#23: Longevity Highlights: Key Takeaways from the 6 Pillars

In this special episode of Live Long and Well, I’m introducing two exciting updates:

1. Now on YouTube – You can watch this episode with engaging visuals, graphs, and clips.
2. Longevity Highlights Segment – This episode begins a new series where I summarize key takeaways from previous episodes to reinforce critical lessons and practical tips.

Take the Health Type Quiz

Why Longevity Highlights?

We’ve covered a wealth of information in 22 episodes! Research suggests that repetition strengthens memory, especially when we discuss or teach what we learn. Let’s revisit the essential pillars for a healthier, longer life.

The Six Pillars to Live Long and Well

1. Exercise (Episode 2)
   • Why it matters: Reduces mortality risk by 20%+, lowers cancer and Alzheimer’s risks, and improves overall functionality.
   • Practical tips:
     • Aim for 150–300 minutes of aerobic exercise per week.
     • Incorporate strength training 1–2 times weekly.
     • Add balance and flexibility exercises and try high-intensity workouts weekly.
2. Sleep (Episode 3)
   • Why it matters: Sleep under 7 hours impacts mortality, memory, and energy.
   • Practical tips:
     • Keep a consistent bedtime.
     • Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep.
     • Create a cool, comfortable sleep environment and get early sunlight exposure.
3. Nutrition (Episode 4)
   • Why it matters: Supports weight management and overall health.
   • Practical tips:
     • Focus on maintaining a healthy weight.
     • All diets work...until they don't...no magic approach; experiment with what works for you (e.g., intermittent fasting or balanced macros).
     • Prioritize protein intake.
4. Mind-Body Harmony (Episode 5)
   • Why it matters: Reduces stress and promotes emotional well-being.
   • Practical tips:
     • Spend time in nature.
     • Practice regular breathwork, yoga, or meditation.
5. Exposure to Heat and Cold (Episode 6)
   • Why it matters: Enhances cardiovascular and mental health.
   • Practical tips:
     • Sauna: 20 minutes, 3 times weekly.
     • Cold plunges or cold showers for a few minutes to boost mood.
6. Social Relationships (Episode 7)
   • Why it matters: Strong social connections predict longevity and functionality.
   • Practical tips:
     • Invest in friendships and add younger friends to your circle.

Final Thoughts

Let me know if these highlights are helpful. If you haven’t already, take the Live Long & Well Quiz on my website to learn which archetype best fits your health style. Want to work with me more closely? Visit drbobblivelongandwell.com.

Call to Action

• Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite platform.
• Take the Live Long and Well Quiz
• Leave a review and share this episode with someone who could benefit.
• If you wish to work with me directly, link here; we are starting a Mastermind Workshop early 2025-the Live Long and Well Jumpstart.
• Until next time, let’s

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Hi, I'm Dr Bobby Du Bois and welcome to Live Long and Well, a podcast where we will talk about what you can do to live as long as possible and with as much energy and figure that you wish, and with as much energy and vigor that you wish. Together, we will explore what practical and evidence-supported steps you can take. Come join me on this very important journey and I hope that you feel empowered along the way. I'm a physician, ironman, triathlete and have published several hundred scientific studies. I'm honored to be your guide. Welcome to Live Long and Well with Dr Bobby.

Speaker 1: 0:54

This is episode 23,. Longevity Highlights Key takeaways from the six pillars to live long and well. Well, today we have something new, in fact two something news. First, we have now a YouTube version of this episode, so if you want to watch me and watch graphics and video clips, you might go to YouTube and watch the video version of this podcast, or you can continue, of course, to listen as you do now Also. The second is this is a new segment. It's going to be called Longevity Highlights and in these highlight segments, I'm going to review recent episodes and provide reminders and high-level take-home messages, and I hope these will be very practical reminders you can incorporate in your life. And today we're going to focus on the takeaways from the very first six pillars episodes and, just as a reminder, all of the things we're going to talk about are based on good evidence. Well, why now?

Speaker 1: 2:07

Well, I had done 22 episodes and that's a lot of information, or at least I think it's a lot of information and I felt that it was important to pause periodically and reinforce that information. Now, some of these numbers I'm going to quote are not based on rigorous evidence, but it's often said that we only remember 20% of what we read or hear or see if we just see it just one time. So it's often talked about the fact that you need to hear the same information twice, three times, perhaps seven times, before it really sticks. Now, you know I love studies, so of course, I had to go and find a study that supports this, and they did a brain activation study. So they were looking at parts of the brain and specifically the hippocampus, which is where more memories are stored, and they looked at it a day after learning information, a week later, a month later, and they compared it when you only heard it once or saw it once up to a total of seven times and what they found was the more times it was repeated, the more activation there was of the hippocampus, meaning we really really do need to reinforce our learnings for it to stay Well.

