Shawna Robins Of Third Spark On Why Keeping A Healthy Blood Sugar Level Will Help You in Every Part of Life
“Blood sugar regulation is, in my opinion, the absolute foundation of good health. If your blood sugar is unstable, everything is unstable — your hormones, your sleep, your brain function, your energy levels. But when you balance it, every system in your body benefits.”
I had the pleasure of talking with Shawna Robins. Shawna is a health and wellness expert specializing in sleep, hormone balance, and midlife well-being for women over 40. As the founder and CEO of Third Spark, a wellness community dedicated to empowering women in midlife and beyond, she has built a platform that combines education, coaching, and community support. A National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBHWC), functional nutritionist, and international best-selling author, Robins has devoted her career to helping women navigate the challenges of aging, perimenopause, and overall health.
Robins’ journey into the wellness field was shaped by a series of personal experiences. In her early 30s, she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a diagnosis that prompted her to reevaluate her lifestyle and health priorities. Not long after, she took on the role of caregiver for her father, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The experience of watching his health decline over a 12-year period deepened her interest in brain health, lifestyle medicine, and the impact of nutrition on long-term well-being. Later, in her late 40s, she experienced severe perimenopause symptoms, including insomnia, back pain, mood swings, anxiety, hot flashes, and weight gain. The combination of these personal health challenges fueled her pursuit of knowledge in nutrition, sleep science, and holistic wellness.
Seeking answers, Robins enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and later earned her National Board Certification in Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). Her studies reinforced the connections she had observed between sleep, nutrition, stress management, and hormonal health. She began coaching women facing similar struggles and developed a structured approach to midlife health — one that combined scientific research with practical, sustainable lifestyle changes.
In January 2024, she launched Third Spark, a membership-based community designed to support women through midlife transitions. The platform offers a self-guided six-module training program, bi-weekly live community calls, and resources focused on six key areas: sleep, hormones, sex drive, mindset, purpose, and energy. The philosophy behind Third Spark is centered on what Robins describes as the “self-love” spark, the transformation spark, and the “no-BS” spark — guiding principles that encourage women to take control of their health, reconnect with a supportive community, and embrace the aging process with confidence.
In addition to her coaching and leadership at Third Spark, Robins has established herself as an authority on sleep and women’s health through her writing and media contributions. She is the author of two international best-selling books: Powerful Sleep — Rest Deeply, Repair Your Brain and Restore Your Life and Irresistibly Healthy — Simple Strategies to Feel Vibrant, Alive, Healthy and Full of Energy Again. Her work has been featured in Thrive Global, Authority Magazine, and The Huffington Post, and she serves as a contributing writer for Authority Magazine, specializing in topics related to sleep and wellness in midlife.
Robins’ approach emphasizes lifestyle interventions over quick fixes, encouraging women to build sustainable habits that promote long-term well-being. She advocates for a science-backed but holistic approach, incorporating nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and community support as key pillars of health. Her work highlights the often-overlooked connection between sleep and overall wellness, particularly during midlife, when hormonal fluctuations can disrupt rest and impact mental and physical health.
Beyond her coaching and writing, Robins is actively involved in philanthropy. During Alzheimer’s and Brain Health Awareness Month in June, she donates all proceeds from Powerful Sleep to the Alzheimer’s Association, a cause that remains close to her heart given her father’s battle with the disease. She also serves on the Advisory Board of JourneyWoman, a global community for female solo travelers over 50, and leads wellness retreats aimed at providing women with hands-on education and support.
A resident of Santa Barbara, California, Robins lives with her husband, three children, and two pets. She enjoys hiking in nature, cooking at home with her family, and taking sunset walks on the beach. Through her work with Third Spark, her writing, and her public speaking engagements, she continues to advocate for women’s health, aiming to equip women with the knowledge and confidence to navigate midlife with vitality and purpose.
Yitzi: Shawna Robins, it’s an honor and a delight to talk to you again. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share a bit about your childhood and how you grew up?
Shawna: I grew up in Pasadena, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. I’m the oldest of three children — the oldest daughter — so there was a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. But it was great. Growing up in Los Angeles is something I appreciate, but I was also ready to leave because it’s such a big city. I felt a bit disconnected and needed more nature in my life. I wanted to hike more and be surrounded by the beauty of the ocean, which set me on a path to Seattle for college. After that, my husband and I moved to Maui, where we lived with our two small children for five years. Now, we’re back in Santa Barbara, where I live today.
Yitzi: Beautiful. So, tell us a bit about the career you currently have.
