Health for a Better Life

It took me about a year of trying things to find a routine that works reasonably well for me. I used to be much less consistent about my health. I now feel better, work more steadily, and spend less of the day trying to recover from something I did the night before.

Your routine will probably look different from mine. Sleep, food, exercise, and the place you work are worth experimenting with. You may get more done, but you may also feel happier and have more freedom to choose how you spend the day. That alone makes the effort worthwhile.

My rough guess is that I'm 1–1.5× more productive when I keep up these habits than when I don't. I haven't measured that, and I couldn't tell you how much each habit contributes. After a breakfast heavy in refined carbohydrates, I used to feel sleepy around 9 or 10 and interrupt the morning to rest. With my current routine, especially caffeine, I can often work hard for more than four hours without needing a break. More importantly, a good morning lets me attempt something creative or mentally difficult that I might otherwise spend the day avoiding. Keeping the schedule usually makes that kind of morning fairly repeatable.

I also want to stay healthy for a long time. There is a lot I want to learn and do, and a lot about the future I would like to be around to see.

Sleep

Keeping regular hours

I try to keep the same sleep schedule throughout the week. Seven to seven and a half hours usually feels right for me. I generally fall asleep around 10:30 or 11 and wake between 6:00 and 6:30. Weekends are not very different from weekdays.

The more useful rule is to be back in my room by 10. I need time to get ready for bed and settle down. Once I played board games until almost 11, got back a little later, and assumed I could still fall asleep more or less as usual. Instead, I stayed excited and didn't sleep until after midnight. Getting home late costs me more than the time spent out.

If I have a late night, I may wake around 7 instead of 6, then return to my usual schedule. An occasional exception doesn't seem to disrupt much; letting it become the new bedtime does. I also plan sleep when traveling across time zones, rather than treating it as something to deal with after arrival.

I use Sleep Cycle to keep track of sleep, but usually don't set a morning alarm. I almost never stay in bed after waking. Waking naturally feels much easier to me than being pulled out of sleep by an alarm, especially for an unusually early start. If I need a little more sleep, I prefer to leave room for it.

I also tried a sunrise alarm lamp, which gradually brightened over about 30 minutes. I didn't find it very useful: I sleep beside a window, and the real morning light is enough.

The room and the wind-down

I sleep best in a quiet, dark, fairly cool room. I wear earplugs at night, but not an eye mask. Blackout curtains work better for me, and I cover unnecessary indicator lights. I don't like a hot room or an overly warm duvet.

I bought a small white-noise player and usually leave it on a quiet rain setting near my pillow. I find the sound comfortable. It gives my attention somewhere simple to go instead of following every thought that turns up.

I am less good at stopping work before bed. I haven't consistently managed the advice about putting away my phone and avoiding work or social media for the last hour. Lately I have been trying audiobooks instead of looking at a screen, preferably something quiet, fairly difficult, or a little dull.

If I am sleepy but still thinking, more thinking rarely helps. I remind myself that I can return to the problem tomorrow and bring my attention back to breathing or the rain. Sometimes a little meditation helps. I would like to fall asleep within about 20 minutes, but watching the clock would give me one more thing to worry about.

For roughly six months I have also used melatonin about half an hour to an hour before bed. The sleepiness felt stronger at first and is less obvious now. I haven't noticed clear side effects, but that is only my experience; it doesn't establish long-term safety or tell me why the effect has changed.

A place of my own

I moved out of the dorm and spend about RMB 120 a day on a place off campus. Sleep was the main reason, but the larger difference is having a small home of my own. I can keep my things where I want, do laundry, hang clothes to dry, and arrange my time without negotiating each detail. In a four-person room, the arrangement is always a compromise among four people. Here I get to decide.

I also find it easier to stop working. In a dorm, someone may still be studying, and I can feel an unspoken pressure to do the same. Alone, I don't feel watched or obliged to look productive. I can actually relax.

The bike ride takes about ten minutes, and I like it. Leaving in the morning puts me into a different mode; riding home helps me leave that mode behind. The trip gives work and rest a boundary that was less clear when both happened on campus. It has become a small daily ritual rather than much of a cost.

My room faces south. Opening the curtains is the first thing I do after waking; if it is still dark, I turn on a light. Around 6 or 7 on an autumn or winter morning, the Beijing view is one of the quietest parts of my day. My head is clear, and for a while it feels almost like meditation. Breakfast and the ride to the library give me some time outside before work. Passing residential buildings and seeing people begin their day makes me feel more connected to the city—something I can lose when most of life happens inside a university.

