10 Daily Habits That Help You Age in Reverse

The Goal: Live Slow and Die Old

The older I get (I’m only 31 calm down), the more I realize the importance of longevity-boosting habits. I want to live way past 100. So I’m making sure that my lifestyle aligns with that prospect.

And look, by the time I reach my 80s, I can almost guarantee that we’ll have access to life extension medication. I can look you straight in the eye and tell you that I would bet everything I have on the fact that “aging” is going to become redundant.

I was listening to a Huberman episode with Dr. David Sinclair, and he puts it perfectly:

“Aging, quite simply, is a loss of information.”

He continues:

“I believe that aging is a disease. I believe it is treatable. I believe we can treat it within our lifetimes. And in doing so, I believe, everything we know about human health will be fundamentally changed.”

Aging is a Loss of Information

Here’s the gist: Our DNA — the genetic code itself — doesn’t really get lost as we age. The hardware stays intact. What starts to fail is the software — the system that reads and executes those genetic instructions. The epigenetic information — basically the operating system that tells each cell who it is and what it’s supposed to do.

When that system glitches, cells start to forget their identity. That’s why hair goes gray, skin sags because collagen doesn’t rebuild as easily, and you start getting less sharp because your neurons don’t fire as efficiently.

Over time, stress, toxins, inflammation, and even everyday metabolic activity cause tiny breaks in DNA. Every time your body pauses to repair those breaks, it temporarily shuffles around the proteins responsible for organizing your genetic code. But eventually, the entire organizational system starts to degrade and become less effective.

Enter, Aging. So before I give you advice on what you should do today to live forever, it’s helpful to understand aging as a loss of information in your biological blueprint.

But because it’s a software problem, software is fixable. You can reprogram your cells and help the whole system run more operationally.

10 Things That’ll Help You Age Slowly

In that specific podcast episode, Sinclair also says, “You are as old as you look.” And that was like *boom*. I’ve always said that.

You are as old as you act, as you look, and as you live.

What I mean by this is that if you eat like shit, act like a grandma, and look past your prime — you are undeniably aging more rapidly.

And look, aging in itself isn’t a bad thing. It’s a gift to get old. But if you’re aging rapidly — yes, (can we call a spade a spade?) that is a bad thing! You don’t want to be 30 but look 40.

Here are science-backed things that you can easily do today that will help you look and feel more youthful.

1. Eat a High Fiber Diet for Your Blood Sugar + Gut

If you want to live longer, start by feeding your microbiome — not just yourself. I wrote a book about gut health — check it out. I did my master’s thesis on gut health and writing the book was an amalgamation of everything I learned.

Fiber is for reaaaals the unsung hero of longevity. There’s a woman on TikTok who talks about the anti-aging benefits of beans. And it’s because of the fiber! This simple staple ingredient and fiber in any other source is extremely effective for metabolic health.

Fiber slows glucose absorption, balances blood sugar, and provides fuel for the trillions of bacteria in your gut that regulate inflammation, hormones, and even mood.

Aim for 30–40 grams of fiber per day, mostly from whole foods — not powders.

The best sources:

• Soluble fiber: Oats, chia seeds, psyllium husk, avocados, lentils.
• Insoluble fiber: Leafy greens, flaxseeds, cruciferous vegetables, berries.
• Resistant starch: Cooked and cooled potatoes, green bananas, rice that’s been chilled overnight.

These feed short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria like butyrate, which strengthen your gut barrier, lower inflammation, and improve insulin sensitivity.

The irony is that fiber is the most boring nutrition tip and the most effective metabolic tool. Skip the fancy biohacks — eat the cheapest plants in the grocery store.

2. Try Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a form of time-restricted eating. Most people practice it by skipping breakfast. It’s all about giving your cells enough time to repair rather than constantly digest.

When you fast, levels of NAD+ rise, AMPK is activated, and autophagy (your body’s cellular cleanup process) kicks in. Basically, it allows damaged proteins and old mitochondria to be recycled.

• For men, a 16:8 window (16 hours fasting, 8 hours eating) tends to be the sweet spot for longevity and metabolic health.
• For women, though, the rules shift. Women’s bodies are more sensitive to caloric and circadian stress. Over-fasting (especially alongside high-intensity workouts or low-carb intake) can elevate cortisol, dysregulate the menstrual cycle, and blunt thyroid function. So don’t just jump in headfirst, take it slow and see how your body feels.

Women could possibly start with 12–13 hours between dinner and breakfast — say, 7 pm to 8 am. That shouldn’t be super hard for you. But it’s still long enough to initiate autophagy and improve insulin sensitivity without signaling to your body that it’s in a famine.

