# 🙂 Ultimate Guide for a Healthier and Happier Life

> 🙂 Ultimate Guide for a Healthier and Happier Life

- Canonical: https://neurohackingly.com/ultimate-guide-for-a-longer-and-happier-life/
- Published: 2023-04-03
- Updated: 2024-06-03
- Author: Lukas Zangerl
- Tags: newsletter, health-fitness, study-techniques, fundamentals-for-health, fundamentals-for-happiness

👋 Hello friend,

I realized that (for me) there are **5 fundamental factors** **for a healthier and happier life.**

Before I try to optimize for anything else, I come back to the magic 5. If I feel off somehow, I look at the 5 areas, and 99% of the time, I notice to have neglected one or more.

## **My 5 Fundamental Factors** **for a Healthier and Happier Life**:

1.  😴 **Sleep**
2.  🍨 **Nutrition**
3.  🏋️‍♂️ **Movement**
4.  💡 **Light**
5.  💕 **Relationships**

## 😴 Sleep

1.  Going to bed (before midnight) at the **same time each day and waking up at the same time each day** seems to be the most critical factor for good quality sleep for me, the bear chronotype. [Which sleep chronotype are you?](https://thesleepdoctor.com/sleep-quizzes/chronotype-quiz/)
2.  Having a **bedtime routine where I let my mind relax and wind down** is essential for a good night of sleep. After doing my night-time routine and sleeping for 8 hours, I wake up refreshed, which also shows up on my sleep tracking device - increasing REM and deep sleep.

## 🍨 Nutrition

1.  **Not eating over a long period** (I usually fast from 08:00 at night till 12:00 on the following day), I notice a sharper mind in the morning and a better night of sleep.
2.  I try to **eat as much non-processed food as possible** (fruits, vegetables, brown rice, etc. - everything that isn't packaged / the fewer processing steps, the better)

## 🏋️‍♂️ Movement

1.  **Going out for a run in nature with an ice bath afterward** is my go-to "technique" to relax and recover. - Trying to reach my VO2 max 2-3 times a week.
2.  I **switch between different exercises** in my weekly schedule, like strength exercises for muscle gain in the gym (focusing on building legs, a strong upper back and shoulders for posture, and a strong core), mobility exercises, and cardiovascular activity to get my blood pumping.

## 💡 Light

1.  **2-3 hours before sleep, I don't use any overhead light** from the ceiling anymore. I only use dimmed red light from the side, as it increases melatonin production, decreasing [the duration it takes to fall asleep.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3499892/)
2.  Within the **first 30 minutes of waking, I try to get natural sunlight** by stepping barefoot onto my balcony for a few minutes. If it is dark and grey outside, I use my [Breuer Daylight therapy lamp](https://www.beurer.com/web/gb/products/wellbeing/light-therapy/daylight-therapy/) instead of coffee lately.

## 💕 Relationships

1.  I try to have two **weekly meetups with good friends and/or family.** I always feel so energized afterward and always tell myself to make this a high priority.
2.  The most extensive study on resilience I know is the [32-year-long Kauai Longitudinal study](https://www.pathwaysrtc.pdx.edu/pdf/fpS0504.pdf) studying 700 people from childhood to adulthood. Researchers found 7 building **blocks that resilient individuals possess; having one close person you can trust is one of them.**

> "... who had developed resilience actively sought out trusted guides/advisors (like respected elders and trusted peers) for help in getting through difficult times." [\- Inc.com](https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/this-remarkable-32-year-study-of-kauai-islanders-reveals-7-keys-to-living-a-resilient-life.html)

That's it from me.

Have a great week! 🎈

xx Luke