Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 6h

Anytime I feel off—low energy, brain fog, poor mood—I check these 3 things first:

Did I sleep 8 hours?
Did I move my body?
Did I eat real food?

99% of the time, I skipped one of these.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 12h

7 pieces of sleep advice for my beginner self:

• Cut coffee by noon
• Blackout your room
• Keep it cold (65-68°F)
• Get morning sunlight
• No screens 1hr before bed
• Hot shower before bedtime
• Same sleep time every night

Deep sleep changes everything.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 1d

The more you try to avoid all stress, the more fragile and anxious you become.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 1d

I studied medicine for 20+ years and I'm convinced that processed food is slowly poisoning an entire generation.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 2d

You don't need:
- Fancy supplements
- Expensive gym membership
- Meal delivery service

You need to:
- Sleep 8 hours
- Walk 8000 steps
- Eat real whole foods

Health is simple. We just make it complicated.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 2d

I'm a doctor.

And I've noticed something about people who live past 90:

They don't obsess over health.

They just:

Move daily
Eat real food
Stay connected
Have strong purpose

Health is a byproduct of living well.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 3d

Everyone wants six-pack abs and endless energy.

Nobody wants to:
- Cut alcohol
- Sleep 8 hours
- Train 4x weekly
- Skip late-night snacks
- Walk 8000 steps daily

Results require doing what's uncomfortable.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 3d

Everything in health gets easier the better you sleep.

Everything gets harder the worse you sleep.

Sleep first. Always.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 4d

True health is realizing that the number on the scale matters less than how you feel when you wake up every morning.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 4d

Talk to yourself like you would talk to your future self.

With patience. With kindness. With high standards.

Your body is listening to every word you say.

1

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 5d

Society thinks you're normal if you:
- Sleep 6 hours
- Drink every weekend
- Never exercise
- Eat processed food daily

Society thinks you're weird if you:
- Sleep 8 hours
- Skip alcohol
- Lift weights 4x weekly
- Eat whole foods only

Be weird. Live longer.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 5d

I'm 47.

I lift weights
I walk daily
I sleep 8 hours
I eat real food
I skip alcohol

When I'm 77, I will:

• Walk daily
• Sleep 8 hours
• Eat real food
• Lift weights
• Skip alcohol

Sustainable habits don't change. They just compound.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 6d

The 10-minute evening routine that changed everything:

→ Light stretching (4 minutes)
→ Controlled breathing (4 minutes)
→ Task dump writing (2 minutes)

Simple but powerful for cortisol regulation.

1

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 6d

The magnesium paradox:

The cheaper you buy, the more you waste.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 7d

When I was treating patients in traditional medicine, I cared about prescribing medications, managing symptoms, and blindly following protocols.

As a lifestyle medicine doctor, I care about prevention, root causes, helping people optimize naturally.

The shift changed everything for my patients.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 7d

Health isn't complicated.

It isn't stressing every day.

It isn't fighting your body every day.

It isn't forcing results every moment.

It is working with your natural rhythms.

I want you to understand this because that is what ultimately brings you lasting health.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 8d

Never ignore your sleep quality

Poor sleep disrupts cortisol patterns and makes fat loss significantly harder.

Your hormones are designed to work with you, not against you.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 8d

Overrated: taking high doses of magnesium oxide.

Underrated: taking smaller doses of chelated magnesium, timing it with meals, tracking how your body responds.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 8d

Health isn't complicated.

It isn't just cutting calories every day.

It isn't doing cardio every day.

It isn't stressing every moment.

It is working with your biology after 35.

I want you to rebuild your metabolic engine because that is what ultimately brings you health.

1

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 9d

How to lose weight after 35:

Move more.

Sleep more.

Lift more.

Stress less.

Diet less.

Blame less.

Your body changed the rules at 35, not your willpower.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 9d

Stop doing only cardio for weight loss.

Instead, lift heavy things twice weekly.

Muscle burns 2-3x more calories than fat.

Even while you sleep.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 10d

Stop saying you have no willpower.

You're fighting against 4 biological changes that hit simultaneously at 35.

Lower testosterone, muscle loss, elevated cortisol, poor sleep.

The solution is working with these changes, not against them.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 10d

How to rebuild your metabolism after 35:

Strength training builds calorie-burning muscle.

Protein timing overcomes anabolic resistance.

Quality sleep restores key hormones.

Stress management prevents belly fat storage.

These 4 pillars reverse metabolic decline.

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 11d

Most people over 35 spend too much time:

→ Blaming themselves for weight gain
→ Fighting their biology
→ Ignoring stress signals

And not enough time:

→ Supporting natural rhythms
→ Managing evening stress
→ Prioritizing quality sleep

Dr Adrian Laurence @adrianlaurence.bsky.social · 12d

Stop saying "I have no discipline"

Your stress hormone may be working against you while you sleep.

This creates a cycle where stress makes you store fat and crave junk food.

You're not broken.