3. Eat a Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet has the most robust body of research for longevity, cardiovascular health, and reduced all-cause mortality. It’s a diet centered around micronutrient density, fiber, and consistent anti-inflammatory inputs.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Main fats: Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil (2–3 tbsp/day), avocado oil for cooking, and a handful of walnuts or almonds daily.
• Protein: Wild-caught salmon, sardines, or trout twice a week; eggs; small amounts of grass-fed meat; and legumes like lentils or chickpeas.
• Carbohydrates: Low-glycemic index (GI), high-fiber options like quinoa, farro, bulgur, or roasted root vegetables.
• Produce: 8–10 servings of colorful vegetables and fruits daily — think arugula, spinach, tomatoes, berries, red peppers, and cruciferous veggies.
• Herbs and polyphenols: Garlic, rosemary, oregano, and turmeric — all shown to modulate inflammation and improve endothelial (vessel) function.
• Alcohol: Optional, not essential — and if you drink, keep it to 1 glass of red wine with food, ideally earlier in the evening.

4. Sleep Between 10 pm and 6 am

Yeah, you’ve probably heard to sleep 8 hours a night. But I’m going to take it one step further and get a little bit more granular. Sleep between 10pm and 6am.

Why?

Between 10 pm and 2 am, your body cycles through its deepest stages of non-REM sleep, where growth hormone surges, tissues repair, and the glymphatic system clears metabolic waste from your brain — including beta-amyloid, the plaque linked to Alzheimer’s.

If you’re still getting 8 hours of sleep but you’re going to bed from 2 am to 10 am, you’re not getting the same quality of sleep. While your “chronotype” is a thing, it’s greatly overstated.

You need to aim to go to bed (more or less) when the sun goes down to stay in optimal alignment with all the biological functions of the circadian rhythm.

5. Supplements are Your Friend

My current supplement stack, hyperlinked all the exact ones I use because I feel strongly about their efficacy:

• Fish oil
• Magnesium
• Saffron
• Ashwagandha
• Collagen
• Niagen (NAD+)
• Creatine
• Iron (I’m anemic from pregnancy but fun fact research actually shows a link between people with slightly lower-than-average iron and longevity. Not saying you should try to make yourself anemic but don’t take iron supplements unless you really need to.)

Supplements are not an overstated benefit. They’re not just consumerism 101. They can be really, really effective, particularly if you’re using them to combat known insufficiencies. For example, if you live in a cloudy or gray place, take vitamin D! Don’t be silly!

Beyond the basics, there are some supplements linked to greater longevity: Your body’s ability to produce collagen nosedives after 30 so taking collagen peptides is a good idea. Collagen supports your skin, joints, tendons, bones, and even your gut lining — basically the scaffolding that holds you together. I take 15–30g daily, sometimes adding vitamin C to help with absorption.

Then there’s the Sinclair-inspired stack. NMN (1–2 g daily) and NR (around 500 mg) both increase NAD+, which is a coenzyme your cells need to produce energy. You can think of NAD+ like the fuel line for your mitochondria — when levels drop, energy production slows and aging accelerates.

Also consider adding grape-seed extract for resveratrol, which supports vascular health and can fight inflammation (and even kill cancer cells!).

If you wanna get really down the rabbit hole, you could consider taking BPC-157, an experimental peptide known for improving tissue repair and healing. It’s not FDA-approved yet, but early research is promising — think micro-injury recovery, gut healing, and reduced inflammation. Effective, but quite niche.

6. Use Retinoids, Remember You’re as Old as You Look

Looking younger isn’t a superficial goal. Skin health is one of the most visible hallmarks of biological aging. If you’re covered in wrinkles in your 30s, you’re doing one of two things (or both):

1. Not wearing sunscreen despite lots of sun exposure.
2. You’re aging really fast because of chronic inflammation and DNA damage.

Neither is ideal.

And look, sun exposure is not the devil they make you think it is! I aim to get a lot of sun exposure for my vitamin D and mood, but I’m smart with it. I allow sun exposure on my body but I do wear a relatively low factor 30 mineral sunscreen on my face. I don’t ever burn. Also, I’ve lived in a sunny climate for the past 10 years now so my skin has built up enough of a base color for a degree of protection.

Anyway, to support the appearance of your skin. Retinoids.

Retinoids (vitamin A derivatives) are the only topical ingredients consistently shown to reverse photoaging at the cellular level — they increase collagen synthesis, accelerate cell turnover, and reduce hyperpigmentation.

Beyond aesthetics, healthier skin is a barrier function win. Your skin is your largest immune organ; keeping it strong means less chronic inflammation and better protection against environmental stressors.

