We all desire for a longer and better life and our interest in staying young and healthy is growing as we get older.
Recently I have been fascinated by the theory of reversing the ageing process by Dr David Sinclair. David is an Australian-American biologist and academic known for his research on ageing and epigenetics. He shows up often on podcasts and youtube videos. He is 53 years but he looks healthy and 30~40s years and it makes me believe maybe his theory is true and works.
His theory is saying that a longer life is related to eating LESS – ONE meal a day or 5 days eating and 2 days with no food.
His theory begins with the stone age. Humans used to eat when food was available, like when they succeeded in hunting, then starved until the food was available again.
Nowadays, we can eat whenever we want. Supermarkets, café, takeaways, etc – SO many choices. He believes that starvation will put us in survival mode, in other words, by waking up our longevity cells which means our body is working hard for longer life. He says to start with two meals a day and drink water or tea if you get too hungry. Once your body learns how to make glucose itself (without eating food) you will feel fine.
I am a food lover so it seems like a very stressful process but eating less is something we can all do in some way.
He talks about the kind of food that will keep us young and give us a longer life.
OMG3/EPA is the basic structure of our cells and our bodies cannot make it naturally, however, we can eat cold water ‘oily’ fish such as Salmon, mackerel, tuna and Sardine instead. For people who don’t eat fish, you can eat avocado and olive oil although these are not as effective as fish oils.
Sleep well – This is tricky as I am a very bad sleeper. He stresses that sleeping releases toxins into our brain that refreshes it. So I have been searching for how we can improve our sleep.
Divide sleeping space and day space - don’t work or watch tv or use your cellphone in the bed. This will stimulate you to think it is time to sleep when you lie down in bed rather than to be awake.
Avoid Alcohol or food before bed. A full stomach can distract you and keep you awake. Alcohol disrupts your sleep during the night.
Exercise - going for a brisk daily walk won’t just trim you down but it will keep you up less often at night. Exercise boosts the effect of natural sleep hormones such as melatonin. A study in the Journal 'Sleep' found that women who exercised for about three and a half hours a week had an easier time falling asleep than women who exercise less. But just don’t exercise too close to bedtime as it can be overly stimulating. So go for a walk with our nip-glide walker in the morning and expose yourself to bright daylight that will help the body's natural rhythm.
De-stress. This might be the main reason for me being a light sleeper. I haven’t managed to learn how to stop thinking and be relaxed. But the research says learning a form of relaxation can promote good sleep patterns and can also reduce daytime anxiety. So find a memory which takes you to a happy relaxing moment. My husband who is a sleeping champion says before you fall asleep, he imagines he is laying down on the grass and the warm sun is touching his face.
I hope this article interests you and inspires you to stay young and healthy.
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