Health recommendations
These are practical and effective tips to help you make a difference to your health without going to extremes. No 4am cold plunges here. Just straightforward advice you can easily integrate into your daily routine and actually stick with.
Nutrition
Focus on eating unprocessed, high quality, protein rich foods and practice mindful eating habits
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Start with basic nutrition hygiene
This shouldn't even be here but I'm constantly surprised. Basically eat healthy unprocessed food as much as you can. Avoid calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods like sugary drinks and fried stuff. Have a basic understanding of what macros are and how much you need.
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Eat more protein than you think you need
Most people benefit from consuming more protein that they think. Eat more high-quality protein like whey protein and eggs. Not all proteins are equal due to their different digestibility scores and amino acid profiles. Plant proteins are less effective than animal protein, which means you usually need more for your body to get the same amount
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The only supplements the average person needs are Vitamin D + B, Magnesium and Zinc
While a balanced diet is the best way to get the nutrients we need, some vitamins and minerals are commonly deficient in our diets. Typically, magnesium, zinc, and Vitamin D and B are the most important ones to consider.
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Chew very well when eating
Chew your food properly. That's what your teeth are for. We often swallow large chunks of food especially when we're hungry. Chewing really helps with digestion and better absorption of nutrients.
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Drink enough water
Staying well-hydrated is very important to stay energized and focused. It helps transporting nutrients, removing waste and the balance of fluids. The color of your urine is a good indicator of how hydrated you are; it should be clear or light yellow.
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Practice mindful eating
This is a habit to break. Avoid doing something else while eating like watching TV or using your phones. When you do, your brain doesn't properly process the fact that you are meant to be digesting.
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Drink warm water before food
Drink warm water before meals to warm up your stomach and prepare it to digest food.
Fitness
Prioritize strength training to improve physical performance
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Consistent exercise is the best way to improve health
Consistent exercise is the number one habit you can practice to improve your health. Make it a rule to workout everyday even if just 20 minutes. If you rely on your willpower, you will inevitably skip some days.
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Incorporate strength training into your routine
Incorporate strength training into your fitness routine to build muscle, increase metabolic rate, and improve overall healthspan. Compound exercises like pull ups, push ups, squats, deadlifts, and rows are the best for building strength and muscle. The more muscle mass you have, the easier it is to be metabolically healthy.
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Warm up properly before working out
Always begin your workout sessions with a proper warm-up. Do dynamic stretches and a bit of aerobic warmup to blood flow to the muscles to avoid injuries.
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Use a Shakti mat to treat lower back pain
This is a gem. A Shakti mat is a mat covered with small plastic spikes that you lay on for about 10 minutes. The spikes stimulate blood flow and release muscle tension. It's the easiest and most effective way of quickly releasing a tight back after only 10 mins.
Sleep
Ensure you improve your overall sleep quality not just quantity
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Avoid stimulation just before bed. Do some breathwork
Avoid intense exercise, bright screens, and heavy meals before going to bed. Do some breathwork or reflection instead. When you do, your sleep quality will significantly improve.
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Make sure your room is properly aired using a CO2 monitor
When CO2 builds up in your room, you sleep quality gets really impacted. It's probably the reason why you wake up tired in the morning. CO2 builds up pretty quickly so monitoring it and ventilating your room makes a big difference.
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Avoid coffee after 2pm
Caffeine has a half-life of about 6 hours, meaning that half of the caffeine you consume will still be in your system after this time. So, if you drink a cup of coffee at 3pm, you may still have significant levels of caffeine in your body when you're trying to fall asleep at 11pm. Ideally, avoid coffee altogether.
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Use night shift on devices after sunset
Activate the Night Shift feature on your electronic devices after sunset to reduce blue light exposure. Blue light inhibits melatonin production, which makes it harder to fall asleep. It's also easier on your eyes when you work in a less lit room.
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Enhance your sleep quality by taking sleep vitamins
More important than sleep amount is sleep quality. You can take supplements like Magnesium Glycinate, L Theanine and Apigenin to calm the nervous system and reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. They make take a day or two to get used to and you may get headaches the first day but after that, they do help.
Wellness
Less known tips to improve hygiene
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Use a nasal wash bottle to clear your nostrils when waking up
Many people find that their noses are clogged when they wake up. Use a saline nasal wash to clean your nose and open up your nostrils. You can easily find a reusable bottle with a nozzle online.
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Use a tongue scraper when waking up
Start your day by scraping your tongue to get rid of bacteria and dead cells. Do it even before drinking water in the morning.
Mindfulness
Practice being present in the moment and avoid constant distractions from your phone.
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Practice breathwork during the day
Practice breathing deeply at random moments during the day to improve your lung capacity and reduce shallow breathing. It also helps you calm down and focus more. Make sure you're belly breathing rather than breathing into your lungs only.
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Don't use your phone whenever you have a minute to space
Resist the urge to check your phone during brief moments of downtime. Take a few deep breaths, stretch your body, or simply observe the world around you. You need to give your brain space and time to digest all the sensory inputs it's constantly exposed to. When you do, you will find that your brain fog lifts.
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Stop chasing insights
It's easy to fall into the trap of constantly seeking new insights. People feel guilty if they watch something that’s funny or entertaining, but reading or watching tips and hacks feels like productive work. The reality is that loading up insights leads to information overload and gives you the illusion that you really understand certain topics.
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Use nootropics to help with focus
Lion's Mane improves focus and mental clarity. It's a good supplement if you're looking for something to help you work for an extended time.
Tech
Leverage tools and devices to monitor and enhance your overall health
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Invest in a standing desk and under desk treadmill
Sitting all day takes a toll on your health. It messes with the heart, breathing and lower back. Get a standing desk to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day. And for an even better setup, you can add an under-desk treadmill to walk at a slow pace while doing light work.
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Use an Apple Watch to track various metrics
Get an Apple Watch to monitor health metrics like heart rate, steps, exercise intensity, and sleep. It gives you good insights on your health trends over time.
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Get a CO2 monitor to determine when to have to air a room
Get a CO2 monitor to know when you should air your space. When it builds up, it makes it harder to concentrate, tired you and could give you headaches.
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Get an air purifier to improve indoor air quality
An air purifier cleans small harmful particles from the room. It improves indoor air quality but it doesn't eliminate CO2.
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Use a CGM from time to time
A continuous glucose monitor is a small blood sugar monitoring device you attach to your arm for 2 weeks at a time. It tracks your blood sugar levels through an application on your phone. It's typically used by people with diabetes, but it can help you optimize your metabolic health. The goal is to manage and minimize glucose spikes by understand what foods and habits impact you most.
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Get a Bluetooth weighing scale
A Bluetooth weighing scale syncs your weight and body composition data directly to your health app to track trends over time.