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Category: Exercise

  • Boosting Longevity with NAD+: Insights, Science, and Recommendations

    Aging takes a toll on our cells, making recovery from illness or injury tougher over time. Enter NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a powerhouse coenzyme driving DNA repair, energy production, and cellular health. As NAD+ levels drop with age—by up to 50% in some tissues—researchers and longevity enthusiasts are turning to NAD+ boosting therapies to potentially slow aging and enhance vitality. Here’s the scoop on NAD+, its precursors, and what the science says about their role in longevity.

    Why NAD+ Matters

    NAD+ is essential for over 500 cellular processes, from powering mitochondria to activating sirtuins, proteins that regulate aging and health. As we age, NAD+ declines due to increased consumption (e.g., DNA repair) and reduced synthesis, contributing to fatigue, metabolic issues, and disease vulnerability. Boosting NAD+ through precursors—molecules the body converts into NAD+—is a hot topic in longevity circles, promising to restore cellular resilience.

    Harvard longevity expert David Sinclair is a vocal proponent of NAD+ boosting. He argues that NAD+ decline accelerates aging by impairing sirtuins, which maintain cellular health. His groundbreaking mouse studies show that nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) restores NAD+ levels, reversing mitochondrial aging and boosting vascular health and lifespan. Sinclair himself takes 1g of NMN daily, paired with resveratrol to enhance sirtuin activity. However, he acknowledges human evidence is still emerging, and his commercial ties to NAD+-related ventures have sparked debate. More human trials are needed to confirm his findings.

    How NAD+ Precursors Work

    NAD+ precursors feed into the body’s salvage pathway, efficiently replenishing NAD+. Here’s a quick look at the key players:

    • Nicotinamide Riboside (NR): Converts to NMN via NRK enzymes, then to NAD+. It boosts muscle NAD+ by ~60%, enhancing energy and reducing inflammation.
    • Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN): One step from NAD+, NMN rapidly raises levels in the liver and brain, improving insulin sensitivity. It may convert to NR for cell entry.
    • Nicotinamide (NAM) & Nicotinic Acid (NA): NAM recycles to NMN, but high doses may inhibit sirtuins. NA forms NaMN but causes flushing.
    • Reduced Precursors (NRH/NMNH): These bypass rate-limiting enzymes for faster NAD+ production but may increase inflammation in some cells.

    Precursors restore NAD+ to support metabolism and repair, though excessive doses risk methylation strain or other side effects.

    The Science So Far

    Mouse studies, including Sinclair’s, show NMN and NR extend lifespan and improve health metrics like endurance and vascular function. Human trials, however, are smaller and less conclusive. NMN (250–500 mg/day) has improved sleep in older adults and insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women, while NR reduces inflammation. Experts like Daniel Craighead and Jonas Thue Treebak caution that evidence for human lifespan extension is thin, with stronger benefits seen in conditions like prediabetes or age-related diseases.

    Longevity Supplementation Trends

    • Popular Choices: NMN (250–1,000 mg/day) or NR (e.g., Tru Niagen, 250–500 mg/day), often paired with resveratrol, metformin, or senolytics like fisetin.
    • Methods: Oral capsules are most common, with sublingual forms for faster absorption. IV infusions ($200–$500/session) are pricier and less studied.
    • Lifestyle Boosts: Fasting, exercise, and low-carb diets enhance NAD+ via NAMPT enzyme activity. X users (e.g., @BiohackerX, July 2025) report mixed results, with some feeling energized and others noticing little change.

    Risks and Considerations

    NAD+ precursors are sold as supplements, often unregulated by the FDA, leading to inconsistent dosages and unverified claims. NMN’s supplement status was questioned in 2022, reclassified as a drug. While short-term use is safe, long-term risks like liver strain or potential cancer promotion (in mice) remain unclear. Side effects include headaches or nausea. Researchers like Eduardo Chini and Joseph Baur suggest NAD+ therapies may better target diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s, heart disease) than general aging, urging caution against overhyped commercial products.

    The NOMIX Take

    At NOMIX, we’re excited about NAD+’s potential but grounded in science. Precursors like NMN and NR show promise, especially for metabolic and cognitive health, but they’re not a magic bullet. Pairing supplementation with healthy habits—exercise, fasting, and a balanced diet—maximizes benefits. Stay curious and cautious: consult your biocoach or doctor, choose reputable brands, and start with low doses.