Speaker 1: 3:32

Another piece of the puzzle is that when you hear something that's good or see something, but your retention is much stronger if you share that information with someone else and if you teach someone else, you may remember 90 or 95% of that information. Now I practice that with Gail, because I often share with her some of the studies that I'm sharing with you, my audience, and the more repetition that I am able to do, the better off I am in remembering. So please listen, please watch on YouTube if you wish, and share this with others. Well, as you know, I like to begin with a personal story and, as you know, I do a podcast, so I'm very focused on health and fitness and obviously I'm a physician, so that adds a piece of the puzzle, and from my quiz, I turned out to be a holistic health hacker, meaning that I tend to try to dial in all aspects of health. If you haven't taken the quiz, just go to my website, drbobblivelongandwellcom, and you can take it, and most people have found that it's very helpful and we have about 600 people who have already taken it. So I realize this is Thanksgiving, we just had Thanksgiving and I need to keep relearning the lessons I'm sharing with you. So, as you know, we've talked about when you're eating. Your brain takes a while to realize. Oh, I guess I'm full about 20 minutes or so, and so over Thanksgiving I did not remember the 20-minute guidance and I overate meal after meal after meal. Had I paused, I might not have overeaten quite as much.

Speaker 1: 5:26

I've also gotten out of the habit recently of meditating and I find I get a bit more irritable when things come up and meditation reminds me that that feeling of uneasiness is just a feeling and I can feel a little more comfortable with that. I also got out of the habit of my sauna and my cold plunge. Well, gail and I tried to get back on the wagon and we took our saunas last night. We had had 24 people stay at our ranch and be with us for four days for Thanksgiving and we were worn out. But having the sauna, we felt great afterwards and we slept really well.

Speaker 1: 6:09

So, again, someone like me who thinks about this all the time, I need to be reminded, so I thought perhaps others do as well. Now, if you can remember, back to the first episode we talked about, what does it mean? To live long and well? Okay, live long, that's pretty straightforward. You want to live to be 90 or beyond. But live well is a little more subtle, and I had shared with you a quote by the author Hunter S Thompson, and I'm going to repeat it because it's a really good mantra for me to remember and for you perhaps as well. Broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming wow, what a ride. So again, it isn't just living long, but we want to be as energetic during our whole life, and especially in those final years.

Speaker 1: 7:21

So this highlights episode is going to reiterate the six pillars Very briefly. I'm going to walk through each one, why that pillar is so important and then, practically, what can we do? All right, pillar number one exercise. This was episode number two, probably the single most powerful lever we've got, and, frankly, when people think about health and wellness, they often think of exercise. So people tend to focus this. But, just as a reminder, exercise reduces our risk of mortality by 20% or even more, and the more exercise, the more that risk is in your favor, and this has been based on studies with 600,000 people. Exercise reduces our cancer risk 20 to 30 percent again based on a large study of folks and exercise reduces our risk of Alzheimer's disease. Data here isn't quite so perfect. It's not clear how many years of exercise to get the benefit Vigorous exercise versus not so vigorous exercise but it appears it does reduce that risk. But also remember that exercise isn't just to live longer or not get dementia. It also helps our bodies to be functional and to do those activities we want, like pickerball or hiking or playing with our grandkids as we get older.

Speaker 1: 8:52

All right, what were the key takeaways? Try to get two to five hours of aerobic exercise every week. Try to do a strength training regimen once or twice a week. If you can do some balance training, great. And if you can do high intensity work once a week, that's great, okay. Number two sleep, the unsung hero. This was episode three. Also want to mention that on my website, every one of my episodes, I have an article about what we talked about, and so it's very quick and easy for you to find the information, the lists of things you might want to focus on. Just go to the website, which is drbobblivelongandwellcom. You'll also find the quiz there, and if you want to work more closely and directly with me, you can reach out in that way.

