5HT: 5 Healthyish Things, including Queen Latifah and Finnish saunas

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Last week, while in NYC, I treated myself to a robot massage 🤖 at Aescape. The idea: Step into a private room, lie on a massage table, get a body scan, and then let a pair of robotic arms 🦾 go to work in a personalized massage. You get to control everything from an iPad console—pressure, intensity, even music and lighting. Best part: No small talk! 

But here’s the rub: unfortunately, the massage felt like the robot was just pushing my back, hammies, and thighs in a pre-set pattern. It never felt personalized or intuitive. When it hit a knot or tight spot, it didn’t adjust, just kept plowing through its programmed pattern. At times, it even felt a little unsafe 😬. All I could think was, what if it doesn’t stop pushing? Yes, you have a console to control it, but I could see how people could get hurt—in part because I didn’t feel it was really responding to my body’s aches and pains. 

To be fair, it does look cool, and I get why hotels and gyms (I tried it at Equinox Columbus Circle) are excited to add them to their list of amenities. They’re futuristic, low-maintenance, and always on schedule. The iPad-like control is neat and you can change intensity or view calming landscapes.

But until there’s a next level of development and some dope AI advancements (I can see it), sorry robots—your massages are not for me. For now, Aescape feels more like a novelty than a replacement for human hands. (And turns out I don’t love every wellness experience I try, who would have thought. 😆)

Let’s talk about the original longevity hack: the Finnish sauna. 

Okay, so a Finnish sauna is basically a simple wooden room heated to 70-100°C (158-212°F) 😮‍💨. The dry heat comes from stones, but toss on a ladle of water and you get a burst of steam (called löyly), the hallmark 🤌 of the Finnish sauna experience. 

The Finns have been sweating it out in saunas for centuries, likeee as far back as 7,000 BC. And saunas weren’t just for chilling out, but for healing. As the old Finnish saying goes, “Better one hazel grouse in the fist than ten on the branch.” Wait, not that one. I mean: “If tar , vodka, or the sauna won’t help, then the disease is fatal.” 😅

Turns out, modern science also backs up the hype. Case in point: A study we covered in my Alzheimer’s Special Report found men who hit the sauna 4-7x/week had a 65% lower (!) risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to once-a-week users. (You better believe I sent this to my wife as Exhibit A in my at-home sauna campaign.)

The science on saunas is actually absurd—but before we get into it, a few fun facts:

Unlike some trendy wellness interventions (looking at you face taping), sauna use has decades of Finnish research behind it—showing regular sessions can lower:

Incredible, right? These studies may be Finnish, but it’s hard to imagine the benefits stop at the Nordic border. (Tbf, we do need more research on women, since most of these were on middle-aged men—classic. 🙄)

And while Finnish saunas are a media darling, they aren’t the only way to sweat it out. There’s also infrared saunas, electric saunas, and wet saunas, oh my! I’ll get into all of these (and the science behind ‘em) in my next Special Report on hot/cold therapy. I’ll also dig into how cultures around the world have made sweating a ritual—think Turkish hammams, Russian banyas, Korean jjimjilbangs (I swear this is what they’re really called), temazcals in Mexico and Guatemala, and Native American sweat lodges. Yup, it’s gonna get Hot in Herre. 🔥

In the meantime, I’ll continue to make the case to my wife that an at-home sauna is not just for funsies, but actually deeply good for my health. I’ll let you know how that works out. 😝

Last month, I talked about Serena WIlliams and how opening up about her GLP-1 experience and partnering with Ro was a seismic moment for weight management. Now, Queen Latifah’s teaming up with WeightWatchers to talk menopause. Annnd yep, I’ve got thoughts. 

Celebrity health spokespeople aren’t new, but they are helpful in knocking back stigma. And menopause still sorely needs that. In a global survey of 13K individuals, 59% (!) believe menopause is a taboo topic people are uncomfortable discussing. Another showed 45% of women didn’t know the distinction between perimenopause and menopause. Not ideal. 

So now it looks like WW is entering the conversation, and I gotta say, I’m surprised at the direction WW came back with 🤔. I first wrote about WW a year ago (fun fact: I actually used WW back when I was a big kid to lose weight), and later wrote about them when they announced bankruptcy. Back then, I thought someone might buy the brand and reboot it as a lifestyle-first company built on its 1,000+ meeting spots. I did not have menopause on my bingo card.