Shawna: I am a sleep expert, a national board-certified health and wellness coach, and a hormone health expert. I help women who struggle with sleep problems during midlife, which is a very multifaceted issue. Every woman has a unique set of factors that contribute to her sleep disturbances, so getting to the root of the problem can feel like peeling back the layers of an onion. It takes time, the right tools, and a personalized approach.
My program offers two options. One is a membership community for women who want a sense of connection with others going through similar struggles. It includes a self-paced learning academy, allowing them to go through the information at their own speed, plus weekly calls with coaches who can help them if they get stuck. The other option is one-on-one private coaching for women who need more direct accountability and regular check-ins with me to stay on track.
For many women, sleep issues begin in their late 30s or early 40s when hormonal changes start to happen. If sleep was already a challenge — whether due to having small children, balancing work and family, or other stressors — it often becomes even worse during this stage. And by their 50s and 60s, it can be completely debilitating.
That’s why my work focuses on not just community support but also education. Many women don’t know what to ask for when they see their doctors. Often, they’re prescribed an antidepressant or a prescription sleep aid, but many want a more holistic approach and don’t know where to start. When you’re chronically exhausted, it’s hard for your brain to function properly, and you end up in a fog. Even if the right solution is in front of you, it can be difficult to recognize because your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders.
That’s where I come in — not just as a source of support and accountability, but as someone who helps connect the dots. I provide the information they need so they can advocate for themselves and make informed choices. For some, that might mean a therapeutic or pharmaceutical approach, but for many, it’s about making lifestyle adjustments that allow their bodies to return to a healthy sleep pattern.
Yitzi: That’s amazing. So, tell us the story behind why you decided to make sleep and hormone wellness the focus of your career. Is there a personal background that led you to this?
Shawna: It all started when I lost my own sleep — for three years. I was already coaching women in perimenopause in my mid-40s, but I hadn’t quite reached that stage myself yet. Then, at 47, I dropped my son off at college for the first time, and that night, I woke up drenched in sweat from hot flashes. I remember thinking, 47? I’m too young for this, right?
But through my work, I was discovering that women were experiencing these symptoms even earlier — in their mid-to-late 30s. Some women, especially those with cancer diagnoses who go through chemotherapy, are forced into early menopause. It’s happening younger and younger, yet there’s still so little awareness around it.
I was completely shocked to find myself in perimenopause so suddenly. No one had talked to me about it — not my mother, my doctors, my sister, or my friends. I felt completely alone. And then, to go through three years of relentless insomnia? It was brutal. The irony was that I had already written a book called Powerful Sleep and was coaching women on sleep health. But here I was, completely exhausted, waking up four or five times a night, and I couldn’t figure out what to do.
Losing my own sleep forced me to take a deep dive into what truly happens in midlife. It’s a total game changer — the body, the mind, the spirit — everything shifts. And there’s a deep sense of grief that comes with it too. Whether a woman has had children or not, there’s this realization that the biological window for having a family has closed, and that transition carries a lot of unspoken emotions. I don’t think we talk about that enough, but it absolutely plays a role in the sleepless nights. Questions like Who am I now? What’s my purpose? start to surface. It’s a mental, physical, and emotional shift.
In my search for answers, I went to five different doctors — an endocrinologist, my general practitioner, a naturopath, a Chinese medicine doctor — you name it. But no one was looking at the big picture. Each doctor focused on one symptom at a time, whether it was heart palpitations, dry eyes, or insomnia. And that’s exactly what Naomi Watts talked about at Oprah’s Menopause Revolution event last week. She shared how she saw different doctors for different issues, but no one recognized that it was all connected — that these midlife changes go beyond just hormones. It’s a full-body transformation.
That’s what led me to focus on helping women through this stage. Because if you’re exhausted all the time, there’s no way you can show up as your best self in any area of your life. Reclaiming your sleep is about so much more than just feeling rested — it allows you to be fully present, productive, and engaged in the things that matter most. That’s what I want to offer women.
We need women to be their strongest, most vibrant selves right now, and it has become my mission to help them sleep again so they can show up as the powerful forces of light and change that this world needs.
Yitzi: Beautiful. You have an amazing career, and you’ve worked with so many different people in various places and contexts. Can you share one or two stories that stand out most from your professional life?
Shawna: That’s a tough one, Yitzi. But one client immediately comes to mind. I was so impressed with her.
