Health Hacktivators w Dr Alka Pate – Derrick Evans, The Importance Of Sleep, 3 Tips to Achieve it

You're listening to Health Hacktivators with me, Dr. Alka Patel, on the Womanz radio station. Welcome to Health Hacktivators with lifestyle medicine doctor, GP, and longevity expert Dr. Alka Patel. This show will help you to discover a hidden health hacking code that unlocks your phenomenal potential for an outstanding healthspan, lifespan, and wealthspan. The show features candid conversations with celebrities, influencers, and industry icons real-life stories, and cutting-edge health activating advice that other doctors might not tell you. Discover why now is the time to join the strategic self-care revolution and experience the profound effect this will have on your personal and professional success. Now, here is your host, Dr. Alka Patel. Hi, hey, and hello, health activators. Now, I am very, very excited for today's show because On today's show, I am joined by the very infectious Derek Errol Evans, MBE. Now you'll know him as Mr. Motivator with his boundless energy that exploded on our TV screens back in the '90s on GMTV. You'll remember his incredibly popular and, oh my gosh, so motivating fitness sessions. Now, when I think back to the '90s, what I distinctly remember is, of course, his super colorful outfits, which were his trademark. And guess what? This cacophony of color has not ended. You will still find Derek clad in color with a very colorful career to match, and it's all been fueled by his intense focus on fitness and on well-being. So what's Derek been up to? Well, he's been an avid promoter of the NHS campaign Change for Life, and through COVID as well, he was part of the BBC's Health Check Live program, which was keeping Britain fit during lockdown. And what I know is that he's also an active charity supporter, which I'm sure we'll be talking about more on today's show. And when I say active, I mean active from an activity perspective. He injects action into everything that he does and everything that he supports. So what are we talking about today? Well, we're talking about exercise, of course we are, and we're also talking about gratitude, responsibility, identity, prostate cancer, and sleep. So you'll find us chatting about a whole host of topics that I know Derek is very, very passionate about. So if you are ready to get active and activated, then this is a conversation you are going to love. Before we get into today's conversation, please do support today's show sponsor, Youth and Earth. Youth and Earth have a range of products that I love to use myself to supercharge my metabolism, to support my health, and to slow down cellular aging. So just be sure you click the link in the show notes for exclusive offers which Youth and Earth are so generously giving only for listeners of this show. Hello, hello, hello, Derek, and welcome to my little screen because I've seen you on my big screen and here you are in front of me. I'm super excited to get— I'll do anything for money. That £5 that you sent over, right, was so tempting. How could I say no to you? I love it. You've spilled the secret already. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah. But you know something, it's so nice to be called Derek because often when I do these interviews, and I've done so many, it's always What do I call you? Do I call you motivator? Do I call you Mr. M? Do I call you Derek? No, just call me sir. Sir Derek Evans is the proper title, isn't it? M-B-E-R. M-B-E-R. Well, let's talk about that. Tell me about that moment and how that felt. You know, I think it's kind of incredible when you have the kind of upbringing that I've had, which began in Jamaica and, you know, being given away at 3 months of age, and to actually this year go and collect, uh, an award, the MBE, which was originally given by the Queen in 2020, but because of the lockdown, I wasn't able to get it. So I went, uh, this year in March to collect it from William. That was— it was great. It was just wonderful. And he was just so gracious. I mean, you know, all the protocol you're told about, you know, 5 steps to the right and turn left and stay off the red carpet, and he will come to you. And, you know, you don't go on the red carpet and he won't come off red All that went out the window. He came off the red carpet, put his hand on my shoulder, he goes, you know, I've wanted to meet you for so long, right? He says, I grew up with you, you were in my living room, right? I wonder which living room when I was growing up. And I've always— very charming, he's really charming. We had a good chat and yeah, good. It's nice to be recognized for something that you enjoy doing. Absolutely. And, and for you it's been unwavering, hasn't it? Because look, you hit our screens in the '90s and you've continued to keep your focus on what matters to you— fitness, health, well-being, but you've really kind of broadened that as well, haven't you? So what is it about you? I know you say, you know, Mr. Motivator, but there's got to be some motivation there. What is it for you? Well, you know, I think it's so important that all of us, right, that what you do is you don't stay constant. The only constant in life is change. So you must evolve and change, you must grow, right? And in growing, that means you pick up more knowledge. And I maintain that as the decades have gone by, So much wiser I've become. And also I've learned really what's important to me. What is it that's gonna keep me upright? What is it that's gonna stop me collapsing under the weight of the society we have and all the problems out there? And the only person who can keep me up there is me. Yeah. Right? And I think, you know, we all need to take control of our own health, our own lives. And there's no saying, never put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket. And that is because you need to take responsibility. And so yes, I'm banging away at the drum and I've been doing this for 30 years, right, into, actually over 30 years, consistently telling people, like the woodpecker, beating away at the tree, right? Eventually, you know, you break through and some people hear and some people listen. And those who embrace a more active lifestyle benefits in so many ways as they get older because the independence of the older person is critical. That's why I've always said the greatest gift you can give yourself, your family, your friends, is an independent, healthier you. And that only comes from you taking responsibility for your health and looking after yourself. Oh, I totally echo