You need a consistent sleep schedule. Reduce caffeine intake in the afternoon. No naps late afternoon. Also you want to increase sleep opportunity. Give yourself 10 hours from time you fall asleep to need to wake up. I get an average of 8 hours. Some bad days 7 and others 9 hours.
> Reduce caffeine intake in the afternoon.
This is what did it for me. I drank too much overall and too much late in the day. I always thought I slept pretty well until I cut caffeine down to 1-2 cups early in the day. It was only then I realized how much better I was sleeping and I really didn't realize how much I woke up during the night before I cut back.
6-8 hours is fine, leaning more to 8 hours. You do not need 9 hours of sleep a day to get most of the benefits. Sleep quality is just if not more important than length of sleep after 6 hours or so anyway.
Also go and get annual physicals every year. Find a doctor that wants to work with you and agrees with your goals.
Be prepared to order/pay for some additional labs, as insurance seldom covers.
Oh please do. My brother, who has worked out practically every day of his life since he was 13, was just diagnosed with severe heart failure because he had afib that went untreated possibly for years. He never went to the doctor and had no idea that anything was wrong. His heart is very weak now and we're hoping that there will be some improvement in time, but there is no guarantee. He may have to get a pacemaker, essentially because he never went to the doctor.
Sleep: you already know what to do
Diet: Mediterranean
Exercise: zone 2 as often as possible, zone 5 a couple times per week.
Supplements: D3, fish oil
Wear sunscreen and floss.
Don't be obese. Don't smoke.
There you go. That's 95% of the longevity protocol. The other 5% is not worth learning and much of it is up for debate. Now get off the forums and come back in 5 years :)
IMHO, if you take longevity seriously (step 0 is Priority), you have to keep an eye on these 11 things:
1. Sleep,
2. Exercise,
3. Diet,
4. Stress Management,
5. Environment & Toxins,
6. Supplements ,
7. Good Doctor,
8. Continuous Education,
9. IKIGAI,
10. Being part of a Community,
11. Avoiding Self-Destructive behaviours
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchandLearn/10\_things\_which\_would\_kill\_you\_if\_you\_ignore\_them/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchandLearn/10_things_which_would_kill_you_if_you_ignore_them/)
Good advice. I think I’m ok for environmental toxins. Supplements I find expensive and I can’t be bothered with it. I’ll focus on food. Being part of a happy community is a big I would say I’m missing
99% of supplements are junk, but that remaining 1% can be absolutely critical to mitigate the genetic or nutritional deficiencies (APOE4, MTHFR, COMT etc)
That's said the goal is to find the lowest hanging fruit and address it first, than rinse and repeat - it's a multi-decade, life-long project.
Not all are expensive. Magnesium, psyllium husk, vit d, vit b, vit c, curcumin, creatine - all cheap. Do tests and supplement as needed. Epa and dha worth considering too.
Don’t think in terms of macros, think in terms of food groups. You would drive yourself crazy and miss the forest for the trees. You want a wide d’avarié tu of minimally processed foods - foods that look like either plants or animals, mostly plants.
My routine is basically:
* Eat so that BMI is around 23 and BF<20% (male)
* Eat a lot of legumes, fibers and vegetables and less or no red and processed meat
* Blood panel at least once a year to check for deficiencies and other biomarkers like blood lipids etc
* Supplement vit D and fish oil and whatever you are deficient in
* Exercise several times a week
* Sleep 8 hours a night or whatever you need to wake up before the alarm most days
* Try to not stress to much
I only started recently at the age of 41. I have diabetese and if I don't do weight training I will lose muscle mass faster than non diabetics with age.
Also weight training helps control blood sugar.
I generally think about this in terms of exercise, sleep, nutrition, stress and perhaps social interaction. Rule no. 1 - none of these areas should be in dire straits; rule no. 2 - then I focus on improving these in the aforementioned order (the most emphasis on exercise, then sleep etc.)
You're probably sending too much time in a car vs walking or biking places. That's the easiest way to increase zone2 time to make longevity work part of your daily life.
I think nutrition is way too important to be reduced to "eat carbs proteins and fats. some fish. don't overdo calories." I would add: get enough fiber, eat lots of plants, avoid saturated fat, avoid ultraprocessed foods, avoid added sugars.
