The Nervous System Secret Behind Kids’ Big Emotions

The Nervous System Secret Behind Kids’ Big Emotions

Ryan Alford sits down with Alyssa Campbell, author of Big Kids, Bigger Feelings, for a practical conversation about helping elementary-age kids understand their emotions, nervous systems, and behavior. Alyssa explains why children can often explain what they should have done after a meltdown, but still struggle to use those tools before the emotional build-up takes over. The episode explores the nine-sense nervous system framework, including sensory sensitivity, interoception, proprioception, vestibular input, and neuroception. Ryan asks the parent and school questions many adults are thinking, especially how these ideas work in real classrooms and homes where time, resources, and attention are stretched. Alyssa also explains why emotional regulation is not about removing hard things from kids’ lives. It is about helping them recognize what is happening inside their bodies, move through difficult feelings, and build the resilience they need for real life. Topics Covered * Alyssa Campbell’s book Big Kids, Bigger Feelings * Nervous system regulation for kids ages 5–12 * The nine senses and how they affect behavior * Sensory sensitivity, anxiety, and emotional overload * Behavior support plans in schools * Why meltdowns often start before adults notice * Supporting kids without becoming permissive * Ryan Alford and Alyssa Campbell on parenting, schools, resilience, and emotional intelligence Links Vibe Science https://vibesciencepodcast.com/ [https://vibesciencepodcast.com/]https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042]https://open.spotify.com/show/3xAMaoZrUn6pflf7sdixdl [https://open.spotify.com/show/3xAMaoZrUn6pflf7sdixdl]https://www.youtube.com/@Vibe.Science [https://www.youtube.com/@Vibe.Science] Ryan Alford https://www.ryanalford.com/ [https://www.ryanalford.com/]https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/ [https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/] Alyssa Campbell / Seed & Sew https://www.seedandsew.org/ [https://www.seedandsew.org/]https://www.seedandsew.org/book [https://www.seedandsew.org/book]https://www.instagram.com/seed.and.sew/ [https://www.instagram.com/seed.and.sew/] Big Kids, Bigger Feelings https://www.harpercollins.com/products/big-kids-bigger-feelings-alyssa-blask-campbellrachel-stuart-lounder [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/big-kids-bigger-feelings-alyssa-blask-campbellrachel-stuart-lounder]

Science-Backed Advice on Congestion, Inflammation, and Emotional Health

Ryan Alford curates a broad but surprisingly connected Vibe Science conversation around health topics that affect everyday life more than most people realize. This themed episode moves through nasal breathing and congestion, inflammation and oils, herbal medicine and Ayurveda, mental health recovery, joy, gratitude, mentorship, and the role failure plays in resilience. What ties it all together is Ryan’s ability to ask practical questions and make different expert perspectives feel useful in the same episode. Rather than presenting wellness as trend-chasing, the conversation points listeners back toward better inputs, better questions, and more grounded ways of thinking about health. The result is a Vibe Science episode that feels both informed and personal. It is science-backed, emotionally real, and useful for listeners who want wellness guidance that is less performative and more believable. Topics Covered * Acoustic resonance therapy and breathing health * Nitric oxide, sinus blockage, and fatigue * Why damaged oils may be a bigger problem than most diets admit * Ayurveda, gut diversity, and eating seasonally * Mental health recovery, 988, and the role of laughter * Gratitude, joy, and emotional regulation * Failure, resilience, and mentoring the next generation * Ryan Alford on translating health expertise into usable advice Vibe Science https://vibesciencepodcast.com/ [https://vibesciencepodcast.com/] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://open.spotify.com/show/3xAMaoZrUn6pflf7sdixdl [https://open.spotify.com/show/3xAMaoZrUn6pflf7sdixdl?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Ryan Alford https://www.ryanalford.com/ [https://www.ryanalford.com/] https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/ [https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] SoundHealth / SONU https://soundhealth.life/ [https://soundhealth.life/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://soundhealth.life/products/sonu-band [https://soundhealth.life/products/sonu-band?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://soundhealth.life/pages/learn [https://soundhealth.life/pages/learn?utm_source=chatgpt.com] LifeSpa / Dr. John Douillard https://lifespa.com/ [https://lifespa.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://lifespa.com/dr-john-douillard/ [https://lifespa.com/dr-john-douillard/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://lifespa.com/welcome-to-lifespa/ [https://lifespa.com/welcome-to-lifespa/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]

