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journalism → support → readers
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we → purchase → commission
I wake up naturally at about 7am, although during stressful periods I have been known to wake, bolt upright, at 3am, compelled to finish some work — this is not a hack!
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this → wake → work
I normally turn on Radio 4 while checking the weather and what my day entails ...
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day → turn → what
I need about an hour of background thinking time to be able to dress myself in matching clothes.
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I → need → clothes
I am routine-light, and forgiving of myself for this, but there are two things I do religiously, because they are excellent: a scoop of ID formulas with a sachet of LOAM fibre.
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they → be → fibre
I then stare at my tray of supplements to decide whether I need anything else to wash away yesterday’s antics.
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I → stare → antics
The quest for health should not come at the cost of living your life”
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quest → come → life
I don’t have coffee until about 10am, as I prefer to wait for total adenosine clearance.
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I → have → clearance
I don’t tend to have breakfast, but cook as much as my social calendar will allow.
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calendar → tend → breakfast
My trusty Killa Vanilla stick helps me with sugar craving control.
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stick → help → control
I cycle to work daily, but to engage in exercise I need it to be scheduled, otherwise life takes over.
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life → cycle → exercise
I need accountability to someone else.
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I → need → someone
“Inhaling molecular hydrogen, a potent antioxidant, gives me clarity of thought and sets me up for the day”
Being the medical director at Sael Spa means I can get into the sauna and cold plunge whenever I am in the clubhouse.
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I → inhale → clubhouse
Sitting in a sauna overlooking nature is something I never thought was possible in London.
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I → sit → London
When it comes to wearables and health tech I have tried them all at some point.
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I → come → point
When my discipline drops, I find that seeing improvements in my HRV and sleep scores can encourage me to get back on track — otherwise, I would prefer we all got better at understanding our bodies intuitively again.
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we → drop → bodies
If I get down to Sael in time to do my morning emails I will plug in the hydrogen machine and inhale molecular hydrogen — a potent antioxidant that mops up reactive oxygen species.
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that → get → species
I feel more clarity of thought and it sets me up for the day.
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it → feel → day
It’s geeky but I set up a cooking agent in Claude code that I trained in cooking science and our preferences — it plans inventory, weekly shops and batch cooking.
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it → ’ → inventory
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I am pretty resilient to stress, having run a start-up for four years.
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I → read → years
I think it’s natural to feel overwhelmed at times, but realising you are not alone in this is encouraging.
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you → think → this
I only make major decisions when I am feeling at my most mentally powerful.
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I → make → powerful
In terms of mindfulness practices, breath coach Rob Rea once told me to start with just one breath a day that I actually focus on — so I start with a 4-7-8 breath and that normally leads to a few more.
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that → tell → more
I don’t really use social media, so I rarely scroll, but I do check the news frequently and run much of my life through my phone.
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I → use → phone
“The quest for health should not come at the cost of living your life”
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quest → come → life
I typically wind down at 9pm.
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I → wind → 9
I may have a sleep tea with some reishi in it and I avoid doing anything too mentally taxing.
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I → have → anything
I use an Eight Sleep mattress topper for the fluctuating temperature control.
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I → use → control
if I predict a tricky time I will take magnesium, glycine or melatonin, or some combination of them.
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I → predict → them
If I have been drinking, then I take our secret hangover pills.
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I → drink → pills
The quest for health should not come at the cost of living your life.
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quest → come → life
As told to Rose Beer
Dr Mark Mikhail is the co-founder of 3 Peaks Health and Medical Director at Fulham Pier’s new Sael Spa
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Mikhail → tell → Spa
The Aporia