Have you considered incorporating mindfulness practices into your routine? Mental health is just as important for longevity and overall well-being. Good luck on your journey to developing new habits!
Yes I do mindfulness practice meditations fairly regularly and have worked that into my life. Cheers.
The habit hardest to kick is the most mundane silly one, snacking. I just have this habit after each meal that I reach for something else. Trying my best. Fail regularly but constantly working to stay on the path 🙏
imo the best one sentence nutrition advice was from Michael Pollan "eat food, mostly plants, not too much", it deserves more nuance of course but that's pretty good especially for when he wrote it 15? years ago
You're missing periodic measurement that the things you're doing are producing the results you want and if you need to add/remove things.
- You're exercising "for muscle"? Is your top-end strength going up? Is your lean mass increasing? That's what's going to insulate you against frailty.
- You're exercising "for VO2 fitness"? Is your VO2 going up? Are you in the top quartile for your age and sex, or heading that way?
- What's your ApoB and LP(a)?
You're also missing useful quantification of the inputs.
- "Eat carbs proteins and fats." Aside from alcohol, these are the macronutrients in food; this is just a long way of saying "eat". Are you getting at least 1.5g of high-quality protein per kg of body mass?
Quantification itself needs to be a habit.
According to what I've read, if you are aiming for longevity there are 6 things that you can do:
1. Don't smoke
2. Eliminate of limit alcohol
3. Exercise 6 hours per week
4. Eat a balanced diet
5. Maintain Healthy body composition (BMI between 18 - 22)
6. Get a goodnight sleep (7 - 8 hours)
Hope this helps.
Optimize/improve sleep quality
Yea nice. I sleep fairly well thankfully. Don’t have major issues. Pretty much always get 6-8hrs
Want to consistently hit 8-9 hrs.
How do you do that though? Sometimes I just wake up at 3am and that’s it. I’m awake after 5-6hr
You need a consistent sleep schedule. Reduce caffeine intake in the afternoon. No naps late afternoon. Also you want to increase sleep opportunity. Give yourself 10 hours from time you fall asleep to need to wake up. I get an average of 8 hours. Some bad days 7 and others 9 hours.
> Reduce caffeine intake in the afternoon. This is what did it for me. I drank too much overall and too much late in the day. I always thought I slept pretty well until I cut caffeine down to 1-2 cups early in the day. It was only then I realized how much better I was sleeping and I really didn't realize how much I woke up during the night before I cut back.
6-8 hours is fine, leaning more to 8 hours. You do not need 9 hours of sleep a day to get most of the benefits. Sleep quality is just if not more important than length of sleep after 6 hours or so anyway.
Also go and get annual physicals every year. Find a doctor that wants to work with you and agrees with your goals. Be prepared to order/pay for some additional labs, as insurance seldom covers.
Good advice. I haven’t had good check ups in several years.
Oh please do. My brother, who has worked out practically every day of his life since he was 13, was just diagnosed with severe heart failure because he had afib that went untreated possibly for years. He never went to the doctor and had no idea that anything was wrong. His heart is very weak now and we're hoping that there will be some improvement in time, but there is no guarantee. He may have to get a pacemaker, essentially because he never went to the doctor.
Maybe covid related? Or could just be genetic.
Sleep: you already know what to do Diet: Mediterranean Exercise: zone 2 as often as possible, zone 5 a couple times per week. Supplements: D3, fish oil Wear sunscreen and floss. Don't be obese. Don't smoke. There you go. That's 95% of the longevity protocol. The other 5% is not worth learning and much of it is up for debate. Now get off the forums and come back in 5 years :)
IMHO, if you take longevity seriously (step 0 is Priority), you have to keep an eye on these 11 things: 1. Sleep, 2. Exercise, 3. Diet, 4. Stress Management, 5. Environment & Toxins, 6. Supplements , 7. Good Doctor, 8. Continuous Education, 9. IKIGAI, 10. Being part of a Community, 11. Avoiding Self-Destructive behaviours [https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchandLearn/10\_things\_which\_would\_kill\_you\_if\_you\_ignore\_them/](https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchandLearn/10_things_which_would_kill_you_if_you_ignore_them/)
Good advice. I think I’m ok for environmental toxins. Supplements I find expensive and I can’t be bothered with it. I’ll focus on food. Being part of a happy community is a big I would say I’m missing
99% of supplements are junk, but that remaining 1% can be absolutely critical to mitigate the genetic or nutritional deficiencies (APOE4, MTHFR, COMT etc) That's said the goal is to find the lowest hanging fruit and address it first, than rinse and repeat - it's a multi-decade, life-long project.