I thought about the cost in terms of what a better day was worth to me, including the work I hope to do in the future. That isn't a precise calculation. The discomfort of dorm life was already enough to make a change necessary. Sleep still had a lot of room to improve; I doubted that spending the same amount on more supplements, different food, or exercise equipment would do as much. This was where the next yuan seemed most useful.

I am sensitive to light, noise, and other people's schedules. Some classmates can fall asleep whenever they decide to; I can't. If you are less sensitive, keep later hours, or can comfortably agree on a routine with your roommates, the same expense may buy you much less.

Naps

I usually make time for a 20-minute nap. If I have an early afternoon class, I move it earlier. Otherwise I finish lunch after 1, return to the library around 1:20, walk for another 20 minutes or so, and rest around 1:45 or 2.

I carry earplugs, an eye mask, and a small cushion. I don't like sleeping with my head on the desk: my neck is bent, my head feels heavy, and I can wake feeling groggy. I prefer a sofa with a back and a wide armrest, ideally beside a wall. I put the cushion on the inner side so I can recline a little with my head and neck supported. It feels more like my usual sleeping position than resting against a hard chair back.

Going back to the dorm adds a trip in each direction, and the room may not be quiet when I get there. Someone else's movements or a sound can wake me, and being in bed doesn't necessarily make it easier to fall asleep quickly. For a short nap, the library is usually less trouble. If there isn't a suitable seat, I close my eyes or do a short non-sleep deep rest session. Resting still helps when I don't fall asleep.

I set my phone to vibrate after 20 minutes. It wakes me without a loud alarm and doesn't disturb people nearby. I don't rely on guessing how long I have slept. Thirty or forty minutes often leaves me less clear-headed than a short nap; an hour can feel worse. If I really need a longer rest, I allow roughly an hour and a half and find a bed instead. I don't assume that 90 minutes is a guaranteed sleep cycle.

Afterward I wash my face and walk a little before trying to work. I also avoid having tea immediately before the nap. On a sleepy morning I usually try a walk, a stretch, or an easier task first, rather than adding another nap. I normally nap once, then stay awake for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Food and Drinks

A breakfast I can repeat

I eat breakfast between 7 and 8, lunch around 12:30 to 1, and dinner around 7. I try to finish dinner by 7:30. Weekends are much the same; I change the times when there is a real reason to, rather than starting over every day.

Breakfast is usually oats with some combination of eggs, milk, unsweetened soy milk, nuts, dried berries, chia seeds, or ready-to-eat chicken breast. Almonds are a regular choice. I want enough protein and fat, something filling, and a morning without a heavy, sleepy feeling.

I eat few of the cakes, pastries, sweet biscuits, steamed buns, and similar refined-flour foods at the canteen. There isn't much I can prepare as a student, so convenience matters. For a few months I mixed oat bran with warm water in a cup and ate it that way. I am now checking the instructions on the actual product and looking for one explicitly suited to this preparation. Oat bran and steel-cut oats turned out not to be the same thing.

Lunch, dinner, and fewer decisions

At lunch and dinner I ask for more vegetables and less white rice. I vary the kinds and colors of vegetables, prefer chicken and fish, and eat red meat less often. I often choose rice noodles or brown rice when available. A mild soup and a small serving of fruit are welcome additions. I generally eat vegetables first, then meat, then the starch.

I avoid very spicy, oily, or sugary food, especially at dinner. Many canteen dishes don't suit me, so I rotate between a few stalls I know and like. This saves more effort than trying to make a fresh decision, then exercise restraint, at every meal.

Canteen portions usually leave me comfortably full. Dinner is smaller, and I don't normally eat afterward. I generally decline a late-night meal so there are more than three hours between dinner and bed. My stomach is happier with that arrangement.

I eat with friends once or twice a week, roughly once off campus, and mention in advance that I don't eat spicy food. The pace matters. At a Chinese restaurant, several dishes may arrive together, and I can keep eating simply because everything is there. Asking for dishes to come one at a time, more like a meal served in courses, gives me a pause between them. I eat more steadily and am less likely to get through too much food before noticing that I am full.

Eating too quickly can make my stomach uncomfortable and put me off the rest of the meal. Staying at the table and eating on and off for an hour and a half isn't much better. I prefer to finish in about an hour and then suggest a walk. If my stomach feels uncomfortable and we still want to talk, I stand up rather than keep sitting. We can carry on the conversation without carrying on the meal.

