#118 | Dr. Casey Means' 25 Healthy Habits: Part 3 - Meal Timing, Light, Temperature, and Ingested and Environmental Toxins

A collection of the best hidden gems, mental models, and frameworks from the world’s top thinkers; to help you become 1% better and live a happier life ❤️

Hello curious minds 🧠

In Good Energy, Dr. Casey Means shares 25 habits that can guide us from understanding the theory to actionable steps in living a healthier lifestyle. These habits are grouped into 9 categories:

1. Nutrition

2. Movement

3. Sleep

4. Stress, Relationships, and Emotional Health

5. Meal Timing and Habits

6. Light

7. Temperature

8. Ingested Toxins

9. Environmental Toxins

In this final part, I will share 9 habits on meal timing, light, temperature, and ingested and environmental toxins.

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🍱🔆🌡☠️ 9 Habits on Meal Timing, Light, Temperature, and Ingested and Environmental Toxins.

Meal Timing and Habits

1. Set and follow an eating window

   Aim to eat within a 10-hour window each day and fast for at least 14 hours.

   Tip: If it is a struggle for you to not eat late at night, try to have a sizeable snack right before the end of your eating window, even if it’s soon after dinner.
   
   For instance, if you had dinner at 6:00pm and the end of your eating window is 8:00pm, have a few flaxseed crackers, bites of cheese, or almond butter on celery sticks at 7:50pm

2. Practice mindful eating

   Eat all main meals without engaging with any screens. Take 10 deep breaths before eating while reflecting on gratitude for the meal. Chew the bit at least 15 times.

Light

1. Maximise sunlight exposure during daytime

   Spend at least 15 minutes outdoors without sunglasses during the first hour after waking up every day.
   
   If the sun is not up when you wake, then aim to be outside for 15 minutes during or just after sunrise.
   
   Get outside in the daylight for at least 15 minutes four additional times per day, for a total of at least one cumulative hours per day.

2. Minimise nighttime blue light

   Wear blue-light blocking glasses between sundown and bedtime. After the sun goes down, turn off any unnecessary lights and dim necessary lights. Turn all screens to “dark mode”.

Temperature

1. Expose to heat for at least an hour (cumulative) per week

   An obvious way is to do sauna or any heated exercise like hot yoga. The heat should be hot enough that you feel uncomfortable and are sweating
   a lot.

2. Expose to cold for at least 12 minutes (cumulative) per week

   This can be through cold showers, cold plunges, or if you live in a cold country, just go outside with minimal clothing. How cold should it be? It should be cold enough that you want to get out of it. The aim is to get to 1.67 °C to 7.22°C for three minutes.

Ingested Toxins

1. Get enough clean water each day

   Buy a reverse osmosis water filter or a carbon filter and drink at least 0.5 ounce of clean water per pound of bodyweight each day.
   
   DO NOT drink tap water or water from a plastic bottle.

   Tip: I recommend purchasing a glass or metal water bottle that you love and know how many ounces of water it holds. I fill them each night with reverse osmosis water and have them out on my counter when I wake up, so that I know the exact minimum I need to drink that day.

Environmental Toxins

1. Clean up your daily personal and home care products

   Switch out the following products for unscented, non-toxic versions that have no colourings or dyes:

   Personal care products: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body soap, shaving cream, deodorant, body lotion, hand lotion, makeup, lip balm, nail polish, hand soap, hand sanitisers, perfume, and cologne.

   
   Home products: laundry detergent, fabric softener, laundry sheets, stain-remover sprays, counter spray, disinfectants, floor cleaners, bleach, scented candles, plug-in air fresheners, car air fresheners, and room sprays.

   DO NOT trust the labels blindly. Even products that are “natural” may still include fragrance. You can verify the products on the EWG website and look for “EWG verified” products or products scoring of 1 or 2.

   Remove anything with the words “fragrance”, “natural fragrance”, or “parfum” in the ingredient list.

   *Products that are scented exclusively with essential oils are OK. These are extremely rare and need to be sought out from specialty retailers and have the specific essential oils listed in the ingredients.

2. Expose yourself to nature for 4 hours per week

   This could be a park, botanical garden, or riverfront trail. Outside of cities, this could be a local trail, or a full excursion into the mountains or wilderness.
   
   Ideally, you should get as deep into nature as possible, away from cars and roads, where you are immersed in natural plant life.

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With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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