  • Lifestyle Impact on Lifespan

    A groundbreaking new study has uncovered compelling evidence that adopting a constellation of healthy lifestyle habits can significantly extend life expectancy. Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, this landmark research leveraged data from the Million Veteran Program, a vast and long-running population study, to quantify the profound effects of eight specific lifestyle factors on mortality risk and longevity.

    The Relevant Eight Lifestyle Factors

    The study identified eight key lifestyle factors that collectively contribute to a longer lifespan: never smoking, regular physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, restorative sleep, a nutrient-rich diet emphasizing plant-based whole foods, effective stress management, strong social connections, and the absence of opioid use disorder. By analyzing mortality rates and life expectancy estimates across varying combinations of these factors, the researchers unveiled a striking pattern.

    A Continuous Decline in Mortality Risk

    Remarkably, the study found that the more of these eight lifestyle factors an individual adhered to, the lower their mortality risk became – a continuous and incremental effect. Those who exhibited none of the eight factors faced a staggering mortality rate of 70.2 deaths per 1,000 person-years. In contrast, those who embraced all eight factors experienced a mere 6.8 deaths per 1,000 person-years, more than a tenfold decrease in mortality risk.

    The Power of Physical Activity

    Among the eight lifestyle factors, regular physical activity emerged as the most potent determinant of longevity, associated with a remarkable 50% decrease in mortality risk for men and 46% for women. This finding underscores the paramount importance of an active lifestyle in promoting long-term health and well-being.

    Substantial Life Expectancy Gains

    The study’s findings are particularly striking when translated into life expectancy estimates. At age 40, individuals who exhibited none of the eight lifestyle factors had a remaining life expectancy of 23 years for males and 27 years for females. In stark contrast, those who embraced all eight factors could expect to live an additional 24 years for males and 20.5 years for females, extending their life expectancy to an impressive 47 years and 47.5 years, respectively.

    A Call to Embrace a Comprehensive Lifestyle Overhaul

    While the study acknowledges certain limitations, such as the binary categorization of lifestyle factors and the potential for confounding factors, its overarching message is clear: adopting a holistic approach to lifestyle optimization can profoundly impact longevity. By embracing a constellation of healthy habits, individuals can significantly reduce their mortality risk and potentially gain decades of additional life expectancy.

    This pioneering research not only quantifies the remarkable benefits of a healthy lifestyle but also serves as a powerful motivator for individuals to prioritize their overall well-being through conscious lifestyle choices. As the field of geroscience continues to advance, studies like this underscore the immense potential of preventative measures in promoting longevity and quality of life.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

  • Longevity and financial provision go hand in hand

    Retirement provision is the term we usually use to describe the financial provision we make to secure our standard of living in retirement. Financial provision for old age includes various measures aimed at saving income or assets to be financially secure in old age.

    From health consumer to health investor

    BIOCOACH applies this financial concept to our health: we don’t just want to be financially secure in old age, we want to enjoy the best possible health – for as long as possible! As we humans are much more familiar with the concept of financial retirement planning than making our health “age-proof”, BIOCOACH offers a 1:1 transfer: we show our users how they can apply individual aspects from the financial sector that have been proven to work to their health.

    Let’s take a look at the key aspects of financial provision for old age and derive appropriate measures to maximize our longevity and healthspan – in other words, to live as long and healthy a life as possible:

    Finance
    Private pension insurance/pension funds/investment funds

    Individuals make regular contributions over a certain period or invest part of their income to receive a lifelong pension or income in return when they retire. The key point is the regularity of manageable investments in the future.  The compound interest effect ensures a significant increase in assets here, far beyond selective individual investments.

    Longevity 
    Regular health activities

    The lifelong pension in our case is called longevity, or maximum healthspan: as long as we live, and for as long as possible, we want to stay healthy and active. Regular contributions can take very different forms – the important thing is that they are made regularly, started as early as possible, and implemented consistently and continuously. The BIOCOACH subscription is such a health investment: with regular, manageable expenditure. Daily physical activities of all kinds, a well-thought-out diet, and attention to various sensible lifestyle factors ensure a daily dose of health with a compound interest effect: as our body renews itself daily through cell division and the aging process, including various age-related signs of wear and tear, is primarily due to errors in cell division, daily investment in longevity slows down the aging process and maximizes our healthspan.

    Finance
    A balanced portfolio

    Financial retirement provision is a combination of several measures to build up a balanced portfolio and protect against various risks. In addition to the pension insurance policies, pension funds, and investment funds mentioned so far, this includes real estate, shares, and other private savings and financial investments. We all have different expectations of the future and start from different positions.