absolutely everything that you said. You know, I've been a doctor now for what, over 25 years? And the one thing that happens, Derek, is it's exactly the opposite of what you've described. People want to come and land their health on my lap and only take it back once it's fixed, but don't want to hold it as their own. And this sense of responsibility— but more than that, I think we're describing this excitement and this ignition about wanting to own your health and not, and not give it away. I think that's so important, and that's the energy that, that you inject as well, isn't it? Thank you. Well, you know, that's exactly what— listen, everyone has heard the message of health, fitness, and everything else, looking after you. And the NHS, bless their heart, they have their sites with all their blue walls and white walls and someone talking down to everybody about exercise. If you want to get people engaged, you have got to have fire in your belly. Yeah. Right? You got to be passionate about what you're talking about. But if it's, you know, you ought to be taking up a healthier lifestyle and only do, you know, 5, you know, and 3 times a week, 30 minutes in your heart rate in a training zone, that is not going to fire anybody up. But if I say to you, right now you can change your very existence, the way you look at the world, by just imagining that there's an orange between your shoulder blades and I want you to gently squeeze out the juice of that orange with me, or to imagine practically, you have changed the way you sit, the way you look. I'm doing it, Derek. I'm doing it right now. I've got that orange between my shoulder blades. I feel it. Is it wetting you as it runs down your back? Completely soaked, yes. And I think that's exactly what it is. And so for me, the fun in anything has got to be what you do. It's a bit like disguising vegetables in a pie so the kids don't know they're eating it. What you've got to do is disguise exercise in this kind of fun, sugary coating. People go, you know what, the music's great, you know, that movement was really easy, it's not complicated, I'm not expecting to actually hurt myself. Yeah. And then hopefully you get engaged to want to do it. Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. I think the word exercise as well itself just compartmentalizes what you do. You've got to go to the gym, you've got to do 150 minutes a week, says Public Health England, you've got to really train, train hard. And it isn't that. Like, let's at least get the nation moving. Let's get ourselves moving, right? I remember in my practice, I mean, most doctors sit all day long. And I took a new stance and I started standing. And then I started going in, in my Lycra. I used to do Sunday morning surgeries and go in my Lycra. And you know what happened? People, my patients then, instead of coming in their pajamas and their slippers on a Sunday morning, they came in their fitness gear. So there's all of that modeling, right, that happens subliminally, subconsciously. And we all need to do it because I think there's no point the very person who's telling you that you should take up an active lifestyle not reflecting it, right? And unfortunately, that's what happens with government. You look at the people up there, you think to yourself, who the hell are you to tell me to become more active? Well, when I look at you, I see someone who is inactive. And I think it's the same thing with doctors. Only yesterday I was down in Cardiff doing a talk to about 150 anaesthetists, right? And we were talking about the benefits of exercise pre-operation. Pre-operation, and you will notice because if you go in, if you're going to have, excuse me, a cancer operation, for example, you got 2, 3, 4 weeks before an operation. All the work we've been doing with UCH and Guy's tells you that even with only 2 weeks to go before an operation, if you start doing some walks, some sitting up, some standing up, you're going to be fitter for that operation and you're going to recover quicker. So the benefits, the curative power of exercise is there for all to see. Yeah, yeah. And it's research that, like, that, that really sort of really establishes what is possible. And I talk a lot about longevity as well. And if you look at just standing up, if you stand more than you sit, you add 2 years to your life. But you know what, Derek, even telling people this, what do you think is the barrier? Why is it that people are not doing what feels so easy and necessary? What is the block? There are many reasons because listen, our success in anything, and you ask an athlete this, he will tell you, listen, I train 7 days a week, I do stretches, I run, I sprint, I do everything. But if when I get to the starting block, my mind is somewhere else because of a problem at home or situation I'm dealing with, I will lose that race. Biggest control in all of us is our mind. So we all know we want to do it, but— sorry, we all know we need to do it. Yeah, the wanting to do it is the thing, and that only comes from in your head. You've got to get up and do it, and taking that first step is so important. But also, I think it's critical that we recognize that doctors also have a real major part to play here. And when they— someone comes in for a checkup and you tell them they're okay, You should also follow it up with the words, right? But guess what? You won't always stay like that unless you get more active. Yeah, yeah. Oh, I love that. And you know what? I'm not into the word okay. I don't like saying your results are fine. People can be even better. You can be at your finest. You can be at your most optimal. Like, you can be beyond okay, right? Oh, absolutely right. And I think that's why we should never— I think honestly, you should go out to all doctors, Never tell someone everything's fine. Yes. There are things bubbling underneath, right, that will manifest itself tomorrow. So what the message should always be that, listen, if you want to protect where you are and feel better about yourself and get fitter and get healthier, whether you got to get more active. And guess what? Just getting up out the chair every hour for 2 minutes, getting up and sitting down, getting up and sitting down, works so many muscles. If you walk, every step you take, 250 muscles come into play. I mean, that's amazing. And remember this, you know, as a computer, if you have a computer and it starts to slow down, what do we do? We think to ourselves, okay, we need to probably get it serviced, or maybe we should buy an external hard drive so we could take some stuff