I’ve Been 24-hour Fasting, Eating Wild-Caught, Sleeping More, and Doing Cold Showers
Takeaways from these longevity hacks.
Channeling James Clear's advice to get 1% better, I applied it to my health with these longevity habits. Here are my takeaways after almost a year of doing them.
1. Why fast for 24 hours?
“Autophagy is a survival mechanism… functions essentially as an adaptive response to stress, particularly in the condition of nutrient deprivation, allowing for cell and organism survival. When nutrient resources are restricted, cells are able to break down and reprocess all sort of macromolecules including proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates which can then be reused as essential building blocks for the synthesis of new macromolecules and the production of energy.”
When I first learned of fasting years ago, it was through a Tim Ferriss Podcast episode. The story goes about how someone was fighting cancer and undergoing harsh chemotreatments. But by fasting (I think 24+ hours), the person was able to recover from chemo much, much better. That caught my attention. If fasting could help battle cancer, what else can it do?
Turns out there are awesome amounts of research out there… on mice.
From Science Direct’s Self-Eating for Muscle Fitness: Autophagy in the Control of Energy Metabolism, to the National Library of Medicine’s Autophagy and Metabolism and Oxidative Stress: Harms and Benefits for Human Health, there is a lot of research that backs up the statement:
“…in a fasted state, cellular repair occurs, which is linked to increased longevity, reduced risk of cancer, lower inflammation and improved metabolism. However, many of the studies are in animals and more studies in women are needed.”
TAKEAWAY — Fasting:
Fast for productivity because the process of autophagy will clean up your body’s zombie cells, allowing you to perform more optimally over time. Also do it for positivity because it demonstrates “I have self-control,” and could lead to a better body image. Read my personal observations and what you can expect during your fast.
2. Why eat wild-caught?
From a productivity angle, the thesis is that eating healthier helps our mind and body perform much, much better.
In Mark Hyman’s Young Forever, a book on longevity that claims to “revolutionize how we approach aging,” there was a brilliant point he makes - how our bodies create new cells all the time, about 2 million per second actually. The building blocks of those cells come from what we eat. So, if we’re eating junk, then our cells will be poorly made. Like if we are building a house, why would we construct it with inferior products only for it to collapse? Hyman’s point is to feed the body the highest quality materials.
Let’s compare wild-caught versus farmed salmon.
The bottom line is that wild salmon has fewer calories, less fat, and a better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6. And below that bottom line is a bigger bottom line that any food that’s truly natural is better for your cell’s building blocks, which leads to better body performance.
TAKEAWAY — Eat wild caught:
Eat wild caught for productivity because if I live to be a thriving 100-year-old still able to hike in the mountains, I need every edge there is. So, yeah, I’ll take the extra effort to live in a more sustainable, healthy manner, as long as my bank account allows for it.
3. Why sleep more?
Two thoughts have been bothering me ever since I learned them:
Fact #1: Lack of sleep leads to muscle loss.
“A single night of total sleep deprivation is sufficient to induce anabolic resistance (aka reduced muscle creation) and a procatabolic environment (aka destructive metabolism).” — this study
Fact #2: Sleep is when your memories & brain get cleaned up and organized.
“Researchers think cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may flush toxic waste out, “cleaning” the brain, and studies have shown that garbage clearance is hugely improved during sleep… One aspect of sleep that is well understood is how the slow electrical oscillations (or “slow waves”) that characterize deep, non-REM sleep contribute to memory consolidation, the process whereby new memories are transferred into long-term storage.” — Scientific American and more this study and this
The bottom line, not enough sleep, even for one night, wastes all that exercising we just did, contributes to bad metabolism, and adds to gunk buildup in the brain!
TAKEAWAY — Sleep enough:
Sleep enough for productivity by sleeping to the point that you don’t need an alarm clock to wake up. Read my precise tips on how to get more sleep by finding lost time and accumulating it.
4. Why take cold showers?
I saved the most controversial longevity hack for last!
“While one study correlated 30 consecutive days of cold showers with a 29% decrease in sickness, another found a metabolism spike through brown fat activation. Yet another study found repeated cold exposure to harden your stress tolerance.” — Neeramitra Reddy
As I said, controversial. For example, that assertion of a 29% decrease in sickness should be clarified:
“This is a subtle but important point: Participants who took the cold showers actually reported feeling ill just as many days, on average, as the people who showered normally. But either their symptoms were less severe or they felt more energetic, so they were better able to push through the sickness and function anyway.” — Dr. Geert A. Buijze, that study’s author
For over 4 months now, I’ve started off my showers cold for about 2 minutes. Stepping into the cold water each time still takes a bit of mental willpower. The trick is to not think too long about it and just do it. Once in, I mentally know it’ll be jarring for a few seconds. But every single time, by the end of 2 minutes, I’ve acclimated and it’s rewarding to turn that shower handle over to H for the rest of the time.
I’d like to report that I’ve increased my productivity by 200%, feel like I have too much energy throughout the day now, and have gotten better looking. Just kidding, there’s been no noticeable difference in my day. Although, I haven’t gotten sick and hope to continue that trend!
TAKEAWAY
Take cold showers for positivity to remind yourself that you’re awesome. Life can get hard sometimes and if we don’t believe in ourselves, that’s a lot of weight to drag around all day, every day. Instead, prove to yourself that you’re pretty amazing, even if it’s the mental willpower to turn that shower handle to C. Even if no one cares or none of the health benefits prove to be true, I know that I can do it.
