Recognize that your current state of health is based on eight interconnected factors: sleep, stress, diet, exercise, genetics, environment, historic infections, and sunlight exposure. This framework helps identify areas for improvement.
Improve your health by understanding your unique personal story and tailoring interventions to your individual needs. This personalized approach helps identify and address the root causes of your health challenges.
Use the Health Loop to identify the two or three key areas in your life that genuinely need attention, rather than focusing solely on your ‘favorite’ health area or external advice. This ensures your efforts are directed where they will have the most impact.
Plot out all significant health and life events from your childhood to the present on a timeline. This helps identify patterns and understand how early life experiences (e.g., infections, stress) may be affecting your adult health.
To understand how the eight health loop factors (stress, sleep, diet, movement, etc.) are impacting you, reflect on and describe your typical day. This often reveals key areas for health improvement.
Instead of solely focusing on symptoms (like pain or headaches), investigate and address underlying malfunctions in your biological systems (gut, immune, musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular). This approach targets the root cause of persistent health issues.
For persistent symptoms linked to systemic inflammation (e.g., migraines), make lifestyle adjustments to your behaviors and environment. This helps improve the functioning of your biological systems, leading to symptom relief.
Apply the IDEAL framework for behavior change: Identify what you want to do, Define what needs to be done, Engage with the process, Activate by taking action, and Look back to acknowledge your progress.
Combat stress by taking one minute to do nothing: close your eyes, sit, breathe slowly, and visualize a relaxing scene. Perform this twice a day, such as before starting work and before entering your home, to better handle daily stressors and leave work stress outside.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on weekends, to maintain a consistent circadian rhythm. This improves energy levels, brain power, mood, stress levels, and blood sugar control.
Create a one-hour routine before bed that avoids stimulating activities like checking work emails, and instead focuses on calming, relaxing activities. This signals to your body and brain that it’s time to wind down, leading to better sleep and improved daytime function.
Ensure you drink enough water throughout the day, as adequate hydration is crucial for brain function, skin health, renal function, and overall well-being. It can dramatically improve concentration and energy levels.
Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning to kick-start your hydration process for the day.
Enhance your diet by introducing more nutrient-rich foods, particularly vegetables and fruits, to move away from less nutritious ‘beige foods’ and support overall health.
Beyond just what you eat, pay attention to how you eat (e.g., eating slowly) and when you eat (e.g., avoiding late-night snacking) to optimize digestion and sleep.
Refrain from snacking before bedtime, as it can disrupt sleep by causing spikes in blood glucose and insulin levels, which is detrimental to overall health.
If your gut flora may be compromised (e.g., after antibiotic use), consider taking a probiotic like Lactobacillus GG to help restore the balance of good bacteria, which is crucial for immune system function.
If you have a genetic predisposition to celiac disease (e.g., HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 genes), consider avoiding gluten to potentially prevent the development of celiac disease, even if current antibody tests are negative.
If you have Hashimoto’s disease, consider a gluten-free diet. Due to molecular mimicry, gluten proteins can resemble thyroid gland proteins, causing the immune system to attack the thyroid and leading to flare-ups of symptoms.
If experiencing brain fog, memory issues, or have a family history of Alzheimer’s, address high sugar intake in your diet. Interventions to lower blood glucose can also help prevent Alzheimer’s and improve cognitive function.
If new to exercise or have a history of aversion, begin with a gentle, structured program like the Couch to 5K app, which gradually builds from walking to running. This approach makes exercise more accessible and sustainable.
If worries arise during your one-minute recharge, gently redirect your focus by returning to the beginning of a breath and thinking of something relaxing. This helps cultivate stillness and overcome initial difficulty with silence.
If you find sitting in silence difficult initially, bear with it and practice regularly. The more you expose yourself to stillness, the easier it becomes to quiet your mind.
Implement ’transition zones’ in your day to shift your state, such as changing clothes after work. This helps metaphorically leave the stresses of the day behind and be more present at home.
Revisit and refine your Health Loop analysis repeatedly over time, making small ’tweaks’ to your routines and behaviors. This iterative process allows for continuous improvement and adaptation as your health needs evolve.
Practice being present and living in the moment, savoring everything you do. This mindset can enhance your overall well-being and appreciation for life.