053--The Pulse Cure with Dr. Torkil Færø: How to Master Stress and Recovery

In this episode, Dr. Torkil Færø—Norwegian physician, photographer, and bestselling author of The Pulse Cure—joins Coach Woody to reveal how your body’s signals can transform your stress, energy, and long-term health.

With decades of experience across emergency medicine, general practice, and expedition leadership, Dr. Færø offers a powerful framework for using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to track recovery, prevent burnout, and reclaim balance in high-performance lives.

Together, Dr. Færø and Coach Woody explore:

✅ Why your body knows you’re stressed—even if your mind doesn’t.

✅ The role of HRV in predicting burnout, anxiety, and chronic disease.

✅ Why late-night eating, alcohol, and overstimulation quietly sabotage your health.

✅ How overachievers confuse coping with thriving.

✅ The power of micro-rest and recovery windows.

✅ Free tools that boost long-term vitality: movement, sleep, breathwork, cold exposure.

✅ Why doing less (with intention) often produces more clarity, energy, and resilience.

This episode is a must-listen for high achievers, entrepreneurs, and health-driven leaders looking to prevent burnout and perform better—without breaking themselves in the process.

🔔 Don’t forget to follow the show for more conversations that challenge the hustle, elevate recovery, and redefine high performance.

✨ Stay connected: LinkedIn: Coach Lucas Woody

YouTube: @TheNextBetter Website: https://nextbetter.com

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – What if your biggest stressors are the ones you can’t feel?

01:19 – Surprising sources of stress: food, alcohol, even chili 03:38 – Good stress vs. useless stress 06:51 – What is HRV and why does it matter?

09:51 – Explaining HRV to a second grader

13:06 – Stress, the immune system, and hunter-gatherer patterns

16:25 – Processed food, late-night meals, and “hidden stress”

19:11 – Bread vs. fasting: What your wearable reveals

22:01 – Why our bodies can’t feel inflammation or blood sugar

24:24 – Chronic illness starts decades before diagnosis

25:53 – From doctor to patient: Torkil’s personal wake-up call

28:15 – Free tools for recovery: sleep, breath, cold, movement

30:22 – Why medical schools don’t teach prevention

32:40 – The “ancient lifestyle” your body still craves

35:57 – Why this isn’t about adding years—it's about living better now

39:18 – How HRV helps couples understand and support each other

41:00 – Tools, wearable recs, and why Garmin wins

45:36 – Real-time stress tracking and micromanagement 48:51 – Rest fuels performance: how boredom creates breakthroughs

50:47 – Why “doing less” helps you achieve more

51:41 – Simple daily recovery practices that actually work 53:32 – Final reflections: Start now. Don’t wait for the fire.