Meeting a new grandbaby this Thanksgiving? A lot has changed since we brought our own bundles of joy home, and this episode will catch you up.

From back-to-sleep to “please don’t kiss the baby,” I share what we know now that we didn’t know in the ’80s, plus a few stories from my own family (including one Thanksgiving with my in-laws I’ll never forget).

You’ll learn:

• The ABCs of safe sleep, and why SIDS rates have dropped by about 70%
• Why you can’t spoil a newborn, so hold away
• Why kisses belong on top of the head for the first couple of months
• What this year’s early flu season means for babies
• Which vaccines grandparents can get, including RSV and Tdap, and why timing matters before you meet the baby
• Why the flu shot still matters, even with a mutated strain.

Grandmother to grandmother: our job is to support, not decide. Pull up the rocking chair and let’s love these babies well.

This episode is for general information only and isn’t medical advice. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist about which vaccines are right for you.

Winter Blues or Something More?

It’s 5 p.m., it’s already dark, and all you want is a blanket, a bowl of something carby, and your bed. Is that just November, or is it something more?

In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie takes you to mini medical school to explain seasonal affective disorder: what it is, why less daylight affects your mood, sleep, and cravings, and how to tell the winter blahs from something that deserves a call to your doctor.

You’ll learn:

• Why your brain’s body clock needs morning light, and what happens when it doesn’t get it
• The signs of winter-pattern SAD, from oversleeping to carb cravings
• Who’s most at risk, including why women are diagnosed far more often
• How light therapy works, and what to look for in a light box
• The honest truth about vitamin D
• Why talk therapy and planning ahead can make next winter easier

The days are getting shorter, but you don’t have to let the dark win.

Because healthy looks great on you.

Get Dr. Vickie’s free guide, “Sleep Solutions”: https://healthylooksgreatonyou.com/sleep-solutions/

If you’re struggling or having thoughts of hurting yourself, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

Learn about the history of changing clocks between daylight saving time and standard time, here.

If you're considering light therapy for Seasonal Affective Disorder, shop here. *

*Contains affiliate link

• NIMH – Seasonal Affective Disorder fact sheet
• NIMH – Seasonal Affective Disorder (archived): risk factors and causes
• NIMH – SAD overview (archived): women diagnosed four times as often
• Psychiatric Times – SAD prevalence by latitude (Florida vs. New Hampshire)
• Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience – Optimal bright light therapy for SAD
• American Journal of Psychiatry – Side effects and response to 10,000-lux light therapy
• HealthLinkBC – Using light therapy for SAD
• IQWiG via NCBI – Light and vitamin therapy for SAD (vitamin D and latitude)
• PCOM review – Vitamin D supplementation trials for SAD
• Nutrients (2024) – Vitamins and SAD, inconsistent results
• NIMH content via ADDRC – CBT-SAD vs. light therapy
• Anthem EAP (citing NIMH) – Bupropion XL for preventing seasonal depression

Health is vitality and feeling energized.

Preventive cardiologist Dr. Alan Rozanski offers a fresh answer on healthspan:

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alan Rozanski, a nationally recognized expert in preventive cardiology who is also trained in health psychology, behavioral medicine, and lifestyle medicine. Instead of defining health as the absence of disease, Dr. Rozanski defines it as vitality, that inner sense of feeling alive and energetic. When your vitality dips, it’s a signal to look at his “vitality map,” six evidence-based domains of health: physical, cognitive, emotional, social, sense of purpose, and how you handle stress. We talk about:

💫The power of the first step. Why walking just 5 minutes a day matters, what the UK Biobank data shows about short bursts of activity, and how small consistent habits change your identity.

🪤Avoiding the overhaul trap. Why trying to change everything at once after a health scare sets you up for failure.

🌱Purpose and longevity. How a strong sense of purpose is linked to longer life, less heart disease, and lower dementia risk.

🤩Can you become more optimistic? Why optimism is partly inherited but can be built, starting with “small optimism.”

💛Social connection. Why friendships need intentional upkeep, why it’s never too late to reconnect, and how online community can become a real lifeline.

🎈Overcoming inertia. Giving yourself permission to feel what you feel, starting with movement, and knowing when to reach out for help.

💪Resistance training. Why muscle care is the most overlooked part of healthy aging, plus simple ways to fit it into your day.

Whether you’re feeling stuck or looking for a new way to think about longevity, this conversation offers practical, hopeful steps you can start today.