off there to free up the memory. We're no different, right? When we start feeling under stress and feeling we need to offload somewhere, well, one of the best ways to offload is actually deflect away from your problem by doing something active, positive, going for a walk, looking through your photo albums, doing whatever that deflects you away from your problem, makes you feel good. Yeah, oh, for sure. This is all super motivating. We know now why you're called Mr. Motivator, Sir Motivator. Um, I'm sure for you as well there have been perhaps health challenges along the way. So if you look back, what's been the biggest health challenge for you, would you say? I've had quite a number. One thing we learn about life is that your stresses are often caused by other people. So in other words, if someone— let's say, for example, my daughter is really having a rough time. Yeah. Or she may have had a loss, like we had a loss at Christmas. My youngest granddaughter, her daughter, 12 years of age. So the stress that my daughter is under is greater than the stress I felt with losing my granddaughter. Water because I can— I've taken on her stresses. I'm trying to be strong for her. Yeah, I've been strong for her. It means I can't show any weakness. I can't cry when I would like to cry. I can't do any of those things. So it's only when you get a moment to where you realize, my goodness, I don't feel that particularly well, or you collapse in the chair, right, that you realize that someone else's stress is now on top of you, and that's what's bringing you down. And until you cry and release it and really release that tension. I understand why women cry so much. It's a wonderful medicine. That crying actually just releases and makes you feel so much better. And as men, we need to learn to wear our heart on our sleeves a lot more. And that means when you feel elation because something's good, you cry because you feel good about it. And equally, when things aren't good and you feel terrible, let it out, have a good cry, and trust me, you will feel better. In terms of health challenges, I've been very blessed. I mean, I, you know, I'm 70 now and I'm— I do not ever intend to reflect a 70-year-old because I see them out there. And I always say that, remember, your purpose in life could be either be an inspiration to people or you could be serving as a warning to people. And I see too many 70-year-olds who— in fact, I see 50-year-olds who serve as a warning to me. Right. And so we need to look after ourselves. But my own health, yes, I've had to have knee operation because of an accident I had. But health-wise, I'm really not— I'm not doing badly at all. I get all my prostate checks, I get all that kind of stuff done, and I'm, I'm doing all right. Yeah, look, first of all, I have to say there's probably been this jaw-drop moment from everyone who's been listening when you said, I am 70 years old. I mean, come on, Derek, right? I'm a man who trained twice, three times a day though, just remember that. Yeah, yeah, but you're doing it with, with a with a mindset, you see. I mean, people can go and train. I'm gonna have to share this with you. I'm about to run the London Marathon next year. So when you talk about training and getting that, the first thing has to be that mindset, taking that identity of I am a runner, I am energetic, I am healthy, I am organized, I am confident. All of these identities that we need to take on in order to then translate into the action that we take. But also, don't forget, you have a goal. Yes. And that often is the thing that's missing with a lot of people, because you did ask the question, what is stopping people? You've got to set your goals and also setting your goal realistically. So in other words, you're not gonna go out tomorrow and run a marathon. You're gonna start in stages. And what you want to do is have those small attainable goals. First two letters of goal is go. And then you go for those small little things. And every time you achieve, you reward yourself. Bar of chocolate, go for, you know, go for a walk next time, right? But everyone needs to have small increments of achievements. That way you feel good en route. But if you went out tomorrow without the proper training and tried to run a marathon, your body would break down. But I know from experience that if you slowly do this and peak just at the right time, that marathon would seem like it's only 22 miles when you're fat. I'm gonna have to take your word for that, Derek. I would never do it, by the way. I would do it in a car. Really? Well, you never see a happy jogger, and that's my thing. My wife loves running, and every time she's happy, you know why she's happy? She never wears her glasses when she's running, so she doesn't know who she's passing. So what she does, she smiles, right? I says good morning, good day, right? In principle, right? She's as miserable about it as I am. What runners love is the afterwards. Yeah, afterwards when you have that shower, it's amazing. And that sense of achievement is really great. But you know what, I get it from doing HIIT, interval training, circuit training, weights. I get that buzz. I'm a drug addict. In fact, that's what I— that's my drug. Oh, a drug addict. You see, that's what like some doctors are like, they're drug pushers because they push a lot of drugs to their patients. But we don't want to do that. Not on this show, Derek. Not on this show. You're on the wrong show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm a drug addict because you know what? I release those happy hormones— endorphins, serotonin, right? And that is a one— those are wonderful drugs. And tell me, every time I train, I get to the high, and that high is a place, right, where you feel you could keep going for another hour, right? And it's wonderful. That's the best drug in the world. Ah, love it, love it, love it. Look, I'm now going to go into what I call my rapid-fire round. Okay. So I'm just going to give you a sentence or two or a question and just, let's just kind of rapid-fire around this. Okay. Let's go. So what's the first word you think of when I say success? Happiness. How would you describe yourself in one word? Example. Example. Example? Oh, that's powerful. I love that. What is one thing that you want but you cannot buy with money? Love. Love, love, love. Okay. Makes the world go round. Oh yes. Okay. What's the most important thing you've learned in life? Keep on breathing. Yeah, kind of important. Okay. You know, the one, the most important thing I've learned in life, and a lady called