What Trauma Does to the Body and How to Heal It | Olivia Young

Ryan Alford and Chris Hansen talk with Olivia Young, founder of Live Young and Box + Flow, about what it means to come back to yourself after years of survival mode. Olivia shares her story of growing up disconnected from parts of herself, building a fitness business from instinct and grit, and eventually finding deeper healing through plant medicine, somatic work, and spiritual practice. The episode explores the relationship between trauma and the body, why some people become fighters long before they understand what they are fighting, and how movement can reveal patterns that talk therapy alone may not access. Ryan helps frame Olivia’s story in a way that makes it approachable, while Chris adds thoughtful perspective around balance, performance, and what happens when hustle becomes self-protection. They also discuss Live Young, Box + Flow, masculine and feminine energy, self-trust, and why Olivia now sees love as the foundation of real healing. The result is a vulnerable and expansive conversation that blends wellness, spirituality, embodiment, and emotional truth. Topics Covered * Olivia Young’s journey from hospitality to healing work * Why boxing and yoga became complementary healing practices * Trauma, dissociation, and survival mode * Olivia’s experience with plant medicine and Bufo * The connection between self-trust and healing * What Live Young means and how Olivia works with clients * Why entrepreneurship can reflect deeper emotional patterns * Ryan Alford, Chris Hansen, and Olivia Young on healing through movement and love Links Vibe Science https://www.youtube.com/@Vibe.Science [https://www.youtube.com/@Vibe.Science]https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042] Ryan Alford https://www.ryanalford.com/ [https://www.ryanalford.com/]https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/ [https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/] Olivia Young https://www.livyoung.co/ [https://www.livyoung.co/]https://www.instagram.com/livyoung/ [https://www.instagram.com/livyoung/]https://www.boxandflow.com/ [https://www.boxandflow.com/]

How AI Could Help Families Plan for Aging Better | Lily Vittayarukskul

Ryan Alford sits down with Lily Vittayarukskul, CEO of Waterlily, for a conversation about aging, long-term care, and why most families are far less prepared than they think. Lily shares how her company uses AI trained on large historical datasets to help estimate future care needs and costs, giving people a more personal and more useful way to plan than broad national averages ever could. The episode also explores why this issue feels new to so many people, from the decline of multigenerational households to the fact that many adult children now live far from their parents. Ryan helps surface the practical and emotional side of the conversation, while Lily explains how families, advisors, and institutions can use better information to make more sustainable decisions earlier. They close by widening the frame to entrepreneurship and AI itself, including what it means to build in San Francisco, how hard it is to scale a serious company around a hard problem, and why AI may increasingly separate people who adapt from people who do not. The result is an episode that blends wellness, financial planning, longevity, and emerging technology in a way that feels timely and useful. Topics Covered * The financial impact of longer life expectancy * Why long-term care planning is still a blind spot * How Waterlily predicts aging-related care costs * Why national averages are not good enough for planning * What has changed about family structure and caregiving * How advisors and families can use AI more effectively * The challenge of building an AI startup around a hard problem * Ryan Alford and Lily Vittayarukskul on aging, wealth, and technology Links Vibe Science https://vibescience.com/ [https://vibescience.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://www.youtube.com/@Vibe.Science https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vibe-science-podcast/id1693460042?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Ryan Alford https://www.ryanalford.com/ [https://www.ryanalford.com/] https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/ [https://www.instagram.com/ryanalford/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] Lily Vittayarukskul / Waterlily https://www.waterlily.com/ [https://www.waterlily.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilyvittayarukskul/

The Performance Medicine Tools That Could Change How You Age

Ryan Alford brings together a Vibe Science compilation focused on performance medicine and the question of how the body can function better, recover better, and age better. Across these conversations, the episode covers sound-based sinus relief, the cardiovascular role of omega-3s, and regenerative medicine work involving natural killer cells and senescent cells. What makes this one work is the throughline Ryan keeps returning to: how do these ideas actually help people feel and perform better in real life? That gives the episode both a practical angle and a future-facing one, especially as the conversation turns toward recovery, immune function, and what healthier aging may look like in the years ahead. Topics Covered * Resonance and sinus relief * Nasal breathing, oxygen, and fatigue * Omega-3s and cardiovascular risk factors * Oils, fats, and health misconceptions * Senescent cells and aging * Natural killer cells and regenerative medicine * Performance, recovery, and quality of life Links  * vibesciencepodcast.com