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’s edition looks at why handwriting beats typing for your brain, how “good friction” builds stronger bodies and minds, and how to get the best level of care from your doctor — even in a rushed 15-minute appointment.

Have suggestions — or something you’d love to see covered here? Help me better serve this vibrant community of health rebels and send me your feedback here.

Much love and sunshine, ☀️
Sandy xx

P.S. I am a member of Dr. William Makis in Canada. Dr Makis is a decentralised health warrior who is ranked # 2 in Substack for Health & Medicine and who operates an alternative cancer treatment centre. I have two FREE one month gift memberships to give away. If you would like this, please email me and let me know in a few words why.  

 

Issue #106 • 8 February, 2026

🌅 Rise Report

Handwriting vs Typing: Your Brain Picks a Winner

Put down that laptop for a minute and grab your pen. Recent research shows that (unsurprisingly), handwriting makes you smarter than typing. It appears that putting pen to paper activates broader neural networks, creating what researchers call an “encoding effect” that supercharges learning and memory.

When you physically form letters by hand, you’re lighting up multiple areas of your brain simultaneously—motor control, visual processing, and language centres all working together. This creates stronger memory traces that stick around longer.

Typing? It’s basically just repetitive finger movements hitting pre-formed keys. Your brain barely has to think about it, which means less cognitive engagement and weaker memory formation.

The takeaway? The next time you need to plan your week, jot down the grocery list, or put together the kids camp packing list, skip the phone app and grab a piece of paper and pen instead. Your brain will thank you for the workout and you’ll actually remember what you wrote.

Good friction writing

 

Does sunlight exposure predict next-night sleep?

Want a good night’s sleep tonight? Best you catch that morning sun.

A 2025 study found that when you get sunlight matters far more than how long you’re basking in it – when it comes to your sleep that is.

Morning sunlight exposure, not afternoon and not duration, predicted better sleep quality that very night. Researchers tracked participants daily and discovered that catching rays in the morning consistently improved sleep, whilst simply spending more time in the sun throughout the day showed no significant benefit to getting those z’s at night.

Your body’s internal clock is listening most carefully during those first hours after waking. Morning light, especially the infrared light at sunrise, acts like a reset button, helping with circadian entrainment and setting you up for quality shut-eye 16 hours later.

Whilst afternoon sun is brilliant for vitamin D production, if you want to improve your sleep, you need to head out early in the morning too. Sunrise is best.

The takeaway? 37 trillion cells are waiting for your light signals today. What messages are you going to send? We need exposure to natural light morning, noon and evening. It doesn’t matter if it’s cloudy, each time offers different wavelengths, spectrums and benefits.

 

NFL Players Sound Alarm on nnEMF. 49ers Injuries Spark Media Frenzy

A media frenzy blew up this week. San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle tore his Achilles tendon, the latest in a devastating string of injuries that’s triggered one of the most talked-about theories in professional sport. (By the way, I have no idea who this is or anything about American football but I do know about nnEMF).

The controversy? A massive electrical substation sitting mere metres from Levi’s Stadium and the 49ers’ practice facility. A viral social media post with over 22 million views claims the low-frequency electromagnetic fields from the substation could be “weakening tendons and causing soft-tissue damage.”

Here’s what the key players are saying: Mack Hollins has questioned EMF effects on humans during Super Bowl week. And multiple NFL players reached out to the Players Association with concerns.

The numbers are hard to ignore: apparently the 49ers have led the football league in devastating injuries for years, losing more players to season-ending injuries than most franchises. I have no doubt nnEMF is harmful to our health so of course, elite sports professionals could be vulnerable too.

The takeaway? Whilst the media love labelling this a “conspiracy theory”, professional athletes are increasingly questioning the invisible environmental factors affecting their bodies. And rightly so. The conversation about non-native EMF exposure and human health needs to happen. Who would have thought it would be the US footballers taking the lead.

 

❤️ What’s Hot: 

Doctor Visit Power Pack

Your doctor has 15 minutes. You’ve got years of symptoms and history, three things that keep you up at night, and a question you’re too embarrassed to ask because you don’t want to sound silly.

Sound familiar?

Most people walk into appointments hoping they’ll remember everything – and walk out kicking themselves for forgetting the most important thing. Or worse, confused. Nodding along to medical jargon they don’t understand.

If we’re going to be the CEO of our own health, we need to know how to get the best medical care. This comes down to asking the right questions and keeping doctors on their toes.

That’s why I created the Doctor Visit Power Pack. You only get 15 minutes with your doctor and we need to make each one count.

Inside you’ll find:
✅ One-page medical summary (so you’re not scrambling to remember dates and details)
✅ Visit checklist (never forget to mention that thing again)
✅ Plain-English medical term guide (decode the jargon in real-time)
✅ How to get your medical history

This isn’t about being a difficult patient. It’s about being prepared. It’s about walking into an appointment empowered to manage your own health – because that’s exactly what you are.

The Doctor Visit Power Pack is free for The Rise Circle members, or available as a one-time download.

