Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 8th.

In today’s email:

• Learn: Advice from Your Longevity Advisor

• Try: Where Do You Feel Stress

• Laugh: A Little Magic

• In the News: Newfound Fertility

👉 Sign up for our Personal Longevity Advisor! 👈

You have 30 trillion cells, 39 trillion bacteria, your own unique DNA and your own health goals.

If you want to optimize your health - you gotta know what’s going on inside your body. But if you leave it up to standard blood tests then 95% of all results will be marked as “normal”.

Normal isn’t good enough - find out what every biomarker means, why it’s important, the optimal range, and what exactly you can do to naturally get your scores to be optimal!

Early Access pricing available for all Thrive25 Subscribers!!

Join hundreds of Thrive25 Members who are taking control of their health and longevity - for pennies a day.

Stat of the Day

The increase in work-related stress during a recession. With the markets officially entering bear territory (from historic highs), our stress increases as a recession erodes our financial portfolio, our confidence, and - unless we make it a priority - our health. (University of Nottingham)

Learn

Advice from Your Longevity Advisor

Depression and anxiety go up during a financial recession.

But it probably doesn’t take a scientific study to tell us that (they exist in case there was any doubt).

There are three levers that crush our mental health and dramatically increase our stress levels:

• Inflation

• Market downturns

• Uncertainty

We’re now entering a time with the full trifecta.

Even if you’re not directly affected by the current situation - e.g., losing your job - a lower financial portfolio balance and the constant stream of the negative news cycles is enough to create heightened cortisol.

You wake up more agitated wondering what’s going to happen today. You feel less certain in your financial security. You worry the future you pictured in your head looks drastically different.

The constant state of fight-or-flight crushes our health.

It activates our Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis - creating a cascade of negative effects:

1. It activates cortisol - which suppresses all “non-essential” functions in the body like immune function - you have fewer lymphocytes (white blood cells) - so you’re more likely to get sick.

2. But at the same time your body thinks it’s being attacked so it launches cytokines that lead to inflammation all over the body.

3. Your body is so amped up that it increases blood pressure and risk of heart problems.

4. At the same time, more cortisol depresses the production of other hormones - like testosterone - so you’re exhausted and depressed.

So what can you do?

First - recognize what is real and what has you spinning.

Money and financial health are essential for your wellbeing. Let’s not pretend that it doesn’t matter when the market goes down 20% and your retirement account takes a massive hit.

We’re not here to give financial advice - but I can tell you not to make any rash decisions when you’re in fight-or-flight. No one beats the market when they let their emotions control their decisions about moving money around.

More often than not it’s a safe bet to stay the course - it’s more common to make money by going into the market after a 20% decline in stock prices than it is by getting out.

But that’s between you and your financial Advisor (we’re just your Longevity Advisor).

What you can do is figure out your budget to sustain yourself moving forward given different outcomes - market goes down another 20%, lose your job for 3 months, etc.

Cut costs where it makes sense, know your situation, and try to not let emotion get in the way of reality.

#2 - Take a step back from the news. I know that’s hard right now when things seem to shift hourly - who knows what’s going to happen with global trade by next week?

But if we can’t control it - then ruminating over it won’t help. Get the info you need to know and get out. Unless it’s for your job (even then I’d say figure out what really matters), don’t keep CNBC on in the background all day and the WSJ open on your browser.

#3 - Break a sweat. There’s no better solution for stress than getting in a good workout.

Even a sauna is good too. But get after it and boost those endorphins to overcome that cortisol.

#4 - Find something funny out in the world. Now bear with me here - when you’re feeling anxious it can be tough to be optimistic or grateful. But seeking out humor is easier.

When we genuinely laugh it improves our mood and tempers the impact of stress.

#5 - Finally, yes, self-care. We didn’t start here because you can’t just kumbaya your way to getting through financial uncertainty.

But after you’ve done #1-4, then yes you absolutely should take care of yourself and remember what’s most important in life.

Spend time capturing the micro-moments that make life so magical - reading with your kids, going to dinner with friends, getting outside and hiking among the blooming trees in the spring sunshine.

Pro Tip: Don’t let yourself get seduced by turning to more alcohol or more drugs to “get through it”.

The more you take care of your mind and body - the better decisions you’ll make and the better off you’ll be.

Because…

The world will still be spinning tomorrow.

So when you wake up and feel that tightness in your neck and shoulders, when you can’t stop watching the news, when you’re worried about what the hell is going on in the world…

• Focus on what you can control.

• Plan for the future.

• But - never forget to make the most of today and to put your health first.

Try

Where Do You Feel Stress?

Take a beat - when you feel stressed and overwhelmed, where do you feel it in your body? Like really think about it - are your shoulders raised? Are your hips tight? Is your head pounding? Are your lymph nodes swollen?

For me - I feel it across my upper back. So I take 10 deep breaths -

• 5 second inhale into my back with my arms out wide

• 5 second exhale giving myself a big hug while rounding my back

Wherever you feel your stress - take 5-10 deep breaths directly into that part of your body and give yourself a little stretch or massage.

It really works.

Thrive25 Partner Spotlight

Upgrade Your Cooking with Zero Acre Farms!

Discover the clean, all-purpose cooking oil with more good fats than olive oil, a neutral taste, and a tiny environmental footprint. Healthy for you, gentle on the planet, and perfect for all your culinary adventures.

Support Thrive25 by choosing healthier, more sustainable options. Check out Zero Acre's products and make a difference for your health and our planet!

Get 15% off with code THRIVE25!

Laugh

A Little Magic

Here’s a behind the scene look at how to impress your kids (or your friends/colleagues) with a little magic.

You know you want to try this out on someone now.

H&L in the News

The Truth About Chia Gloops: Chia seed water is trending, but does it really help with digestion and weight loss? Experts weigh in on the science behind the fiber-fueled hype - and what actually works. (NYTimes)

Rebooting Fertility from Childhood: In a world-first, doctors transplanted sperm stem cells collected before puberty to help a cancer survivor regain fertility—marking a breakthrough in male reproductive medicine. (WIRED)

Rewiring the Brain with Roots: Ibogaine, a powerful African psychedelic, may help reverse brain injury and PTSD. Stanford’s early research shows dramatic results—despite safety risks and a long road to U.S. approval. (Big Think)

Thrive25 Referral Program

Thanks for being part of the Thrive25 community! Want to further support our mission of transforming science into digestible insights to support our health & longevity. Earn Thrive25 swag and other rewards from our Sponsors via our referral program:

Thanks for joining us today!

• Want to see what we’re up to? Sign up for early access to our platform

• Missed an issue? No problem, check out our newsletter archive

• Got feedback, recommendations or stories to share? Tell us what’s on your mind here

• Someone send you this email? Sign up here

We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

To health!