Akhil Sasidharan
@akhilsasidharan
Light-bottler.
Akhil Sasidharan
@akhilsasidharan
Light-bottler.
50 Health Facts, 1 Playbook for Living Longer and Better
Sleep predicts wins and losses:
Sleep data alone predicted NBA losing streak risk with about 86% accuracy.
Restricted sleep in animals quickly led to type 2 diabetes.
Even short-term poor sleep derails metabolism and performance.
Sleep quality (depth, regularity, environment) matters as much as duration.
Eat fewer, better calories:
Caloric restriction consistently extends lifespan in animal models.
Cutting ~500 calories below guideline (e.g., 2,000 vs 2,500) is a typical target.
It only works if you avoid junk and maintain solid macro- and micronutrients.
Diets rich in whole foods outperform “eat less” with ultra-processed options.
Omega-3s rival (and beat) smoking risk:
A low omega-3 index is linked to shorter life expectancy than smoking.
High omega-3 levels added ~5 years of life compared with low levels.
Smokers with high omega-3s lived as long as non-smokers with low omega-3s.
Best sources: wild-caught fish, grass-fed animal products, and carefully chosen oils.
VO2 max is a mortality scoreboard:
High VO2 max is one of the strongest predictors of lower all-cause mortality.
Protocol: about 4 hours of Zone 2 cardio weekly plus one higher-intensity session.
Combining long, easy efforts with targeted intervals builds durable capacity.
VO2 max improvements correlate directly with lower disease and death risk.
Sleep hygiene is non-negotiable:
Chronic sleep restriction in rats led to disease within two weeks.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time daily for stable rhythms.
Aim for ~8 hours in bed in a dark, cool, quiet room.
Avoid food, alcohol, and stimulating content in the 2–3 hours before bed.
Stress is about response, not just load:
High stress suppresses the immune system and increases inflammation.
The key risk is your physiological reaction, not just the external stressor.
Breathwork, meditation, and therapy reduce harmful stress responses.
Better stress management directly lowers risk of cardiac and metabolic events.
Posture is a silent health risk:
Forward head and rounded shoulders restrict blood flow to the brain.
Correcting posture averted stroke risk in a documented case.
Simple daily drills (shoulder retraction, head alignment) can fix it in minutes.
Better posture improves breathing, oxygen intake, and nervous-system function.
Nasal breathing is a performance enhancer:
Nasal breathing boosts oxygen efficiency and lung capacity.
Mouth-taping at night helped eliminate snoring and likely sleep apnea symptoms.
Better nighttime breathing supports deeper, more restorative sleep.
Daytime nasal breathing improves endurance and attention.
Social ties are metabolic medicine:
Positive social connections improve mood and mental health.
Chronic negative interactions elevate stress and autonomic arousal.
The goal is fewer draining interactions and more energizing ones.
“Become the person you want to be around” to attract better relationships.
Mental health drives physical outcomes:
Chronic stress, anxiety, and depression weaken immunity and raise inflammation.
This increases risk of heart attack and other major diseases.
Weekly therapy plus journaling is framed as standard hygiene, not crisis care.
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is highlighted as especially effective.
Morning sunlight is a daily reset:
Bright light in the morning anchors circadian rhythms and improves sleep.
Target: as much safe bright light as possible early in the day.
Avoid bright light between ~10 p.m. and 4 a.m. to protect melatonin.
Even “UV-avoiders” still need morning light for clock alignment.
Sun is a double-edged sword:
UV radiation ages skin and raises skin cancer risk.
Yet sunlight improves mood and circadian timing when used judiciously.
The play: avoid peak UV, use protection, but don’t eliminate sun entirely.
Balance skin health with systemic benefits, not all-or-nothing extremes.
Why it Matters
For leaders, this stack of “boring but universal” health facts is a strategic operating system. Sleep regularity, VO2 max, omega-3s, stress response, posture, and sunlight are all levers that directly influence cognition, resilience, and decision quality. Treating them as non-negotiable infrastructure—not wellness add-ons—builds teams that think clearer, recover faster, and stay in the game longer, turning personal health practices into a durable performance advantage for the entire organization.