    Longevity
    It’s all in the mix

    It’s the same with our health: our DNA, which is responsible for around 15-20% of our long-term health, makes us unique individuals. This is why the same health recipe does not apply to everyone – even if some pseudo-scientific advice suggests this. Each of us is entitled to an individual assessment of our health situation and corresponding recommendations on longevity and Healthspan. Starting with our BIOCOACH BC1 pilot phase, we are developing a longevity algorithm that will enable individual, personalized longevity recommendations. The longevity algorithm is modified during the BIOCOACH subscription in the same way that investment behavior within financial retirement planning should be adjusted over time: the longevity recommendations are dynamically adjusted depending on the biomarkers analyzed by regular diagnostics.

    Finance
    Unforeseen expenses 

    In old age, unexpected expenses can arise, be it for medical treatment, the need for care or other emergencies. A solid retirement plan can help cover such costs without having to rely on support from family members or government assistance programs.

    Longevity
    Unforeseen accidents and illnesses

    This is where the financial sector and our health are directly intertwined: the older we get, the weaker our immune system, our bone structure, our perception, etc. become. This regularly leads to accidents or illnesses that we could have easily avoided, remedied, or cured when we were younger, but which develop into serious problems as we get older. For people with a weak musculoskeletal system and bone structure, the result of minor falls can mean a lengthy stay in hospital with operations, which in turn further weaken their health. The same applies to our digestive system and our cardiovascular system – as we get older, we slow down. Prevention is therefore the means of choice: regular muscle training, a diet geared towards a healthy skeleton, and endurance training are indispensable components of a good longevity plan: in this way, unforeseen accidents or illnesses become less of a threat.

    Old-age provision done right: From health consumer to health investor

    Overall, adequate financial provision for old age and a good longevity plan is therefore crucial to ensure both financial security and longevity as well as maximum healthspan. If you envision a fulfilling, high-quality life as you age and are interested in a solid plan to maximize your healthspan and become a health investor instead of a health consumer, get on the waiting list for our BIOCOACH BC1 pilot phase!

  • Longevity – Predictive Maintenance for Humans

    When speaking about companies and institutions that take care of our health, we label them the healthcare industry. In less emotional areas than mankind, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), restoring the functionality of a machine or thing is called repair. Transferred to the field of human medicine, we should rather talk of sick-care, instead of health-care.: as soon as the human organism stops functioning as usual, it is taken care of and repaired. If we take the label healthcare seriously we must change from taking care of the already sick to maintaining a healthy status quo – in other words predictively, we must practice Longevity – Predictive Maintenance for Humans.

    What is Predictive Maintenance?

    The Industrial concept of Predictive Maintenance has evolved. Its roots can be traced back to the development of condition-based maintenance practices in the late 1950s. Predictive maintenance techniques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment to estimate when maintenance should be performed. This approach promises cost savings over routine or time-based preventive maintenance because tasks are performed only when warranted. Thus, it is regarded as condition-based maintenance carried out as suggested by estimations of the degradation state of an item.

    The main promise of predictive maintenance is to allow convenient scheduling of corrective maintenance and to prevent unexpected equipment failures. The key is the right equipment lifetime, increased plant safety, fewer accidents with a negative environmental impact, and optimized spare parts handling.

    The connection between Predictive Maintenace and Longevity

    Longevity refers to the long duration of individual human life or the ability of something to last for a long time. It can be used to describe the length of one’s lifetime or the durability of an object or concept. In the context of human life, longevity is often associated with the study of methods to extend life and the factors that influence lifespan, such as genetics, lifestyle, and environmental conditions. It is different from life expectancy, which is the statistical average number of years remaining at a given age for a population. The result of a re-analysis of previously incorrectly analyzed data on extreme lifetimes (in the  Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application) indicates that any longevity cap would be at least 130 years and possibly exceed 180. And some datasets, the authors report, “put no limit on the human lifespan.”

    Why is Longevity the Predictive Maintenace for Humans?

    Predictive maintenance and human longevity are similar in that they both involve proactive measures based on data analysis to predict and avoid potential issues. Predictive maintenance uses advanced analytics and machine learning to predict and avoid machine failure, leading to increased productivity, reduced breakdowns, and lower maintenance costs.  Similarly, estimating human longevity involves analyzing factors such as lifestyle (epigenetics), genetics, and health data to predict an individual’s remaining healthy life, or healthspan, enabling proactive measures to optimize health and potentially extend lifespan. Both predictive maintenance and human longevity estimation rely on data-driven models to make predictions and take proactive actions to avoid unplanned downtime or health issues.

    Most surprisingly, we take predictive maintenance of machines for granted, but we stick with repair services for human beings. Find the error…..

