body already has the blueprint for balance – it just needs you to work with it, not against it.

☀️ Sandy’s Sunshine

Ready to put the science into practice? Here’s your evidence-based vagus nerve stimulation exercises and menu:

Strengthen Your HRV & Calm Fast

Physiological Sigh: Take two inhales through your nose (one deep, one quick and short) followed by a long, slow exhale through the mouth until your lungs are empty. This is one of the fastest ways to activate your vagal brake and shift from stressed to calm.
Extended Exhales: Throughout the day (10–20 times), pause to exhale slowly and completely. Each full exhale strengthens your heart’s calming pathway, carrying over into deeper rest at night.

Support Gut–Brain Serotonin Production

Low-sugar fermented foods: 1–4 servings daily (kimchi, sauerkraut, quality kefir, or kombucha). These nourish your gut microbiome and create the short-chain fatty acids that help convert tryptophan into serotonin.

Tryptophan-rich foods: White turkey meat, dairy products, eggs, and pumpkin seeds. Your gut needs these building blocks for serotonin production and mood stability.

Mechanical Vagus Activation

Deep Throat Humming: Emphasize the “H” in your hum so you feel the vibration move from the back of your throat into your chest, like a gentle gargle. Hold for 10+ seconds.

Neck Stretch: Sit with elbows on a table, press them down and away from your ears, look up and to the right (hold 30 seconds), then up and to the left. This gently activates the vagal fibres running along your neck.

Trust your body’s wisdom. These aren’t just exercises – they’re conversations with the most sophisticated self-regulation system ever designed. Your vagus nerve has simply been waiting for you to remember it’s there.

🔢 Number Crunch

10,000+ : The number of electrical messages your vagus nerve sends every second between your organs and your brain – an endless two-way conversation keeping you alive, calm, and in balance.
(By the time you’ve read this sentence, more than 60,000 messages have already been exchanged. Amazing right?!)

 

“The human voice is the most perfect instrument of healing.”

— Hildegard of Bingen (12th-century mystic and healer)

 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and not intended as medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional for personal health decisions. This post may contain affiliate links for Daylight computer, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.