Jay Shetty & Bryan Johnson ON How to Reverse Your Age by 31 Years

Imagine using data to reshape your daily routine—down to the minute you finish eating and the precise time you fall asleep—so you can slow down (or potentially reverse) your aging. 

In this On Purpose episode, Jay Shetty sits down with Bryan Johnson, an entrepreneur who has invested millions in researching how to measure and optimize every organ in his body. Johnson shares with Jay Shetty how he has become the world's most measured human, collecting thousands of data points weekly to test whether a meticulously designed lifestyle can truly delay aging. He sees his role as a modern explorer who navigates internal territories (hormonal, cellular, and cognitive) to redefine what's possible for human longevity.

The Excentric Billionaire Misconception

Bryan Johnson admitted to Jay Shetty that he wasn't always the picture of health - he spent a decade suffering from severe depression and poor habits like sleep deprivation and unhealthy food consumption. He neglected his health because the culture around him glorified hustle at any cost, even at the expense of his own health.

However, when the entrepreneur turned 43, he launched a revolutionary experiment to see how low he could push his biological age, called Project Blueprint. He explained to Jay Shetty that it is a methodical system of measurement and intervention, where he invests in comprehensive biomarkers, advanced imaging, and a specialized team of researchers. Johnson's goal is to demonstrate a path to reversing organ aging for humanity at large. In his view, we may be closer to indefinite lifespans than ever, thanks to breakthroughs in biotech and AI.

Microplastics Are Everywhere

One of Bryan Johnson's most pressing concerns involves microplastics found in our water, food, and air - he compares them to lead or asbestos, toxins that once seemed harmless but later proved highly dangerous. They accumulate in various organs, from the brain to the male testes.

According to new research, microplastics can infiltrate our bloodstream and compromise everything from fertility to cognitive function.¹ While the full extent of their impact remains unclear, microplastics pose an invisible threat that we can't see or smell. So, Bryan Johnson's new at-home microplastics test aims to build a large dataset, highlighting how lifestyle adjustments such as using glass instead of plastic water bottles can reduce harmful exposure.

Moreover, the entrepreneur shared with Jay Shetty the protocol he has in place for avoiding getting in contact with more microplastics:

1. Avoid plastic water bottles.
2. Install a robust filtration system for tap water (e.g. reverse osmosis).
3. Avoid certain processed or canned foods, and wear clothes made out of organic fibers.

World's Best Sleeper

Bryan Johnson shares with Jay Shetty his data-driven approach to achieving perfect sleep; he believes sleep-related health advice to be similar to religion, where each expert promotes a different belief system. He relies solely on scientific principles to minimize confusion and transparently shares his results.

The entrepreneur also reveals to Jay Shetty how he achieved an unprecedented 100% sleep score for eight months straight by completely restructuring his lifestyle. His five key strategies for optimal sleep include:

1. Prioritizing sleep like a profession – setting consistent bedtimes and treating rest with the same dedication as work.
2. Timing the last meal of the day – finishing food at least two hours before bed to prevent disrupted sleep.
3. Managing light exposure – avoiding blue light from screens and using red or amber lighting at night.
4. Staying consistent – sleeping and waking at the same time every day to optimize the body's rhythms.
5. Implementing a wind-down routine – reflecting, meditating, and relaxing before bed to prevent restless thoughts.

Johnson underscores that by following these steps, your body can consistently deliver robust deep and REM sleep—crucial for cellular repair, memory consolidation, and immune function. However, missing your deep sleep window can hinder crucial restorative processes that you can't recover later. Moreover, he claims that anyone can significantly improve their sleep quality by implementing these five steps.

Johnson's Diet

Bryan Johnson acknowledged to Jay Shetty that he follows a mostly vegan diet supplemented with collagen peptides. Each calorie he consumes has a deliberate function, tested through rigorous data. He divides his day's eating into a short window, typically between 6 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., to optimize his sleep by finishing meals long before bedtime. By doing this, his body can devote nighttime energy to regeneration instead of digestion.

In his diet, the entrepreneur prioritizes vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and healthy oils like extra-virgin olive oil. A morning super veggie meal might include broccoli, cauliflower, black lentils, ginger, and garlic, while a midday nutty pudding might combine macadamia nuts, walnuts, pea and hemp protein, and berries. Johnson emphasizes the importance of standardizing food choices to reduce complexity and measure its precise effects on his metabolic markers.

Despite his heavy financial investments in analyzing contaminants and nutritional values, the entrepreneur believes its core principles to be accessible to nearly everyone, such as a diet rich in whole plant foods, lower sugar intake, and minimal food processing. In his opinion, the true challenge lies in resisting marketing trends, emotional eating, and the convenience of junk food.

Reprogramming the Mind vs. Willpower Battles

Bryan Johnson told Jay Shetty that individual willpower is often unreliable. To him, the human mind is like a malfunctioning software that keeps making the same errors - neglecting sleep, indulging in junk food, etc. He opened up about his struggles with depression and suicidal tendencies until he discovered that he was not his thoughts.

This realization shaped his strategy of building systems that anticipate his weaker impulses. For instance, he doesn't wait until 9 p.m. to decide whether to watch a movie or go to bed because he sticks to his strict daily bedtime at 8:30 p.m. Johnson explained to Jay Shetty that by designing your environment (eliminating junk food, minimizing bright lights at night, and avoiding spontaneous dinner invitations), choices become frictionless. He doesn't rely on his willpower and mind to make the right choice, so he sets up systems in place to eliminate any uncertainties.

