HEAL with Kelly

Do you struggle to get good sleep? The reason you’re exhausted, waking up at 3 a.m., or struggling to feel like yourself might surprise you. And likely has to do with sneaky and quietly disruptive sleep habits.

In this episode of the HEAL with Kelly Podcast, I sit down with world renowned sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus, PhD, a double board-certified Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Sleep Specialist known as The Sleep Doctor. After nearly 25 years in the field, he has a refreshingly simple message: we may be making wellness — and sleep — far more complicated than it needs to be.

There is a ton of information jam packed in this episode. We explore the fascinating science of our individual sleep chronotypes (I’m a Lion, what are you?!) and how understanding your body’s natural rhythm could change the way you approach not only sleep, but your entire day. Dr. Breus shares some surprisingly simple sleep tips that challenge many of the things we’ve been taught about getting a good night’s rest.

We tackle some of the biggest questions around sleep — from those frustrating middle-of-the-night wake-ups, to menopause, sleep apnea, melatonin, sleep trackers, caffeine, alcohol, and the everyday habits that may be affecting us more than we realize.

And we go beyond sleep itself, exploring the fascinating world of dreams, the connection between sleep and emotional healing, and why the timing of everything from your morning routine to intimacy may matter more than you think.

This conversation made me look at sleep in an entirely new way. Rather than chasing the perfect nighttime routine, what if better sleep actually begins with what you do the moment you wake up?

If you’re ready to understand your sleep differently and discover simple ways to feel more rested and energized, this episode is for you.

Key Moments You'll Love ✨ :
⏰ [0:30] Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day — Here's the Biology
🦁 [2:40] Lions, Bears, Wolves and Dolphins — What's Your Chronotype?
🐬 [9:27] The Fourth Chronotype Nobody Talks About
🔥 [11:52] The Best Time to Have Sex Based on Your Hormones
☕ [14:09] Wait 90 Minutes Before Your First Coffee
🌡️ [22:49] Why You Wake Up at 3am — and the Exact Fix
😮 [27:53] The Sleep Doctor Has Sleep Apnea and Didn't Know It
👩 [32:42] How Women's Sleep Apnea Gets Misdiagnosed as Depression
🛏️ [34:31] The Truth About Toxic Mattresses
💭 [42:46] Dreams Are Emotional Metabolism — What's Really Happening
🦷 [45:14] Why Everyone on Earth Has the Teeth Falling Out Dream
🧠 [49:31] How to Remember Your Dreams — and When Not To
✨ [50:20] Lucid Dreaming for PTSD and Trauma Healing
💊 [1:00:12] Sleep Is a Quality Game — Not a Quantity Game
⚠️ [1:01:00] Why Melatonin Is More Dangerous Than You Think
🧬 [1:05:18] His Exact Supplement Stack for Better Sleep
😔 [1:08:03] A Few Bad Nights of Sleep Can Make You Believe Dark Thoughts

LINKS

Sleep Doctor’s website: https://sleepdoctor.com/heal

Sleep Doctor on Instagram @thesleepdoctor

Dr. Michael Breus on Instagram @drmichaelbreus

SPONSORS:

JUST THRIVE: When you start a 90-day Just Thrive probiotic gummy subscription, you'll get a free 30-day probiotic gummy. That’s 4 months worth to get started on your health journey.

Visit ⁠https://justthrivehealth.com/heal⁠ to claim your free probiotic gummy with your first 90-day probiotic subscription. Enjoy 20% off anything sitewide.

COWBOY COLOSTRUM: For a limited time, get up to 25% off your entire order. Go to cowboycolostrum.com/kellyg and use code KELLYG at checkout for 25% off.
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Grief has a script that we’ve been handed: five stages, one after another, until time supposedly heals you. But what if that was never the full story? There isn't one right way to grieve, and your path might look different.

In this episode, I sit down with Kate Doerge, certified grief coach, speaker, and author of Reimagining Grief, who has walked through more loss in one lifetime than most people can grasp. She lost her father unexpectedly to heart failure, then her mother to an accident, and then, most heart-breakingly, her 16-year-old daughter Penny. Out of this deep experience of loss, she's built a completely new way of moving through grief — one built on choice instead of waiting for it to pass.

We talk about what it actually means to feel grief in your body, the signs from her loved ones Kate can't explain away, and the choice that turned her family's indescribable loss into a way of helping thousands of others heal through loss.

This conversation made me think differently about grief, healing, and what it really means to honor the people we love. Whether you're grieving today or simply want to better support someone who is, I hope this episode reminds you that healing doesn't mean leaving your loved one behind, it means learning to carry their love with you as you keep on living.