Maya Angelou said it, people may forget what you say, they may forget what you did, but they'll never forget how you make them feel. Yeah. And that is powerful. Yeah. Say it again because it is that powerful. I love that quote. People may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but then never forget how you made them feel. Yeah. So important, isn't it, just to be human? Yeah, it is. And you know what? I mean, I say to people, I hate when people say, "How are you?" And you're just about to tell them how they are, and they're a mile down the road. And if we all just spared a thought for every single person, because everyone you meet out there who maybe is not as upright as you, They're carrying loads of burdens and you can see and feel the burden that they carry. When you ask them how they are, wait around and find out because you could possibly make that person's day by just saying, "Hey, listen, if you need me to just listen to you, if you need me to just walk along with you and not say anything, I will do it." You could actually be saving that person's life because often people are fighting battles that you know nothing about. And that could add to the reason why they're not standing up tall. I stand up every day and I look in that mirror and I'm so proud of who I am. And I'm not waiting for anyone else to tell me how well I look and how fabulous you are. I tell myself that, because if you wait around for people to tell you, it doesn't happen. Yeah, yeah. Oh, we could talk about so much. You've derailed me from my rapid-fire round now, Derek. All right, here we go. Rapid fire. No, but I, I do want to talk about this because there's something about validation isn't there? Internal validation versus external validation. And we hear, hear lots of people now talking about, I've got imposter syndrome and I'm not good enough, and all of this— a fear that comes from looking for it externally. Talk to me about that. What's your take on that? Well, look, the situation is, right, all of us don't realize that we all have a story to tell, that our lives could be so inspirational to someone out there. And you may only touch one person in the world, but you could be the world to that one person, right? And so what we need to do is, is to recognize, right, how important we are. And rather than thinking, I'm not significant, I'm too small to make an impact— if you think you're too small, too tiny to make an impact, try sleeping in a bed with a mosquito. Yeah, I've done that. And there you are, something so insignificant, but yes, it can be so impactful. Yeah. And that means there's a place for all of us. Yeah, right. There's a, there's a role for all of us. You need to find what makes you happy. What is the one thing that would make you work until 2 o'clock in the morning, go to sleep for 2 hours, get up and do it again? If you haven't found it, you need to find it. And I'm speaking right now in particular to ladies, right? And You guys, you start out, you got your single days, then you decide to get married or whatever, then you decide to have a child. And then obviously, you're taking on all these different roles. And somewhere along the line, you lose you. Yeah. Right. And that's understandable, because your priorities are, I'm now going to cocoon that, that new baby in love and care and attention. So you do all that at the expense of you. But there comes a time when in fact, you need to say, well, okay, I have done my job now, I've given them medication, I've fed them, clothed them, right? They're now ready for the outside world. It's my turn now. And if you're listening now and you haven't got to that point where you go, it's my turn, plan it. Plan that next year, next week, next month is going to be your turn. And what you'll do then is you start just finding you. My wife is a classic case of someone exactly that, because she's 65. Yeah. And she, um, you know, she's like the— she's the— she's the control, if you wish, in terms of— she's a thermometer. And she's always done other people in front her. And she, of course, went through menopause. In fact, we thought she still had it because it's 20 years, 22 years of menopause, right? She was having. And then she goes away, um, to a spa, uh, in Koh Samui, which she'd been to many times. But this time she came back losing the baggage of children, of looking after the family. And all of a sudden she found her. I started exercising with a passion, right? And watching what she eats and drinking loads and loads of water. And 40 pounds later, she— here she is. And who is she now when I look at her? The person pre-our last child. Yeah. So we have to go back 27 years ago. She's there. Yeah. She's bringing out dresses from those times and putting it on. The smile on her face is incredible, standing in front of the mirror. She's there for so long, right? And so every single person needs to find themselves, right? Don't leave it till it's too late. Find yourself now and work towards that release in that inner you. Yeah. Yeah, and it's so important because that person has always been there, just gets lost under the layers of life, and just those layers just need to be shared, don't they? It all comes down to your values. What is important to you? What, what lights you up? And I'm really glad you've raised this because on this show, what I'm on a mission to build is what I describe as a self-care revolution. Caring about yourself, because that's what get so lost. And what you said right at the beginning was taking responsibility to care for yourself, right? To get excited and excited about it. So, so tell me this, when I say self-care, what does that mean for you? Why do we need more of it? Okay, self-care is— men are the worst creatures in the world out there because they depend on their other half to book the doctor's appointment. They feel there's a problem and they go, well, I'm going to watch it for a day or two. A lady feels there's a problem, she's going to go to the doctor. So men, you have got to take care of your health. That's number one. Number two, I do a lot of work with prostate cancer in UK. Serious cases in this country. Well, in fact, the figures are frightening, especially in Black men. 25%, 1 in 4 Black men will get prostate cancer. That is to do with lack of self-care. Yeah, the figures double— the figures, that's double what it is for white men. So therefore, with Black men, there's a problem. 