A doctor who owns a longevity clinic shared his simple 5-step morning routine – Business Insider

A doctor who owns a longevity clinic shared his morning routine with Business Insider.
“I’m a big believer in routines. Having a good health routine that you follow on a day-to-day basis — with very few skips — is what’s going to lead to optimal health,” Dr. Darshan Shah, the CEO and director of Next Health, a group of longevity clinics in the US and in Dubai, said.
A decade ago, Shah would often work 12-hour days as a surgeon, starting at 6 a.m., and didn’t prioritize his health. He made healthy lifestyle changes in the hope of extending how long he can watch his son grow up, and lost 50 pounds.
He has found that spending 40 to 45 minutes a day on self-care was a “complete game changer.”
“I am no longer tired. I want to wake up every morning, jump out of bed, and attack the day,” he said.
Here’s his morning routine.
Shah blends his coffee with lion’s mane and chaga mushrooms.
These are among the supplements he takes daily.
Mushroom coffee, which usually contains reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, and cordyceps mushrooms, is said to reduce stress and inflammation, increase energy levels, and support the immune system, but according to the Cleveland Clinic, there isn’t much research to support these claims.
Shah journals briefly while waiting for his coffee.
There’s some evidence that journaling can improve mental health because it helps people process their thoughts and gain a sense of self-assurance, particularly those with anxiety or PTSD, according to a 2022 meta-review published in the journal Family Medicine and Community Health.
BI’s Katie Notopoulos recently reported on an uptick in male fitness and “hustle” influencers taking up journaling as a self-improvement technique.
Next, Shah meditates for 20 minutes.
According to the American Psychological Association, meditation has been associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as potentially boosting the immune system.
There are different types of meditation, including body scan, loving kindness, and walking meditation.
Shah does a 10-minute strength training workout with dumbbells every morning.
Three times a week, he also does a 40-minute workout at the gym after he’s completed his morning routine. There, he does a 12-minute run and 30 minutes of training with free weights.
A 2022 review of 16 studies, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that participants who did 30 to 60 minutes of muscle-strengthening activities, including weight training and calisthenics, were 10 to 20% less like to die of conditions including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The studies were on peopled between 18 and 97.
“At this point, my coffee is ready to go. While I’m drinking my coffee, I read for 30 minutes,” Shah said.
He always has two books on the go: one about health and wellness, and one he finds more fun. Currently, he’s reading “Forever Strong” by Gabrielle Lyon to keep up with developments in his industry, and “Love, Life, and Elephants, an African Love Story” by Daphne Sheldrick.
A 2020 study, published in the journal International Psychogeriatrics, that followed 1,962 Taiwanese people between 1989 and 2011 found that participants who read at least once a week at age 60+ were less likely to have cognitive decline 14 years later.
Two glaring omissions from Shah’s routine are breakfast and his phone.
“When I wake up, the first thing I don’t do is pick up my phone. It charges by my coffee machine, so I put on a cup of coffee, and I don’t pick up my phone until that coffee is ready to drink,” he said.
He does intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast every morning. The approach, which typically involves only eating within an eight-hour window, is popular among biohackers and those in the longevity space, BI previously reported. It is linked to benefits including improved sleep and cellular health, the maintenance of a healthy weight, and reduced cancer risk.
But the evidence is very mixed, and experts say that it doesn’t work for everyone. For example, people wanting to build muscle, those with a history of eating disorders, or pregnant women are among those who should avoid it.
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