The Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Allow Exco Player content
This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.
I wake up at around 5am, naturally. I haven’t set an alarm regularly since before my children were born. I did have an Apple Watch for a while but it broke a few years ago and I never replaced it. What happened instead was more interesting, I became deeply curious about “interoception”. About actually listening to my body rather than outsourcing that to a device. That shift has probably taught me more about my own physiology than any wearable did.
“I became curious about ‘interoception’ — listening to my body rather than outsourcing that to a device”
I boil the kettle, sit with a mug of warm water and settle into the space I’ve set up in my house — a mat, blankets, red light therapy panel. I love to take advantage of those early morning alpha brain waves. There’s a quality of mind at 5am that I treasure. I feel creative, clear, unhurried. I avoid my phone, I write. Get ideas down. Then meditate, do a little mobility, movement or sometimes an active workout, finish with a short breathwork.
Leaning into the good life: Dr Jenna MacciochiRii SchroerI always eat breakfast with my twins. I’ve never bought cereal in my entire life as a parent. It’s porridge with different toppings or some combination of eggs. I’m Director of Science and Innovation at Ancient + Brave, so I understand supplement quality — the evidence, the formulations, what actually works. I am a less-is-more girl. My non-negotiables are True Creatine, True Magnesium and True Omegas. I also like CoQ10, ergothioneine and I do take collagen and hyaluronic acid.
I’m nearly 45 and in the best shape of my life. I eat three meals a day, nearly always cooked from scratch. I follow an omnivorous, anti-inflammatory pattern, lots of colour, good protein and healthy fats. I use a lot of beans and pulses because they’re nutritionally brilliant and I’m a single parent, so they’re also cheap. I don’t snack, I try to avoid UPFs and added sugars, and I cook in bulk when I can.
Food is one of my genuine pleasures. I’m obsessed with good extra virgin olive oil, and I drink green tea all morning. I focus on dietary pattern and quality, and I don’t get hung up on the small things. I love fish and seafood, a variety of veg, salads, and love hunting through recipe books for inspiration.
Dr Jenna Macciochi drinks green tea all morningRii SchroerI train in jiu-jitsu three times a week, which is probably my favourite thing in my life right now. It demands full presence. You genuinely cannot be in your head during jiu-jitsu. It’s like a complex puzzle to solve, and it’s fun to be a beginner as an adult.
I live in Brighton, which has a brilliant community sauna scene, and I love it; it’s where I go with friends to socialise. I’ll always try to combine it with a sea dip or cold plunge if I can. Cold and heat exposure have meaningful effects on immune regulation and stress inoculation, and it doesn’t have to be extreme.
Breathwork is my primary real-time anti-stress tool. I spent many years with an interest in breathwork until I eventually trained as a practitioner. I work across three domains: biomechanic, biochemistry and nervous system. I use it as a reset between moments, before a difficult conversation, when I feel overwhelmed. Meditation, for me, is a long-term future-proofing investment, it builds resilience over time. Breathwork is different. It offers that, too, but is also something I can use in real time, in the middle of a busy day, to shift how I feel almost immediately.
For sleep, I keep the basics consistent: regular timing, minimal screens in the evening and magnesium glycinate before bed. But having lived through more than six years of chronic insomnia after my twins were born, I learned that those foundations are necessary but not sufficient for good sleep. Sleep is not something you can force with perfect habits or the right supplements. It’s a reflection of the state of your nervous system.
My philosophy is consistency over perfection. Biology over trend. And, increasingly, soulspan, not just lifespan. I want to age with a sense of aliveness: present, capable, curious and still in a relationship with the world around me.
Read More
Dr Jenna Macciochi will be speaking at the Soul x Science by FUEGO event in London on May 16; soulxscience.com
Buy tickets here