Look, I LOVE Queen Latifah (doesn’t everyone), but I don’t love this focus for WW. ​It doesn’t seem remotely authentic that a brand like WW is getting into HRT. To think people would trust them over Midi only works if they’ve never heard of Midi. Feels like they’re just chasing another fast-growing market like they did with GLP-1s (look how that turned out). I’m skeptical.

Nonetheless, it’s always great to see more voices in the menopause conversation. Earlier this week, Dr. Kathleen Jordan (Midi’s Chief Medical Officer) reminded me only a tiny fraction of women take HRT that should be, basically—so more work to do.

When I’m not writing 5HT, I spend a lot of time helping health brands like Parsley Health, Midi, and BetterHelp figure out how to actually reach the people who need them. (Turns out, marketing is kind of a big deal if you want people to get healthier. 🫠)

That’s why I was excited when my good friends at Matchnode, a performance marketing company dedicated to digital health brands I recommend to everyone, launched the Marketing Digital Health Podcast. I was able to be involved from the very start and—even if you’re not a “marketer”—here’s why getting this behind-the-scenes look should matter to you: 👉

Hosted by Matchnode’s amazing Chris Madden, the episodes pull back the curtain on the messy, expensive, and often waiting-room slow 😅 world of digital health growth. And by understanding how these companies market determines whether you (or someone you love 🫶) discover the right doctor, treatment, or service at the right time. (Something I’m very passionate about.)

From brand positioning to even team building, the podcast takes a comprehensive look at how digital health companies actually grow. Each episode features expert takes from folks at leading brands like Bicycle Health, Hyperice, and Northwestern Medicine—and many include friends like Midi’s Joanna Strober, Verbose’s Phi Pham, and Ours Privacy’s Jessica Holton + Adam Putterman. The first episode gets right into it—talking about why fixing healthcare in the U.S. also means fixing how people find healthcare.

Oh—and did I mention I’m in a bunch of episodes too? 🙋Yep, I got to riff on what I’ve learned building and advising health companies—and why content (yes, what you’re reading right now) is often the secret sauce for building trust.

So, yeah, consider this your referral to the Marketing Digital Health Podcast. It’s the rare business podcast that lives up to its ambitions—informative, entertaining, and worth a listen 🎧... even if you’ve never once said the phrase “performance marketing.” Like 5HT, new episodes drop every Thursday.

Every year, I’m on the lookout for new earbuds. I’ve tried a zillionnn kinds (even ones made of mushroom), but I’ve always crawled back to these lame, basic ones 🙄. Until now.

For the last 4 weeks, I’ve been testing Ozlo Sleepbuds, and I’m impressed. Pricey, yes. Worth it (so far)? Also yes. The silicone tips (which come in four sizes) are soft yet sturdy, block noise surprisingly well, and have built-in white noise to mask anything that sneaks through. They’re like AirPods, but designed for sleep. The best part? The in-ear personal alarm. My wife (who does not share my 5am wake-up routine) is very grateful for that one. 😂🙏

Built by three ex-Bose engineers, Ozlo Sleepbuds come in a sleek, circular charging case (with a new “Smart Case” on the way that’ll monitor the noise, light, and temp in your room while it charges on your nightstand—very cool!). My goal lately has been to double my restorative sleep 😴, and these have officially become part of my evening protocol. (To confirm, I'm not affiliated with the brand. Just genuinely dig the product. Though I may make some nominal affiliate percentage if you click the link above, I'm in no way influenced by the pennies I make from Amazon's affiliate program LOL.)

Okay, you now know what I’m curious about—but here’s what everyone else is Googling, according to a few trusty platforms.

Heads up: We’ll feature these 1/month. If you’ve got a healthyish offer our readers would love, hit reply!

👋 Who are you again? I’m Derek Flanzraich—founder of two venture-backed startups in Greatist (👍) and Ness (👎). I’ve worked with brands like GoodRx, Parsley, Midi, Ro, NOCD, and Peloton. I now run Healthyish Content, a premium health content & SEO agency (among other things).

Every Thursday, I share 5 health things I feel strongly about so you can live healthyish. (Disclaimer: I’m more your friend with health benefits. None of this is medical advice.) 

And oh, you also feel strongly about some health things? Hit reply—I’d love to hear it.