I worked with her privately — she lives in New York and is a highly successful, driven, Type A perfectionist. She’s hyper-controlling, much like I am. At the top of her career, she was suffering from such severe insomnia that she was only sleeping about 20 minutes a night. When we started working together, she was in her early 40s and completely debilitated by her lack of sleep. She didn’t know why it was happening or how to fix it. Like so many women, she went from doctor to doctor, only to be handed prescription after prescription — benzodiazepines, Xanax, SSRIs. There were no options outside of pharmaceuticals, and she just refused. That route wasn’t what she wanted for herself.
When she found me, we worked together for about six months. I watched her go from being utterly depleted — struggling to do her job, mother her child, and maintain her relationship — to making small but powerful lifestyle changes that transformed her sleep. She couldn’t see her friends, exercise, or take care of her mental health before. But now, after all her hard work, she’s sleeping eight hours a night — not every night, but two to three times a week, she gets between seven and eight hours, which is a huge improvement.
What I’m most proud of is that we built a toolkit for her to use when she has off nights. So many women experience intense anxiety when they get one or two bad nights of sleep. It’s that panicked thought of, Oh no, is this happening again? Am I going back down that road? Sometimes, just going to bed creates anxiety for people who have struggled with chronic insomnia. So, part of the work is helping them develop what I call a positive sleep mindset — teaching them how to pull themselves out of that fear and not let it spiral.
For me, the most rewarding part is working with women who are truly dedicated to showing up for themselves after spending years showing up for everyone else. It’s an honor to support women who are willing to dig deep, do the work, and commit to taking care of themselves — not just in the short term but for the long haul.
Yitzi: Now, let’s move into the main part of our discussion — why keeping your blood sugar low can improve every aspect of your life. Before we begin, for the sake of our readers, can you share why you’re an expert on maintaining healthy blood sugar levels?
Shawna: Blood sugar regulation is deeply personal for me. I was hypoglycemic for many years, and experiencing those blood sugar swings was incredibly uncomfortable. I just assumed it was something I had to live with. My grandmother had type 2 diabetes, and my mother was hypoglycemic, so I grew up being told to start my mornings with a glass of orange juice and to eat every two to three hours. I always carried snacks in my purse, but they were quick hits of glucose — candy bars, high-sugar granola bars, or carbohydrate-heavy foods. All of that only made my blood sugar irregularities worse.
One of my wake-up moments came when I was out hiking with my kids. I had packed two granola bars for them — just straight-up sugary, processed bars — but I didn’t bring anything for myself. After they ate them, I realized I was in serious trouble. I started seeing spots, felt like I was going to pass out, and panicked. I was deep in the woods with two small children — how was I going to take care of them and get back to the car? It was terrifying. That was the moment I knew something had to change.
I also started recognizing how much my blood sugar swings were impacting my mood. I had terrible mood swings, and I would get so hangry that my family was afraid of me. I’d snap at them, yell, and become difficult to be around. My husband would always carry food with him just to manage my moods. That’s when I truly understood how detrimental this issue had become in my life.
So, I changed my diet. I focused on eating more fibrous vegetables, cutting down on processed carbs, and switching to complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes. I incorporated healthier fats — avocados, nuts, and full-fat dairy. I grew up in a household where everything was low-fat because the doctors told my parents that fat made you fat. We drank nonfat milk, ate dry cereal, nonfat yogurt, even nonfat ice cream — all of which were packed with sugar. It wasn’t until I shifted to full-fat options, like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, that I noticed a real difference. My blood sugar stabilized, my mood evened out, my energy levels improved, my sleep got better, and even my skin looked healthier.
Then, my father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 62. I was sitting with him in the neurologist’s office when the doctor said, You don’t have any genetic markers for this. This is a lifestyle disease — years of eating sugar, years of exhaustion, years of not exercising or sleeping properly. That’s what led to this.
That moment changed everything for me. It connected all the dots. My family had been eating a certain way, living a certain lifestyle, and I had unknowingly followed in those footsteps. Now, I had to make a different choice — not just for my own health, but to support my father through his 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Blood sugar regulation is, in my opinion, the absolute foundation of good health. Period. If your blood sugar is unstable, everything is unstable — your hormones, your sleep, your brain function, your energy levels. But when you balance it, every system in your body benefits. That’s why I’m so passionate about this topic.
Yitzi: Let’s dig deeper into this. Most people associate monitoring blood sugar levels with diabetes. But even for those who don’t have diabetes, can you explain how blood sugar affects overall health?
