Articles on what comes before.
Clinical notes, excerpts from the book Antes and short essays on preventive nephrology, longevity, and integrative functional medicine. Content originally published on the Plenya blog, mirrored here in full.
Meditation that works in 8 minutes — and the kind that doesn't
The strongest evidence sits with 8-week MBSR. But consistent studies show that short daily practice, done with regularity, already shifts cortisol, blood pressure, and amygdala reactivity. The point is not the time — it is the consistency.
Loneliness as a cardiovascular risk factor — the data missing from the visit
The Holt-Lunstad meta-analysis showed that fragile social bonds increase mortality as much as smoking. The American Heart Association adopted the point in 2022. And almost no cardiology visit asks about it.
HRV: the discreet thermometer of your nervous system
Heart rate variability is not an app metric. It is a direct window into the balance of the autonomic nervous system — and persistent drops precede disease, overtraining, and burnout by weeks or months.
Burnout is not fatigue — it is a measurable neuroendocrine response
Tech-company partner, 49 years old, cried in his car after picking his daughter up from school. He said he was 'fine, just needed a vacation.' His salivary cortisol said something else. Burnout is not tiredness — it is an endocrine system asking for help in a language few physicians were trained to hear.
Content originally published on Plenya Blog. Each article here is a faithful version of the original, with canonical pointing to the source.
This content is educational and does not constitute medical prescription. Each case is unique — for individual evaluation and care, consult a physician.