Speaker 1: 9:51

Okay, if you are a single-minded achiever that's one of our quiz types or a contentment creator, you tend to focus on a small number of aspects of health. You may not be remembering to focus on all the things you can do to improve your sleep and, as we've talked about too many of us get less than seven hours per night, and that seven hours is a pretty good benchmark of what we need Less sleep, especially less regular sleep. Regular sleep meaning roughly the same amount of sleep every night. Roughly, you go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time. When you don't get that amount of sleep, it impacts your mortality, it impacts your memory. But the good news is there are 12 practical steps you can do that will help almost everybody improve their sleep. Now I'm not going to walk through all 12. If you go to the prior episode, number three, or go to the blog on my website, you'll get them listed all there, but here are some that is good to remind ourselves.

Speaker 1: 11:03

Alcohol really affects our sleep. Eating close before bedtime may affect your sleep a lot. Have a cool temperature in your bedroom. That makes a huge difference for a lot of people. Try a sauna or a hot shower before bed, just like I talked about that, gail and I just did. That can help you sleep well. If you can get early sunlight, walk around outdoors beginning of the day, that's great. And, as I mentioned, a regular bedtime and just as a bonus element here, remember we've talked about end of one studies Try something in yourself, measure a baseline measure after you're trying this new thing and see if it helps. Sleep is a perfect thing. Stop alcohol for a little while, see if it makes a difference, restart alcohol perhaps, see if it gets worse again and then you really know how your body functions.

Speaker 1: 12:02

Okay, next pillar, nutrition. That's episode four. So much has been written and talked about, but I netted down to four principles and I wanted to remind you of these. Principle one, if you can, from a nutrition standpoint and your whole body standpoint maintaining a proper weight. Whole host of reasons this is helpful. Feel free to listen to my episode also on weight and weight loss. Principle two all diets work. They all work until they don't. Whether it's high fat, low fat, intermittent fasting, there is no magic diet that will work. Try it and whatever works for you is what you should do. Principle three what we eat carbs versus meats versus other things and when we eat, it is less crucial. Obviously, protein is important, but the rest of the diet? There is, again, no magic, no-transcript, okay.

Speaker 1: 13:12

Fourth of our pillars mind-body harmony. Episode five if you want to listen more directly, it is probably the most overlooked area, meaning people might be running, they might focus on their nutrition, but they often don't incorporate very simple things like walking in nature, very simple things like walking in nature, breath work, a few minutes a day, yoga or meditation. Mind-body work is so important. Stress has been related to your blood pressure, cardiovascular death, and these activities like the walk in nature and the breath work and yoga and meditation have been shown to affect your cortisol stress hormones and reduce your blood pressure. All right.

Speaker 1: 14:00

Number five exposure to heat and cold, especially cold, cold plunges, cold showers. This is where I get most of my pushback. People are like Dr Bobby, I'll do all these other things, please. I don't, I don't and I can't do the cold plunge, okay, if that's not your thing, it's not your thing, but these activities have been going on for thousands of years and, as we talked about, there's a whole series of important studies in Finland which showed that sauna's regular sauna use reduces heart disease, reduce cognitive decline. Okay, so what's the prescription? Sauna 20 minutes, ideally three times a week. The more you do, the better, it seems, in terms of our health. Cold plunge, fewer studies, no real long-term studies, but what it has been shown is that our dopamine levels, our happiness hormones, as it were, increase when you do just a couple of minutes of that cold exposure.

Speaker 1: 15:04

All right, the final one, the importance of social relationships. This is pillar six, and it was in episode seven, and we talked about the Harvard study of adult Development. It's also been popularized in Blue Zones and it is the strongest predictor of living into our 70s and being functional. So very important to work on, and the definition of a strong social relationship for me is is there somebody you can call in the middle of the night? And, as we talked about, as we age, our friends die off, they move off. It's important to incorporate younger people in our lives as friends so they will continue with us, hopefully for decades to come. Well, that's it. We have summarized the six pillars, why they're important and what you can do. That's very, very practical.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Let me know if you liked the highlights episode. I need the feedback. I really appreciate it. If you can leave me a review, please do so. Please recommend the podcast to others and, again, if you haven't taken the quiz, you might find it very, very helpful. Well, until next time, our journey continues to live long and well. Thanks so much for listening to Live Long and Well with Dr Bobby. If you liked this episode, please provide a review on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen. If you want to continue this journey or want to receive my newsletter on practical and scientific ways to improve your health and longevity, please visit me at drbobbilivelongandwellcom. That's, doctor, as in D-R Bobby. Live long and wellcom.