BRYAN JOHNSON

Bryan Johnson.

You may have heard of him!

This is the guy striving to attain immortality through a combination of advanced technology, 100s of daily pills and…his own son’s blood?

That Bryan Johnson.

Well, if anything, he epitomises the extreme end of the fast-evolving and emergent field of longevity.

These are people who, like Bryan, actively seek to optimise every system – down to the cellular level – to slow, prevent and even reverse every aspect of their biological age.

It’s the next evolutionary leap in an industry that’s always on the lookout for the next health and performance panacea; it's no longer just about wellness and performance, it’s about stretching both of these attributes for as long as possible.

An extreme space, for sure. And with anything extreme and novel, it comes with extreme characters, and even more extreme views…

Bryan, a multimillionaire, is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to optimising his health and wellbeing.

From taking thousands of supplements over a weekly basis, to having militarily regimented eating and sleeping windows and even injecting a kaleidoscope of cutting-edge (and some entirely speculative) compounds into his body.

On top of this comes an extreme level of restriction: no junk food, no alcohol, no caffeine (no fun!)

He even limits sun exposure to the absolute bare minimum.

His philosophy on restriction is such that he considers any food, activity or experience that doesn’t completely align with maximising longevity as being an active “self-harm” to yourself.

Drink a can of diet soda instead of filtered water? Eating a Snickers bar instead of an apple? These are a self-harms my friend.

And you can already see how narrow the boundaries of what's acceptable on the path to immortality might be.

And what Bryan poses, and wants all of the people tuned into him to think about, is why would any choose to self-harm when they could do as he does and live as long as possible?

But perhaps the context of his question, and precisely what he’s asking, actually highlights what many people would consider to be the greatest irony in his entire approach and ethos.

Is that in attempting to exist for as long as possible, he’s also forgetting to live.

Potentially a much longer life, at the cost of far fewer experiences.

And the argument can be made that it's the diversity of life's experiences - including those that would be termed "self-harms", that make it so fulfilling.

Bryan, on the other hand, is still deeply fulfilled because he has the eyes of the world on him, and he is immersed in a constant swirl of media coverage, interviews, articles and celeb hang outs. 

It’s easy to see why he would be more content living in a “longevity prison” than the normal person, whilst eschewing all the common vices that, sometimes, really just make the life experience so much fun.

Because for people not courting millions of eyes on social media, this would mean a life with an extremely narrow band of foods and tastes (Bryan’s meals are broadly all the same and he never deviates)

It’d be constant lowkey hunger and a lack of satisfaction.

There’d be no more late nights, when you forgo an optimal 8 hours sleep to watch an event or attend a party. 

Or spend extra time with that special someone or create memories with friends (gotta keep that your circadian rhythm on track for longevity!)

Bryan isn’t even allowed to fuck after 8pm because it’d interfere with his sleep schedule.

There’d be no more lounging around by the poolside, basking in Balearic sun. And, dare I say, getting a lovely tan also?

No sharing a glass (or two) of beautiful South African sauvignon blanc with a partner or nursing an 18 year old scotch.

It is a toxin after all (and it is)

But these things are fun.

These things are fulfilling.

And Bryan is apparently ready to live beyond the heat death of the universe without them.

Put simply, all of Bryan’s efforts to live as long as possible don’t involve living as much as existing through the lens of an algorithm that minimises any indulgent experiences.

Bryan would be happy to never eat birthday cake again, if only for the potential to etch out an extra birthday cake-less birthday.

Anyway...

On the flipside, giving yourself over to a life of vices, and limiting your longevity, would be an incredibly sad thing for a person to do to themselves.

Drug addiction, obesity, early onset illness and frailty...

A life of chronic stress, low sleep and bad health outcomes is hardly the alternative.

It's why people like Bryan Johnson exist.

But, on the other extreme, like Bryan, you’re also crippling your available experiences. And surely the point of living longer and better is to be able to do more cool stuff, with amazing people, and create more memories and good times?

And there is a lot to take from Bryan Johnson’s approach in some areas, and while he’s also very shady with his business practices and promises, the fact he is essentially using himself as a guinea pig to test all of this stuff out is commendable.

So my advice to you is this:

Pull all the big levers as consistently as possible.

Your 7-8 hours sleep more often than not.

Your diverse diet with plenty of fruit, veggies, lean protein and fibre.

And your weekly activity and training to keep your body resilient and built to last.

On top of this, filling the gap with some select supplements is simply wise to help plug nutritional deficiencies, lower inflammation and bolster your cellular protection.

Investing in your health early, and on a consistent basis, is the best approach we have to maximise "the pot" once you get to retirement and rigour yourself against the turbulence and stresses of life.

And philosophically, consider the life you want to have and the experiences you want to have and make sure you support your health for that life and those experiences.

Understand the long term risks of excessive alcohol consumption, sun exposure and bad food choices and do your best to offset them or mitigate the potential damage.

And make your own choices, because it’s your life.

Because you could go to sleep before 8pm each day, never deviate from your meal plan, and stay indoors whenever the UV index creeps up to a point where it might feel like an amazing day outside.

Or you could go to that event, enjoy those drinks and canapes and stay out creating memories that you otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to.

It’s the foundations that are important – keep those strong and more of life’s experiences can remain on the table, for longer.

Jordan