I recently attended the Health Optimization Summit in London. I rarely attend health conferences, but I’m a huge fan of a few of the speakers they had this year so I decided to go. I was pleasantly surprised to not only enjoy the talks but be able to interact with so many exhibitors of interesting products as well.
Here are some of my takeaways from the conference, from easiest and cheapest to most challenging and most expensive.
Put your bare feet on the grass for 5 minutes a day. It immediately reduces inflammation. This is known as grounding.
Reduce your electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure by turning your wifi off at night before you go to bed and keeping your phone on airplane mode when you don’t need to use it. Try this out and see if it improves your sleep, mood, and other aspects of your health. I was seated one night at dinner beside Nicolas Pineault, the author of “The Non-Tinfoil Guide to EMFs: How to Fix Our Stupid Use of Technology,” who explained all of this to me, and I recommend reading his book if you’d like to learn more.
Wear sunglasses less often unless you absolutely need them, such as when driving. Sunglasses keep your eyes from receiving information from the sun that helps you properly regulate your circadian rhythm, hormones, and sleep. It’s particularly important to get 20 minutes of direct sunlight (not through a window) exposure as early as possible in the morning, ideally around sunrise, and then again at sunset. The way I’ve been doing this in the mornings is opening my window very early in the morning, sitting right by it, setting a timer for 20 minutes, then doing my morning journaling and breathing exercises (more on this below).
Wear blue light blocking glasses whenever you look at a screen all day, but if you can’t do that at least do it during the evening hours starting at around 8 PM. This will help you fall and stay asleep more easily. I have two pairs of FilterOptix blue light blocking glasses that I love. I have the clear lenses that I use during the daytime and the orange lenses that I use when read on my Kindle at night.
First thing every morning, get some cold exposure by taking a cold shower. This increases your dopamine production immediately and for hours afterward. Intentionally exposing yourself to stressors like this (exercise is another example) improves your health. I also enjoy the practice as a way to cultivate self-discipline. I do 1 minute and 35 seconds every morning before I work out. I take my normal hot shower after my workouts. I really enjoy the practice and if I had a backyard I would totally buy a cold plunge tub for it.
Of all the things you can do for longevity, getting the basics right is more important than all of the supplements and hacks combined. The everyday basics include exercising, eating well (don’t eat too much; eat enough veggies, fiber, and protein), sleeping enough, sunlight exposure at sunrise and sunset, heat/cold exposure, walking 10k steps a day, and grounding.
Speaking of walking 10k steps a day, I’m trying to be more disciplined about doing this. I used to have a walking desk at home in LA and hitting this target was never a problem. Now I have to build walking into my days by intentionally choosing errands to run that are a bit far away. For example, my coworking space is a 50 minute walk from my flat, my dry cleaner 15 minutes, my nail salon 15 minutes, my mailbox 12 minutes, etc. When I’m going to meet a friend for lunch, I always intentionally choose a location that’s at least a 30 minute walk away.
Add a tablespoon of high-quality, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil to your lunch or dinner every day. The oleic acid in olive oil is excellent for improving longevity, gut health, and metabolism.
Have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with the mother with your lunches and dinners. ACV is a naturally fermented food that improves gut health and having it with meals minimizes the glucose impact of the meal as well.
Something trending is the idea that health starts in your mouth. Some things you might do are to stop using mouthwashes with alcohol and get your oral microbiome tested at a holistic or biological dentist.
Look out for chemicals hidden in your laundry detergent, even those labeled as healthy, eco-friendly, or organic. Whatever you wash your clothes in is what you will breathe in all day long. I tried and loved this UK-based detergent Allavare that left my clothes clean and smelling incredible. I will be on the lookout for their US launch.
Ben Greenfield is one of the most famous biohackers in the states. He was another speaker I really enjoyed hearing. Jetlag is something I really struggle with and his antidote for that at the moment is to take melatonin, a double dose of NAD, and creatine monohydrate. I’m definitely going to try this on my next trip!
Another one of the speakers I was most excited to see was Marisa Peer. I’ve read her book and because of it began, months ago, the practice of doing daily affirmations in the way that she advises. What makes her different is she emphasizes (1) how important it is that we be highly specific with our affirmations because our subconscious minds take everything we say literally and (2) how we must say our affirmations with complete conviction. This also means we need to watch out for negative things we say to ourselves all day long. Stop saying stuff like, “I’m so stressed, I’ve got chronic fatigue, I’m losing my shit,” or “I get allergies every spring, if I look at a cake I get fat, I’m an anxious person, I have social anxiety” because then your mind must act on this. Stop it! I’m very careful about the things I say to myself. As for my affirmations, first thing every morning and night while in bed I repeatedly say my affirmations aloud with conviction for 5 minutes. I find that my morning affirmations get me into the right mindset for the day and my evening affirmations help me come up with creative solutions while I sleep.
I purchased at the conference a $350 Airofit device that helps you improve your lung strength and capacity for better workouts and overall wellness. It also tracks your progress over time. I’ve had weak lungs since I was a kid and get asthma and bronchitis easily. You can use this link to get 20% off your Airofit.
Consider replacing titanium fillings you may have with ceramic fillings. Dr. Dominik Nischwitz is a biological dentist in Germany who believes that metal fillings can contribute to auto-immune health issues over time. There are similar doctors in the states who can replace fillings for you.
Look into Quicksilver Scientific if you suspect you have mercury levels affecting your health. They can help with the testing and detox.
If you can afford it, I tried out the Samina bed that all the top biohackers swear by because it gives you the health benefits of grounding while you sleep and also reduces back pain and improves sleep quality. It was definitely the comfiest bed I’ve ever tried (the previous position was held by the Four Seasons beds). The bed is about $10k.
Phew, that’s a lot! I hope you’ve found at least one thing helpful here that can assist you on your path to optimizing your health. I feel grateful to have the time and resources to be able to focus on constantly improving all aspects of my health, and it’s a pleasure for me to share my journey with all of you.
Julie