8 Simple Health Hacks to Get Started
So health is arguably the single most important area of our life.
Without our health, we can have all the money in the world, the best
career, the best relationships, the most fun hobbies.
And we won't be able to enjoy any of them because our health is
miserable.
But even though we might know intellectually that our health is
important, when it comes to how we spend our time, it's often the first
thing that goes.
Work and life gets busy, and the first thing we do is we stop sleeping
properly, We stop eating well, we stop exercising, because who's got time
Eight of these health hacks that
have improved my life.
And I hope you'll find something to take away from these that you can
apply to your life as well.
Now, according to the CDC, one in three adults in the US report not
getting enough sleep and not getting enough rest in the day.
I suspect the actual number is higher than this because I very rarely
meet people who feel as if they're getting enough sleep.
Now, one simple hack that I found for improving my sleep in a very easy
to remember way is the three to one method, which comes from my
So the three in the method means to stop eating 3 hours before
sleeping.
This study, for example, showed that eating within three hours of your
normal bedtime was associated with nocturnal awakening, which
basically means that you're waking up at night and so that your sleep
quality is reduced.
So that was the three.
Then we have the two, which is to stop drinking liquids 2 hours before
sleep.
Now you might know that drinking caffeine in the evening is likely to
disrupt your sleep, but actually drinking any kind of fluid, even water one
to two hours before sleeping has been associated with lower sleep
quality as well.
And then the one is to cut out screen usage one hour before sleeping.
And again, there's a bunch of studies that show that if you look at a
bright screen one hour before sleeping, that's likely to affect your sleep
quality.
And especially when it comes to phones and stuff.
The the over stimulation that we get from our phones, which is literally
what our phones are designed to do, is something that can make falling
asleep a lot harder than it necessarily needs to be.
So the way that I personally combat this is that I try my best to just not
use my phone in bed, and instead I have a Kindle and also a physical
book on my bedside table.
There was a study that showed that the backlight from a Kindle doesn't
really affect sleep very much, and I find that generally my sleep is better
if I'm reading fiction rather than nonfiction.
So fiction helps my brain switch off.
It helps me immerse myself in a new sort of new fantasyland and stuff.
Whereas nonfiction, when I'm reading it in bed, I'm always thinking about
my business.
I'm highlighting stuff.
I feel the need to take notes, and it's stimulating my brain in a way that
fiction really doesn't.
All right, so I've got this graph from 2020, and this shows how many
steps on average I was taking each month.
And you can see over here in August 2020, there is a significant dip.
And this was when I first took a break from my fulltime job of being a
doctor.
visit
Now, this is a graph of my body weight.
And you can see that there is a fantastic correlation between when I
stopped taking all these steps and suddenly my weight absolutely
ballooned and I became really fat.
Sitting is the new smoking.
And they've done so many studies about this where basically they show
that physical inactivity is this golden bullet that just increases your risk
of dying from all sorts of bad things.
And as you might have heard, taking 10,000 plus steps a day is generally
a very good thing.
This meta analysis of 15 studies, for example, showed that taking more
steps per day was associated with a progressively lower risk of all cause
mortality.
This study showed that in sedentary overweight individuals, 10,000 steps
a day significantly lowered anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion
And this study, for example, showed that for every 500 steps you
increase per day, the risk of cardiovascular disease decreases by about
6%.
And So what I've tried to do is add as many simple hacks to my life to
get to my 10,000 steps a day goal.
So firstly, the single best thing that I found for this is actually to get a
treadmill underneath my standing desk.
It was about $300.00, but it was totally worth it.
It's The Walking pad C2.
I have no relationship with them at all but would recommend you can
check it out.
And I've had this treadmill under my desk for a few months and I've used
it 148 times and walked 255 kilometers in that time.
In fact, today according to my Apple Watch, I have racked up about 5000
steps already and I haven't really left the house.
So the treadmill has been a surprisingly simple hack that's actually let me
get in more steps in each day.
