Call it the early bird special for cheating death.
It’s no secret that biohacking mogul Bryan Johnson wants to live forever by following an ultra-strict fitness regimen alongside a 14-step morning routine for anti-aging.
And Johnson has one particular trick from his extreme “Project Blueprint” longevity plan that he does every day to cheat death.
The 47-year-old tech mogul-turned-biohacker begins his day before most of us hit the snooze button by waking up at 5 a.m.
And his one big rule to give him the best chance at avoiding the end of the mortal coil is to stop eating before going to bed.
He doesn’t just limit the size of his last meal before turning in for the night. Instead, he stops eating at least four hours before bedtime and simply doesn’t eat between 5 and 10 p.m.
Johnson considers this ban on nighttime snacking and late-night meals the best way to “improve overall happiness,” he told Men’s Health UK.
Late-night eating, particularly two to three hours before bed, can have negative health impacts and result in poor energy levels, increased appetite and weight gain.
Eating late at night has also been linked to a higher-risk of death due to diabetes, cancer and a number of other causes.
And the early-bird special isn’t just beneficial for senior citizens or biohackers. Experts say a 5 p.m. dinnertime can boost weight loss, help digestion and improve sleep.
Eating this early also gives you plenty of time for a post-dinner walk, also known as a “fart walk”, a trendy exercise that helps get things moving inside your gut and promotes healthy bowel movements.
Johnson’s late-night rule is to avoid binge eating or consuming unhealthy foods — something we all face once the clock strikes closer to midnight.
“I identified that evening Bryan, the version of me that occupies my conscious existence from 5pm until 10pm, tries to do the right thing,” he told Men’s Health UK. “But he can’t, so I forbade him from being able to eat food. If he gets one bite, it turns into 100 bites.”
One study found the reason why we crave sweet, starchy and salty foods later in the day and evening is because of our circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock.
While this tactic may have helped our ancestors survive longer by storing energy in times of food scarcity, we don’t need to consume as many calories.
Research from 2019 recommended eating two to three meals a day, making the last meal of the day between 3 and 4 p.m., as well as fasting for 12 to 16 hours.