12,000 men lose their lives every year through prostate cancer. It boils down to some horrendous figure— 1,000 a month, if you break it down even further, 250 a week. That's— is that 10 a day? I mean, that's crazy. Yeah, yeah, crazy, right? Now, self-care is you, number one, checking yourself. Number 2, exercising. Number 3, finding a way in which you can actually just socialize and interact with people, because you need to feed the mind and the physical side of your life, right? You need to every single day— don't wait around for someone to tell you how you are. Tell yourself you're important. Think about what the stewardess or the steward, or whatever they call them now, on an airplane says: put your mask on first before you can put anyone else's on, right? That's what you got to do. You got to put you at the forefront. You are the most important person in the world. Well, if you are, treat yourself accordingly. That's self-care. Yeah, yeah. And that's so, so powerful. And thank you for highlighting prostate cancer. It's lovely to hear the work that you're, that you're doing with Prostate Cancer Charities as well, because like with any cancer, you know, this isn't— it's not about blaming yourself for getting it, but somewhere down the line are things that you can do to increase your chances of preventing it. And this is the stuff we ignore. If you don't sleep well, if you sabotage your sleep by staying awake on Netflix on your phone or social media, you're not allowing all that regeneration of your DNA to happen. And of course, then you get mutations and cancer is more likely to happen. If you're not eating anti-inflammatory foods or eating foods that inflame you, you're escalating your risks of cancer. Ditto with the exercise, all of that movement. This isn't just nice to do, it's absolutely critical to do, right? Yeah. So I'm so glad you've highlighted it because I think when it comes to cancers, and I will go into a little bit more detail about this kind of later on, but it's really, really thinking about what is in my gift to care for myself in a way that is going to do the best work to prevent what you've described. Now, the numbers are ridiculous. It's off the scale of the numbers of cancers, uh, that we're hearing about on a daily basis. Those numbers are increasing, and that has to be because there's something in our lifestyles, in your lifestyle— absolutely— to challenge. Absolutely. And I think that's why self-care means, listen, let me make a list of all the people in my family and my extended family. Are there any medical conditions in any of them? Right, so I got Johnny over here. He's my great uncle, right? And he had this kind of cancer. I got Auntie Julie over here. Auntie Julie actually, guess what? She definitely had breast cancer. Then there's my uncle, right? My uncle actually has, guess what he has? He has some kind of history of dementia or whatever it is. If you plot that and write it all down so that when the day you need to recall it, It's already there. So that's your family history. It can tell you whether in fact you are going to be possibly, maybe susceptible to certain conditions. It can pre-warn you. It can say to you, listen, maybe you should go and have a bowel cancer check. I mean, I have what they call Sigma— I had one of those, yes, that had all those, right? Why did I do it? Because in my line there is, you know, and so therefore I need to be aware of that self-care. You have to look after you. But then, you know, apart from your personal care, you've also got to care for other people, and that's where you'll get the joy. When you help other people, it's just amazing. Like at the moment, my pet project, and we've been highlighting it on the BBC, I do this morning live thing, and it's called Bed Poverty, where there's 400,000 children who every night go to sleep without a bed. That is criminal. So I'm really trying to find a way in which I can help to ease that problem, and I believe the answer is not just getting buying a new bed for people, but it's repositioning used beds, of which there are 7 million hitting the pile over there. 7 million every year gets thrown out there, and a lot of them can be repositioned from the hotel, from, you know, student accommodation. So that's my pet project. So maybe, Doc, yes, you'd like to come on a journey with me on this. Oh, let's do this. You know, you've taken me back to my childhood just talking of that, and you certainly not the sort of the cases that you're describing, but as I grew up, uh, I didn't sleep in a bed. We slept on the floor on a sheet, and with 9 or 10 of us in a line. And when that becomes something that starts to impact children, I think that's what you're talking about. It's one, it's not having the bed, but the impact on mental health, on connection, on— it's all that, right? Oh yeah, it's all that. I mean, look, we highlighted, you know, in the program, there were some weeks we did a whole sleep deprivation thing to show the effect on your response and how it slows you down. I mean, it's incredible. And the way when you're very tired, you have these microsleeps, which could lead to an accident. We did all that, and we looked at how it stunts the growth of a child. And when you've got a child who's 14, who for the past 4 years has been sleeping on a beanbag, that is horrendous. When you've got a family of 4 that's sleeping on a mattress on the floor, head to toe, that is horrendous. And we've got to do something about it. And I believe I have the answer. So, you know, I'm going to get on to it. So watch out. Yeah. No, I'm on the journey with you. Absolutely. Because the other thing that's interesting that you talked about, sort of what you discovered was the impact of this. I do a lot of work with using sleep data. So things like wearing this ring on my finger that you'll see that captures information about the quality of your sleep. And it'll be so interesting to see what that impact is depending on how you're sleeping, what surface you're sleeping on. Because you're right, you're right, the impact's going to be huge when we talk about— you've already talked about stress and rest and the importance of focusing on that. So, oh, wonderful, wonderful. No, no, no, it's, it's, it's, it's ending bed poverty now is going to be what we're going to be working on because as far as I'm concerned, We've got to change the way things are. Listen, we're really good in this country of helping people abroad and stuff, but guess what? Our very doorsteps, this is going on, and that should not be the case. Oh yeah, that's another story. No, see, we digress again. We do digress, we do digress. We could keep talking about that, but you know what, this is a thought that's going to