Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown

Episode: New Science of Stress: Why We Need Stress to Thrive and How The Right Stress Improves Health, Increases Life Span & Can Cut Your Cancer Risk in Half
Date: March 18, 2025
Guest: Dr. Sharon Berquist

Overview

This episode delves into how stress—often thought of only as harmful—can actually be harnessed for health, longevity, and resilience. Hosting esteemed physician Dr. Sharon Berquist, Mayim and Jonathan explore the stress paradox: why some types of stress are not just unavoidable but essential for optimizing mind and body. Dr. Berquist outlines the five key “good” stressors, actionable habits for everyone (not just biohackers), and how shifting your mindset and lifestyle can profoundly transform your health—right now and long-term.

Key Points & Discussion Breakdown

1. Challenging the Mainstream: What We Get Wrong About Stress & Aging

• The False Enemy: Stress isn’t the villain we’re taught; it’s misuse and misunderstanding of stress that’s harmful.
• Aging Is Largely Malleable: Only ~25% of how we age is genetic; the remaining 75% is in our control.
  • “Through our lifestyle...and particularly through good stress, we are able to slow down [the aging process]. So we are entirely capable of changing the path of our aging, not just adding years, but making those years healthy.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [07:42]

2. Cellular Health: The Stress Bank Account

• Mitochondria at the Forefront: Damage to the cellular “powerhouses” is caused more by lifestyle than by aging itself.

• Good Stress = Cellular Deposit: Strategic stress builds a biological “bank account” for resilience; poor habits deplete it.

  • “When we take on good stress...we’re making deposits into our cellular health account, right? ...We can add a good 10–15 years to our life expectancy.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [09:06]

• Immediacy: Benefits of good stressors can be felt in days or weeks—not just decades.

  • “The fact that what you do within hours makes you feel better is what happens when we take on good stress challenges.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [12:28]

3. Detecting Cellular Dysfunction & DIY Health Testing

• VO₂ Max: A simple, accessible way to indirectly measure mitochondrial function and predict longevity.
  • “VO₂ max or cardiorespiratory fitness is the single biggest predictor of your longevity, and by a long shot.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [26:19]
• Insulin & Glucose: Early blood markers (“insulin resistance”) are accessible ways to monitor metabolic health.
• Shift in Mindset: Doctors can advise, but building health is largely up to the individual.
  • “Health really happens outside the doctor’s office.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [26:18]

4. How Fast Can You Change?

• Quick Wins: Cellular and metabolic improvements can show in days to weeks with consistent effort (~80% consistency is realistic and effective).
  • “When I do testing...I usually have people come back in six weeks...In that time span, I see objective improvement in their numbers.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [31:36]

5. The Science of Stress: Stress Isn’t All One Thing

• Mindset is Everything: How we perceive a stressor dramatically changes its hormonal and health impact.
  • “Mindset alone changes the cortisol reactivity.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [41:01]
  • “If people do nothing from our conversation other than reframe how they see stress, that alone is an intervention that can benefit how their body responds.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [41:40]

6. The Five “Good” Stressors

a. Plant Phytochemicals

• Natural plant toxins signal your body to ramp up defenses. The more variety, the better.
  • “Right now, only 1 out of 10 Americans is getting the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [52:35]
  • “If we eat the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, we can reduce cancer by 50%.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [56:11]

b. Exercise in Intense, Brief Bursts

• Intensity is relative—just push to the edge of your comfort zone. Recovery is as critical as exertion.
  • “The sweet spot...is creating a little bit of discomfort. That’s the Goldilocks zone, the hormetic range, where you’re activating these stress responses.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [59:54]

c. Temperature Exposure (Hot/Cold)

• No fancy equipment required; cold walks, hot baths, or adjusting your thermostat activate key cellular repair pathways.
  • “Our ancestors have done this for 2 million years without a cold plunge...Turning down your thermostat is enough.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [64:09 & 68:07]
  • “By activating the brown fat, we are burning our fat stores...and that’s a big part of [how] cold exposure is helping our metabolic health.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [68:52]

d. Time-Restricted Eating (“Fasting”)

• Not extreme fasting, but aligning meals with circadian rhythms (e.g., 12 hours no food, ideally 7pm to 7am).
  • “When we eat round the clock, we aren’t giving our bodies enough time for breakdown...[which impairs] our body’s ability to do all this housekeeping.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [75:44]
  • “My interest is in getting people healthy, and I want this to be relevant to the majority of people.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [82:04]

e. Mental and Emotional Challenges

• Growth happens with manageable, chosen challenges, not overwhelming or harmful stress.
  • “If we withdraw from stress—not enough stress is just as harmful as too much. You are lowering your resilience through avoidance.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [84:52]
  • Align challenges with your values and goals for maximum benefit and dopamine release.

