WHOOP on Lifespan with Dr. David Sinclair

As we talked about in this episode, most of us won't die from infections or accidents. What we're going to die from are diseases caused by aging. So that's why it's really important that we all track our own health closely over time. And that's how we can know if we're progressing and what we're actually doing is working. Wearables make that super easy. You don't need to watch these numbers all the time. You can look at them once a week or even once a month. But it's really important that you check how you're doing. Which brings me to a wearable that I'm particularly fond of, partly because of its scientific foundation at Harvard, where I work, and also the founder's own research and scientific rigor. The company's only a couple of blocks up the street here from the studio, and I visit them occasionally and see what an active, caring company they are. I'm talking about the WHOOP band. This wearable is a health and fitness coach that gives me insights into my sleep, my recovery, and my body strain. The researchers have studied how accurate these devices are, and in a 2022 study, they compared six wearable devices, including WHOOP, against clinical grade ECG and sleep recording devices. WHOOP showed strong accuracy for heart rate and heart rate variability measurements, during sleep especially. Using the WHOOP band, I can see how my daily behaviors are impacting my health wearing the WHOOP over the last two months. I've seen dramatic improvements in my personal biomarkers, indicating that the changes that I'm making to my lifestyle, including a much healthier diet and more exercise, is definitely having a positive effect on my body. For example, my resting heart rate has gone down to 45, which is great, and my heart rate variability, which you want to be higher, that number has shot up to 90, putting me in the top few percent or so for my age. It's not only interesting and useful, but it's also important to build up a record about your body that you can aim for when you're older. When you're 90, you can go back and aim to be what you were in your 40s or 50s. If you're a regular listener to this show, you'll know that we only partner with companies like Whoop who we really believe in. These are products that I use daily, the team uses daily, and these companies align with our values, our mission of supporting medical research and supporting young scientists. If you want to try it and get a free Whoop 5.0 smart band and a month off membership, go to join.whoop.com slash lifespan or use the code lifespan.