Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] All right, well, let me ask you something right out of the gate.
[00:00:13] When was the last time your job asked how your heart was doing?
[00:00:22] Now? Not your work ethic, not your deadlines, not your availability at 11 o' clock at night.
[00:00:34] Your actual heart.
[00:00:39] Yeah, that's what I thought.
[00:00:44] Well, welcome in my favorite listener. Today we're talking about a topic that affects a whole lot of men.
[00:00:51] Men who swear they're fine right up until they're suddenly not.
[00:01:09] From the natural state. This is Public Facing the podcast where culture and community meet.
[00:01:17] I'm your host, Joe Holman. I'm very excited you come by today.
[00:01:22] This is the first installment in a series I'm dedicating to men's health and will be helping navigate this journey. We're going to help avoid pitfalls that can hurt us.
[00:01:37] These episodes are aimed toward men and are about awareness and reclaiming control of your health.
[00:01:46] And no, this really is not a lecture.
[00:01:50] This is not your annual physical and audio form.
[00:01:57] And I'm not a doctor.
[00:01:58] I suggest that if you think that the information might need attention, I suggest you contact a licensed medical professional and have a conversation, if nothing else, to gain clarity and maybe address some aspects of your health situation.
[00:02:20] And as a bonus, nobody's taking away your coffee yet.
[00:02:28] But here's the thing.
[00:02:30] See, for a lot of men, work isn't just where we earn a living.
[00:02:36] It's where our health quietly gets negotiated away.
[00:02:41] Whether it's by way of a fast talking auctioneer or on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange or like film on the cutting room floor, this is happening now. Today we're chatting about cardiovascular arrest in men and a useful approach to changing course with more positive changes.
[00:03:08] So have a seat, settle in, and let's get armed with some mad facts, make a plan and just do it.
[00:03:18] Now. Look, I'm no Bob Ross. No, far from it.
[00:03:23] Let's paint a picture that most guys can recognize.
[00:03:29] I'm not talking about those happy little trees or even those happy accidents.
[00:03:36] We're trying to avoid all that.
[00:03:39] You sit longer than you should, you stress more than you admit, you eat whatever fits in between meetings or whichever left in the break room.
[00:03:55] You power through chest tightness because, hey, I've got a meeting to get to and I don't have time for chest pains.
[00:04:03] Am I right?
[00:04:05] And somewhere along the way we told ourselves, I'll deal with my health later or I'll take care of things as soon as I get time.
[00:04:15] Well, thing is, later and time, well, they're each.
[00:04:26] They each Have a clock, a calendar, an expiration date.
[00:04:32] Like sands through the hourglass.
[00:04:34] So, are the days of our lives ringing any bells?
[00:04:39] Anyone?
[00:04:41] Bueller?
[00:04:43] Bueller?
[00:04:45] Anyone?
[00:04:48] Cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death for men.
[00:04:54] And workplace habits quietly feed into it.
[00:04:58] Long hours, chronic stress, poor sleep, sedentary routines, and that unspoken rule that real men don't tap out. Which is ironic, because heart disease, Come on, It doesn't care how tough you are. It could not care less.
[00:05:22] You know what is amazing, though?
[00:05:24] Stay with me.
[00:05:26] A guy will ignore his high blood pressure for five years, but panic immediately when his phone Battery hits, say, 12%, right? Seriously, we get alerts for emails, we get alerts for calendar reminders, but most men ignore the alerts coming from their bone body.
[00:05:53] Like ignoring the check engine light until you can't ignore it anymore.
[00:05:59] How do I know all of this? Well, I was that guy.
[00:06:04] I probably still am in some regards.
[00:06:08] So here's where the workplace really matters. You see, most men don't just experience stress at work. No, we store it there, carrying it around our necks like a Flavor Flav clock on the around there. Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.
[00:06:30] Deadlines, right? Job security, providing for our families, being dependable, being that guy who doesn't complain.
[00:06:43] And biologically, that constant stress response, well, it keeps the body in fight or flight mode.
[00:06:53] Elevated heart rate, higher blood pressure, increased inflammation. We feel that. We feel it in our joints. We can see it on our body.
[00:07:06] Even strains on blood vessels.
[00:07:10] Now, your body doesn't know the difference between a charging deadline and an actual threat.
[00:07:19] It just reacts. That's it.
[00:07:22] And when stress becomes a lifestyle staple instead of a moment in time.
