SLEEP & LONGEVITY
and make sure I didn’t suddenly burn out. You may not believe it, but despite having the best job in the world there are a few drawbacks. Do I have any secrets left? Just one: my alcohol consumption. I’d say it’s around 16 glasses a week, which is too much, but not as bad as what my test ended up telling me. Now you know everything! Given my profile, I was pretty confident when I went to see Dr Stefania Ubaldi at the MedIn Vita Clinic in central Geneva. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank her for the time she took to make this article possible. As with her other patients, she started by filling me in on the aims of this kind of test and how it works. Two weeks later, after the results of my blood test, she explained them to me. Let’s get it over with: I wasn’t at all happy. But then again, who has medical tests done just for the fun of it? The aim is to find out more about one’s state of health and in doing so, find ways of improving it. It turns out that I have a lot to do in that respect; let’s say it will be a big change from my usual menu! Indeed, whereas my nice little connected ring was telling me that my cardiovascular age was five years less than my actual age, the test had me 13.7 years older in biological terms. I’ve suddenly found out that I’m an old man! You can imagine how happy that made me. The blame lies mostly with my diet: not enough fruit and vegetables (restaurant owners, please take note!). Fortunately, I don’t smoke; at least there’s no bad news on that score. But the two other values the test looked at were also very different to what I’d anticipated. Apparently my body behaves as if it has absorbed 22 units of alcohol a week rather than the 16 that I’ve actually downed, with all the metabolic implications that has. That
needed taking seriously: “You’re right at the upper limit,” warned Dr Ubaldi. I should have guessed as much. But what I really didn’t expect was the last result: the actual epigenetic impact of my physical exercise was almost six times less than what I’d reported. All that effort for such meagre results! Dr Ubaldi did say that the test results could be inaccurate for top-level athletes, but unfortunately I don’t think I can be said to fall into that category. The good news is that unlike our actual age, we can in some measure rectify our biological age. In other words, if we do what it takes, we can actually get younger – sort of! In my case, there were some simple things I could do. One was to drastically decrease my alcohol intake. I swear I’m going to go for pairing dishes with non-alcoholic drinks! That’s simple enough… in theory. At the same time, I’m going to eat more fruit. I think I should be able to manage that. Physical exercise is a little more complicated: “Given your DNA, you should perhaps think about other forms of exercise to achieve the best results,” advised Dr Ubaldi. Achieving that will require a little more thought. But forewarned is forearmed, I’ve heard, and the game is worth the candle. So much for the first test, which covers longevity and lifestyle. As to stress, unfortunately things are no better. Even though I’ve already tried to lighten my packed schedule, the results tell me that “it is vital to make improvements.” In terms of diet, physical exercise, and stress management strategies, “a holistic intervention is highly recommended,” says the report. The same goes for sleep.
(accompanied by medical oversight), persevere and be patient: I’ll need to bear in mind that it takes several months for lifestyle changes to have an effect. When it comes to sleep, “there’s no hard-and-fast, universally applicable rule about how much sleep we need,” explained Dr Ubaldi. As well as easing back on a lifestyle that’s rather too hectic, perhaps I need to get myself an Elite bed to make sure of getting restorative sleep... in any event, no matter what my detractors may say, being a food critic is definitely a high-risk profession – even if it’s still the best job in the world.
I’ve been put on notice! Now it’s up to me to identify appropriate measures
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