Many of us enjoy a coffee or tea from time to time (or maybe on a daily basis). But what are the drawbacks to coffee (besides the obvious insomnia?). What’s a safe amount to drink and when should you have it? We’re dedicating this week to clearing up these answers.

Intermittent fasting is a buzzword that I’m sure you’ve heard in the past few years - either through social media, through friends and family, or from unsolicited advice from someone at a party. Maybe you’ve already tried it or have considered trying it but you have no idea where to start. There are a lot of diets and fads out there that it can be very confusing and hard to decipher what is actually good for you. We wanted to clear up any confusion you might have about intermittent fasting and how you can do it in a healthy way.

Many of you have indicated that lack of time is one of your main barriers when it comes to your health and performance. This is not surprising - with trying to balance work, family, friends, and other commitments it’s hard to find the time to prioritize your health and wellbeing. One of the aims of these weekly emails is to try and give you simple rules and biohacks you can implement into your lives that require as little mental energy as possible. So this week is dedicated to one of the most confusing topics: nutrition.

You might have heard that you need to drink 8 cups of water per day for optimal health. But most people don’t know exactly why water is so important. So this week we’re going to talk about one of the easiest ways to improve health and performance: water!

The bacteria in our gut are responsible for 90% of our serotonin. Serotonin is one of the hormones that makes us happy! This means that we can actually influence how we feel on a daily basis by eating foods that nourish these bacteria. So how can we do that?

A few weeks ago we discussed the importance of meal prep, particularly when working from home. Without having a strict lunch or break, it’s easy to get caught up in work and miss your regular meal times. The problem is that when you’re really hungry, that’s when you reach for that bag of chips or leftover cake sitting in the fridge. This is where meal prep comes in! If you plan out what you’re going to eat when, you won’t get to that point of extreme hunger. You just have to do a little planning the night (or week) before.

Other than the odd remote meeting or conference call, you now have the freedom to set your own schedule. This can lead to something very dangerous: continuous access to food.

In the #hustle culture of manic busyness, it can be hard to remember the basic facts about personal growth. Mentally and physically, human beings are built to adapt to stress, but it will not happen if we don’t take time to rest and recover. That’s when the growth occurs. We cannot grow, let alone heal, if we are constantly on the go.

There is widespread agreement that one of the common pathways involved in all human disease, especially chronic diseases, is inflammation. We also know that chronic stress is one of the primary contributors to elevated inflammation levels in the human body. As a result, any conversation about optimal health and performance needs to include an exploration of how we can decrease systemic inflammation. We all need to make an effort to recover and regenerate more effectively so we give ourselves the best chance to avoid conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and depression.

An interview with Dr. Greg Wells - It's okay to dream big, but start small. With "1 per cent tips," Wells advocates staying focused on micro-improvements (using spices, not sauces, to cut calories; walking 15 minutes a day to potentially lower risk of breast and colon cancer 24 to 40 per cent). "Microchanges are sustainable forever," he says. "When they add up over time, it's like compound interest for your body and mind."

Enjoying the summer? I’m loving it. Summer makes it so much easier to get outside and get active. But despite no longer having the weather as an excuse, Canadians still don’t come even close to getting enough physical activity.

A recent report on Canadians’ activity levels showed that only 15 per cent of us are getting enough exercise on a daily basis. That means that 85 per cent of Canadians are at risk of chronic illnesses like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes simply because they are not physically active on a daily basis.

The skill of communication in the era of social media, leading without a title and brand awareness has never been more important. Steve Jobs knew how important a speech can be. He practised for days before presentations. More recently, Elon Musk has delivered presentations for Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity initiatives. These talks have led to the exponential growth of his companies and, possibly, a different future for humanity.

I hear what you’re thinking. It’s easy to talk about getting more rest while you’re lying in a hospital bed for weeks. In the real world there just isn’t enough time to get everything done and sleep well. Work, family and exercise is sometimes more than many people can handle at once. But the research clearly shows that if we take a bit more time to sleep, so many things that people want to achieve in life become possible.