Biohacking Weekly 62: Rhonda Patrick’s 5 Health Habits for 2026

This is Biohacking Weekly — a curated news roundup designed to help you increase your longevity, improve healthspan and access OptimOZ product picks.

IN THIS EDITION

1. Targeting glutathione through sulfur
2. Dr. Rhonda Patrick’s health playbook
3. The 7-1 sleep rule
4. Longevity habits powering Djokovic at 38
5. The brain efficiency cost of alcohol

1. How Sulfur Nutrition Optimizes Glutathione Production

Sulfur is a key building block for glutathione, the body’s major antioxidant that neutralizes oxidative stress and supports cellular repair. Foods like garlic, onions and cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli, kale, cauliflower) supply sulfur-containing compounds that help maintain detox pathways and resilience against aging and stress.

Compounds such as allicin from garlic and sulforaphane from crucifers activate detox enzymes including glutathione S-transferases and Nrf2, enhancing antioxidant defenses and supporting long-term cellular health. These dietary sulfur sources contribute to glutathione metabolism and may reduce chronic inflammation linked to aging.

2. Rhonda Patrick’s 5 Science-Backed Health Habits to Carry Into 2026

Shared by Dr. Rhonda Patrick, this is her personal compilation of the most impactful health habits from 2025, drawn from podcast conversations and supporting research. As 2026 begins, these habits offer a clear, evidence-based roadmap for improving healthspan without unnecessary complexity.

1. Add short bursts of vigorous movement
   Just 1 minute of vigorous activity delivers similar health benefits as much longer periods of moderate or light movement across mortality, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer risk.
2. Fix sleep with predictability
   Consistent nightly cues and routines train the brain to fall asleep more reliably, even when schedules vary.
3. Drink coffee earlier and brew it smarter
   Morning-only, paper-filtered coffee is linked to lower mortality risk and avoids LDL-raising compounds and plastic exposure.
4. Change breakfast to stabilize metabolism
   A high-protein, high-fiber first meal reduces glucose swings and helps control hunger and cravings throughout the day.
5. Use emerging supplements with human data
   Human trials in 2025 supported creatine, sulforaphane, and urolithin A for brain energy, detox pathways, mitochondrial health, and immune function.

3. 7-1 Sleep Rule Could Add Years to Your Life

A new study shows that a simple sleep habit might extend your lifespan by up to four years if followed consistently. The so-called 7-1 rule means getting about 7 hours of sleep most nights and going to bed at roughly the same time each day, within a one-hour window. Following this simple pattern was linked with a significant reduction in premature death risk and up to a 24 % improvement in life expectancy in large population data.

Regular sleep patterns help align your body’s internal clock and support recovery processes crucial for long-term health. Adults who routinely sleep at least seven hours and maintain a consistent bedtime saw the biggest gains in longevity.

👉 Read the full study on Vitality Research Institute

4. Why Novak Djokovic Is Still Competing at 38 While Most Champions Fade

At 38, Novak Djokovic has become the oldest tennis player ever to reach the Australian Open final, continuing to compete against athletes more than a decade younger. Despite an aggressive playing style, he remains dominant, holding a 428-week World No. 1 record.

Djokovic credits longevity to diet, recovery, and emotional health. After discovering a gluten intolerance, he cut out gluten, dairy, and refined sugar, which improved sleep, energy, and recovery.

He says working on the mental and emotional side is a “never-ending process,” using mindfulness to de-stress and improve relationships, calling performance a holistic system of body, mind, and emotions.

👉 Read the full article on Business Insider

5. Alcohol Makes Your Brain Less Connected and More “Local”

A glass of wine does more than just relax your body. Normally, the brain works like a fast “superhighway”, with information moving easily between distant regions. After drinking, this system breaks down, and the brain shifts into a fragmented, local “grid-like” state, where regions mainly talk to nearby neighbors.

This creates a “traffic jam” for information, making complex processing inefficient. Alcohol doesn't just slow down the brain, it physically breaks it into small, isolated islands. Information gets trapped in local areas instead of moving across the whole brain, which is why we feel impaired and lose our sharp thinking.

Source: Biessenberger L. et al., Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2026)