Address self-worth as a root cause for health issues, as letting go of self-loathing and insecurity can provide more freedom in personal life and health, reducing the need to compensate with other behaviors.
Actively seek social connection and a sense of purpose within a group, as this provides critical input for the brain to keep working, telling your body it’s worth being alive and contributing.
Regularly ask yourself ‘How do I feel?’ as subjective quality of life and health are strong predictors of long-term health, guiding you to make changes based on your body’s response.
Avoid hyper-focusing on one area of health, as many environmental factors contribute to overall well-being; instead, consider all inputs like nutrition, sleep, movement, stress, and social connection together.
Prioritize the foundational aspects of health: sleep, circadian rhythm (light/dark exposure), movement, stress mitigation, and social connection, as these are the biggest levers to improve long-term health.
Understand that improving health does not require immense effort; small changes, like a brisk walk three times a week, can lead to significant positive knock-on effects on your brain and body.
Continuously engage in difficult new learning experiences to keep your brain healthy, as it needs ongoing stimulus to be told it’s needed, even if it means being bad at something initially.
Once a skill becomes easy and habitual, move on to a new challenge to maintain cognitive stimulus, as the brain requires ongoing difficulty to stay complex and healthy.
Challenge the societal tendency to avoid failing or ‘sucking’ at new things, as actively trying new and difficult activities is crucial for brain health and growth.
Understand that strength is gained through recovery, not just training; continuously pushing yourself without adequate rest leads to long-term detriment.
Manage your total stress load from all life spheres (exercise, sleep, diet, psychological) and ensure sufficient time for recovery, as continuous stress without adaptation leads to long-term detriment.
Prioritize developing and maintaining physical strength, as it is crucial for preventing falls and enabling daily activities well into old age, contributing to overall long-term health.
Engage in 30 to 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily, such as a brisk walk, to achieve the vast majority of long-term health benefits from exercise.
Reintroduce play and interaction with the environment, other people, animals, and nature into your routine, as modern society often pulls us away from these natural stimuli essential for health.
Strive to spend seven to eight hours in bed, getting most of that time asleep, as both sleep quantity and quality are important for long-term brain health and overall well-being.
Recognize that sleep deprivation negatively impacts your ability to recognize positive emotions and empathize with others, making social interactions more likely to be negative.
Minimize large swings in blood sugar by avoiding foods that cause significant spikes, as this can have a negative effect on cognition over time, and improving control can enhance cognitive function.
Minimize the intake of vegetable oils, fried foods, and processed foods, as the linoleic acid in these can out-compete DHA for brain uptake and oxidized fats can negatively affect brain health.
Consume sufficient DHA, a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in seafood like small fish (sardines, shellfish) or algal/krill supplements, as it is incredibly important for brain health.
Prioritize cooking whole foods at home as much as possible, as this naturally reduces intake of processed foods and vegetable oils, providing multiple health benefits.
Incorporate choline-rich foods like eggs, liver, and organ meats into your diet, as choline is very important for brain health.
If you choose to have occasional treats like chips, enjoy them without guilt, as the stress and negative physiological effects of worrying about the food can be more detrimental than the food itself.
Be mindful of the language you use about your health and genetics, as negative self-talk or being told negative information about your physiology can have a detrimental effect on your performance and well-being.
Do not worry about a single night of bad sleep, as it typically has no meaningful negative long-term effect on your health; stress about it is likely more harmful.