Health

Your body is the hardware your life runs on. Ignore it long enough and everything else starts glitching.

This isn’t about fitness goals or diet culture. It’s about maintenance. The basics that keep the system running so you can focus on everything else.

Most “health advice” is noise. The fundamentals are simple and well-established. They’re just not sexy enough to sell magazines.

The basics (that actually matter)

Sleep. More important than almost anything else for mental and physical function. Most people are chronically under-slept and have no idea how much it’s affecting them.

Movement. Your body evolved to move. Sitting all day is slowly killing you. You don’t need to be an athlete. You need to not be sedentary.

Food. Fuel quality affects function. You don’t need a perfect diet. You need a not-terrible one.

Substances. What you put in your body matters. Obvious things (smoking) and less obvious things (constant caffeine, regular alcohol).

Mental health. Your mind is part of your body. Ignoring psychological maintenance doesn’t make you tough - it makes you time-bomb.

That’s it. Sleep, move, eat reasonably, don’t poison yourself, take care of your mind. Everything else is optimization.

Sleep

Sleep is the foundation. When sleep is broken, everything else is harder:

Mood is worse
Willpower is depleted
Cognitive function declines
Physical recovery slows
Immune system weakens
Appetite regulation fails

You can’t consistently outperform your sleep quality. If everything feels hard, check your sleep first.

Sleep basics:

7-9 hours for most adults (not 6, not “I do fine on less”)
Consistent sleep/wake times (yes, weekends too)
Dark room (actually dark)
Cool temperature
No screens before bed (the light disrupts melatonin)
No caffeine after 2pm (it has a longer half-life than you think)

Sleep is not optional. It’s not “unproductive time.” It’s when your body repairs itself and your brain consolidates learning. Skipping it for productivity is borrowing from tomorrow.

Movement

Your body expects movement. When it doesn’t get it, things go wrong:

Muscles atrophy
Joints stiffen
Cardiovascular system weakens
Mood suffers
Energy decreases

The minimum: 150 minutes per week of moderate activity. That’s 30 minutes, five days a week. Walking counts.

The ideal: some combination of:

Cardiovascular (heart health, endurance)
Strength (muscle maintenance, bone density)
Flexibility/mobility (joint health, injury prevention)

But if you’re doing nothing, anything is an improvement. Perfect is the enemy of good. A daily walk is better than a gym membership you don’t use.

Making it stick:

Tie it to existing habits (walk after lunch)
Make it convenient (gym near home/work)
Find something you don’t hate
Start smaller than you think you should
Consistency beats intensity

Food

Nutrition science is full of contradictions and fads. The basics have remained stable:

Eat mostly whole foods (things that look like they came from nature)
Plenty of vegetables (most people don’t eat enough)
Adequate protein (for muscle maintenance and satiety)
Reasonable portions (calorie balance matters for weight)
Limited processed food (engineered to override satiety signals)
Adequate water

You don’t need to count macros or follow a diet plan. You need to eat roughly like humans ate before food was engineered to be addictive.

What actually matters:

Overall pattern matters more than individual foods
Consistency matters more than perfection
Sustainability matters more than optimization

A “pretty good” diet you can maintain forever beats a “perfect” diet you follow for two weeks.

Substances

Some things you put in your body help. Some harm. Be honest about which is which.

Caffeine: Useful but tricky. Most people are chronically dependent without realizing it. Consider occasional breaks to reset tolerance. Stop early in the day for sleep quality.

Alcohol: More harmful than culture acknowledges. “Moderate drinking is healthy” was based on flawed research. Any amount increases certain cancer risks. You don’t have to quit, but be honest about the trade-off.

Smoking/vaping: Nothing positive to say. Quit if you do it. It’s the single highest-impact health change you can make.

Other substances: Context-dependent. Some drugs are more harmful than others. Some have legitimate uses. Be honest about why you’re using them and whether the trade-off makes sense.

Mental health

Your psychological state affects your physical health, and vice versa. They’re not separate systems.

Mental health maintenance:

Sleep (yes, again)
Exercise (improves mood directly)
Social connection (isolation is a health risk)
Stress management (chronic stress destroys the body)
Professional help when needed (therapy, medication)

Signs you might need support:

Persistent low mood or anxiety
Difficulty functioning
Changes in sleep, appetite, energy
Thoughts of self-harm
Substance use that feels out of control

Getting help isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance. You’d see a mechanic for car problems. Your mind deserves the same care.

The energy system

Think of health as managing an energy system:

Energy inputs:

Sleep (primary recharge)
Food (fuel quality)
Rest (micro-recovery throughout day)

Energy drains:

Physical exertion
Mental exertion
Stress
Illness
Poor sleep
Poor nutrition

When outputs exceed inputs for too long, you burn out. When inputs consistently exceed outputs, you build reserves.

Most people run chronically depleted, then wonder why everything feels hard.

The minimum viable health routine

If you’re doing nothing, start here:

Sleep 7+ hours (non-negotiable)
Walk daily (10-30 minutes)
Eat one serving of vegetables per day
Drink water
Go outside (sunlight helps mood and sleep)

That’s it. If you can do this consistently, you’re ahead of most people.

Add complexity only after the basics are stable. Don’t try to overhaul everything at once.

Why this matters for feeling lost

When your body is struggling, your mind struggles. Low energy masquerades as existential crisis. Poor sleep looks like depression. Dehydration feels like anxiety.

Before assuming your problems are philosophical, check if they’re physiological. Sometimes the answer to “what’s the meaning of life?” is “eight hours of sleep.”

Health doesn’t solve everything. But poor health makes everything worse. Get the hardware running right, then tackle the software.

Related: Habits (building health routines), Anxiety (physical symptoms of mental state), Meaning (health as foundation)