[00:07:31] Well, that, my friend, that is when the heart starts sending invoices.
[00:07:37] And make no mistake, everybody pays.
[00:07:42] The damage path is long, wide.
[00:07:49] Now, here's the kicker, men.
[00:07:55] We are less likely to talk about stress.
[00:07:59] We're less likely to seek help, and we're more likely to say, I've got this. You know, walk it off, right?
[00:08:08] Even when the body is saying, oh, no, you don't trust me.
[00:08:14] Come on. Let's be honest.
[00:08:17] Most men would rather replace an alternator or a transmission than book a cardiology appointment.
[00:08:26] And at least with the car, this is what you have going for it. At least with the car, your problem stays right where you left it.
[00:08:37] Now, please, this isn't about blaming jobs. It's not. It's about awareness.
[00:08:45] Because cardiovascular risk doesn't usually come from one big moment.
[00:08:51] It comes from years and years of small Habits and, you know, varying types of abuse to our bodies.
[00:09:02] We skip movement.
[00:09:04] We eat when we're under stress.
[00:09:07] We sleep less than five hours.
[00:09:11] We live on caffeine and on adrenaline.
[00:09:15] And here's the good news. Ready for some good news? I think we don't hear enough good news. Here's some good news.
[00:09:23] Small changes actually matter.
[00:09:27] Not dramatic ones.
[00:09:30] No, not New Year, new me ones.
[00:09:33] We're talking about simple things.
[00:09:36] Standing up once an hour, taking real lunch breaks.
[00:09:41] Not just eating that stale bag of chips at your desk.
[00:09:47] Walking, meetings, breathing before we react to a situation.
[00:09:54] Knowing your blood pressure numbers.
[00:09:57] Hey, that's. That's not weakness.
[00:10:01] That's maintenance.
[00:10:04] And hey, let's get to start normalizing this idea. How about taking care of your heart helps you show up better at work and at home.
[00:10:18] Then again, taking care of your heart helps you show up better at work and at home.
[00:10:29] Now, we've touched base a few times on the topics of sleep and rest and listening to your body.
[00:10:37] How in tune are you to what your body's saying?
[00:10:42] Share your thoughts and your feelings with me at hello at Public Facing Pod dot Stream.
[00:10:51] Now, if you remember me saying that small changes help too.
[00:10:56] Well, are you open to an old thing potentially becoming your new thing?
[00:11:04] If you are, that's great.
[00:11:06] If not, I implore you to please reserve your position and decision for after my message.
[00:11:16] Now, so instead of going from one extreme to another, how about making and taking a compromise?
[00:11:26] Let's jump back in and talk about what the possibilities are.
[00:11:31] You ever notice how around mid afternoon, your brain just quietly clocks out?
[00:11:41] You're just sitting there still pretending to listen, but mentally you're already thinking about dinner or, you know, if the new episode of the Pit has aired yet.
[00:11:57] That's not weakness, okay? That's biology.
[00:12:01] My suggestion is a short nap.
[00:12:06] I'm talking like 20 to 30 minutes.
[00:12:09] It can flip the switch back on.
[00:12:12] So not a full sleep. I'm not talking pajamas and candles and all that stuff. Just a strategic pause.
[00:12:23] A way for you to reset. You see, studies show that a quick nap boosts five focus, reaction time and mood.
[00:12:35] And that translates to you're sharper, you're less cranky, and far less likely to snap at an innocent email.
[00:12:46] Let's be clear. This isn't laziness.
[00:12:49] This is maintenance.
[00:12:52] Think of it like pulling into the pit stop ahead of driving on fumes.
[00:13:00] You're getting that recharge, you're getting that refill.
[00:13:05] Now pay attention because timing matters, okay?
[00:13:09] Early afternoon is the sweet spot.
[00:13:12] Nap Too long or too late. And suddenly it's midnight and you're staring at the ceiling, questioning life choices. Dang, those late night HSN and QVC channels.
[00:13:24] But done right, a nap lowers stress.
[00:13:28] It helps your heart and keeps your brain from overheating.
[00:13:33] So next time that afternoon slump hits, don't fight it like a hero. We don't need a hero. We need rest. We need a reset.
[00:13:43] Take the smart route.
[00:13:45] Close your eyes, set a timer, and recharge.
[00:13:50] Because sometimes the fastest way forward is a short pause in the middle.
[00:14:01] Now, all right, before we wrap things up, let's land this plane gently. Preferably somewhere with a couch. Right?