be on my mind as I get into, into my bed tonight. And I think it's important for everyone listening to just, as you say, feel it, feel the comfort of your own bed. You know, we, we get into bed and go, oh, 'Oh, thank goodness,' and 'I'm so tired and I want to rest,' and you do it without thinking. And yet you've just highlighted a significant number. Those numbers have blown me away that don't get that feeling. Don't forget, that's what we know of. How many families are so proud they wouldn't tell you that the child is sleeping on the floor? Yeah, that's what the child's been on. And you will not be able to get rid of it by just saying, 'Let's donate a bed here, donate a bed here.' Yeah, that's great, but I believe the repositioning of, um, used beds is the way to go. And as long as they're treated properly— and there's a machine called the Matilda machine, which I'm looking to get located and put them all over the country— so that way, when you downsize, or you're a hotel that's getting rid of beds, accommodation get rid of beds, you take it to this place, they'll reposition it, and a needy family can get it. Wow, that's, that's great. I mean, I just remembering the number of beds my children went through recycling as they were growing up. One minute they wanted a bed that was like a car, and the next minute they wanted a bunk bed, and the next minute they wanted a king-size bed. And where have all these beds gone? Uh, you know, it's just really making me think. So, um, thank you so much for highlighting that. And it's also reminded me of my time, uh, when I went to India. I had a big pivot from the kind of drug-pushing medicine that I'm talking about to the lifestyle-pushing medicine that I'm now practicing. And I went off to India to just get a sense of, you know, what, what else. Um, and watching people sleep there, it's, you know, very, very poignant to see people who are not sleeping on anything that resembles comfort. And even I, I slept on the thinnest of mattresses, and I did that whole, uh, we talked about at the beginning, but that whole, you know, Princess and the Pea thing, to see how many mattresses could I kind of pile on top of each other. So I had comfort. And comfort's one of our basic human needs, right? Safety. Yeah, it is. It's, you know, it's, it's— I think we all deserve it. I think every child deserves to have that degree of comfort because it does mess up with their growth, their development, their educational ability. They— their social skills actually get suffered as well because they're no longer able to bring their friends around and they play on in their room. I mean, so it goes on. And I just think that we need to do what we can to really kind of ease the problem of bed poverty. Oh, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Wow, we have talked for a long time. We could certainly continue talking, but I'm going to try and draw this to a close, Derek. I don't want you to go, but do you have any final words that you would love to share? I think, you know, it's so important for all of us to treat every single day as our birthday. Don't wait around for that wonderful day that you were born. Let's make every single day in between a celebration of life. And when you get up in the morning, I want you to just look in that mirror, stand up tall, and be proud of who you see. And at the same time, just think of 10 reasons why you should be grateful, right? 10 reasons or 10 things that means that you're very rich. It's what money can't buy. It's one of those quickfire questions. And guess what? Your sight. I can hear, I can feel, I can touch. I've got someone who cares about me. I can walk, I can move, I can sit And always remember that there's always someone out there in a worse position than you. So enjoy your life and remember, it's only a bad moment. It is not a bad life. It's only a bad moment. It's not a bad life. And we haven't had a single bad moment in this conversation, Derek, at all. So I am so grateful to you. You're going to be in that top 10 list of mine today. Thank you. Thank you so much. And look, if people want to reach out to you, find out what you're doing? Is there a way of finding you? Where do people go? Easiest way, just go on Instagram. It's always there because I post loads of motivational stuff. Oh yeah, yeah, you do. Yeah, I've seen you. Oh yeah, I see you. Real Mr. Motivator on Instagram is the easiest way, right? But other than that, you know, just enjoy yourself, have a great life. Yes. And live forever. That's what I say. Oh, this is— you're on the right show for that. We're reversing aging here. I believe everyone has the capacity to live a 1 million hour life. You're well on your way, Derek. Oh, thank you so much, Dr. P. Have a beautiful day. Thank you. Be well. All right, thank you. Wow, what an energizing conversation that was. I can bet every single one of you listening has got a smile on your face right now. He's called Sir Motivator for a reason, isn't he? A very, very well-deserved title. And you know what, I'm feeling so motivated after that. We did talk about a lot of issues. We've talked about exercise and gratitude, prostate cancer, sleep deprivation, and bed poverty. So there may have been something you've heard that has affected you or touched something in you. So if there is something that you, you want to speak about, then please, please do reach out to me for support or for more information. You know how to reach me through my website, dralcapatel.com, or through my socials @DrAlcapatelUK. Always happy to, to chat. Now let me think about all the topics that Derek and I touched on. I think of all the topics we touched on, what I want to do is to dive deeper into sleep. I was really moved by the figures that Derek shared on bed poverty, and I have absolutely no doubt that Derek and I are going to have a conversation to really find a way to work together on this. So what I would love you to do now is to click through to the next episode for my health hacks on sleep, and more specifically on the surface that you're sleeping on. So I'm going to take a deep dive into mattresses because what I'd love you to do is to buy a new mattress that is perfect for you so that then your old mattress, well, it can be revamped so that it's perfect for children who currently don't have a mattress to sleep on. We're going to take a short break, and when we return, I will share with you this week week's 3 health activating hacks. In the break, you're going to hear some music from friend of the show, Justin Mccurk. The first track you'll hear is entitled