7 Health Habits That Could Change Your Life in 2026

I am Dr. Jeremy London. I'm a board certified cardiovascular surgeon, and I've been in clinical practice for over 25 years. And today, we're gonna talk about something that everybody is pretty familiar with. That's New Year's resolutions. Specifically, seven healthy habits that could change your life in 2026. Let's talk about New Year's resolutions for a minute, because the majority of people that set New Year's resolutions and initiate them don't stick with them long-term. So, let's dig a little deeper in the mindset, maybe, that could help you remain consistent and create a durable habit change as you head into the new year, before we jump into these specific seven daily habits. What happens many times with New Year's resolutions is we set really big goals. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I encourage that. But perspective is everything. Let me give you an example. If you're driving across the country, from New York to Los Angeles, you don't have your eyes set on the city of LA because you can't see it. All you can see is down the road to the next turn in front of you. And that's as far as you need to get. And then, down the road again to the next turn. If you're driving at night, all you can see is the road ahead of you that is illuminated by your headlights. And you just have to make it that far to continue down the road. So, what I would encourage you to do is, number one, set goals that are meaningful for you, set goals that are obtainable, set goals that push yourself, but maintain perspective as you move through the process. Break it down into small, obtainable goals, just like driving across the country each day. No matter what your list is, no matter what your goal is, remember that perspective is everything. And don't get overwhelmed because you can't see Los Angeles when you're driving across the country. Identify where you wanna be a year from now, be honest about where you are currently, look back at the year that's behind us, the things that have worked, the things that haven't worked, where you failed, what your successes were, identify your starting point, be really honest about that. And then set the course for your journey to become the person that you wanna be three months from now, six months from now, a year from now. And break that down into small, obtainable goals along the way. Now, the seven habits that I have chosen for this list are simple, although not easy, but I think that they're things that we can all do. And I've started for myself with recovery as the basic overriding theme for the first two, really. And I chose that because that's something that I'm not good at. I've looked back at this last year and identified that. And I think that if you struggle with coming up with your goals, think about what you're not good at because I think that's where the most opportunity exists for each of us. We wanna take a minute and thank our sponsor of this podcast, Element. Hydration isn't just about drinking more water, it's about replacing what you lose. When you sweat from workouts, sauna sessions, or just daily life activities, you're not just losing water, you're losing electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. That's why I choose Element as my electrolyte replacement of choice. Element has everything you need and nothing you don't. Their electrolyte formula uses a science-backed electrolyte ratio of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Electrolytes are used by every cell in your body and even minimal dehydration can limit cognitive and physical performance. Element tastes great and helps me replenish my electrolytes after a hard workout or sauna. I mix one packet of Element, usually my favorite flavor, grapefruit salt, in 32 ounces of water to ensure I stay hydrated throughout the day. If you wanna try Element for yourself, head to drinklment.com slash London and you will receive a free sample pack of all eight of their most popular flavors with any purchase. That's drinklment.com slash London, plus they offer an unlimited time, no questions asked refund policy. So if you buy it, try it, and don't like it for any reason, they will refund you. Now let's get back to the podcast. So let's start with number one, and that is set an alarm for the time that you want to go to sleep every night. Why is this important? Well, going to bed at the same time is just as important as waking up at the same time every morning. That consistency of that sleep-wake cycle helps to set your body into rhythm, into a normal wake-sleep cycle. The bottom line is, if your sleep isn't good, it permeates every aspect of your life. It's something that I have struggled with for many, many years. Being a cardiovascular surgeon and on-call for the last 25 years, my sleep is terrible, and I have really struggled with it. I've been working over the last year to improve it. It's much better. This is one tactic that I have utilized to really keep me on track, and it's something that I think you should consider doing, even though it may seem somewhat counterintuitive. But in the evenings, I think we all get a little lazy. You get on your phone, you watch a movie, you read for too long, and we tend to not stay on track with that what time are we going to bed. Waking up typically isn't hard because we have to go to work, or we have to get up because we have responsibility, we have to take care of children, whatever it may be. That part tends to be a little more consistent for people, but going to bed on time is just as important. And sleep is so critical for our overall health. Recovery is really where the magic happens. When we're asleep, our brains actually get washed of the waste material that is built up through the day. And so poor sleep then results in increased waste material within the brain tissue itself, and our brains don't have time to rest and recover so that we're prepared for the next day. Number two, and continuing this theme of creating a solid sleep hygiene program and really building in rest and recovery into your life is to get outside every day and get sunlight into your eyes. Now, let me be clear. You don't want to stare directly into the sun because that can be dangerous, but you want to look in the direction, particularly of the rising sun, if that works in your schedule, but get outside and get sunlight in your eyes, particularly early in the day. And this is so incredibly powerful. It does two really, really important things. The first is it initiates cortisol release for your entire system at a time when you need it so that you have cortisol, which is a wake-up type hormone through the