Key Moments You'll Love ✨ :👼 [4:36] Penny's Diagnosis at Four Months Old — One in 300,000🌟 [8:38] Seven Brain Surgeries and She Never Let It Define Her🕯️ [10:19] In That Last Week They Filled the House With Music, Love and Light💔 [13:55] She Lost Her Father, Then Her Mother, Then the Unimaginable🌈 [16:03] Her Dad's Headstone Was a Rock From His Favorite Beach🏃 [30:13] Grief Lives in Your Body — If You Don't Move It, It Gets Stuck🌻 [33:53] The Day After Penny's Celebration They Launched Pennies Flight Foundation✨ [37:12] It's Not Your Lifespan That Matters — It's Your Wingspan📖 [41:29] The Five Stages of Grief Were Written in the 1960s — It's Time for an Update🙏 [44:00] Stop Saying I'm Sorry — Say This Instead💡 [46:20] Post Traumatic Growth Instead of Post Traumatic Stress🪙 [54:50] Running Through Dallas Thinking of the Book — Then a License Plate Said Faith Over Fear

LINKS

Kate Doerge website: https://www.katedoerge.com/

Kate on Instagram @doergek

Reimagining Grief book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4wNDywY

SPONSORS

RE-LYTE: Go to https://redmond.life/kelly and use code KELLY to get 15%

off your first order.

TIMELINE: Mitopure now starts at just $79. Go to ⁠timeline.com/healwithkelly to get 20% off Mitopure supplements and Skincare with code HEALwithKelly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could some of the biggest health challenges our kids are facing today — anxiety, emotional meltdowns, trouble focusing, allergies, even immune issues — are actually rooted in the gut?

In this episode, I sit down with Tina Anderson, founder of Just Thrive, for a conversation about why the microbiome may be one of the most overlooked foundations of lifelong health. After leaving successful careers in the pharmaceutical industry, Tina and her husband set out to understand the root causes of chronic disease, and what they discovered completely changed the direction of their lives.

We explore the powerful connection between the gut and the brain, why so many children are struggling with gut imbalances today, and how everyday factors like antibiotics, ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, and chronic stress may be impacting our health in ways most of us never realized. Tina also breaks down common myths about probiotics, explains what makes spore-based probiotics different, and offers a simple explanation of concepts like leaky gut and microbial diversity.

I found this conversation to be extremely empowering — especially as I think about how to best support my daughter’s health. It's not about striving for perfection, which can be flat out exhausting. It's about understanding how small, intentional choices can help create a stronger foundation for us and our children.

Just Thrive is offering my listeners something special:When you start a 90-day Just Thrive probiotic gummy subscription, you'll get a free 30-day probiotic gummy. That’s 4 months worth to get started on your health journey.

Visit https://justthrivehealth.com/heal to claim your free probiotic gummy with your first 90-day probiotic subscription. Enjoy 20% off anything sitewide.

Key Moments You'll Love ✨ :
💊 [0:00] She Left Pharma After Watching It Make People Sicker — Not Better
🧠 [4:41] 90% of Your Serotonin Is Made in Your Gut — Not Your Brain
👶 [6:31] The Kids Allergy and ADHD Epidemic Is Really a Gut Health Crisis
🌾 [7:38] Glyphosate, Antibiotics and Ultra Processed Food Are Destroying the Gut
💡 [10:06] A Wayne Dyer Book Woke Them Up — Then Came the Call That Changed Everything
💸 [11:31] They Took Their Life Savings and Licensed Strains From a London University
🥛 [14:49] Why Refrigerated Probiotics Are Dead Before They Even Reach Your Gut
🦠 [20:21] You Are Ten Times More Bacterial Cells Than Human Cells
👦 [30:30] An Autistic Boy's Mood, Energy and Behavior Shifted on the Spore Probiotic
🧬 [44:38] The New Strain Coming That Targets Metabolic Health and Insulin
🧘 [47:37] The Gut Brain Probiotic That Supports Brainwave Activity and Inflammation
💛 [49:37] 14 Years In — and the Stories Still Give Her Goosebumps Every Single Day

LINKS
Just Thrive website: https://justthrivehealth.com/heal
Just Thrive on Instagram @justthrivehealth
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I sat down with a woman who walked away from one of the most public marriages in music history — and I wanted to know what it actually takes to choose yourself when the whole world admires your partner.

Deborah Santana spent over thirty years building a life, a business, and a family inside a marriage to one of the most famous musicians of our time, Carlos Santana. From the outside, it looked like the dream. But somewhere along the way, she started asking herself the question so many of us avoid: Am I actually living my purpose, or just managing everyone else's?

Deborah is an author, activist, philanthropist, filmmaker, and longtime advocate for equity and empowerment. Her new memoir, Loving the Fire, traces a journey of choosing truth over appearances, freedom over fear, and her own voice over quiet acceptance of what no longer serves her.