🤓 Smarty Pants

Friction

Friction is resistance. It’s the force that opposes motion, the push-back that makes things harder. If you remember your high school physics, it’s what stops your car when you hit the brakes. In life, it’s what allows you to walk on ground and stops you from drifting. Orbits destabilising.

Most people think friction is bad and a frictionless world creates freedom. Physics says the opposite.

Companies have spent years designing products and gadgets to be frictionless—faster, easier, smoother, more convenient. The problem? Efficiency without friction doesn’t create stability. It creates fragility.

Nature Already Knew This

In the 1990s, scientists created Biosphere 2—a massive enclosed ecosystem in Arizona where they meticulously controlled everything. Temperature, humidity, nutrients, light. Trees grew faster than in nature. Success, right?

Wrong. The trees kept falling over.

The missing ingredient? Friction, in the form of wind.

In nature, wind stress triggers trees to grow “reaction wood”—denser, stronger cellular structure that keeps them upright. Without that resistance, Biosphere 2 trees couldn’t support their own weight. The stress wasn’t damaging them. It was building them.

Your Body Works the Same Way

Our bodies weren’t designed for frictionless living. They were designed to adapt and build resilience through resistance – light, movement, temperature variation, effort, challenge.

Good friction builds you: Waking with sunrise. Cooking from scratch. Taking stairs. Lifting heavy things. Feeling hungry between meals. Building a solar callus. Ending on a cold shower.

Bad smoothness erodes you: Sleeping in. Uber Eats. Taking the lift. Avoiding challenge. Grazing all day. Hiding from the sun. Perfect temperature 24/7.

The takeaway? Just because something is easier doesn’t make it better. Your body is designed to encounter resistance, not avoid it. So choose good friction. Let it anchor you. Let it build you. Because in a frictionless world, nothing and nobody stays standing for long.

☀️ Sandy’s Sunshine

How to Get Better Care From Your Doctor (Without Being Difficult)

At some point in our life, all of us will find ourselves sitting in a doctor’s office.

Sometimes it’s for something small and routine. Other times it’s because something feels off, worrying, or deeply personal. And yet, despite the importance of these moments, so many people walk out of appointments feeling unsettled — unsure of what was said, unclear on next steps, or quietly wondering whether their real concerns were ever truly heard.

Studies suggest nearly three out of four people leave medical appointments feeling confused.

That’s not because they didn’t care enough or weren’t intelligent enough. And it’s not necessarily because their doctor didn’t either.

It’s because modern healthcare is fast.

Appointments are short. Doctors are under the pump. Systems are stretched. Pressure is constant. And unless you arrive prepared, it’s very easy for a visit to be steered by protocols, screens, and ticking clocks rather than by you.

Over the years, I’ve noticed something important — and it echoes what many experienced clinicians quietly admit (thank you Dr Roger Seheult):

The people who receive the best care aren’t always the wealthiest or the luckiest.
They’re the ones who ask the best questions.

They’re engaged. They’re informed. And they don’t outsource responsibility for their health.

 

You Belong in the Conversation

Many of us were raised with the idea that seeing a doctor means listening politely, nodding along, and doing what we’re told. Questioning may have felt uncomfortable, even disrespectful. But it’s time for this attitude to leave the room.

For many people, the hardest part isn’t knowing what to ask—it’s overcoming the quiet intimidation that comes with white coats, degrees in frames, complicated medical language, and the fear of being dismissed.

Patients who prepare, participate, and speak up are more likely to understand their options, feel confident in their decisions, and experience better outcomes. And interestingly, many doctors prefer this too.

As Dr. Roger Seheult once put it, well-prepared patients keep doctors on their toes in the best possible way. Thoughtful questions signal engagement, and engagement raises the level of care on both sides.

It becomes a medical tango of sorts. The more grounded and informed you are as a patient, the more carefully and intentionally the doctor has to show up.

 

9 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Next Doctor’s Visit

This week I’ve uncovered the 9 Ways to Make the Most of Your Next Doctor’s Visit and put together a handy resource called your Doctor Visit Power Pack. These are both available free for The Rise Circle members or you can download the power pack here.

I often talk about decentralised health and becoming your own health boss. It’s not because I reject doctors or dismiss their expertise, but rather, it’s because the last five years have demonstrated very clearly to me, that outsourcing your agency can be very costly and dangerous indeed.

The healthcare system is exactly that. A system.
This system has a role and sadly, it’s not always healthcare.

As for you? You are the only person present at every stage of your care, which means you’re not being “difficult” when you prepare. You’re being responsible. And advocating for yourself is a form of self-respect. You deserve to be cared for.

 

🍯 Short & Sweet

> Relying on an Apple Watch, FitBit or Oura ring to tell you how you slept last night? Experts want you to know that these sleep trackers have their limits.

> Discover if your guac and avocados are actually healthy and good for you?

> Still writing your shopping lists by hand (like me)? See what this says about your personality and the other traits of people who write grocery lists by hand.

> And finally, learn what your fingernails can say about your health. Warning, some eeky images inside.

 

🔢 Number Crunch

330 billion — The number of cells replaced in your body every day (about 1% of all your cells).

 

“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward.” – Isabel Allende

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, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.