Coffee, tea, and snacks

After breakfast, around 8, I make black coffee with about 4 grams of Sumidagawa freeze-dried coffee and 300 milliliters of water. I don't add sugar. Sometimes I add milk, especially cold milk; I like the taste of a latte more than plain black coffee. Sweet coffee has sometimes been followed by a sleepy patch at exactly the point I wanted to start working.

I buy plain tea leaves or tea bags. I usually have green or black tea around 9 or 10, sometimes oolong, no more than two cups, and finish all caffeinated drinks before noon. I don't want the morning's caffeine following me into the night.

After my nap I might make barley tea, ginger and jujube tea, or rooibos. I particularly like these in Beijing's autumn and winter. They are comforting and make the transition back into the afternoon nicer. In the evening I sometimes have chamomile or poria tea, usually around 9, and not too much.

Otherwise I mostly drink mineral water. I try not to buy sweet drinks, whether I am studying or traveling. I make exceptions at gatherings; enjoying the occasion matters too. I still avoid alcohol with dinner because I don't like what it does to my sleep and the next morning.

Around 10 I may have a little dark chocolate, usually about 80% cocoa. Much less tastes too sweet to me; much more is too bitter. Sometimes I have nuts or a banana instead. Around 3 or 4 I have a small serving of fruit or nuts, occasionally a biscuit, a piece of chocolate, or some ready-to-eat chicken. If I do have something sweet, I prefer it around lunch rather than in the morning.

Exercise

What I actually do

Exercise is not the part of this routine I am best at. I haven't put much into a particular sport and rarely join teams or campus competitions. I prefer things I can do on my own, when I have time. Regular training with friends can be great; I just don't like committing to a fixed place and group every time I want to move.

Walking is the most consistent thing. I walk a little after breakfast and about 20 minutes after lunch and dinner, sometimes slowly and sometimes briskly. I also cycle to get around campus. At other times I might jog, go rowing, or try an unfamiliar activity for fun, without trying to become good at all of them.

In semesters without a PE class, I usually go to the gym three or four times a week for 30 to 40 minutes. The usual slot is between 6 and 7 in the evening, especially after 6:30, before dinner. I mix cardio and weights: the rowing machine, brisk walking, cycling, lifting, some stretching, and occasionally a short sprint. Early morning is another time I would consider, but evenings are easier to keep.

The guideline of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week has been a useful reference. My gym visits don't automatically add up to that; duration and intensity matter, and lifting and stretching are different activities. Walking and cycling are also part of how I stay active.

Keeping it easy to continue

If I am physically tired or ill, I do less or rest. But a tired mind is not always a tired body. After a demanding day of studying, moving can feel like a break rather than another demand.

I also get up when sitting starts to feel stiff, sore, or numb. Small movements and a short walk are easy to overlook, but they fit into the day without much preparation. That is why they last. Going to the gym can feel unpleasant at first; a walk usually feels good from the beginning.

I haven't had an overtraining problem. If anything, I am cautious about hard contact and injuries. A fracture could disrupt a lot of things I care about. I am more willing to take risks in intellectual work than in a sport I am doing mainly to stay well.

The Place I Work

A stable base

I care a lot about being able to decide how I live. Studying, research, and figuring out what to do next already involve enough uncertainty. I can't reliably control the results or the response I get from the world. Keeping my daily life in order gives me something I can influence, and the confidence of knowing that at least this part is working.

I think of the routine as the environment in which the interesting work happens. I want a steady base so I can take chances with what I learn and explore. A day of work can have enough drama without bringing it home.

There is a cost. Sometimes I don't want to go to bed or get up at the usual time. I envy friends who travel without an itinerary: they may use their time less efficiently, but they also find things I couldn't have planned. I don't want to organize every surprise out of my life. The compromise I like is a fairly fixed structure with room to change what goes inside it. A building needs a sound frame; the rooms don't have to stay arranged the same way. A free morning can be four hours of difficult work, or time to follow something that suddenly interests me.

Protecting the good hours

Mornings are my best time, followed by the period from about 2 or 3 to 6 in the afternoon. I try to leave both blocks alone. Meetings and other arrangements go around lunch or after 6 when possible. Having a few uninterrupted hours makes the whole day feel less hurried.

I keep the schedule fairly open when I can. For courses where independent study or a recording works better, I prefer doing that in the library. I don't want to use a good morning on something merely because it can be put on a calendar.

Light and familiarity

I tend to use the same quiet corner of the library, preferably on the south side near daylight. I like knowing where everything goes and being able to put my things around me without a fuss.