Secondly, wherever possible, I like to take zoom calls while I'm walking.
Thirdly, if I have to go somewhere for dinner or something and it's within
about 40 minutes of where I live, I'll often choose to walk rather than
drive or take the train.
And usually while I'm walking I'll listen to a podcast or something.
But again, it just gets the steps in because 40 minutes there and back
basically gets me to about 10,000 steps, and it's just been helpful to
monitor it with my Apple Watch.
You can do this like basically any phone.
You don't need a smart, smart watch, but every phone has a step counter
in it as well.
So if you have your phone in your pocket, you can see how many steps
you've done.
And since becoming conscious of the fact that I'm trying to get 10,000
steps a day, I have increased my step count each day.
OK, so earlier this year, I got a bunch of blood tests done.
And then when the doctor was kind of talking me through the results
afterwards, he asked if I have a particularly stressful job.
And I said, well, no, I don't really have a stressful job.
I just sit where I'm making YouTube videos.
And then he said, OK, but has anyone around you ever said that you need
to take a break?
And I was like, yeah, everyone around me tells me I need to take a break.
And he was like, I thought so because your stress markers are elevated.
And that is, like, really bad for someone of your age.
I was like, wait, what?
I don't feel stressed.
I don't feel like I have a particularly stressful job.
But then I look at my calendar and it's like, back-to-back one thing to
another, to another to another to another.
And this whole, like, running your own business thing, I thought it would
give me more free time than kind of working in medicine, but actually
gave me a lot less free time than working in medicine.
And there is that nice quote, which is that, you know, entrepreneurs
work 60 hours a week to avoid having to work 40 hours a week.
I think that's very true.
And again, chances are if you're watching this channel, I suspect your
stress levels are high as well, because you're probably busy.
You'd like to be productive, You've got lots of things going on.
And what the doctor said is that I should meditate more.
And I was like meditation, like, who cares?
But then I saw some studies, and those studies show that if you
meditate, it reduces your blood pressure, it reduces your cortisol levels,
which is a stress hormone.
It reduces your heart rate, reduces your cytokine levels, which is a
marker of inflammation.
It can also increase yourself, compassion and your attention and your
focus.
And so there's just like a mountain of evidence saying that meditation is
good for you.
And so I was like, OK, fine, I'll do some meditation.
And then I thought, OK, what app should I use for meditation?
Because obviously I wanted to be easy.
And obviously the name Headspace came to mind because they basically
dominate the space.
And so we reached out to them and they very kindly agreed to sponsor
this video.
S thank you, Headspace, for sponsoring this video.
Headspace is great.
I've been slowly working my way through the introductory course.
And it's nice because you can choose different voices to guide you
through the meditation.
And doing just a 5 to 10 minute meditation the first thing in the morning
before I do my journaling and before I get my coffee, I've actually been
finding is really helpful.
One thing that it does is that it helps me kind of connect to the hero.
Now a little bit more is like you're closing your as you're imagining, like
experiencing the sounds of nature around you or whatever that might
be.
And it's just like a moment of respite before the craziness of the day
starts.
And it's become something I look forward to after I have my shower.
I have a hot shower, then I turn it to cold.
Then I get changed and I'm like cool, 5 or 10 minutes.
I can definitely find time to do 5 to 10 minutes of meditation on
Headspace.
The other cool thing about Headspace is that it's very non judgmental.
They basically say that there's no right or wrong approach to meditation
of mindfulness.
You can do whatever works for you.
And everyone seems to have a different routine, a different frequency, a
different favorite type of content.
And that's totally fine.
Now if you're interested in trying out meditation and you want to use
Headspace, you can click the link in the video description or use the QR
code on screen.
And that will let you sign up for a completely free 60 day trial.
So you can literally try it every day for two months and you can see if
you vibe with it.
I've been vibing with it so much that I now pay the monthly subscription
for Headspace and totally worth it.
