A No-Nonsense Guide on How to Live a Healthy Life: The Four Cornerstones

There is a wealth of information about how to live a healthy life, and humans have been giving each other health advice for thousands of years. It’s easy to get lost in endless debates about exercise routines, sleep schedules and the “perfect” diet.

In reality, living a healthy life can be simplified. In this article, I will break down health into four essential Cornerstones that form the foundation of long-term wellbeing. Once you know them and discover their true significance, you’ll realise that most of the conversation on health and fitness is just noise.

The Four Cornerstones

Sleep, diet, exercise, spirituality. (A healthy life means staying both physically and mentally healthy.) If you can consistently hit all four of these habits successfully, you’ll be doing better than 99% of the population.

Sleep

This is the most underappreciated Cornerstone. Most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep per day, but this amount can vary significantly between individuals. Many of us have a good idea of how much sleep we need – but we all lead busy lives, and a lot of us find it very difficult to get enough.

Discover your natural sleep need

When I have a period of time off work (and don’t need to wake up to a ridiculously early alarm), I generally discover how much sleep I really need after a few nights. Just let your body naturally wake up without an alarm. On work nights, the only way to consistently get the sleep you need is to be disciplined (a skill that you’ll need to conquer the other Cornerstones of a healthy life), and make sure you go to bed on time.

Cut out screens

Don’t get distracted by TV, social media or by doomscrolling on your phone. You should cut out screens in the 90 minutes before bed, and learn to unwind by reading. And make sure to go to bed early enough so you can get the hours of sleep that you need.

You’ll find that cutting out screens will open up more time in the evening for your own personal development – writing a diary, gratitude journey, list for the following day, or time to listen to podcasts or work on a side project.

Give yourself an extra 30 minutes to relax

If you need 7.5 hours of sleep, don’t climb into bed 7.5 hours before your alarm is due to go off – you need time to relax and to allow your body to drift into a sleep state – so give yourself an extra 30 minutes or so. If you follow this advice, your sleep quality will profoundly improve – and you’ll feel like you’ve got superpowers in the morning!

Diet

There is a massive amount of information available on dieting. New, trendy diets appear every week, often endorsed by high-profile figures and celebrities. The simple truth is there’s no one-size-fits-all diet. We all have different taste preferences, different cuisines that we prefer, different food allergies and different intolerances. Not to mention different lifestyles that require varying calorie intakes and foods. However, I will try to offer some general advice based on what works for me:

Cook at home and save money

It’s probably not what you wanted to read, but you should learn to cook delicious food at home. Aim to make your meals so good you’d pay for them. Anybody can cook, but becoming a good cook involves investing time in the recipe, and a bit of money to make sure that your kitchen has good quality cookware (but not necessarily anything fancy). Do this consistently and you’ll find yourself eating much tastier food and saving a ton of money.

Focus on fruits, vegetables and protein

Make sure you include a good amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet, and eat a lot of protein. Most people don’t consume enough protein – the world’s leading expert on longevity, Peter Attia (author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity), suggests that you should consume over twice the recommended daily allowance of protein.

Personally, I’m an omnivore, but I’m not a strong advocate of eating a lot of meat because it’s expensive and also has a very high carbon footprint (the Earth simply doesn’t have the resources to support an entire global population that eats a high-meat diet – so why should you or I?). My protein intake comes from meat-free products like soya/ plant-based meats, Quorn, occasional real meat and protein shakes. Even so, I still struggle to get enough.

Occasional cheat meals are fine

Don’t worry too much about what you eat if you cook all of your own meals. As long as it’s a varied diet, it will probably contain most of the nutrients you need to stay healthy. Remove as much processed food as possible – both savoury and sweet. If you’re exercising often, then I think it’s okay to have some ‘cheat foods’ like chocolate or pizza occasionally. Just don’t make it a regular thing.

Exercise

We all know its health benefits but few people have the discipline to exercise regularly. You should aim to exercise vigorously 3-6 times per week, with roughly an equal split between cardio and strength training.

The amount of exercise you should do depends on your lifestyle – if you have an office job, you should aim for five to six sessions per week. Conversely, if you have an active profession (gardener, rubbish collector), then you can get away with less exercise.

I explain these concepts in more detail in my article Building Fitness for a Longer Life, which summarises key ideas from longevity research.

How hard should you train?

Your cardio exercises should be in Zone 2 – an intensity where you can only just hold a conversation (or an intensity which you feel like you could hold all day). This should be the foundation of your exercise regime, according to Peter Attia, author of Outlive: the Science and Art of Longevity. He also suggests doing one 30 minute interval session of Zone 5 cardio per week. This is essentially where you exercise at the maximum intensity you can for 4 minutes at a time. This is a hard workout, but at least you only have to do it once per week!

Any form of exercise is better than nothing

It doesn’t really matter what you do, so long as your body can get some form of cardiovascular and weight training every week (yes, weight training is just as important as cardio for longevity). And as much as possible, this should be combined with an active lifestyle outside of the gym. Walking, swimming, running, cycling etc. Whatever floats your boat. Exercising consistently requires discipline and planning – make it a priority in your day and turn it into a habit.

(If you would like more information on the ‘best’ exercise regimes to live a long and healthy life, then I suggest you read my article Building Fitness for a Longer Life, which boils down all the key points Peter Attia raises through his website and podcasts into a digestible article.)

Recommended Weekly Exercise:

3-6 sessions (50/50 split between cardio and strength).
Cardio Exercises at Zone 2 (conversation-level intensity).
One 30-min Zone 5 interval session per week (high intensity).
Stay active outside the gym: walking, swimming, cycling.

Spirituality

This Cornerstone builds your mental health. Find something that grounds you spiritually – something that calms the mind and settles the nerves – and practise it regularly. There are many different ways to find inner peace – it could be listening to calming music, reading before bed each night, doing breathing exercises, going for walks in nature, going to church or maybe all of the above.

Synergy between the Four Cornerstones

Whatever you do to practise spirituality, if you do it regularly, it will work synergistically with your physical well-being. It will provide a solid foundation for you to build on the other Cornerstones.

By practising all four of the Cornerstones regularly, you will become a badass – someone who excels in life and who is a role model to others – such as leading a healthy lifestyle while being a good parent and holding down a high-paying full-time job.

The Four Cornerstones positively impact on one another. The more you practise them, the greater your skill set will be (through discipline and planning), to continue practising them with intent. They will give you a positive outlook on life, while turning you into a muscular and toned everyday athlete who feels stronger and fitter than ever before.

Because you’re sleeping better and have a healthier body, you’ll be more productive and get so much more stuff done – both inside and outside of work. Meanwhile, your work performance and self-confidence will improve dramatically, and you’ll find yourself earning more money while spending less time doing it.

Ultimately, it’s a win-win-win in every possible way. There are no negative benefits. You just have to find the time and discipline to do it!

Simple Ways to Live a Healthy Life

Living a healthy life does not require complex routines or extreme diets. Focus on the four cornerstones: sleep, diet, exercise and spirituality. By following these steps consistently, anyone can learn how to live a healthy life while building long-term physical and mental wellbeing.

Meanwhile, adopting disciplined routines in other areas of life, like managing your money efficiently, complements the healthy habits outlined here (see: The Best Paycheque Routine to Save, Invest and Build Wealth).

FAQ

What are the most important habits for a healthy life?

Sleep well, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and nurture your mental wellbeing – these four cornerstones form the foundation of health.

How much exercise do you need to stay healthy?

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, combining cardio and strength training.

Is diet or exercise more important for health?

Both matter equally. A balanced diet fuels your body, and exercise strengthens it—together, they support lasting health.