Come Back to Love. Justin brings us this inspirational song, Come Back to Love, about the power that love has to heal and bring us back to source. The powerful lyrics and the soothing melody, they speak of the intentional strength strength that love gives us to overcome any obstacle and the courage it takes to open our hearts to love ourselves and love each other again. This song is a reminder that no matter how far apart we may be, love will always bring us back together. Come Back to Love is available to download across all digital platforms now. The second track you'll is entitled 'I Believe.' Co-written with Rory Madden, 'I Believe' features on Justin's 2020 album 'Wish You Were Here,' and it's available to download from justinmckirk.co.uk. And the third and final track you'll hear this week from Justin is entitled 'If I Could Take Your Place.' Co-written by Justin and Shay Healey, this song documents the emotions that Justin experienced when his wife, Rosin, was treated for cancer. It's a powerful and inspiring ballad that evokes the sentiments that are felt by many when a loved one is going through an illness. This track features on Justin's 2012 album Take Your Place, and it's also available to download from justinmccurk.co.uk. There is a place we're all dreaming of, an emotional state, destination love. It comes from deep inside and it's always up above. It's a place where we all came from, back when we started off. If you've forgotten where it is, please come back to love, love, love. Please come back. It's the highest vibration. It's in every one of us. Always on your mind and forever in your thoughts. It's in every breath you take. It's flowing through your blood. It's the beating of your heart. Can you feel the power of love, love, love? Please come back to love. Love is a feeling that we all need more of. It can rise above the hate Love can really conquer all. The more you give away, the more you will receive. You can move any mountain whenever you believe in love. Love. ever dream? You better open your eyes and just believe. Did you ever listen to your own heartbeat? Isn't it amazing what you can feel? I don't question it, I believe. I believe. Just take that Keep our faith to what you want, and someday it will all be yours. And when it happens, you will know it's all because you believe. It's a force so strong, like nothing I've known. I just opened my eyes and I was What are you waiting for? Just believe. I believe. Life's a dance, so take it slow. Savor each moment, and you will know it's so easy when you believe. I believe. Just take that Keep our faith to what you want, and someday it will all be yours. And when it happens, you will know it's all because you believe. Why we're here, it's no mystery. Why can't you understand? Where do I fit into the scheme of things, into this master plan? It's a force so strong like nothing I've known. I just opened my eyes and I was shown. What are you waiting for? Just believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. I believe. Oh, I believe. I believe. I believe. Yes, I believe. I'd gladly take your place. Oh, how true, our life's a roller coaster. So hold on tight, we'll handle it with grace. Take my hand, you know how much I love you. And if I could, I'd gladly take your place. Sometimes in the dark, I cry to God for mercy, ask him for the strength to carry on. And when the morning comes, I will be They're smiling to hold you close until your fears are gone. When the morning comes, I will be here smiling. So hold you close until your fears are gone. We'll climb this mountain and we'll keep on climbing until of pain there's not a trace. A single trace. I'll be beside you, you and me together. And if I could, I'd gladly take your place. Yes, if I could, I'd gladly take your place. Welcome back. That was the wonderful Justin McCurk, and you are listening to Health Hacktivators with me, Dr. Alka Patel. And now for this week's 3 health hacktivating hacks. Are you ready? Are you ready to unlock your health hacktivation code in 3 steps: data, devices, and decisions. So this week I've been in deep conversation with Sir Derek Evans MBE, Mr. Motivator himself. So if you haven't listened to the interview yet, then it really is well worth a listen. Derek is incredibly inspiring and infectious, and we talk about exercise, of course, of course, it's Mr. Motivator after all. And our conversation The conversation really then flows into talking about many other things— gratitude, prostate cancer, sleep deprivation, and bed poverty. So for today's health hacks, what I'm doing is zoning in on sleep and more specifically your sleeping surface, as I've been prompted by Derek's revelations in the interview. 30% of low-income families can't afford beds for their children. And with 4.2 million families living in poverty in the UK, that is a lot of children sleeping on the floor. So what do I want you to do? Well, as you're listening to this episode, I want you to think about the surface that you're sleeping on tonight, because hopefully you'll discover that your mattress is not ideal for you. So you'll buy a new mattress, which means your old mattress can then be revamped and make a difference to a child. Before we get into today's conversation, please do support today's show sponsor, Youth and Earth. Youth and Earth have a range of products that I love to use myself to supercharge my metabolism, to support my health, and to slow down cellular aging. So just be sure you click the link in the show notes for exclusive offers which Youth and Earth are so generously giving only for business of this show. So let's get into this. Let's get into the Health Hacktivation Code, which is all about using data and devices to make decisions. So number 1, data. Now when it comes to sleep data, the most useful piece of data that points to how well the surface you're sleeping on serves you, it's data that tells you how much you move during the night, data about your restfulness. Now look, we all move during our sleep. The stats are quoting an average of 13 times an hour. Sounds like a lot, but more than that, too much tossing and turning is then what's going to affect your sleep quality. And what it often boils down to, well, it's often the discomfort from the surface that you're sleeping on that causes the restlessness. And then what happens with restless sleep that's related to discomfort from the surface that you're sleeping on is that your sleep, of course, is going to be much less restorative than if you had uninterrupted sleep. And that, of course, then has impact on the