7. Actionable Habits and Mindset Shifts

Dr. Berquist shares 25 simple, actionable habits to make health accessible and practical. They include:

• Walk 8,000 steps/day
• 15 minutes of natural morning light
• 20–30g protein per meal (especially breakfast)
• 30+ plant foods/week
• Move every hour
• Strength train twice a week
• Short, high-intensity bursts once/week
• Use cold water for last 15 seconds of shower
• Eat within a 12-hour window
• Say yes to things that scare you
• 7–9 hours’ sleep/night; consistent bedtime
• Spend 2.5 hours/week in nature
• Avoid all-or-nothing mindset—80% consistency confers most of the benefit
• “Progress over perfection...put that energy into structuring a health-promoting environment.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [95:02, 97:44]

8. Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Agency:

• “Doctors can help you treat. But by and large, building health...is not something anyone can do for you. It comes down to hard work.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [29:25]

On Mindset:

• “If people do nothing from our conversation other than reframe how they see stress, that alone is an intervention.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [41:40]

Realistic Habits:

• “Even with people getting it about 80% of the time, we’re still seeing these incredible outcomes...So just again, think of this as, I’m just trying to add as much good stress as I possibly can to build the bank in my cells.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [94:00]

On Not Overcomplicating:

• “Health is affordable. I don’t want people to be deterred...It is simply for anybody who’s willing to take control. Because good stress is deliberate.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [64:09]

On Fear:

• “Do not hold yourself back. You were built to do hard things. You were built for stress.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [92:03]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Main opening on the stress paradox: [02:44]
• What we get wrong about aging and control over health: [07:42]
• Bank account analogy & cellular health: [09:06]
• Immediate vs. long-term benefits: [12:28]
• Mitochondrial dysfunction explained: [12:28–19:34]
• How to test mitochondrial health (VO₂ Max): [23:01–26:18]
• Exercise impact on lifespan: [26:19]
• Lifestyle vs. health care: who is in control? [26:18–30:43]
• How quickly good habits make a difference: [31:36]
• Physiology of stress & history of stress research: [35:01–37:39]
• Mindset transforms stress impact: [40:31–41:40]
• Overview of five good stressors: [46:35]
• Plant toxins explained/diet myths debunked: [50:29–56:18]
• HIIT and exercise stressor discussion: [58:36–63:27]
• Heat & cold therapy demystified: [63:39–68:07]
• Fasting/time-restricted eating reframed: [71:51–82:04]
• Mental/emotional challenge as good stress: [84:37–89:10]
• Habits, variability, environment, and progress over perfection: [91:18–99:06]

Final Takeaways

• Stress is not the enemy—chronic, unmanageable, or misperceived stress is.
• Harness the five “good” stressors in accessible, incremental ways for profound improvement in mood, energy, cognition, and disease resistance.
• 80% consistency with healthy habits—not perfection—produces big changes.
• Mindset is itself a modifier of physiology: reframing and agency are powerful.
• Simple, structural changes in environment and routine make new habits stick—willpower is overrated, structure is key.
• “You were built to do hard things. You were built for stress.” — Dr. Sharon Berquist [92:03]

25 Simple, Small, Actionable Habits (As Read Out: [103:37])

1. Walk 8,000 steps/day
2. 15 min natural daylight in the morning
3. 20–30g protein per meal, esp. breakfast
4. 30+ plant foods/week
5. Move every hour (250 steps/hr)
6. Eat within <12-hour window
7. Strength train 2x/week
8. High-intensity activity bursts
9. 7–9 hours’ sleep/night
10. 2.5 hrs/week in nature
11. 150 min moderate exercise/week
12. Consistent mealtimes
13. Short sprints (stairs, etc.)
14. Cold water last 15 seconds of shower
15. Eat last meal 2–3 hrs before bed
16. More cruciferous veggies
17. Dim lights 1 hour before bed
18. Avoid blue-light electronics at night
19. Limit refined grains/sugars
20. Hot bath/sauna for repair and sleep
21. Tea and coffee for phytochemicals
22. HIIT workout 1x/week
23. 30+g fiber/day
24. Reframe stress with growth mindset
25. Do things that scare you; express beliefs outside comfort zone

Summary:
This episode offers a compassionate, scientifically grounded approach to stress. Dr. Berquist reframes stress as a powerful tool for building lasting mental and physical resilience. With actionable advice for every listener, the discussion empowers you to take charge of your “other 75%” of health—starting right now, with small, realistic, doable steps.