[00:14:12] So today we talked about men, work in the heart, and how the workplace can quietly crank up cardiovascular risk without us even noticing.
[00:14:24] Long hours, constant stress, too much sitting, too little sleep.
[00:14:30] Right?
[00:14:31] Basically, the greatest hits album of modern work life.
[00:14:36] And for a lot of men, the solution, we've been taught is simple. Push through.
[00:14:43] Wade Wilson calls it maximum effort.
[00:14:46] Right? But here's the twist.
[00:14:50] Sometimes the smartest thing you can do for your heart is stop pushing.
[00:14:57] Stop pushing.
[00:14:59] Let's talk naps. Yes, naps. Now, I. Not the I gave up on the day naps and not accidentally fell asleep during the news naps.
[00:15:12] I'm talking strategic, grown man naps, short naps, 20 to 30 minutes tops.
[00:15:22] Those can actually lower stress hormones and improve blood pressure, reduce fatigue and improve focus and mood.
[00:15:33] In other words, naps, they don't make you lazy. They make your heart breathe again.
[00:15:41] Now, think about it.
[00:15:43] Your phone overheats, you close some apps, your computer lags, you restart it.
[00:15:52] So what do you do when you start to lag or overheat? Huh?
[00:15:59] No, you just grab another coffee and tell yourself, I'll sleep later. Am I right?
[00:16:06] See, that's not toughness.
[00:16:08] That's buffering.
[00:16:10] And they know they got time for that.
[00:16:14] The reality is, most men aren't ignoring their health because they don't care.
[00:16:20] No, they're ignoring it because they're busy caring about everything else.
[00:16:27] Work, family, responsibility.
[00:16:31] But your heart is part of that responsibility as well.
[00:16:36] So add it to the list.
[00:16:39] Now, where on the list does your heart become a priority? Well, I think that's. That's going to be up to you.
[00:16:50] I would hope that you aren't with a few more facts on this right now. And you do good to verify what I say is true, that maybe you'll mark that a little higher up the list than you first thought.
[00:17:08] You know, and sometimes protecting your heart, it's not about a gym membership. Okay, it's not about. It's.
[00:17:18] It's not about the drastic lifestyle overhaul. It's about permission.
[00:17:25] You granting permission to pause, you granting permission to rest, and you granting permission to recharge.
[00:17:38] A short nap doesn't fix everything.
[00:17:42] No, but it can take your body out of fight or flight and remind it that the threat is just an inbox and shoot. We can. We can hold that off for a time.
[00:17:55] So if you take one thing with you today that I've shared, please let it be this.
[00:18:03] Taking care of your heart isn't quitting the job.
[00:18:08] It's making sure you're healthy enough to keep showing up.
[00:18:14] And if that means a 20 minute nap instead of one more stress filled scroll through emails, well, your heart's on board.
[00:18:23] Affirmatively.
[00:18:26] Probably your productivity too.
[00:18:29] Affirmatively.
[00:18:33] Now I hope that you'll join for more of these topics in this series pertaining to men's health.
[00:18:39] Until we meet again, I want you to work smart, breathe deep, and if you need a nap, well, doctor's orders.
[00:18:49] Note I am not a doctor, though I am a big fan of Dr. Pepper and Dr. Scholz.
[00:18:55] Now this is the talk show that deep dives into the true stories and sharing the everyday voices and shedding light on the positive issues that shape our world.
[00:19:07] We openly welcome the conversations, testimonies and personal stories that impact the lives of so many from all locations and all walks of life.
[00:19:19] Because these stories should always be public facing, our episodes are that of a scripted yet unscripted talk show.
[00:19:31] I'm very thankful for you, my favorite listener, that you've come by today. This has been a a great time together and it means a lot to me just because of you and your interaction. Now I'm hopeful that this episode has armed you with the tools and information useful and necessary for gaining more control of your health and life.
[00:19:59] Feel free to share this episode with a friend.
[00:20:03] You can connect with us on x.com public facing pod join the conversation, send your comments or story ideas, or even just say hello. Send me an email at hello at Public Facing Pod Stream.
[00:20:23] Our past episodes can be heard at Public Facing Pod dot stream and wherever you find podcasts.
[00:20:32] Thanks for listening and until next time, share those everyday voices and extraordinary stories.
[00:20:39] Keep things upright and public facing.
[00:20:47] Sam.