short-term and the long-term. So what are the short-term impacts of restless sleep? Well, there's an impact on your cognition the next day. You're not thinking at your best. I'm sure you've noticed this at times, and it's also easy to nod off for a few seconds and have microsleeps. Have you ever done that? I do remember doing that. I remember doing that whilst driving on my way to pick up the children from nursery, those jolting microsleeps. So what else is affected with restless sleep? Well, attention and learning is affected and your reaction times are slower as well. And the other thing to know is that sleep and memory consolidation are also very, very closely linked. So during NREM sleep, that's non-rapid eye movement sleep, you form what's called declarative memory. So what do I mean by that? Well, I mean it's memory that relates to remembering facts and stats. And then in REM sleep, rapid eye movement sleep, you're forming procedural memory, and by procedural memory I mean remembering sequences. So all of this is affected if you're restless, and restless sleep also affects your ability to follow instructions. It affects your motor skills, it affects your mood, your emotional processing. And as an adult, of course, you'll have all these effects, but as a child this affects children and teens even more because of that brain developmental stage they're at that's occurring in those prime years. And there's also longer-term implications too—more risk of, well, a whole host of health conditions: dementia, gut issues, migraine, obesity, susceptibility to infection. The list goes on. So that is your health hack. Your health hack is to look at your your sleep data and to analyze how much you're moving during the night and how restless you are. Really, really key data points to have a look at. Okay, so that is the data. Well, let's have a look at number 2: devices. Now, I would certainly class your mattress as a sleep device, but when you think of your mattress, you're probably not thinking of anything high-tech because your mattress just needs to be these two things. It it needs to be comfortable and it needs to be supportive. But your mattress can do things that you don't want it to do. So firstly, it can zap you. What do I mean by zapping you? Well, many mattresses are made of metal springs, and if you think about the amount of currents and electrical currents that are running through your house— Wi-Fi and Bluetooth— there's a lot of what we call electrosmog around us, and of course metals attract currents. Metals are a conductor, so metal bedsprings, they can conduct currents right to you, which you don't want. And the reason you don't want this is because this electrosmog can then interfere with your natural circadian rhythms, which means that then falling asleep and staying asleep sleep is constantly being interfered with. So hack number 2: if you do have a mattress with metal springs, it's time to have a rethink. So what about memory foam? Well, that's an alternative to metal springs, isn't it? Sounds good— no metal springs, it conforms to the shape of your body. But wait a minute, what is that smell? Do you remember unwrapping your mattress and noticing a strange smell. Well, that smell is VOCs, volatile organic compounds, and they're off-gassing, and that is not good for you. There's a fair few chemicals in the memory foam mattress that you're sleeping on, so things like benzenes and petrochemicals and formaldehydes, which you don't want So hack number 2 is if you're sleeping on a chemical factory, it is time to have a rethink because what you want ideally, what you want is to sleep on a mattress that's made of natural materials, breathable materials that allow your body temperature to regulate, a mattress that supports you without molding to you and a mattress that provides provides you comfort. And if you think about it, well, a third of your life is spent sleeping, or at least it should be, or approximately at that level. So by the time you're 75, you've had 25 years in bed. Now that is a lot of time, so you certainly need to make that the best bed that you can. Of course you do. So you want a mattress that you fall in love with, you excited to greet it at the end of every day. It's one that supports you, comforts you, allows you to breathe without being a pain in the neck. Just what you'd expect from your ideal partner, of course, right? So there's a number of mattress manufacturers that do address what I've just talked about, being your ideal partner, your ideal mattress. There's a couple that come to mind. Samina and Essentia come to mind, and I've been reviewing them in more detail in my blog about sleep and sleep surfaces. So just be sure to click through to the link in the show notes to read the blog where I go into more depth about more specific mattresses related to what I've just been talking about. So finally, finally, the third part of your health activation code: data, devices, and decisions. So what decision are you making to optimise your sleep surface? Well, here's my suggestion. I would suggest a decision to buy a new mattress so that your old one can be renewed and recycled with state-of-the-art technology so that you can contribute to bringing an end to bed poverty. And Mr. Motivator, well, he has certainly motivated me to zone in on this with him. So just watch this space. Now, I hope you have enjoyed today's unlocking of your health activation code. And I wish you a health activating day. Thank you for listening to Health Activators. If you have enjoyed this episode, then please support the show by leaving us a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts and by sharing this episode with a friend. Don't forget to click the link in the show show notes right now to find out more details about what was covered in this episode and to connect with Dr. Alka Patel in order to take your strategic self-care to the next level. Please do support today's show partner, Youth and Earth. Youth and Earth have a range of products that I love to use myself to supercharge my metabolism, to support my health, and to slow down cellular aging. Just be sure you click the link in the show notes for exclusive offers which Youth and Earth are so generously giving for listeners of this show. Thank you for listening to Health Hacktivators with me, Dr. Alka Patel, on the Woman's Radio Station. I'd love you to stay connected through the socials. You can find me at Dr. Alka Patel UK, and to learn more about the Woman's Radio Station, do give them a follow too on their socials at Woman's Radio STN.