course of the day. But as important, if not more importantly, is it helps set the clock for melatonin release later in the day when it's time for you to go to sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that's released in the brain that helps you relax and actually go to sleep. But getting that early low angle sunlight in the morning is so important for both of those factors. And again, it's all of these components, setting your alarm to go to sleep, waking up at the same time, getting outside and getting sunlight into your eyes that can really bolster a solid sleep hygiene program. And again, sets you up for success in so many other areas of your life. I can appreciate that this may seem obvious to many people, but the truth is we don't get outside enough. I mean, somebody like myself, I spend the majority of my life fluorescent and 70 degrees inside of a hospital. And even though it's simple, you do have to make the effort to actually get outside, whether it's first thing in the morning, whether it's eating your lunch outside or taking your phone calls while you're outside on a walk. Figure out how to integrate this into your life because if you don't actually take action and figure out where it fits for most people, including myself, it just doesn't happen. And it's so important for our overall physiology. It's worth the effort. Number three, take a 10 to 20 minute walk after a meal. Now, I will admit that this continues the theme of me addressing some areas of my life over the last year that I haven't done a great job with. And that is controlling my blood glucose levels. Now, I didn't realize this until I put on a continuous glucose monitor and realized that some of the things that I was eating were spiking my blood glucose levels and those levels were staying up very high. And when I checked my labs further, I realized that I was actually pre-diabetic and it took some real effort for me to get those numbers down. They have now normalized. And one of the most powerful things that I realized was that a 10 to 20 minute walk after a meal dramatically shifts your blood glucose levels. Literally, I would eat dinner, I would see my blood glucose levels go up, which is normal. You want to see a rise in your blood glucose levels, but mine would stay up consistently after dinner. We started to integrate a 10 to 15 minute walk. We take our dogs out, not fast, not pushing ourselves, just literally a stroll. And within 10 minutes, I could watch my blood sugars drop right before my eyes, utilizing the continuous glucose monitor. And I'll be honest with you, I never realized the power of this simple tactic. It's also a nice way to close out the day. I get to spend time with my wife outside. The dogs get another walk during the day. Figure out how it works in your life. If you can't get outside, walk up and down the stairs, get on a treadmill, do 10 air squats, be active after a meal. It is dramatic how powerful it can be to help control your blood glucose levels. And this is really important for our overall physiology because if our blood glucose levels are staying up and staying high, our bodies can actually become insulin resistant and we can create a situation where we have increased risk of heart disease, stroke, as well as peripheral vascular disease. So it's well worth the effort. It's simple, again, not always easy. You think you can't find the time. What I would suggest is look at how much time you've spent on social media, on your phone. Take 10 to 15 minutes out of that period of time and add a walk after meals. You will not be disappointed. We'll get back to the podcast in a minute. We'd like to thank our sponsor, Function Health. Taking control of your health starts with understanding your biometrics. I use Function Health to tailor my nutrition and wellness plan. Function offers over 100 plus biomarkers to give you a comprehensive picture of your health at an affordable price. Their advanced testing includes five times the standard primary care panel. Testing for biomarkers ranging from heart health, hormone status, kidney function, nutrients, and more. Not only will you see which biomarkers are in and out of range, but Function will also analyze each biomarker and offer insights from top doctors in their specialties. Clinicians will contact you promptly if any urgent results arise. Knowing your data is powerful. Function helps you navigate the information and allows you to design a biomarker driven plan to maximize your healthspan and lifespan. If you are interested in getting your 100 plus biomarkers, visit www.functionhealth.com slash London. That's www.functionhealth.com slash London. Check it out. Now let's get back to the podcast. Number four, eliminate alcohol. Now, I realize this is likely to be the least popular recommendation on this list, but let me be clear from the outset. Drinking alcohol is absolutely a personal choice. Your body, your rules. And I am not judgmental. If it is something that you choose and you feel like it's important for you, I have absolutely no issue with that. What is important to me is that you are educated about what it means to drink alcohol. If, in fact, you are willing and open to this information and you make the decision that alcohol is something that you want to continue in your life, I have no issue with it. I enjoyed alcohol for many, many years. I enjoyed pairing wines with food. I enjoyed the whole process. I enjoyed the social process. But I can tell you on no uncertain terms, removing alcohol has been one of the most transformative decisions I've made in my adult life. And it's like reading a good book or seeing a good movie. Like, I want to share this with you. It has been such a magical change for me. Every day is the same. I am living life untampered. I got to a point where I started thinking that I'm spending all of this time trying to eat whole foods diet, remove ultra-processed foods, remove any kind of additional environmental toxins, move every day, exercise, do aerobic training, strength training, recovery, work on my sleep and meditate every day, work on my relationships, all of the major pillars. And then I was actively poisoning my body with alcohol. It just didn't make sense to me that something that I could directly control, that I would continue to do that. And I can tell you that on a personal level, it has been absolutely life-changing for me. If nothing else, consider it, give it a try for a period of time. But I want you to understand that even moderate alcohol use is no longer considered safe. I think that that data is well disproven at this point, but I want you to strongly consider eliminating alcohol. I truly believe