So if you'd like to give it a go, you can try it out.
You can see if you like it and you'd also be supporting the channel as
well, so.
I've been with it so much that I now pay the monthly subscription for
Headspace, and it's totally worth it.
So if you'd like to give it a go, you can try it out.
And they've said, Oh my God, this was game changing.
And it's going to sound weird, but that is to do a DEXA scan.
And a DEXA scan is basically a full body X-ray.
And in hospitals, we use DEXA scans to measure the bone density of
patients who might be having osteoporosis.
But the really cool thing about a DEXA scan is that it can tell you how
much muscle you have and also how much fat you have and also the
distribution of the muscle and the fat around your body.
First thing to say is that they are somewhat expensive.
Well, you know, it's about $120.00 to get a DEXA scan depending on
where you go.
I personally think that it's absolutely worth it because any amount of
money you can spend on your health, if it changes your behavior, will
pay dividends further down the line.
But obviously your mileage may vary depending on how much disposable
income you have.
But every single person that I've recommended a DEXA scan to who has
done the DEXA scan has been like, Oh my God, this is the best money I
have ever spent on my health.
Because within like 15 minutes, the scan will tell you where your body fat
is.
And you might think that you're pretty skinny.
Like I thought I was like in reasonable shape, but then turns out I was
actually 25% body fat and most of it was in the abdomen.
It was in the visceral adipose tissue.
And it's the visceral adipose tissue that's most highly correlated with
cardiovascular disease and strokes and like diabetes and all of the bad
things that can happen later in life.
And so since doing that first scan about a year and a half ago, I've now
been doing DEXA scans about every six months.
And it's been an amazing way of actually tracking my progress in the
gym, tracking my progress with weight loss and seeing how the numbers
are changing overtime.
And yeah, you could use scales and you could use those body fat scales
that you get in the gym, but those are never really accurate.
So after my first DEXA scan, I realized I had all this adipose tissue until
But then six months later, I found I did lose a lot of weight, but most of
it was muscle, because I didn't have enough protein and because I didn't
workout enough.
And then I was like, Oh my God, like, OK, I can literally see that I've lost
about two kg of muscle and only one kg of fat.
That's kind of annoying.
And then we made a plan based on that DEXA scan.
And then six months later, I'd gained 1 1/2 kg of muscle and lost 1 1/2 kg
of fat, which is very nice.
And for me, personally, I love the fact that I have access to these
numbers, and I love the fact that the numbers don't lie.
And just doing a DEXA scan every six months has been the single most
worthwhile expense I've ever made for my health.
If you're based in the UK, the company I use is Body Scan.
You've got a bunch of different places around London, if not just to
surge deck exascan your location, I'm sure, and I'm sure you can find a
place, but genuinely dexa scans are absolutely sick.
OK, Speaking of protein intake, because that first time around, for the
first six months I didn't eat enough protein and I also didn't workout
enough and I actually lost two kg of muscle.
What I've realized is I need to automate my protein intake.
Now the amount of protein you need depends massively on who you ask,
where you look at the source, and there doesn't seem to be much of a
consensus in the scientific literature about it.
The World Health Organization, for example, says you need 0.83 grams of
protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
But most personal trainers and fitness experts that I've spoken to say
that that is no near enough to actually build muscle if you are trying to
build muscle.
And so for me, I'm roughly aiming for around 1.5 to 2 grams of protein
per kilogram of body weight.
And this is actually annoyingly hard to get in in my diet because I tend to
skip breakfast and then like lunch and dinner.
It's like I have to actively think about protein.
But one thing they've started to do to automate my protein intake, again
based on advice from my fitness coach, Dad, Go.
It's really simple.
It's basically to just have a protein shake in the morning.
And when I have a protein shake in the morning, I get at least 40 grams
of protein, sometimes 50 depending on which product I use.