I like a bright room, with the curtains open but without harsh sun or reflections on the screen. Some of the dimmer seats near the “Little Boya Tower” on the library’s first floor make me sleepy in the evening, so I avoid them. Daylight makes me feel more awake and puts me in a better mood. Going outside for a little while helps too.

I tried keeping plants beside my desk, but wasn't good at remembering to care for them. Looking at greenery outside the window is more reliable. Sometimes the best adjustment is just to step outside and notice the campus and the weather.

Being comfortable

The library chairs are hard, so I bought a seat cushion and a soft back support. I couldn't bring my own ergonomic chair under the rules I encountered, but could improve the chair that was there. At a desk of my own, I would have more options.

I use a laptop stand when it makes the position more comfortable, and take the laptop off it when it doesn't. For a hard technical task I tend to sit upright; for writing or thinking I am often more relaxed. I don't think holding one supposedly perfect pose all day would help me.

About once an hour, or whenever my attention starts drifting, I get up and walk. Sometimes the thought that wasn't moving at the desk starts moving with me.

Noise and privacy

I put a plain white divider in front of the desk to keep passing people out of my field of view. The corner seat and the divider make a small space that feels familiar and private. I work more comfortably when I don't feel watched.

Unexpected sounds bother me much more than a steady background hum. A chair scraping or something striking the table can break a train of thought; an air conditioner running quietly can cover other noises and help me settle in. I usually wear foam earplugs and add over-ear hearing protection if needed. The foam plugs are the most comfortable for me.

I also prefer working alone. Studying with friends can help me finish tasks, but after a while I start feeling that I should always look busy. I have less room to pause, change position, or do something unrelated for a moment without explaining myself.

If you've sat through a research group meeting with everyone on their laptops, you may know the feeling. There is typing all around you, and I find myself reaching for small, easy tasks that let me keep moving too. I can get a lot of those done without touching the difficult thing I actually need to think about. Slow thinking and open-ended writing don't always look productive from the next chair. I work better when I don't feel the need to demonstrate progress every few minutes.

This takes some self-discipline. Someone who does better with company may want much less separation than I do.

Supplements

What I have been using

I currently take around a dozen supplements, not counting coffee or tea. I choose them around the demands of studying, training, and sleep. This is my own routine, not a list for everyone to copy.

After my morning coffee I take one L-theanine capsule. I use it with the aim of staying calm and attentive; small trials of theanine with caffeine have found improvements in some attention tasks. On demanding study days, and sometimes before an exam, I also use Alpha-GPC, roughly four or five days a week. On easier days I leave it out. The combination with caffeine has sometimes made my heart beat faster, which is not a benefit I am looking for.

I have also used L-tyrosine when poor sleep, an early start, a late night, or jet lag left me tired but I still had a demanding day ahead. My reason for using it is to support concentration under short-term pressure, the setting in which some studies have found cognitive benefits.

After lunch I take vitamin D3 with K2, B vitamins, and omega-3 fish oil. If I have eaten little fruit that day, I may also take vitamin C. After my evening workout and dinner, I mix 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate powder into water. Creatine supports strength and repeated high-intensity exercise, which fits the weight training in my routine. I also take Bacopa monnieri after dinner with longer-term memory support in mind; some trials have reported improvements in learning and delayed recall.

A few hours before bed I take magnesium as part of my evening routine, and melatonin closer to bedtime as described above. During periods of stomach discomfort, sometimes after oily meals, I have also used probiotics with digestive comfort in mind, and occasionally extra vitamins.

What I prioritize

I look for human research and a clear reason for taking something. I pay particular attention to omega-3 and caffeine, rather than adding products for the sake of a longer list. Supplements have a supporting role in my routine; sleep, food, and exercise remain the foundation.

Stress and Other People

Getting things out of my head

A lot of my anxiety is an important task I haven't started. The first step is to identify it. If I can begin, even doing a small part usually makes me feel better. If I can't, putting it on a list helps. Once it is written down, I don't have to keep reminding myself that it exists.

I think of the list as an external memory. When I am worn out, I may switch to an easier book, a conversation, or something I am interested in rather than keep forcing the same task.

I can usually do about four or five hours of genuinely demanding work in a day. The rest can be less intense. I don't expect spending every waking hour in a library or lab, with no exercise, friends, or interests, to give me better work over the long run.

Being alone without feeling cut off

I like being alone, and think it is a skill worth learning when a conversation or a feed is always available. Walking and reading are my favorite ways to spend that time. Moving makes me feel more alive and often makes thinking easier. I like choosing a different route or setting according to how I feel, with nobody needing me for a while.