    So – why wait?

    To promote longevity, one should start engaging in longevity activities as early as possible. Regular exercise is a key factor in promoting longevity and overall health. For optimal health and longevity, it’s recommended to engage in regular exercise, maintain a healthy body weight, eat a balanced diet, and engage in healthful behaviors. Research suggests that as few as 15 minutes of exercise per day may help achieve benefits, which could include an additional 3 years of life, and the risk of premature death may decrease by 4% for each additional 15 minutes of daily physical activity. Team sports like tennis and soccer are also recommended for longevity, as they encourage social interaction as well as exercise. Other factors that can contribute to longevity include maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a balanced diet, adding supplements if needed, and engaging in healthful behaviors.

    It’s never too late to start, as a recent study found longevity benefits associated with both life-long and later-in-life exercise. Therefore, it’s important to adopt these habits early on to maximize their benefits for a longer and healthier life.

  • The Positive Health Impacts of Deep Breathing

    For most of us, breathing is a natural process that we don’t particularly think too much about. At most, for those who aren’t familiar with more intensive breathing techniques, we might inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth when exercising. However, unbeknownst to us modern people, ancient cultures across the world once placed a great deal of importance on how to breathe.

    Across history, there are countless examples of recommendations on how to modulate human breathing in order to influence our minds and bodies. The concept of Qi Gong, emerging in China thousands of years ago, utilises coordinated posture, movement and breathing for health and spirituality. Yoga is another such example of an exercise built around respiratory control and the concept that controlling our breathing is a means for us to increase our longevity.

    In a way, with our onerous modern lives, we’ve almost forgotten the ability to breathe correctly- which obviously may carry some negative connotations for our health. In more recent years, how we breathe has been subject to far more scrutiny, both medical and otherwise. While clinical studies cannot currently quantify the exact usefulness of diaphragmatic breathing, it has been identified as promising treatment method for various disorders and our general wellbeing.[1] Even the American Navy SEALs utilise breathing techniques, specifically box breathing, to stay calm during the high stress situations that they face in the line of duty.

    In this blog post we’ll be exploring the benefits that deep breathing can have on your health, the biological process behind breathing and will provide some actionable tips on the breathing methods you can use to reap these benefits.

    The Benefits of Breathing

    1. Breathing signals to your body that it can relax- this means that breathing techniques can stop stress getting out of control, manage the symptoms of depression and anxiety or lessen the effects of panic attacks. When you are stressed, your nervous system is stimulated- meaning that you’ll breathe faster, your heart rate spikes, your anxiety rises and your body feels tense. By breathing slowly and fully, you can pre-empt your nervous system’s tantrum spiral and slow down your heart rate, preventing an attack of anxiety and calming yourself down.
    2. You can lower your blood pressure by regularly practising breathing exercises. A study has found that breathing exercises may therefore be a potential first treatment for those with prehypertension.[2]
    3. Breathing exercises can improve your lung capacity, which provides many benefits athletically and also for better health in later life.
    4. As mentioned above, breathing deeply into your diaphragm can lessen body tension. This means that utilising breathing techniques can assist with headaches and body pain.
    5. Breathwork improves our body’s resilience, decreasing the effect that stress has upon the body (too much cortisol, the stress hormone, can cause negative long term effects on our health). By utilising breathing exercises regularly, we achieve a sympathovagal balance between the two sides of our body’s nervous system, improving our ability to react to physical and mental stress.[3]
    6. Due to the body’s relaxation response to deep breathing (and potentially the increased flow of oxygen into the muscles), utilising breathing techniques can also increase the amount of physical energy that we can possess at one time.
    7. Breathing deeply through our nostrils can focus us, which is one reason why it can ground us psychologically.[4]
    8. Utilising breathing exercises have been proven to assist with insomnia- and the usage of these techniques for twenty minutes before bed has shown that those with insomnia fall asleep three times as quickly as they would otherwise and also have a better sleep, with less frequent awakenings during the night. For those that do not suffer from insomnia, sleep quality is also improved.

    The Biology Behind Breathing

    When you breathe in, your diaphragm moves down as your lungs fill with air, which pushes your chest out. Your heart grows in size slightly, slowing the flow of blood. Your brain then instructs the heart to speed up the blood flow, and you feel a burst of energy. This is good, in regular circumstances, but coupled with our body’s fight or flight response (induced by stress or anxiety), it can result in a racing heartbeat, nervous energy and your body feeling tight. This is why panicked, deep breaths and weak exhales can exacerbate the stress that our body feels.

