#608. The Science of Longevity | Dr. Peter Attia

Ten Percent Happier
June 12, 2023
#608. The Science of Longevity | Dr. Peter Attia
[CLEAN]
Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris
Transcript

Most of us want to stay alive — and healthy — for as long as possible. But how to actually do that, given all the obstacles? What advice should we listen to? How do we find the time and motivation to follow it? And how do we do so without succumbing to what has been called the “subtle aggression of self improvement”?

Today, we are launching an ambitious three-week series to tackle these questions. We are bringing on top experts from science and Buddhism who will talk about how to eat better, exercise smarter, and extend your lifespan. Guest number one is Dr. Peter Attia. He has trained at Stanford University, Johns Hopkins, and the National Institutes of Health. He’s the host of a popular health and fitness podcast called The Drive and the author of a new book called Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.

In this episode we talk about:

  • Why Peter kind of hates the word ‘longevity’
  • The definitions of ‘lifespan’ and ‘healthspan’–and what we can do in five key areas to increase both
  • The importance of exercise, including what types of exercise to do, how to measure your fitness, and how even a little bit of weekly exercise can go a very long way
  • The roles our genes play in our lifespan and our healthspan
  • The importance of nutrition, including Peter’s top tips, his personal evolution, and his take on intuitive eating
  • How to get better sleep (and when to stop tracking it)
  • How to think about pharmaceutical tools, incl. a discussion of how to make sense of the crowded and unregulated supplement market
  • The importance of emotional health, including a raw story from Peter about how he came to understand the importance of mental health, and why he believes tending to your emotional health makes all of the other health levers easier to pull.

Where to find Dr. Peter Attia online: 

Website: peterattiamd.com/

Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peter-attia-drive/id1400828889?mt=2

Social Media:

Book Mentioned:

Other Resources Mentioned:

  • Some of our episodes on sleep:

Additional Resources:

Download the Ten Percent Happier app today: https://10percenthappier.app.link/install