Reading history and biography is one of the best ways I know to step outside the worries of the day. I keep finding familiar feelings in people who lived very different lives. Some are famous; many aren't. Reading them can feel like meeting someone across time who understands a part of what I am going through.

I read ebooks, listen to books and podcasts, follow some online communities and news, and enjoy long technology reporting, essays, videos, and courses. I almost never watch short videos. They can be enjoyable in the moment, but I tend to come away feeling that I spent time without keeping much. Longer material is more satisfying to me.

Making room for people

I try to contact friends every day, though not necessarily in person. It might be a short chat, a message to see how someone is doing, or a small piece of help. I don't need those conversations to produce anything. Helping someone and hearing from them feels good in itself.

Most of my close university contacts are in information science and physics, especially information science. We understand each other easily, but the circle can become predictable. I want to meet people from other departments and universities, with different experiences and ways of thinking.

Clubs are a mixed fit for me. I prefer activities in the evening, but belonging to a group means showing up and sometimes organizing things. I want that connection without giving up much control over my time; I haven't fully resolved the tension. Coffee, afternoon tea, or a conversation that begins on WeChat and moves offline are more flexible.

I join interesting events and sometimes organize small groups myself: a meal, a trip, a board game, a walk, or an afternoon in a park. Sometimes everyone already knows each other; sometimes I bring together friends from different departments. I want a wider mix of people, not just more names in my contacts.

The part I haven't solved

Friendship at university takes more effort than I expected. People are busy, especially with demanding science and engineering work. If nobody initiates, it is easy not to meet. The friendships with a built-in occasion—someone I see in class, for example—are much easier. Talking after class and getting lunch together costs less effort than arranging every meeting from scratch.

I also like it when friends bring their friends along. It lets the circle grow naturally, and occasionally introduces someone I really connect with.

What I am still working out is how to make relationships more steady and mutual. I like checking in on people, and I like being checked on. A message, an invitation, or someone asking me for help can mean a lot. Always being the person who starts things takes energy. I would like more relationships where care travels both ways without so much arranging.

Other Things I've Tried

Intermittent fasting

I tried a 16:8 eating schedule for two or three weeks. The first food was around 11, then lunch around 1 and dinner around 7. It did not work well for me.

Some mornings I felt unusually clear around 8 or 9, but later became foggy, sleepy, and physically drained, sometimes achy. By 11 I could feel quite bad. I described it at the time as low blood sugar, though I didn't measure it. Eating did not fix the feeling immediately and sometimes left my stomach uncomfortable too. I was usually back to normal after the afternoon nap, and evenings were fine. Losing the best part of the morning was a poor trade, so I stopped.

Making the easy choice easier

I am not vegetarian. Meat is something I want in my diet. I try to limit sweets, but I like them and don't expect to win an argument with myself every time one is within reach.

Keeping snacks beside the desk makes it easy to eat them without noticing. The simplest solution has been not buying them, not leaving them in the place I work, and not ordering dishes I already know I would rather avoid. Occasional exceptions with friends are easier to live with than a desk that asks for restraint all day.

When the Schedule Breaks

Travel and exams

Travel, especially across time zones, is where the exact schedule stops being realistic. I keep what is easy to carry with me: reasonably familiar meals, a short nap when possible, walking, and the supplements I normally bring. Keeping those familiar doesn't mean they can make up for lost sleep. I don't expect the bedtime to survive every flight.

Exams change less. I prefer getting up earlier to staying up later, and most of the preparation happens during the term. When I have fallen behind, I have sometimes cut sleep to about six hours; on rare occasions, to four and a half. I used to justify this by thinking I could preserve the most valuable hours of deep sleep and cut the rest. That isn't how sleep works: deep sleep isn't confined to 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., and later sleep matters too. Those short nights describe what I have done under pressure, not a way I think I can get the same recovery in less time. After a compressed stretch I return to my normal hours.

Starting again

I probably follow the ideal version of this routine 80–90% of the time. Missing part of it doesn't make me abandon the rest. A late night might change when I wake; it needn't decide what I eat or whether I take a walk.

When I feel reluctant to work, I usually find that I don't want to begin, rather than that I need a whole day off. I start with an easier task connected to the work, then gradually make it harder. A short walk often helps. If I am actually unwell or exhausted, I rest; I don't treat every signal from my body as a problem to push through. The schedule is useful because it helps me work and feel better, not because I can execute it perfectly.