We’ve covered all aspects of wellness for years here at DMARGE, helping blokes work on their fitness, mental health, relationships and much more. However, one group of blokes who feel the years piling up more acutely than any other, and yet perversely receive less attention from the wellness industry than so many others, are blokes hitting the big 4-0.
Thankfully, Dr Mark Hyman — a titan in the world of Functional Medicine whose background practising as a family physician laid the foundations for a career as a fourteen-time New York Times best-selling author — has now spoken out about what he wishes he’d known and put into practice at 40, with the benefit of over twenty years of healthy-hindsight.
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Hyman’s long-time passion for discovering the secrets of a longer, happier, and healthier life has made him a highly respected and sought-after figure in the field, inspiring people everywhere to change their ways for the better. Host of one of the world’s leading health podcasts — The Doctor’s Farmacy — his insights have found a wider audience than ever before in recent years.
Now, as part of publicity rounds for his latest book, Young Forever: The Secrets to Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life, he made an appearance on the School Of Greatness podcast, where he shared a whole host of interesting thoughts, including Top nutritional supplements that can support your quest for a longer and healthier life, the impact a healthy love life has on your lifespan and crucially how to get your health-span to equal your lifespan.
The part of this episode that really caught our attention, however, was when Hyman was asked what he would “tell [his] younger 40-year-old self, [what he] wished he would’ve done” differently. Now approaching the ripe old age of 64, Hyman dove straight in, revealing three secrets to focus on if you want a happier, healthier, and ultimately longer life after middle age.
Here’s what he had to say. First, it was all about working hard but playing much, much harder:
“Really, really, really play: enjoy your life. Don’t wait… I don’t have a lot of stuff… but I love experiences… Experience is really what matters and brings the joy to life. Building relationships, building connections, building community. It’s so central to health and wellbeing in life… I worked too hard, I didn’t give myself enough time for that.”
Dr Mark Hyman
Second, and this one will surprise you a little less, was to hit the gym and hit it hard:
“Start working out sooner: I mean, I always did bike riding and tennis and yoga but I was like ‘gyms are stinky, I don’t like weights’… when I was 50, I couldn’t do 10 push-ups, now I can drop and do 80 without stopping… I would have doubled down on that a lot sooner… the sooner you start building muscle the better, [it’s] central to longevity”
Dr Mark Hyman
Third and finally, Hyman turned to that often-overlooked aspect of male wellness, mental health:
“I would have done more work on my own trauma that I couldn’t really identify then, we didn’t have the language for it, it wasn’t in the zeitgeist like it is now… the world of psychedelics wasn’t really a thing. There’s a bunch of stuff I would’ve done around that.”
Dr Mark Hyman
There you have it: the secrets to a longer life. Lucky for you, we’re experts on the workouts you need to get strong, the power of pscyhedlics to change your life, and all the travel opportunities you need for those oh-so-important experiences. Go forth, live long, and enjoy the ride…