What Would a Perfect Health Day Look Like?

Written By Mike Spivey

So many of us, myself included, wait until the new year and declare our health reboot January 1. Why wait?

Yesterday I decided I’d try to do all the right things and track them each day in terms of month of September, starting today. Which leads to the question “what are all the right things?” As I’ve blogged and podcasted before, the best answer would be the things that mater to you and that you stick to. But let me take a stab at what a great health day would look like.

Morning

  • Wake up naturally with no alarm and ideally around same time everyday.

  • Hydrate with water only. (I fail miserably here because I start with caffeine).

  • Get outside and move, ideally right when light would be hitting you eyes. (Because of my early AM schedule that happens to just works really well for me work-wise, I’m out in the pitch black but I try to take a short break and meet the rising sun).

  • Move for 20–30 minutes: a walk, run, hike, stretching or a workout.

  • Fast for 16-18 hours if that’s for you or an eat a non-processed breakfast. I personally love fasting and often don’t eat until 1:00PM so I get some auhophagy benefits (see shirt in picture) but to each their own here.

Day

  • Work in blocks, taking brief movement breaks rather than sitting continuously ad breaks from phone and computer)

  • Eat a balanced lunch: plenty of vegetables or fruit, a protein source, whole-food carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

  • Walk after eating, even 10 minutes is useful. I try for 30.

  • Drink water throughout the day, guided partly by thirst and urine color rather than forcing a specific amount.

  • Do an exercise session if you haven't already (I do it absurd early):

    • Strength training several times per week

    • Cardio several times per week

    • Some mobility/balance work

  • Recovery is part of fitness. Don't make every workout hard.

Evening

  • Have a satisfying dinner centered around whole foods and protein, without needing to be restrictive.

  • Ideally one more walk. This gets me to ~10,000 steps for the day

  • Relax and socialize—relationships, laughter, hobbies, a good show, whatever you wind down with. Hug your partner, a friend, a pet. This might be the most important part of any healthy day.

Night

  • Keep a consistent bedtime.

  • Make the bedroom dark and quiet. (I prefer white noise.)

  • Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep. (I am a quasi shortsleeper meaning I’m great at 6 hours. The key for me is to go to bed at abut the same time, wind down with a book and wake up naturally).

Don’t want to do this today or for a month? Just revisit this page or make a schedule of your own. But one thing to remember, or at least that I thought on yesterday. If I were to be told I had 25 good years ahead of me and then I was given the exact day I would die, there’s basically only two directions I think we would go in knowing this exact date. We’d maximize pleasure, or we’d maximize living in the present to make each day count. For me, if I roughly followed (certainly allowing fun days and times with people I care about), if I were to look back 25 years from now right at that date, that would absolutely be the route I was glad I took. So why not start now if you agree?

We are our own griefs. We are our own happinesses. We are our own remedies.

Mike Spivey

Mike Spivey
Next

On Living Life