🩺CONNECT WITH DR. ROZANSKI Website: https://alanrozanski.com/ Newsletter, including his free 12-part series on optimism: https://alanrozanski.com/newsletter/ LinkedIn: / alanrozanski (he posts weekly)

DISCLAIMER The information in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Please continue to follow up with your physician or health care provider and take medication as prescribed. Although this information is evidence-based, new research may develop and recommendations may change.

Every year we spring forward and fall back, and most of us wish we didn’t. But if we stop changing the clocks, which time should we keep? Congress is debating it right now, and the answer matters more for your health than you might think.

In this episode of the HLGOY podcast, we dig into the century-old fight over Daylight Saving Time: why it started (hint: it wasn’t for the farmers), why the 1974 trial of permanent DST failed, and what the research says about the time change and heart attacks, car crashes, sleep, mental health, and even obesity and strokes. We also cover the latest on the Sunshine Protection Act and why sleep experts favor permanent Standard Time.

Plus, practical tips to help your body adjust when we fall back on Sunday, November 1.

Six Surprising Reasons You Can't Sleep

You've tried everything, but nothing has worked. In this special episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie shares the framework from her "Six Surprising Reasons You Can't Sleep" masterclass, including her own story of ignoring rest until it caught up with her.

She walks through six often-overlooked factors sabotaging your sleep: light, schedule, diet, substances, your bedroom environment, and stress. She breaks down the science behind each one and gives you real, actionable steps you can start using tonight. No magic wands, no medications required, just a clear framework for finally getting the rest you need.

Because healthy looks great on you.

Doors to the Healthy Looks Great On You Lab are open now through October 6th. This quarter, we're spending three months going deep on sleep. Join for the quarter ($55) or the year ($200): healthylooksgreatonyou.com/the-lab/

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

Turn Off Spinning Thoughts and Sleep

Your head hits the pillow, and suddenly your brain won't stop. You replay today's conversations, rehearse tomorrow's, and review your growing to-do list in real time. In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie tackles racing thoughts at bedtime and gives you real tools to quiet them.

She explains why your brain starts treating the bed like a stage for rehashing the day, why "just don't think about it" never works, and shares two practical strategies for clearing mental clutter before it hits your pillow. Then she introduces a technique developed by Canadian researcher Dr. Luc Beaudoin, called cognitive shuffling, that tricks your brain into the same fragmented, random thinking that naturally happens right before sleep.

Because sometimes the fix for racing thoughts isn't trying harder to stop them, it's giving your brain something else to do.

Because healthy looks great on you.

Get Dr. Vickie's free guide, "3 Simple Strategies to Sleep Smarter" (plus a sleep-friendly recipe): healthylooksgreatonyou.com/sleep

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

For years, melatonin has been the go-to fix for a bad night's sleep. But new research is raising real questions about what it might be doing to your heart. In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie takes you to mini medical school to explain what melatonin actually does in your body, why most supplements contain far more than your body naturally makes (and why the label might not even be accurate), and the timing mistake almost everyone makes when taking it.

Then she unpacks new research linking long-term melatonin use to a higher risk of heart failure - what it means, what it doesn't prove, and why sleep itself matters more for your heart than any supplement on the shelf.

Because healthy looks great on you.

Get Dr. Vickie's free guide, "3 Simple Strategies to Sleep Smarter" (plus a sleep-friendly recipe): healthylooksgreatonyou.com/sleep

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

You're eating well, exercising, doing everything "right" — but the belly fat won't budge. In this episode of Healthy Looks Great on You, Dr. Vickie makes the case that the missing piece might not be your diet or your workout, but your sleep.

She breaks down a Mayo Clinic study where healthy adults slept just four hours a night for two weeks straight — and even though they barely gained weight on the scale, a CT scan revealed real increases in belly fat, including the dangerous visceral kind. Then she takes you to "mini medical school" to explain why: the hormones that control hunger and fullness, cortisol's role in cravings, and how poor sleep can quietly hijack your appetite without you ever losing willpower.

It's not about eating less. It's about understanding what's actually driving the eating in the first place — and why sleep might be the piece you've been missing.

Because healthy looks great on you.

Get Dr. Vickie's free guide, "3 Simple Strategies to Sleep Smarter" (plus a sleep-friendly recipe): healthylooksgreatonyou.com/sleep

Links:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/going-to-sleep-late-at-night-associated-with-obesity-big-bellies

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-endocannabinoid-system-essential-and-mysterious-202108112569

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9590398/pdf/41574_2022_Article_747.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9590398/pdf/41574_2022_Article_747.pdf

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.