Ask HN: What to do to be healthy when old?

You already know what you need to do, you just need to do it.

In most people it involves prioritising health over other goals to some extent, e.g. if you're doing an 80 hour job, find a 40 hour one with less stress, hit the gym and cook proper meals.

> of you driving drunk

As always people are projecting their own behaviour on others. You have more chance to die in a traffic accident as a pedestrian, just because modern cars are ridiculously safe. I've in an accident, I was in the car on passenger seat. If I was not in the car - I would post here, because at that collision speed pedestrians doesn't survive.

It absolutely doesn't matter if I drunk that day or not. Or just was on my way to drink a lot.

You’ll get roughly the same answer in America but I still recommend it every $x years , if possible, especially in the late 30s.

If you live in the USA, pick a good health insurance plan. Don't trade Medicare for a managed care plan if you can avoid it.

Find a good MD to be your primary care provider.

If you lose confidence in your MD, find another one. Until that happens, don't try to be smarter than your doctors (you will probably have several before too long), and do what your doctors say. Let all your doctors know that you trust them, follow their advice, and respect and rely on them.

Find a good dentist and give them the same treatment that you give your MD.

Do balancing exercises -- broken bones reduce your mobility and vitality; they are often the cause of a downward spiral in health. Don't shun using a cane, walking stick, or walker when there is any chance you might fall, but scrupulously avoid riding around on one of those damned electric carts if you are lucky enough to be able to walk, however slowly.

Have friends and enjoy life.

Exercise as much as you can; eat as little health-damaging food as you can; get 8 hours good sleep every night if you can.

Testosterone replacement therapy - your testosterone starts to decline when you hit 30 by about 1% a year. TRT replaces it to where it would be if you were a healthy twenty year old. This will allow you to train harder and recover quicker.

Stretch every day to maintain mobility. Look at something like GOWOD for a personalised program. Down Dog yoga app is brilliant as well.

Exercise:

Don’t do the same exercise two days in a row. Choose several low impact cardio exercises you enjoy and cycle between them such as:

- Rowing

- Swimming

- Cycling

- Rucking

- Aqua Jogging

- SkiErg

Do some form of resistance training. Do little and often rather than long sessions. Look at swapping traditional exercises out for more ergonomic alternatives. The aim of the game is to get volume on the muscles whilst avoiding stress on the nervous system. For example:

- Belt squats instead of back squats

- Trap bar deadlifts instead of conventional

- Swapping barbell movements for dumbbell movements

- Using sand bags and kettlebells instead of metal and rubber counterparts.

Train your explosivity. This is the first thing to go as you get older. Old men can still be insanely strong but they’re rarely as explosive as in their youth. TRT will help with this.

If your job is computer based, invest in some ergonomic office equipment. I recommend the Hag Capisco as a chair. If you get one, make sure you get the foot ring as well, it’s madness that it doesn’t come as standard. Get a split keyboard such as a ZSA Moonlander. If you get one, get a “ZSA Platform” to mount it on as well, makes it a million times better. Be prepared for a frustrating learning curve with it. I’ll post my layout for it here at some point or check my comment history where I already posted it somewhere else.

I also recommend purchasing a standing desk, such as a YoYo or Jarvis desk. Another cheaper alternative if you only need an area for a mouse and keyboard is something like the “Lifeline Cycling Table”.

The way I have found standing desks to actually work and not just get abandoned is to have the desk permanently set to standing height, and to have your chair set up at standing height too. That way you can easily switch between standing and sitting without any messing about. I used to recommend standing desk mats but don’t anymore as they often interfere with whatever chair you’re using. You end up having to faff and move them out of the way if you want to sit down and then get them back again if you want to stand. Same with the treadmill desks. Just invest in some carpet or a nice soft rug that way you get the cushioning benefits for your feet but can also move the chair around on it freely.

Eat healthy as other people have said. Invest in meal prep containers and make it as easy as possible for yourself.

Buy a Garmin or smart watch to monitor health metrics.

Journal to keep your mind healthy.

Spend time in nature.