As an example of this, my one-year-old son has eczema on his legs (reduced skin barrier function) and has had a few incidences of infected mosquito bites. The doctor told us that they get infected and don’t heal as fast because of the reduced skin barrier function. Take care of your skin people!

Start with an over-the-counter retinol or retinaldehyde and work up to a prescription-strength tretinoin if your skin tolerates it. Use it nightly with moisturizer and think of it as part of your longevity protocol, not just skincare.

7. Exercise (Zone 2 and Strength Training)

If you want to live to 100, you must train like you want to move at 100. Forget the six-pack workouts — this is about mitochondrial density, muscle preservation, and metabolic resilience.

A well-rounded longevity protocol, aligned with the approach used by leading researchers like Huberman and other aging experts, looks something like this:

• Day 1: Long Zone 2 cardio. 60 minutes to 3 hours of steady, conversational pace work. Think hiking, cycling, or a long walk. This builds mitochondrial capacity and improves fat oxidation — the foundation of metabolic health.
• Day 2: Legs + calves. Large muscle groups drive hormone balance, insulin sensitivity, and vascular function.
• Day 3: Heat + cold exposure. 20 minutes of sauna followed by 2–5 minutes of cold, repeated 2–3 times. The temperature stress activates heat shock proteins, boosts circulation, and triggers brown fat activation for longevity benefits.
• Day 4: Moderate cardio (Zone 3) for 30 minutes. A slight uptick in intensity to build cardiovascular flexibility.
• Day 5: Torso + abs. Core strength supports posture, spinal stability, and healthy aging — especially when muscle mass naturally declines.
• Day 6: Short, high-intensity cardio. 20 minutes of HIIT, Zone 4–5. This improves VO₂ max — one of the strongest predictors of lifespan.
• Day 7: Optional arms, calves, and neck. These are indirect movers, often trained through compound lifts but worth isolating occasionally for structural balance.

The key here is intensity cycling — alternating between long, low-intensity training and short bursts of high intensity. This balance challenges your cardiovascular system without burning you out.

8. Avoid Everything that Fuels Inflammation

I’m not going to waste your time putting individual points about avoiding alcohol, processed foods, stress, and poor sleep. You know this stuff is bad for you.

But look: If aging is information loss, inflammation is the static that scrambles the signal.

Chronic, low-grade inflammation (inflammaging, as researchers call it) is at the root of nearly every age-related disease — from heart disease to Alzheimer’s.

So yes, this is the boring part where I tell you to drink less, sleep more, and stop eating garbage, but here’s why:

• Alcohol disrupts mitochondrial function and spikes cortisol.
• Processed foods drive oxidative stress and gut permeability.
• Sleep deprivation impairs your body’s nightly repair cycle.
• Stress floods your system with inflammatory cytokines.

Every inflammatory hit is a micro-aging event. One night of poor sleep, one binge weekend, and your cells remember (sorry to be the bearer of bad news).

9. Eat Until 80% Full (The Okinawan Rule)

Okinawans — who hold one of the highest life expectancies on Earth — call this principle “Hara Hachi Bu,” which translates to “Eat until you are 80% full.” It’s simple in theory but rooted in deep metabolic wisdom.

When you eat to satiety rather than fullness, you blunt postprandial (after-meal) glucose spikes and reduce oxidative stress. Your digestive system can process nutrients efficiently, and insulin levels stay low — both key markers of longevity.

Practically speaking:

• Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for leptin (the hormone that signals fullness) to reach your brain.
• Stop eating when you could still eat more, not when you can’t eat more.

10. Be Around Youthful, Positive People

I met a successful, extremely youthful person recently (despite being in his 60s), and he told me that his biggest longevity hack was being friends with people in their 30s and 40s. By the way, for the first few weeks of knowing him I thought he was maybe early 40s, max.

Longevity isn’t just biology, it’s environment. You become a reflection of the energy around you. Studies on the Blue Zones (regions where people consistently live past 100) show one common thread: social health.

Being part of a community that laughs often, moves daily, and eats together lowers cortisol, improves immune function, and even extends lifespan. Chronic loneliness, on the other hand, is associated with a 26–32% increase in mortality risk.

But don’t just be around people to be around them. People who drain the life out of you is a fast track to aging. Instead, be around people who are (or act) young and are full of life.

!!! Vitality, Baby !!!

I could go on forever, but this is already at 3,000 words. If you want to stay young (which is a good goal, don’t let people shame you into thinking it’s a superficial goal. It’s not.), then you’ve got to take good care of yourself.

If you’re reading this you probably already know the basics: good food, low stress, good sleep, lots of movement. But I hope this helped you realize that you can take it up a notch.

Live vital, my friend.