10 Evidence-Based Ways to Reduce Your Biological Age

1. Prioritize Sleep Quality Over Quantity

While getting 7-9 hours is important, sleep quality matters even more. Deep sleep and REM sleep are when your body performs cellular repair and clears metabolic waste. HealthLens tracks your sleep patterns through Apple Health and shows you how each night affects your biological age.

Action steps:

• Keep your bedroom cool (65-68°F)
• Block all light sources or use a sleep mask
• Stop screen time 1 hour before bed
• Maintain consistent sleep and wake times

2. Move Throughout the Day

The optimal range is 8,000-12,000 steps daily, but it's not just about hitting a number. Breaking up sedentary time throughout the day is crucial. Even if you exercise for an hour, sitting for the other 23 hours still accelerates aging.

Action steps:

• Set a timer to stand and walk every 45 minutes
• Take the stairs whenever possible
• Walk while taking phone calls
• Track your daily steps in HealthLens

3. Practice Time-Restricted Eating

Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve multiple aging biomarkers. You don't need extreme fasts—simply eating within a 10-12 hour window gives your body time for cellular cleanup (autophagy).

Action steps:

• Start with a 12-hour eating window (e.g., 8 AM to 8 PM)
• Gradually narrow to 10 hours if comfortable
• Use HealthLens meal scanning to track your eating window
• Watch how fasting affects your biological age

4. Optimize Your Heart Rate Variability

HRV is one of the strongest predictors of biological age. Higher HRV means better stress resilience and recovery. HealthLens tracks your HRV and shows you which behaviors improve it.

Action steps:

• Practice deep breathing exercises (5 minutes daily)
• Get morning sunlight within 30 minutes of waking
• Reduce alcohol consumption
• Manage stress through meditation or yoga

5. Eat More Protein

Adequate protein intake (0.8-1g per pound of body weight) is essential for maintaining muscle mass and metabolic health as you age. Use HealthLens' AI meal scanning to ensure you're getting enough.

6. Strength Train 2-3x Per Week

Muscle mass is a key indicator of biological youth. Resistance training maintains muscle, improves insulin sensitivity, and boosts growth hormone production.

7. Manage Stress Effectively

Chronic stress accelerates aging through cortisol elevation and inflammation. HealthLens shows you how stress affects your HRV and biological age in real-time.

Action steps:

• Daily meditation (even 5 minutes helps)
• Regular nature walks
• Social connection with friends and family
• Set boundaries around work and technology

8. Stay Hydrated

Proper hydration affects every cellular process. Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water daily. More if you're active or in hot climates.

9. Maintain Social Connections

Loneliness accelerates aging as much as smoking. Strong social bonds are associated with lower biological age and longer lifespan. Join HealthLens community challenges to connect with others on the same journey.

10. Track and Adjust

The key to reducing biological age is understanding what works for YOUR body. HealthLens provides personalized insights by analyzing your unique patterns.

Action steps:

• Track consistently for at least 2 weeks to establish baseline
• Experiment with one change at a time
• Review your 7-day trends to spot patterns
• Use AI-powered insights to guide your next experiments

Start Today

You don't need to implement all 10 strategies at once. Pick 2-3 that resonate with you and track them in HealthLens. Small, consistent changes compound over time into significant reductions in biological age.

Remember: every day is an opportunity to get younger. Wake up tomorrow to see how today's choices affected your biological age.