Today on Tess Talks, I’m joined by Kayla Barnes — certified brain health coach, biohacker, and founder of Brain Biohacking Co. Kayla is known globally for helping women optimise their performance, longevity, and wellbeing from the inside out. In a space dominated by male research, she’s carving her own path and becoming one of the most studied women in this field, bringing an evidence-based yet accessible approach to brain health, gut health, and bio-optimisation.

In this episode, we dive into how daily habits can reshape your brain and body, the future of longevity, and why true health begins long before the results show up. It’s a chat about discipline, data, and using science to build a life that feels good. Whether you’re deep into biohacking or just curious, this episode has something for everyone.

In this episode

• How Tess and Kayla first entered the health world through brain fog and curiosity.
• Kayla shares her journey to marriage, how she “just knew,” and why being married has been her best biohack yet.
• Why connection and community are essential for longevity and emotional wellbeing.
• Kayla’s takeaways from Wanderlust Wellspring
• What sparked her interest in biohacking and health optimisation.
• Becoming an entrepreneur at 17 and exploring human potential.
• Designing her female longevity protocol after realising women are often excluded from research.
• Why women have been overlooked in testing and how Kayla aims to change that.
• The story behind Timeless Biotech and her ovarian age testing breakthrough.
• Her mission to live past 100 and the daily rituals behind it.
• Kayla’s morning routine, sleep insights, and supplement stack.
• Foundational habits: food first, movement, stress reduction.
• How she manages her protocols while travelling and why she now only travels for work.
• The value of testing: bloodwork, hormones, genetics, toxic load.
• Why gut health underpins everything and how environment and products influence it.
• Microplastics, water filtration, EMFs, and creating a restorative home.
• Her wind-down rituals, early dinners, and stress management tools.
• A day on her plate and her love for Heavenly Heat Saunas.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is brought to you by Olympia, award-winning massage chairs and portable relaxation devices, meticulously designed in Australia to elevate your comfort experience.

Visit https://olympia.au

In this episode:

Follow Kayla: @kaylabarnes

Follow me on Instagram: @tess.shanahan & @tesstalksofficial

Follow me on TikTok: @tessshanahan & tesstalksofficial

Follow me on YouTube: TessShanahan

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.