    Conversely, when you breathe out, your diaphragm moves back up and your heart shrinks as the air leaves the lungs. Your blood flow speeds back up and your brain instructs the heart to slow it down. This causes you to feel relaxed and signals to your body that you are safe, allowing for rest. This is why controlled breathing, with purposeful exhales, can induce calmness and control over our emotions.

    So, what breathing exercises can we use to control our respiratory rhythm and reap the benefits listed above?

    Breathing Exercises

    1. Box Breathing. Utilised by the Navy SEALs, this method is a mindfulness technique that helps with stress management. The name of the method derives from the four stages that it breaks breathing into- akin to breathing along the four edges of a box.
      • Exhale all of the breath from your lungs.
      • Inhale through the nose while counting to four, fill your lungs and lower abdomen with air. Focus on how the air is filling your body.
      • Hold your breath, counting to four.
      • Then exhale through the mouth while counting to four. Focus on expelling all of the air out of your lungs through this exhale.
      • Hold your lungs empty for four seconds, then repeat the process if required.
    2. Belly Breathing. A simple technique focusing on air flowing into your diaphragm, and retraining your body to take deeper breaths into your diaphragm.
      • Start breathing through the nose, fill your belly with air, breathe out of your mouth at least two to three times as long as your inhale. Make sure to keep your neck and shoulders relaxed.
    3. Pursed lip breathing. As mentioned in our first paragraph, some of you may be familiar with this very simple method as a means to reduce the number of breaths you need and to increase your airflow so that you can be more physically active.
      • Breathe in through your nose and breathe out at least twice as long through your mouth, pursing your lips.
    4. Cardiac Coherence. An exercise that regulates respiratory rhythm, increasing your heart rate when you breathe in and slowing it down when you exhale.
      • Inhale via the nose for six seconds, pause, exhale for four seconds.
    5. The 365 method. Proscribed by therapists to combat long-term stress, this is a great method for unlocking the long-term benefits of breathing well.
      • Three times a day, breathe slowly six times a minute (using the cardiac coherence technique above) for five minutes. Repeat all 365 days of the year.
    6. The Wim-Hof Breathing Method. Famously popularised by Wim-Hof, the extreme athlete known as the ‘Iceman’, who believes that through the usage of breathing techniques we can command the human body to weather extreme temperatures through breath regulation.
      • Inhale deeply through the nose, exhale lightly through the mouth. Repeat for the next 30 breaths. On the 30th such breath, exhale 90% and then hold your breath for as long as you can.
      • When your body needs its next breath, inhale fully and hold for fifteen seconds before releasing it.
    7. An added extra to any of these exercises can be to think reassuring thoughts when breathing, providing a sense of mental wellbeing.
      • With each breath, think a positive thought, such as ‘I am inhaling wellbeing’.
      • With each exhale, picture that you are expelling your concerns, pushing them out of your body.

    In Closing

    Modern research is examining the relationship between how we breathe and the impacts that it has upon our body- but evidence from our ancestors (backed by modern study) has already shown that by controlling our breathing we can unlock numerous immediate and long-term health benefits for our body.

    Hopefully this post will have made you think about your breathing more- and have provided you with methods that will help with anxiety and, overall, increase your longevity. For future news about NOMIX and more longevity tips, make sure to check this blog and follow NOMIX on Twitter, LinkedIn and Telegram.

    [1] Hamasaki, Effects of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Health: A Narrative Review, Medicines, 2020.

    [2] Chaddha, Modaff, Hooper-Lane, Feldstein. Device and non-device-guided slow breathing to reduce blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complement Ther Med. 2019.

    [3] Russo, Santarelli, O’Rourke. The Physiological Effects of Slow Breathing in the healthy Human. Breathe, 2017.

    [4] Zaccaro, Piarulli, Laurino, Garbella, Menicucci, Neri, Gemignani. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Brain Health and Clinical Neuroscience, 2018.

  • Exercise, Heat, Cold & Other Adversity Mimetics for Longevity

    In this episode of the Lifespan Podcast, Dr. David Sinclair and Co-host Matthew LaPlante dive deeply into the science of non-dietary interventions that mimic adversity and promote health. They begin by highlighting how different types of physical activity (i.e., low-intensity aerobic exercise, high-intensity aerobic exercise, and weight training) protect against age-related disease and enhance longevity.

    David and Matthew additionally highlight the latest evidence behind hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cold therapy, and heat therapy. As they discuss different adversity mimetics, they also explain how these interventions influence aging at the molecular and physiological levels.


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