Shawna: Absolutely. Every time you eat, your pancreas releases insulin. The amount of insulin released depends on what you eat. When you’re tired and not sleeping well, your brain doesn’t get the deep cleaning it needs during sleep. A tired brain craves a quick hit of glucose, so it signals your body to reach for carbs and sugar.
This is why so many people experience an afternoon slump. Maybe you didn’t eat the best lunch, or maybe you’re just running low on energy. You feel exhausted, so you grab something sugary or carb-heavy for a quick boost. But that creates a negative feedback loop in the body. This happens whether you have diabetes or not.
If you’re not prioritizing protein, high-fiber vegetables, and fruits like berries, leafy greens, broccoli, and cauliflower — foods that help stabilize blood sugar — your pancreas has to work harder. The order in which you eat your food matters. If you eat fiber first, then protein, and save your carbohydrates, sweets, or wine for last, your gut starts breaking down fiber first. That helps keep your blood sugar stable and signals to the pancreas that it doesn’t need to release a huge amount of insulin.
On the other hand, if you eat sugar or refined carbs on an empty stomach, your blood sugar spikes quickly, and what goes up must come down. That crash is what leads to energy slumps, mood swings, and more cravings — creating a rollercoaster effect that increases inflammation in the body.
Chronic blood sugar spikes and crashes can lead to serious long-term health problems. Neurodegenerative diseases, for example — Alzheimer’s is now being referred to as type 3 diabetes because it’s linked to insulin resistance in the brain. In fact, when my father passed away, his death certificate listed Type 3 Diabetes as the cause of death. That was a wake-up call for me.
Even if you don’t have diabetes, unstable blood sugar can contribute to cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, heart disease, and other serious conditions. Keeping your blood sugar stable benefits every system in your body — your brain, your heart, your hormones, your metabolism — and even improves your sleep. So regardless of whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, blood sugar regulation is key to overall health.
Yitzi: Amazing. What are some common symptoms that people don’t recognize when their blood sugar is out of whack?
Shawna: I would say needing to eat often and feeling that sense of urgency — like, “Oh my God, I have to eat right now.” When your blood sugar drops, you get dizzy, faint, shaky, and sometimes even sweaty. Your body might heat up, and you might start sweating a lot. All of these are signs that your blood sugar is spiking high and then crashing.
The best thing to do — unlike what I was told, which was to grab some sort of carbohydrate or sugar — is to get some protein in your system. You want to reach for some nuts. If you eat meat, have a piece of turkey. Or you can have half an avocado — something that stabilizes your blood sugar by giving you healthy fats. Even one or two spoonfuls of nut butter — peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter — can be a great go-to.
Ideally, you don’t let yourself get to that point, but if you do, you want to have something like that on hand so you can stabilize your blood sugar quickly. For me, I feel really spacey. Like I said, I see black spots. When it happens while I’m driving, it’s very scary. I have to pull over, so now I make sure I always have nuts in my car. That way, I can just sit, eat a handful, and get back to normal.
You also want to make sure you’re staying well-hydrated. That’s a really important part of keeping your blood sugar stable. A lot of people, especially women, just don’t drink enough water. So making sure you’re hydrated is key too.
Yitzi: Amazing. Can you discuss a little more about how blood sugar fluctuations can contribute to stress, anxiety, and poor decision-making?
Shawna: Yeah, they’re all tied together, right? When your blood sugar levels are irregular, you experience mood swings because your brain isn’t getting the fuel it needs. Your brain relies on long-chain fatty acids, which are found in eggs, meat, fish, avocados, nuts, coconut oil, and MCT oil. These are all things the brain uses for fuel.
If you’re just giving your brain sugar, it’s like the difference between running a car on gasoline versus natural gas. There’s a lot more pollution and toxicity with gasoline. Sugar is the same way — it’s a “dirty” fuel for the body. But there are cleaner-burning fuels, like healthy fats, that help feed the brain so it can function properly.
Another thing I see a lot, especially with women, is waking up between 3:00 and 4:00 am, just staring at the ceiling. When I ask how much alcohol they drink at night, it’s often one to four glasses of wine — before dinner, during dinner, or after. When I have them taper that down or eliminate it, the problem often disappears. That’s because alcohol has so much sugar that it spikes blood sugar at night. Then, when blood sugar crashes in the middle of the night, it wakes the body up.
So it’s really important to be mindful of all the different ways blood sugar irregularity can negatively impact your body.
Yitzi: Amazing. So what are some simple, practical dietary changes that people can implement to help maintain balanced blood sugar levels?
