Sasha Okafor

13 Articles

• Heart Rate Variability: What Your HRV Actually Tells You (and What It Doesn't)

  HRV tracking apps are everywhere. But interpreting your own HRV data requires understanding what variability means physiologically — and when it matters.

• Morning Routines: What Science Actually Supports

  Morning routine culture has generated an entire genre of content. Here's what the research actually supports, stripped of the productivity mythology.

• CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) primer

  CBT-I is the most evidence-based treatment for insomnia. Here's how it works and why it's different from other approaches.

• Post-Meal Walks and Glucose Control — A Simple Intervention

  A 2–3 minute walk after meals is one of the simplest interventions for improving glucose control and reducing diabetes risk.

• Sleep Hygiene: A Practical Guide That Goes Beyond the Obvious

  Most sleep hygiene advice lists the same things: dark room, cool temperature, no screens. All true. Here's the layer underneath that most people miss.

• Dark Chocolate: Antioxidants, Brain Health, and the Evidence

  Dark chocolate is healthy—if you understand what you're actually eating and why it matters.

• Panic attack physiology and how to interrupt one

  Panic attacks feel life-threatening but are physically safe. Understanding the mechanism lets you interrupt the cycle.

• Cortisol Is Not the Enemy: Understanding Your Stress Hormone

  Cortisol has developed a reputation as a villain in wellness culture. The reality is more complicated — and more interesting.

• Olive Oil Quality: How to Know if Your EVOO Is Real

  Extra virgin olive oil is expensive—and often mislabeled. Here's how to spot the real thing.

• Sleep tracker accuracy: Oura, Whoop, and Apple Watch compared

  Wearables claim to measure your sleep. Here's how accurate they actually are.

• Snacking: What the Data Says About Between-Meal Eating

  Snacking isn't inherently bad—but context and choice turn it into either a tool or a trap.

• Resting Heart Rate — What It Tells You About Health

  Resting heart rate is a simple biomarker of cardiovascular fitness and overall health. Learn to measure it accurately and interpret what it means.

• Sleep Debt Is Real — And You Can't Fully Pay It Back on Weekends

  The idea that you can catch up on lost sleep by sleeping in on weekends has genuine appeal. The research says otherwise.