If I stopped you on the street today and offered you a million dollars to improve your health or fitness, you would probably immediately think of diet and exercise. Of course you would be right. But only to a certain extent. These two factors are fundamental to health, stamina, vitality and longevity. But if you only focus on diet and exercise, you won’t reach your full potential. Not in the long run.
As important as food and movement are just two of the inputs that affect gene expression. There is a bigger picture to consider. The raw blueprint includes another pillar. This is something that is often overlooked, even by individuals who have made a serious effort to develop healthy habits and take care of their bodies long-term. These are the Primordial Blueprint Lifestyle Laws.
If you were to choose the original design method that is most neglected in modern society and is difficult to choose just one, it would probably be sleep. At least through diet and exercise, most people pay lip service to how important they are and recognize that they deserve attention, even if their everyday choices say otherwise. But how many times have you seen incredibly successful people brag about how they barely sleep at night?
Too many people glamorize the “I’ll sleep when I die” mentality, ignoring the fact that, ironically, too much sleep pushes them to an early grave.
Our genes expect and need consistent, restful sleep and sufficient sleep. Our ancestors slept a lot. It didn’t look like they had been partying all night long, even after the fire. It was safer to gather together and rest from sunrise to sunrise. Long hours of hunting and gathering, working hard for every bite of food, also required ample time to repair and recover. Studies of modern hunter-gatherers show that it did not always last uninterrupted for 9 or 10 hours. They likely slept together in families or small tribes, watching out for predators, breastfeeding their babies, or dozing in and out all night long.
Of course, a restorative afternoon nap was also possible when the urge struck, and there was no guilt about what they should have actually done. The modern trend toward low-quality, sleep-deprived sleep has devastating consequences for our physical, cognitive, and emotional health. But you can achieve better sleep through simple (and sometimes not easy) behavior modifications.
Learn more Circle #6.
(Principle #7 is play. You can read about it here: primitive movement mail.)
Cavemen weren’t actually men (or women) who always lived their lives in caves. Most of the day was spent outdoors performing various survival missions. Regular exposure to sunlight can help you get plenty of vitamin D, the most important vitamin (actually similar to a hormone) that is not easily obtained from food and cannot be produced by the body without direct sunlight.
Nowadays, most people spend almost all their time indoors, whether at home, at work, in the car or subway, at grocery stores, shopping malls, movie theaters, or bowling alleys. Most workouts now also take place inside a gym, dance studio, or garage. The result is that an alarming percentage of the population is not exposed to enough sunlight. Combine this with widespread public health messaging about avoiding the sun and using sunscreen every time you go out. Vitamin D deficiency is now widespread..
Needless to say, we are missing out on other benefits of being in nature. Getting a sunburn is never a good idea, but for most people a much bigger risk is having too little rather than too much sunlight. Respect basic sun safety practices, but embrace the sun as a life-giving force.
Learn more Circle #8.
You’re doing everything you need to live a long, healthy life – eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, nurturing social relationships – all of that can be cut short in the blink of an eye by one foolish, preventable mistake. This is why Circle #9 reminds us to exercise proper caution as we navigate this dangerous world.
In the time of our ancestors, this meant preventing active, participating members of their hunter-gatherer clan from trauma that could lead to immediate death or serious injury. Today it still means essentially the same thing. However, the danger we face is a far cry from the rogue tigers or toadstools that might have taken out Grok.
This doesn’t mean you should wrap yourself in bubble wrap and not take any risks. Rather, the law recommends that: Use your highly evolved human brain to calculate risks and take smart precautions as needed..
Learn more Circle #9.
Speaking of your big brain, the last primal law reminds you to use it. Use it to solve problems. Use it to create it. Imagine this. Use this to dream big and make it happen. Use it to reminisce about the past. Use it to learn from past mistakes. Use it to create the wild and wonderful life that is your birthright as a human being.
Learn more Primitive Law #10.
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* This blog reflects my personal views and opinions and is not intended as medical advice, but I hope it will be informative and inspiring in your pursuit of a healthy and fulfilling life.