Shawna: Well, my favorites actually come from The Glucose Revolution. I love that book — I think it’s wonderful. I use it myself, I use it with my clients, and I always recommend it. A couple of key things the author touches on in the book really stand out to me.
The first one is stacking your foods, which I already mentioned. When your plate comes, you start by eating all your fibrous vegetables first — your broccoli, spinach, carrots, whatever is on your plate. Ideally, half your plate should be fibrous vegetables at both lunch and dinner. Then, you eat your protein. And finally, you eat your carbohydrates, whether that’s rice, potatoes, bread, or whatever you like. It’s not that carbohydrates are bad — it’s just that some are better than others. If you’re going to indulge in a piece of bread, that’s fine, but you want to eat the other things first. That way, digestion is already in progress, and by the time the bread, rice, or potatoes hit your system, your blood sugar has had a chance to stabilize. This helps prevent big spikes. So the number one easiest thing you can do is simply stack your foods in the right order.
The second thing I love is moving your body after you eat. Even just 15 to 20 minutes of light exercise — walking your dog, walking around the block, using a treadmill or stationary bike if you have one — can make a huge difference. If you don’t have equipment, that’s fine. You can do yoga, lift weights, use resistance bands, or even just do jumping jacks. Some of my clients do mountain climbers and stretches in short intervals for 10 minutes. It doesn’t have to be an intense workout, but moving your body after eating can significantly help keep blood sugar levels stable.
The third tip I really like is adding apple cider vinegar before a meal that includes something sweet. If it’s a birthday cake or even a glass of wine, you can drink a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in 8 to 10 ounces of water beforehand. This helps keep your blood sugar stable during and after the meal.
So to sum it up:
- Stack your food — eat fibrous vegetables first, protein and healthy fats second, and carbohydrates last.
- Move your body after eating for 15 to 20 minutes if possible.
- Drink apple cider vinegar before meals that are high in sugar or refined carbs.
Beyond diet, managing stress is also crucial. Having a daily stress-management practice — whether it’s deep breathing, meditation, prayer, walking in nature, gratitude journaling, listening to music, or stretching — can have a positive impact on blood sugar levels.
And of course, prioritizing sleep is huge. A lot of people don’t realize how foundational sleep is. Many people feel tired at 9:00 or 9:30 but think, Oh, I can’t go to bed yet — it’s too early! They push past their natural sleep window, stay up too late watching TV, working, or doing other things, and before they know it, they’re only getting four or five hours of sleep. That’s not enough. You want to prioritize seven to nine uninterrupted hours of sleep. It’s really, really important.
Yitzi: Beyond diet and managing food intake, how can lifestyle habits like exercise, stress management, and sleep affect blood sugar?
Shawna: They’re all connected. Nothing exists in a vacuum. If your sleep is bad, your blood sugar is going to be bad. If your stress is high, your sleep will be affected, and that will impact your blood sugar. It’s all interrelated.
I always tell my clients to start with the “low-hanging fruit” — the thing they know they can easily tackle. Maybe it’s stress management, maybe it’s exercise, or maybe it’s diet. Pick whatever feels easiest and most sustainable for you, and start there. Once you make progress in one area, you’ll see that everything else starts to improve over time because it’s all interconnected.
Yitzi: Can you talk a bit about intermittent fasting and how it affects blood sugar regulation?
Shawna: Yeah, I’d be happy to! There’s so much data behind intermittent fasting and its effects on blood sugar and sleep. It was actually one of the key tools I used to help myself recover from hypoglycemia — along with shifting my diet, doing small micro workouts after meals, using apple cider vinegar, and then layering in intermittent fasting.
That said, intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone. I always recommend people talk to their doctor before trying it. But the basic idea is to start with 12 hours of no food, which is easiest to do while you’re sleeping. You shouldn’t be hungry while you’re in bed, and going to sleep on an empty stomach can actually improve sleep quality, so it’s a win-win.
For example, if you finish dinner at 7:00 p.m., you wouldn’t eat again until 7:00 a.m. — just water and, if needed, black coffee in the morning. When I first started, it was hard. I could only go 10 hours, then I worked my way up — 11 hours, then 12. Now I can do 15 hours, and today I actually did just that.
When I break my fast, I always start with protein and healthy fats. This morning, I had two small chicken sausages and half an avocado. That holds me over until lunchtime when I’ll have a salad or leftovers. Doing this has really helped my body heal my pancreas and improve my insulin sensitivity. Now, when my pancreas releases insulin, my body responds more efficiently instead of being overloaded with constant insulin spikes. Before, my body didn’t know how to handle it — it was all over the place, up and down, constantly trying to regulate blood sugar.