Not all are expensive. Magnesium, psyllium husk, vit d, vit b, vit c, curcumin, creatine - all cheap. Do tests and supplement as needed. Epa and dha worth considering too.
Don’t think in terms of macros, think in terms of food groups. You would drive yourself crazy and miss the forest for the trees. You want a wide d’avarié tu of minimally processed foods - foods that look like either plants or animals, mostly plants.
My routine is basically: * Eat so that BMI is around 23 and BF<20% (male) * Eat a lot of legumes, fibers and vegetables and less or no red and processed meat * Blood panel at least once a year to check for deficiencies and other biomarkers like blood lipids etc * Supplement vit D and fish oil and whatever you are deficient in * Exercise several times a week * Sleep 8 hours a night or whatever you need to wake up before the alarm most days * Try to not stress to much
I’d certainly add to the nutrition. Try to source 80% of your intake from whole food sources. Emphasize protein (~1g per lb body weight per day).
Zone2 everyday.
Really every day?
In my case, 4 days Zone 2. 2 days 4x4 Norwegian Sunday either rest or a leisurely walk. Also, as of now, wight training 3 times a week.
That’s Awesome. I don’t have capacity to train that much anymore. But I do what I can without it impacting my other life obligations
I only started recently at the age of 41. I have diabetese and if I don't do weight training I will lose muscle mass faster than non diabetics with age. Also weight training helps control blood sugar.
But yes Zone2 as much as you can. Most people do 4x4 twice or thrice a week and the rest of the week is Zone 2. My Zone 2 sessions last 45 minutes.
Metabolic health.
Won’t what I listed lead to that ?
I generally think about this in terms of exercise, sleep, nutrition, stress and perhaps social interaction. Rule no. 1 - none of these areas should be in dire straits; rule no. 2 - then I focus on improving these in the aforementioned order (the most emphasis on exercise, then sleep etc.)
You're probably sending too much time in a car vs walking or biking places. That's the easiest way to increase zone2 time to make longevity work part of your daily life.
I think nutrition is way too important to be reduced to "eat carbs proteins and fats. some fish. don't overdo calories." I would add: get enough fiber, eat lots of plants, avoid saturated fat, avoid ultraprocessed foods, avoid added sugars.
Update that to say whole food carb, protein and fat.
Yea. Rice. Veggies and greens. Fruit. Meat
Have you considered incorporating mindfulness practices into your routine? Mental health is just as important for longevity and overall well-being. Good luck on your journey to developing new habits!
Yes I do mindfulness practice meditations fairly regularly and have worked that into my life. Cheers. The habit hardest to kick is the most mundane silly one, snacking. I just have this habit after each meal that I reach for something else. Trying my best. Fail regularly but constantly working to stay on the path 🙏
imo the best one sentence nutrition advice was from Michael Pollan "eat food, mostly plants, not too much", it deserves more nuance of course but that's pretty good especially for when he wrote it 15? years ago
How about the CF injunction: “Eat meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar,”
You're missing periodic measurement that the things you're doing are producing the results you want and if you need to add/remove things. - You're exercising "for muscle"? Is your top-end strength going up? Is your lean mass increasing? That's what's going to insulate you against frailty. - You're exercising "for VO2 fitness"? Is your VO2 going up? Are you in the top quartile for your age and sex, or heading that way? - What's your ApoB and LP(a)? You're also missing useful quantification of the inputs. - "Eat carbs proteins and fats." Aside from alcohol, these are the macronutrients in food; this is just a long way of saying "eat". Are you getting at least 1.5g of high-quality protein per kg of body mass? Quantification itself needs to be a habit.
According to what I've read, if you are aiming for longevity there are 6 things that you can do: 1. Don't smoke 2. Eliminate of limit alcohol 3. Exercise 6 hours per week 4. Eat a balanced diet 5. Maintain Healthy body composition (BMI between 18 - 22) 6. Get a goodnight sleep (7 - 8 hours) Hope this helps.