This past weekend I was in the hospital

My mom thought she was having a heart attack but in reality, it was discovered that she had a gallstone stuck in her bile duct.

So I decided to stay the night with her - and if you were to ask my wife - there is one place you will find I lose all my sensibilities and religion - inside of a hospital.

I remember it when my dad dissected his carotid artery, I remember when I was in the hospital with my daughter being born, and now this most recent impression.

Rather than rail on hospitals and the failure of modern medicine, I want to share what I have learned about what drives healing and what can prevent it — as it relates to the very building you are in at any given time.

But first, my rant

Let me rant for a moment. As I study some of the most innovative methods and locations for healing in the 1800’s, I see infrastructure more in tune with healing than I do today. I know we live in a world where lawsuits drive decisions, but man it’s hard to stand back and watch the train wreck of modern medicine.

Hear me clearly, I’m very grateful for technologies and experts who can treat issues we had no clue of 100 years ago. Shout out to my wife - an ICU nurse for 15+ years.

But when someone gets out of surgery and are served a tub of chocolate ice cream - we have a problem. When someone gets out of surgery and they are served some nice southern cookin of meat and potatoes - I just have to literally bite my tongue. Surgery is invasive, inflammation is a healing mechanism - but I think we would do well to avoid inflammatory foods while we try to heal. Ok rant over…for now.

Building for Health and Happiness - Biophilic Architecture

I’m convinced the hospital of the future may not be a hospital at all, because biophilic design is the future of health and longevity and healing. We’ve been very intentional to integrate all of these principles as we build Santerra.

#1 — Ventilation

There was a hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan, called the San, where 125+ years ago outdoor air was ventilated directly over a patient’s bed while they slept. This was radical in an age when they thought night air was actually bad for you — as if the air changed from daytime to nighttime. Today we have technology like energy recovery ventilators, or an ERV system, that will circulate fresh air into your home. To me, this is just as important as any biohacking device you could buy.

#2 — Light

Dr. Roger Seheult talks about how, during COVID, he found amazing outcomes with patients if he could only get them outside for a few minutes, exposed to natural light. Whenever possible, let as much light into your office or bedroom or home or hospital room as you can, to get the healing rays of the sun - or even better go outside.

I was thinking of this lesson not only as the room was darkened in the daytime, but also when the fluorescent lights were turned on all through the night — for a dozen-plus individuals to ask the same questions the last person had asked, or to check blood pressure again, or to do another exam. All of this was disrupting the circadian rhythm. There’s also great research that fluorescent lights are not conducive to health.

There are now companies like Lutron who offer circadian lighting, which we’ve integrated into all of our structures at Santerra. There are simpler alternatives if you aren’t ready to build an entire new lighting system — just swapping bulbs in key areas

#3 — Sleep

And so, jumping off that last point, let’s talk about sleep. It is hard for the body to heal when it does not advance through the stages of sleep. It is all the more helped when the room we’re sleeping in is dark — where not even a nightlight exists. There are some studies that show nightlights increase breast cancer, and it’s all about circadian rhythm and melatonin production. You want a room to be as cool as possible — they say in the 65-degree range — in complete darkness and in quiet. I can tell you that in a hospital room, none of those ingredients seem to be understood. But in your bedroom, they are key ingredients to your best health and happiness, because we know how much sleep drives mood and overall health.

#4 — Pollutants

When you use toxic chemicals to clean floors or surfaces, or spray air fresheners full of toxins all over a room or into trash cans or bathrooms, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize those fumes and chemicals can be inhaled and absorbed. For the individuals in the midst of all that — both the person doing the cleaning and those it’s being done for — it matters. I’m all about hygiene and cleanliness; it is extremely important. But there are healthier chemicals, and there are better times in which those things can be done, that don’t have harmful side effects. Some great companies are coming out that offer better cleaning products for home and business.

Health is more than what you eat

I keep coming back to the lesson that health is more important than what we eat. It’s where we sleep, how we sleep, how much we move, how often we get outside, who we surround ourselves with, what emotions dominate our thoughts when we go to sleep and when we wake up and yes putting food into our bodies that gives life rather than takes life from us.

But more than anything - it is true the rooms we are in are impacting our health - but it is the people in those rooms that have the biggest impact for good or bad on our overall health. Invite more healthy people into your life.

Do what you can to advance just a little bit each day - it will make all the difference.

-Jared

P.S. - My wife Baddie Crocker has a beautiful newsletter where she shares her perspectives on tending the land, recipes, women’s health and more.

I’d love to hear from you. 👋

I write this newsletter each week because I feel my best when my body, mind and soul are all healthy. I want the same for you. If you feel like you’ve seen something valuable here, please do me a favor and forward this newsletter to a friend or let me know what you think by replying to this email or texting me - (310) 879-8441

P.S. - This newsletter does not provide medical advice. The content, such as graphics, images, text, and all other materials, is provided for reference and educational purposes only. The content is not meant to be complete or exhaustive or to be applicable to any specific individual's medical condition.

Here are links to things that have helped me improve my health:

Whoop - Track your HRV and REM Sleep

Function Health - Optimize Your Health via 160+ BioMarkers