In this conversation, we get into what it really takes to rebuild your identity after fame, motherhood, and decades of putting yourself last — the moment that finally gave her permission to leave, what she's learned about love the second time around, and why she now believes the world has lost something essential by turning away from matriarchal wisdom. We also talk about raising kids who feel truly seen and the intuitive flashes she trusts more than almost anything else in her life.

Deborah is 75 and more radiant than ever. She is living proof that reinvention can happen at any age. If you feel like you’ve abandoned yourself or your dreams to keep others happy, this one is for you.

Key Moments You'll Love ✨ :
💍 [3:18] Married at 22 to One of the Most Famous Musicians in the World
💼 [3:46] She Was CEO of Carlos Santana's Business for 13 Years
💔 [6:27] Their Values Diverged — and What Happens on the Road Stayed on the Road
🌹 [8:39] Her Mother Died — and Said With Her Foot on Her Back: Go
✍️ [11:31] She Worked So Hard on Herself She Worked Her Way Out of the Marriage
🌍 [17:18] What Matriarchal Societies Knew That We've Forgotten
👩 [20:32] Her Mother Married Across Racial Lines When It Was Dangerous to Do So
💌 [24:26] When She Left She Wrote Each Child a Letter So They'd Always Have It
🌿 [28:07] The Four Seeds She Lives By — Community, Creativity, Care and Contemplation
🙏 [30:47] How to Hold Privilege and Trauma at the Same Time
👂 [32:28] Being an Ally Means Listening — Not Fixing
✨ [46:31] How Keeping Yourself Pure Lets the Intuitive Flashes Come In

LINKS
Deborah’s website: https://deborahsantana.com/
Deborah on Instagram @dssantana
Loving the Fire: Choosing Me, Finding Freedom on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bhuyYF

SPONSORS:

QUALIA: Go to qualialife.com/HEAL for 50% off. As a special bonus, use code HEAL for an additional 15% off your order.

TIMELINE: Mitopure now starts at just $79. Go to ⁠timeline.com/healwithkelly to get 20% off Mitopure supplements and Skincare with code HEALwithKelly.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever wondered how some people find the strength to keep going when life keeps knocking them down?

In this conversation, I sit down with bestselling author and creator of the global phenomenon The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod, to explore what it really means to heal, persevere, and choose hope in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Millions know Hal for transforming their mornings — but fewer know the extraordinary journey that led him there. From a car accident that left him clinically dead for six minutes and being told he'd never walk again, to a rare cancer diagnosis with only a 20-30% survival rate, Hal has been forced to confront life's darkest moments over and over, and has found his way back every single time.

What struck me most wasn't just his resilience — it was his perspective.

We get into the five-minute rule, the difference between optimism and delusion, why he believes resistance — not circumstance — is the real source of emotional pain, the true origin of the Miracle Morning and the SAVERS practice, his approach to affirmations and visualization (and why most people get both wrong), the holistic modalities he pursued alongside conventional treatment, and what no one warns you about when medication starts changing who you are.

If you've ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or needed a reminder that difficult seasons don't last forever — this one's for you.

Content Advisory: If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or is in emotional distress, please reach out to a trusted loved one or a qualified mental health professional. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you are elsewhere, please contact your local crisis services. You are not alone.

Key Moments You'll Love ✨ :
🚗 [6:40] Hit Head On at 70mph — Then Died for Six Minutes
🧠 [10:21] The Five Minute Rule That Changed Everything
🏥 [12:37] Doctors Said Never Walk Again — He Took His First Step Three Weeks Later
💸 [13:47] Lost Half His Income in 2008 and Had a Life Changing Epiphany
☀️ [18:58] How the Miracle Morning Was Born
🎗️ [27:28] Stage Four Cancer and a 20 to 30% Survival Rate
💪 [30:19] Why He Told His Wife There Was a 100% Chance He Would Survive
📖 [32:20] The SAVERS System Explained
✍️ [34:45] How to Write Affirmations Your Brain Actually Believes
👁️ [40:23] The Right Way to Visualize — Mental Rehearsal Over Vision Boards
🧠 [46:52] How to Wake Up With Energy No Matter How Little Sleep You Got
🧪 [51:14] Chemo Broke His Brain and the Suicidal Depression That Followed
💡 [1:05:10] A Grieving Father Did the Miracle Morning and Chose Not to Be Depressed Anymore

LINKS
Miracle Morning website: https://miraclemorning.com/
Miracle Morning book in Amazon: https://amzn.to/4b1y7Sq
Hal Elrod on Instagram @hal_elrod

SPONSORS

RE-LYTE: Go to https://redmond.life/kelly and use code KELLY to get 15%

off your first order.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices