#16: 7 Daily Health Habits To Live Longer And Better
I have a profound interest in health and longevity. And while I may not have all the answers, there are a few things I do to (hopefully) live longer and better.
Living longer is one thing, but the importance of increasing the length of time you are ‘alive’ on this Earth pales in comparison to how able you are to continue doing what you love... till the day you die. That is why I tend to say I tend to add the words ‘and better’ to the former ‘living longer’.
Again, I do not have all the answers. And my opinions change in the face of new scientific findings. But presently, here’s what I do, and what I think you should be doing to live longer and better.
1: Walk A Minimum Of 10,000 Steps Per Day
I wear an Apple watch every day and use it to track my steps. Each day, the goal is 10, 000 steps at a bare minimum. Sometimes, I’ll shoot for 12, 000 steps.
These steps are accrued throughout the day, but I always like to incorporate a 30-minute walk at some point. If hills are involved (particularly upward), then even better.
On some days, I’ll turn my 30-minute walk into a 30-minute Zone 2 run (normally twice per week).
Walking 10, 000 steps daily can increase your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) by around 400 calories, and with the 30-minute walk, we’re looking at a 150 calorie burn. The nature of the activity, also, is one that predominantly runs on fat for fuel.
2: Train Hard Four Or Five Times Per Week
Daily steps aside, I lift heavy weights and train taekwondo thrice weekly (each). I also include two short-distance runs. Soon, I plan to add some sport-specific flexibility training on top of it all.
Is it too much? Perhaps. If you are training hard, I recommend four to five sessions per week, not exceeding one hour in length. Use the ‘off days’ to rest and recover because no growth can occur without recovery.
I train for longer because I enjoy it, first and foremost. Notwithstanding this, I have goals I am trying to achieve; so my preparation has to be somewhat greater; even if the risk of overtraining is larger.
My weightlifting routine is based on three full-body sessions using compound lifts (the bench press, squat, and pull-up).
If I’m jaded or I had an awful night’s sleep, I would tweak the training, decreasing the volume or maybe even substituting it for an activity that is ‘out of the norm’, like boxing.
An Apple Watch comes in handy here too, because although they (like most other fitness trackers) are notoriously unreliable when measuring your activity, they still keep me accountable.
3: Eat Three Meals Per Day
I don’t track calories. I eat three meals daily (no snacking); all fairly large, centering one or two of those meals around a training session.
Almost always, my meals are made of foods found in the Iron Living Approved Foods List. A regular day of eating looks like this:
Breakfast (07:00) - Greek yogurt, an apple, flaxseeds, and a handful of berries. Sometimes I have it with a side of pre-made salad.
Lunch (13:00) - A protein of choice (typically fish, chicken, eggs, or dairy) with a complex carbohydrate (usually sweet potato or homemade sourdough) and a large serving of pre-made salad (larger than breakfast).
Dinner (19:00 or 21:00 depending on the day) - A protein of choice (usually eggs, dairy, or tofu), with the largest helping of pre-made salad. Then I would have a bowl of fruit (typically berries) and nuts.
Aside from this, I try to drink as much water as possible. 600 ml power shots four or five times each day. More if I’m sweating a lot (because of summer or training).
This is a system I’ve used almost every day for the past two years.
4: Drink Two Or Three Hot Beverages Daily
I do enjoy a coffee, normally in the form of a black Americano. I’d have one at 06:00 (when I wake up) and another at around 15:00. At some other point in the day, I’d also have tea; something like rosehip, hibiscus, or chamomile tea.
I drink coffee because I love it, but also because some data has shown that coffee consumption may reduce your risk of diabetes in the long term. One review of 30 studies linked daily coffee consumption to a 6 % lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Possibly due to the beverage’s antioxidants, which preserve the function of the beta cells in the pancreas (these produce insulin).
In another review of 13 studies, researchers were able to find that coffee consumption lowered the risk of Parkinson’s and slowed the progression of the disease in those who were diagnosed.
Drinking five cups of coffee per day was associated with a 15 % reduction in the risk of heart disease.
Coffee could increase longevity, but at a bare minimum, I just love the taste, if not also the social benefits that comes with it. It also suppresses appetite.
5: Enjoy Your Work
I spent a decade working as a nurse in a private hospital. And while I did get a lot of enjoyment out of it early on, I always felt that I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose. As the years went by, I jumped from job to job. From tuition to journalism.
It took me years to realize that the only my hobbies made me happy: taekwondo, training, writing, and nutrition science. So came the revelation: why not make a living through these hobbies?
Against some risks, they got promoted from pass-times to full-times. And lo and behold, they came together in my first company. A company I care for as though it were my baby.
After finding this ‘purpose’ with Iron Taekwondo and Iron Living, I now wake up and look forward to work, even if the hours keep me tied up.
I get genuine satisfaction when a client loses weight, or when one of our fighters wins a match - even if it’s just a measly test match. I work with kids I love to death, including my son who is included in the taekwondo training program. I go abroad and see the world. I have my genuine ideas brought to the table and implemented. It just doesn’t get any better.
Much of what we know about ‘enjoying what you do’ surfaced with Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones project. The project correlated this ‘sense of purpose’ with increased life years and wellness, with centenarians continuing their respective occupations well beyond retirement age.
The project also shed light on the importance of loving what you do, and how doing so will give you positive emotions, physical health benefits (like better sleep and weight and better mental health), lower levels of stress, positive social stimulation, better immunity, better cognition, and overall longevity.