Some may criticize Johnson for his lack of spontaneity. Yet the entrepreneur believes that chronic fatigue, metabolic dysfunction, or stress-induced disease are worse. He also insists that you can maintain social relations and have fun, but this will happen within a well-defined framework.

Fighting Inflammation

Bryan Johnson claims to have near-zero inflammation levels in his labs. He told Jay Shetty that inflammation is the silent killer, and he shared how he managed to lower its levels in three simple steps:

1. Dietary cleanliness - minimizing or eliminating processed foods, refined sugars, and allergenic foods.
2. Plenty of sleep - one poor night's sleep can significantly spike inflammatory markers.
3. Stress management - chronic psychological strain repeatedly triggers immune overdrive.

Moreover, Johnson uses advanced scanning techniques to confirm that structural inflammation in various tissues has dramatically receded. While you can reduce inflammation through a set of factors, the entrepreneur shares with Jay Shetty that a good balance between diet and rest is key to keeping your body healthy. He added that the most fundamental behaviors—adequate sleep, nutrient-dense foods, and regular exercise—serve both sexes equally well. While fluctuations in a woman's hormonal cycle might require adequate timing around intense workouts or caloric adjustments, the fundamental health principles stay the same.

Bryan Johnson admitted he wished he had realized early enough how severely poor sleep and junk food triggered inflammation and subsequent aging, he would have corrected course decades ago. So, his top priority now is to measure subtle hints from his body that show he is stressed.

Finding the Perfect Balance

Society tends to focus too much on details of their health instead of universally adopting healthier habits, such as consistent bedtime, avoiding microplastics, prioritizing nutrient-rich foods, and limiting technology use in the evenings. Johnson told Jay Shetty that data should be the ultimate authority. If a specific routine improves your biomarkers—such as heart and lung function or decreasing inflammation—you should give it more importance than the traditional categorizations of "low-carb" or "high-protein" diets.

Even though Johnson spends time improving his health, he doesn't live secluded from the outside world. He explains to Jay Shetty that people often fear that leading a healthy life may rob them of their freedom and interactions with friends and family. However, the entrepreneur manages to reconcile the social and health aspects of his life.

Rather than rejecting the community or turning antisocial, Bryan Johnson encourages the listeners to change their mindset: treat your routine as non-negotiable, but get creative when it comes to incorporating social activities into your daily schedule. He is not against having occasional nights out, but you need to be aware of its impact on your health and adapt your routine to manage these changes.

Johnson also shared with Jay Shetty that neglecting health for short-term enjoyment can accelerate hearing loss, muscular atrophy, or metabolic crisis. Ironically, living freely now may cost you your freedom later, but being mindful about your routine now will allow more flexibility in the long run.

AI and the Future of Longevity

Looking to the future, Johnsons believes that the synergy between artificial intelligence and biotechnology could compress a century’s worth of medical advancements into just a few years. He emphasized to Jay Shetty how quickly AI can analyze patterns, generate hypotheses, and help refine interventions.

In the entrepreneur's view, we may be the first generation to not die (at least not in the conventional way). While it sounds far-fetched, Bryan Johnson told Jay Shetty the same skepticism would have greeted Homo erectus if asked to imagine modern medicine. Now, he asks himself whether humans possess the ability to accept these rapid advancements. By measuring his own body, Johnson is ready for a future where we can't rely on guesswork anymore but on data.

Why "Don't Die" Could Become a New Global Ethos

To Bryan Johnson, human society revolves around a few key narratives that shape our choices: religion, economic systems, and cultural practices and traditions. Currently, capitalism makes people want to accumulate more at any cost, instead of focusing on preserving their health long-term. Yet, if we are headed towards a future in which we may live forever, we may need to shift this mentality of using up all resources because everything will end anyway.

The entrepreneur shares with Jay Shetty his vision of priorities shift: greater investment in climate sustainability (because we'll personally feel the long-term consequences), constant dedication to everyday health, and a new form of accountability to future generations. He believes "Don't die" to become an emerging ideology, a belief that we can exist forever, and this way, we will begin to treat our bodies, behavior, and health with extraordinary care.

Rather than a mere science fiction concept, Bryan Johnson shares with Jay Shetty hints that biotech and AI are pushing us to question mortality's inevitability. In the meantime, people can adopt parts of his blueprint for significantly boosting their vitality. While the entrepreneur invested heavily in research by doing tests on his own body, slowing down aging, reducing stress, and increasing strength are already attainable for ordinary people, too.

More From Jay Shetty

Listen to the entire On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast episode “Bryan Johnson ON New SHOCKING Science on How to Reverse Your Age by 31 Years & The Damaging Impact of 1 Bad Night Sleep” now in the iTunes store or on Spotify. For more inspirational stories and messages like this, check out Jay’s website at jayshetty.me.

¹Lee Y, Cho J, Sohn J, Kim C. Health Effects of Microplastic Exposures: Current Issues and Perspectives in South Korea. Yonsei Med J. 2023 May;64(5):301-308. doi: 10.3349/ymj.2023.0048. PMID: 37114632; PMCID: PMC10151227.