And now it's way easier to hit my protein gold because if I just have like
a 30 gram serving of protein for lunch and then a 30 gram serving of
protein for dinner, that's like 110 grams.
That's pretty reasonable.
Now the two different types of protein shake that I use are firstly heel.
I use heel black, 400 calories, 440 grams of protein in the morning.
If I feel like making it or if I'm on the go and I don't feel like making it, I'll
use the optimum nutrition pre made protein shake which is 50 grams of
protein for 300 calories which is quite nice.
No affiliate relationship or anything with these brands.
Although Heel do sponsor some of the other videos on the channel but
they're not sponsoring this one so whatever.
But ever since I started automating my protein and shake by literally just
having a shake first thing in the morning, I have actually been hitting my
protein goals broadly.
And I've seen that reflected on the DEXA scan.
You know, the scanner had a year after my first one, showed that I
gained 1.5 kg of muscle and lost 1.5 kg of fat.
And in those six months I made an active effort to up my protein intake.
All right, next we come to the idea of flexibility and mobility.
Now, I'm not at all very flexible and I'm not at all very mobile, but there
have been some pretty reasonable studies that show that if you do have
a baseline level of flexibility and mobility, it helps reduce the risk of
injury when you're exercising, which is always a good thing.
And for example, this meta analysis found that the benefits of stretching
in middle-aged to older adults reduced arterial stiffness, heart rate and
blood pressure, and improved vascular endothelial functioning.
And so if stretching is good for middle-aged to older adults, it's probably
good for younger adults as well.
Now I've tried so many ways to incorporating stretching into my life, but
two of them have so far worked.
The first one is that every now and then I will randomly put on a
stretching routine on YouTube.
And my favorite channel for this is and Toya who have like great videos
with stretch routines and things like that.
In particular, I love their routines for tight hamstrings and hip flexors,
which are the two areas I struggle with most.
And recently I've also started using an app called Pliability.
Again, like no relationship with this app at all.
They do not know I exist, but if pliability, if you're watching this, let me
know.
But basically it's an app that every day just gives you a stretching
routine to do.
And it's like a 20 minute thing that I do in the evening and just roll out
my Lulu Lemon yoga mat.
And for 20 minutes before bed, I just prop my phone up and it's like nice
because it's very static stretches.
It's like you're in each pose and you're just holding it passively for like 3
minutes at a time.
And there's nice relaxing music and the production value is nice.
And they occasionally have dogs and stuff that go into the frame, and
it's a very nice way to wind down for the evening.
And so it sort of double s as a bit of a meditative thing as well because I
can help switch my mind off.
But then it's also helping me improve my flexibility and mobility through
these sort of passive stretches that don't take much effort.
All right, the penultimate hack is one of these.
So I used to really struggle with actually being consistent with taking my
pills.
I take a couple of supplements.
I take the Heights Smart supplement, which is a big multivitamin thing
that has like blueberries and stuff.
I take the Heights Smart Probiotic, which is a probiotic, and I take a
couple of bits of medication like finasteride and minoxidil for my hair
loss.
But I would always be very inconsistent in taking these because it wasn't
built into my routine until I realized that, you know, when I was working
as a doctor, we would give these doset boxes to our patients and it
would help them take their pills.
And so I bought one of these from Amazon and now it helps me stay
consistent with taking my pills, which is fantastic.
So if you take any supplements or pills or anything and you're having to
bring them up manually, it's such a Faf.
It's so nice just being able to once a week, just fill this up for the whole
week.
And yes, I know I forgot to take them yesterday because even then I still
forget sometimes.
And then the final hack is my productive and evidence based skin care
routine.
And this basically involves just three products.
I've talked to a bunch of dermatologists and this is broadly the stuff that
they recommend.
And I've got all the details about that in this video over here, which is my
evidence based skin care routine.
So if you're interested then do check that video out and I promise it will
change the way you approach your skin care routine.
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नवंबर 20, 2023
नवंबर 20, 2023