It’s difficult to put a number on it, but some data have pointed towards a whopping seven extra years of life for men and women knowing their purpose.
One 11-year study by the National Institute of Health (NIH) followed people between the ages of 65 and 92 years. The findings showed those who had clear goals or purpose lived longer and better than those who did not. Authors of this study attributed the participants’ understanding of life as them having ‘the right outlook’. Because of this, participants immersed themselves in activities and communities that promoted a rewarding environment.
6: Prioritise Sleep
Almost anyone will notice they perform better after a good night’s sleep. Sleep is so important that even one sleepless night can create a state that is very similar to being drunk. Now imagine what could happen with chronic sleep deprivation.
Sleeping less than seven hours a night is associated with countless consequences ranging from common colds to heart attacks. It also predisposes us to endocrine disorders, metabolic dysfunction (including type 2 diabetes), cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Even epidemiological data has shown that shorter sleep leads to shorter lifespans.
Poor sleep leads to a build-up of a toxic protein called beta-amyloid that has been causally linked to cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. It can also have detrimental effects on the immune system. World-renowned sleep expert Matt Walker, however, highlighted that many other systems can be affected by this protein; notwithstanding, like the cardiovascular system. Sleep deprivation “activates the stress chemistry that leads to cardiovascular disease,” he stated in a national interview. “It will also predispose us to eating more.”
With life as it is; a high-stress, night-working, and rumble-and-tumble cascade of daily events, achieving a peaceful night’s sleep can be difficult. Many of us (typically night labourers) even attempt to compensate for a poor night’s sleep by napping during the day. It is, however, forlorn. Unlike a bank debt, any sleep debt cannot be ‘paid off’ by several smaller naps later. It’s pretty much an all-or-nothing event.
All human beings should be shooting for seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Quality sleep should also be regarded as the foundation upon which we construct our eating and exercise patterns. Because any significant gains we get from good nutrition and exercise will be cast into shadow when sleep is irregular.
In his national interview, Walker highlights seven key elements needed for a good night’s sleep:
Keep strict, regular times; same bedtime, same wake time daily.
Go dark; keep a light-free bedroom, especially from blue-light emitting gadgets (like phones).
Limit screen time after dark.
Keep your bedroom cool; with a ‘sweet spot range’ of 18 - 20 degrees Celcius. The body drops its temperature (for various reasons) before sleep. So keeping a cool temperature will help you get there quicker.
Don’t stay awake in your bedroom to avoid conscious associations of ‘wakefulness’ with the room.
Avoid caffeine after 15:00 and alcohol, when you can.
Don’t go to bed too full, but not too hungry either.
7: Seek Out And Maintain Meaningful Friendships
The quality and quantity of social relationships can influence your mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. Both in the short and long term, for better or for worse.
The impact of your social relationships emerges in childhood and cascades throughout your life to foster cumulative advantages or disadvantages from a health standpoint.
One publication highlighted how supportive interactions with other persons can benefit one’s immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular functions. If anything, supportive interactions can reduce allostatic loads, which cause wear and tear on the body due to chronically overworked physiological systems that are engaged in stress responses. This was seen in three papers published in 1998, 2002, and 2004.
In adulthood, strong social support can reduce physiological responses to health, particularly from a cardiovascular standpoint.
It all seems great, but the flip side can be dangerous. Social relationships can make or break an individual. Take marriage, for example. While marriage can improve life and healthspan, poor marital quality has been associated with “compromised immune and endocrine functions and depression,” one 2001 study found.
Poor choices in friends may have other negative effects on health. For example, one study showed that relationships with risk-taking peers can increase one’s own general alcohol consumption. Another study showed that having an obese spouse or friend increases personal obesity risk. This is a phenomenon known as ‘social contagion’.
Friendships and healthy relationships with people who root for you and share in your successes have been a hallmark of some of the world’s longest-living populations. Speaking of long-living populations, Okinawan centenarians were known for friendships that researchers have suggested were integral to their long-term health. Their philosophy of friendship is centered around Maoi; a small group (roughly four or five people) of supportive friends known to exhibit the following tendencies:
They would often praise or brag about their friends to others,
They would hold them accountable with love.
They celebrated their friend’s wins as though they were their own.
They compliment more than they criticize. But when they criticize they do it constructively.
They encouraged new experiences and growth and easily identified when such experiences were needed.
By creating such a circle of friends, and limiting (or removing altogether) the negative relationships in your life, you may well be on the process to extending your health and lifespan.
Thoughts
Based on the available data today, I believe these seven elements are crucial for health. As far as my own fulfillment of these behaviours, I still have a long way to go. I do train over and above my recommendation and my sleep is not up to par, either.
Discipline and dedication are factors here, and while many tend to have these qualities, we often direct them towards more ambitious endeavours, sidelining our health. That is what I did for a time.
Working as a nurse, I would stoically press on through a series of night shifts and leave my sleep on the back burner. Today, as a business owner, I would wake up extremely early to try to fit in hours of deep work while my kids remain asleep. My work has, at times, put a strain on my relationships and eating patterns. Only too often have I found myself taking a day off on Sunday, only to feel horrible about it later that evening.
These are my thoughts as just another human being on this planet figuring his health out. But in the end, one can only do what he can with what is available to him at the time. Nevertheless, no small step in the right direction will ever go unnoticed.
