To be well is to feel well and function well. It’s a simple idea according to international wellbeing research expert prof. dr. Meike Bartels (VU Amsterdam). But what does this mean when we examine it more closely? In short, no one size fits all. Life is complex, we all have our own peculiar interpretation of it, and it even changes as we age and experience new things. That’s why Meike emphasizes taking the time to know oneself as the first step in the journey towards wellbeing. Nonetheless, this is also a communal effort. For us to feel and function better, we need a paradigm shift. We need to embrace what makes us different, and scientific insights can help us do so. Combining data coming from genetic findings and modern tracking technologies, Meike aims to dive deeper into each person’s health to explore what feels better for each and every one of us. Ultimately, if you’re well, then you’ll contribute to other people’s well-being too. And what goes around, comes around. Everybody wins.  

Stress is complex and multifaceted and we all experience it in our daily lives. In this podcast we talk to various experts about stress. We talk about the latest developments in stress research and approach stress from various angles: physiology, emotion, cognition, behaviour and context. Stress Navigation is part of the 10-year research project Stress in Action. Marcos Ross is a PhD candidate at Amsterdam UMC and interviews our guests in the English episodes.