that alcohol will be the next cigarettes in the next five years, that not only will there be a health warning for pregnant women, but there will be a health warning for all of us with regular alcohol use. Number five, one day a week, you need to be doing high-intensity aerobic training. Now, let me qualify this right from the start. If you're walking, walk faster, walk at an incline. If you're running, work sprints. I'm not looking for you to go from walking to doing stairs at a stadium someplace that's way out of your reach, unless that's something that you want to do. This is all relative, and here's why. VO2 max is a measure of your cardiovascular efficiency, which is your heart and cardiovascular system's ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, to all the organs in your body. Higher VO2 max, more efficient heart, means it moves the needle for longevity. VO2 max is the single most powerful indicator of longevity. And the way to move that needle effectively is to push yourself one day a week. As you scale this, if you're walking and you walk faster, and you're not getting your heart rate up, you're gonna have to do more as time goes on. Why? Because you're getting better your shape, and you're shifting your VO2 max. So over time, you're gonna have to continue to scale up, to continue to maintain and improve your VO2 max. But this is such an important component of your health span and lifespan that I want you to understand that if you're going to exercise, make it really worthwhile. You don't have to push yourself every single day. In fact, the aerobic base is very, very important. If you look at some of the most well-trained cyclists in the Tour de France, they spend most of their time at a lower heart rate, but they're always adding that high-intensity training at least one or two times a week to shift that curve. And you need to be doing the same, whatever that means for you. Number six, keep a water bottle with you throughout the day so you remember to hydrate. And again, maintaining this theme of things that I am not good at, I am really terrible with my hydration. And a lot of it has to do with my schedule. So I get up in the morning and I try to hydrate first thing in the morning, and then I'm basically in the operating room all day long. And so it's very difficult for me to maintain that level of hydration. And even when I get out, I'm not always on top of that. But keeping a water bottle with you helps to remind you throughout the day. And one of the things that you also need to consider with hydration, particularly if you're exercising vigorously or you really, again, want to make your hydration really efficient, is add some sort of electrolytes into your hydration mix, whichever ones work for you. But this really helps not only absorb the hydration through your gastrointestinal tract, but also how your cells utilize the hydration and where that fluid goes once it's in your body. So keep a water bottle as a reminder, keep it full, and add electrolytes when you can. Staying hydrated is such an important factor for your overall health. It's really a foundational part of a nutritional plan. And number seven on the list, I figured I would save one that I'm actually good at and that I have really maintained, not only over the last year, but the last several years, and that's resistance training or lifting weights. Just like VO2 max and aerobic training, muscle mass is a very important indicator of health span and longevity. And here's why. First, from a functional standpoint, having strong muscles as you age increases your stability, your ability to do the things you want to do. I love the quote, the deadlifts that you do at 30 allow you to get up out of the chair when you're 80, or the weight training that you do at 50 allows you to lift the suitcases at 75. It prepares you for later in life because as we age, we lose muscle mass. And the way to combat that is to stimulate your muscles with resistance training. Now, if it's weights, that's great. If it's body weight, that works too. If it's resistance bands, because that's what feels safest, absolutely. Those are all forms of resistance training. You want to put the muscles under tension for a period of time. That's what allows muscles to grow. One of the other major advantages to having significant muscle mass is muscle is literally a sink for glucose in our bloodstreams. So it helps our bodies metabolize the sugar that we're taking into our bodies. And this helps prevent things like insulin resistance, potential type two diabetes, prediabetes, whatever it may be, which then helps us to maintain a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. It's not easy for many people to step into a gym or to think that they can do weight training. And I understand that, but you can do it in the privacy of your own home with air squats and pushups and sit-ups and planks. You can get online and find simple resistance training programs, but please figure out some resistance training, some way to put your muscles under tension over time so that you can combat that muscle loss as you age, improve your glucose metabolism, and create a situation where you can have the life that you want as you age so that you're not limited because you fall and you break a hip or you just can't physically do the things that you want to do. Lift weights, use resistance bands, do body weight, but push yourself and maintain your muscle. Let me be clear. This is a list that I have put together looking back on my life for the last year. You may not like this list. This list may not resonate with you at all. It may trigger things that are important for you or you may in fact resonate with it. It doesn't matter. The key here is that you identify your list even if that list just has one thing on it because making just one change is exponentially more powerful than making no changes in your life. And look, we all fear change, but what we should really fear is staying the same. Complacency is such an incredibly dangerous mindset to fall into, and identifying particularly areas of our life that we feel like we're not good at gives us the opportunity to make an exponential pivot, particularly as you head into a new year. It's this opportunity. It's this clean slate to start. Start small, small steps. Maintain perspective. Remember that you only have to drive to the next bend in the road. You just have to get to the next step, and those continue to compound every single day so that at the end of 2026, you have become in fact the person that you want to be. Thank you so much for your time today. I truly appreciate it. 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