Beatriz Crespo, PhD in Medicine and Sports Performancepresents his book ‘Healthy micro-habits’ in which it aims to eradicate some false myths about sport, food or mental health in a work that includes interactive elements produced by Artificial Intelligence. Founder of the company Freedom & Flow, she has spent more than a decade researching worker well-being in multiple sectors.
What exactly are microhabits for? Microhabits are actions lasting less than two minutes that have a ladder effect. They are small actions that give you enough motivation to incorporate a habit. Eating healthy is too big a goal. It’s easier to take small actions to form a habit.
Are two minutes enough to improve quality of life? Not just two minutes, but if you add small actions you can impact the quality of life without needing radical changes. Normally, we propose extreme habits that are very difficult to maintain over time.
The absence of emotional health generates short- and long-term debt because talent is lost.
How can microhabits help manage work stress? To manage work stress there are several types of microhabits. An example is language. It takes you less than two minutes to choose which words to use to reward the people you work with. ‘Hey, you did great.’ Positive language increases levels of oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins and helps reduce cortisol peaks.
Are we living more and more stressed or has mental health not been given importance until now? Mental health has always been on the table, but now it is beginning to become normal. Companies are beginning to focus on removing the stigmas of mental problems or mental health within the workplace. The directives are undergoing a very big cultural change where the person is placed at the center. The absence of emotional health generates short- and long-term debt because talent is lost. It directly impacts the solvency capacity, negative episodes on a daily basis, and being able to generate business. As mental health affects business, it worries companies.
You cannot change your genetic predisposition, but if you have good habits you can help your genes not express themselves with a disease.
As a communicator, how do you try to reduce this culture of minimum effort in sports or for health? By incorporating small actions or strategies we can reach the same goal but in a healthy way. With humor I can make the person identify more with the habits that don’t work, but that we continue doing. If we laugh at ourselves, the microhabit can become much more established.
Can good eating and sports habits counteract genetics? We have a certain genetic predisposition and also what is called epigenetics, which is conditioned by day-to-day choices. You cannot change your genetic predisposition, but having good habits (along with reducing exposure to pollution or sun exposure) can help you prevent your genes from being expressed by a disease. You can have a genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, and you may not have it or have it much lighter than if you did not have a healthy lifestyle.
We set ourselves extreme challenges, running 10 kilometers or going to the gym every day. We must commit to going one day and the rest will come
Can an obese or extremely thin person reeducate their hormones? Of course. An obese person has a metabolic problem beyond accumulating fat or excess fatty tissue. This altered metabolic context can be reversed with good lifestyle habits but also with medical monitoring and a change in mentality. It is not enough to reduce caloric intake, it entails many other changes. In the case of an extremely thin person, it is even more difficult if it is due to anorexia, because psychological work must be done to have a healthy lifestyle. Another thing is that you are a large or thinner person, you are conditioned by your bones and acceptance is needed.
How can sport help a person with diabetes or another non-communicable disease? The WHO places non-communicable diseases as 70% of deaths in the world. The regular practice of physical activity generates a series of exerkin hormones that activate muscle mechanisms and vital organs that protect our body, make it more sensitive in the case of diabetes and allow us to reverse cardiovascular problems. It is not so much regulated sport, but increasing physical activity levels and regularly practicing physical activity can reduce the effects of a disease to which you have a genetic predisposition.
There are also vigorexia problems that are not given importance. There are many people obsessed with extreme and unhealthy sports practice.
What is the most complicated challenge for those who start playing sports? The most difficult thing is to motivate yourself to go in a couple of days to do a routine. Having a good time is another milestone. We set ourselves extreme challenges, running 10 kilometers or going to the gym every day. We must commit to going one day and the rest will follow.
Why is there less sports culture among women? If you don’t have female sports references to follow, you think it’s impossible and you don’t give yourself a chance. The lesser sporting culture has been caused by a lack of references. Not because they did not exist, but because they were not given visibility.
How important is strength sport in the face of menopause? Strength training is vital to maintain bone levels and to help maintain hormonal changes. Also to keep the muscles toned, something very important for the exerquine hormones, which regulate the pancreas, insulin resistance and reduce the inflammation and fluid retention that many of us suffer throughout our lives.
AI will tell you what to eat, what type of exercise is best for you or what microhabits work for you
Does physical appearance take precedence over health in today’s society? Aesthetics are a very big motivator to get in shape, and it is no less than health. We all look for an aesthetic return even if we take care of ourselves for our health. And it’s not bad, what’s bad is getting obsessed. There are also vigorexia problems that are not given importance. There are many people obsessed with extreme and unhealthy sports practices that are shared online in a way that is harmful to others.
Why did you incorporate artificial intelligence in this book? I wanted the physical book to be the gateway to an interactive virtual world. From my texts, illustrations and avatars have been generated that move and tell the story.
How can a person incorporate Artificial Intelligence to improve their health? We are constantly using AI even if we are not aware of it. Social networks are based on an algorithm created with AI, activity bracelets can recommend songs based on your heart rate… I have been working at Stanford University crossing genetic information with your tastes, preferences and the responses of your own body. In the future, people will make fewer decisions about health because AI will tell you what to eat, what type of exercise is best for you, or what microhabits work for you. That’s the goal, to create a generative chat that tells you what is healthy for your lifestyle.
Sports, food, emotional management, healthy digitalization, etc. How to get to everything without dying trying? With microhabits. The theory of marginal gains is that if you can incorporate two-minute habits into your daily life, become aware and add up those small actions, you stop setting yourself impossible challenges or enormous lifestyle habits. Playing sports, eating well, managing my emotions… They are great habits, but there are little things. Removing mobile notifications or nipping scrolling for more than five minutes are some of the guidelines to incorporate healthy habits without dying in the attempt.