I’ve trained my body to handle 15-hour fasts, and sometimes I’ll even do a 24-hour fast. Many cultures and religions practice a dinner-to-dinner fast, which I think is a great way — maybe once or twice a month — to support gut healing, improve sleep, and regulate blood sugar.
On those longer fasts, I’ll drink bone broth, plenty of water, and herbal teas. I also make it a very restful, mindful day. I’ll read, journal, and allow my body to fully reset. It’s not a day for heavy workouts or intense work — it’s about giving my body a chance to repair itself. When you’re not constantly digesting food, your body can focus on healing.
For women, though, it’s important to time intermittent fasting with their cycle. In the second half of the cycle, when the body needs to build progesterone, it’s actually important to nourish the body rather than fast. The first half of the cycle, however, is more supportive of intermittent fasting. If you’re postmenopausal, you can fast whenever works best for you. And for men, fasting works differently than it does for women, so there are a lot of nuances to consider.
I think the key is to educate yourself, experiment, and figure out what works best for your body.
Yitzi: At a very practical level, how does a person monitor their blood sugar levels?
Shawna: Well, I love continuous blood sugar monitors. You can wear one on your arm and sync it with an app on your phone to track your levels in real-time.
What makes your blood sugar spike, Yitzi, might not affect mine the same way. It’s not one-size-fits-all. The more data you have on what your body responds to — both positively and negatively — the better. It helps you figure out the best timing for your meals, how stress affects you, the right type of exercise, how much sleep you need, and which foods make you feel your best. That kind of insight is really powerful.
The good news is that continuous glucose monitors don’t require a prescription — you can buy them over the counter. They’re not cheap, though. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, insurance may cover them, but if you’re someone like me — who was on the cusp of diabetes — it would be an out-of-pocket expense. That said, I think it’s completely worth it.
A lot of people already invest in sleep trackers or fitness trackers, and the price is in a similar range. The difference is that a glucose monitor gives you incredibly valuable data that can help you make better health decisions.
Yitzi: Amazing. When people think about blood sugar levels, they often assume, I can never have candy again. I can never have cookies again. What’s your advice for that?
Shawna: Well, I’m a big believer in the 80/20 rule — 80% of the time, you do your best, and 20% of the time, you’ve got to live a little. It’s really important. Trying to be perfect all the time can be overwhelming and, for most people, impossible to sustain. If you’re too strict, you’ll eventually start rebelling against your own rules around sugar.
I saw this with my grandmother, who had type 2 diabetes. She would count out five M&M’s and leave them on her counter. After dinner — after eating her vegetables, meat, and whatever else was on her plate — she’d have a small glass of wine and then allow herself those five M&M’s. She didn’t do it every night, just a couple of times a week, and she looked forward to it. That approach helped her keep her diabetes in check without needing insulin, and she lived to be 96 years old.
I think there’s a lot of wisdom in that. Finding a balance that’s sustainable is key. It’s okay to have a treat — maybe once or twice a week — so you can enjoy the things you love without feeling deprived.
Yitzi: Amazing. This is our aspirational question that we ask in all our interviews. Shauna, because of your great work and the platform you’ve built, you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, what would that be?
Shawna: It would be to help women reclaim their sleep. Women are chronically exhausted, and anything I can do to help them feel like they’re not alone is so important. One in four women globally struggles with insomnia, and this isn’t just a first-world issue — it’s a female issue.
I want women to know that they’re not alone, that there are resources available, and that they can advocate for themselves. There are small but powerful changes they can make in their daily lives to support better sleep. And when women are well-rested, they bring leadership, power, community, and collaboration to the world. That, to me, is the most important thing.
Yitzi: Shauna, how can our readers learn more about your work? How can they engage with your services and support you?
Shawna: My business is Third Spark because I believe midlife is the third spark that women have. Now, women can live 30+ years past menopause, and we’re one of the first generations to have that opportunity. I want women to live with vibrancy, energy, passion, and purpose.
My membership website is thirdsparkhealth.com, and that’s also my Instagram and Facebook handle: Third Spark Health. On LinkedIn, you can find me under my name, Shawna McKinley Robins. I also have a podcast on YouTube called Third Spark Podcast.
Yitzi: Shawna, it’s been such an honor and a delight to talk with you. I look forward to sharing this with our readers.
Shawna: Thank you. I really appreciate it!
Shawna Robins Of Third Spark On Why Keeping A Healthy Blood Sugar Level Will Help You in Every Part… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.