Unpacking a Software Engineer's Quest for Longevity
Part 1 of a software engineer's approach to optimising health and longevity
Content Warning: The first part of this article contains descriptions of loss and grief which some readers may find distressing.
The Wake-Up Call
It was a warm March evening when my world shifted on its axis. I was with my father as he was rushed to the hospital, his breathing laboured and unsure. The doctors’ faces were grim, their words a blur of medical uncertainty and cautious hope. Less than a week later, he was gone. I was 29, standing at the precipice of my thirties, suddenly faced with the stark reality of life’s fragility.
In the aftermath, I did what many of us do when faced with overwhelming emotion – I threw myself into work. Running my own business became both a distraction and a purpose, a way to keep moving forward when standing still felt impossible. Lines of code and specifications became a comfort; each problem solved a small victory in a world that suddenly seemed chaotic and unpredictable.
Fast forward to 2020, and as I happily waited to become a father, the world took an unexpected turn. Amid lockdowns and uncertainty, I was cradling a new life, a beacon of hope in tumultuous times.
Life took on a different cadence for the next 2-3 years. The joy and challenges of early parenthood, set against the backdrop of a world in crisis, created a bubble. It was precious, filled with love and new experiences, but it felt like a pause.
During this time, my focus narrowed to the immediate needs of family and work. The bigger questions about life and purpose that had once preoccupied me were ultimately set aside and replaced by more immediate concerns: midnight feedings, first steps, and the delicate balance of work and family.
A New Chapter
As we entered 2024, with the pandemic far behind us and my son growing more independent, I found myself at another crossroads. The wall of nihilistic-stoicism (…oxymoron) I had built in my late twenties and never truly put to rest began to feel constraining.
During this time, I rediscovered my love for learning and exploration beyond the realms of code, and into health. I established the foundations for a disciplined writing ritual, carving out time for reflection and creativity. I was drawn to books and documentaries that challenged my thinking, moving beyond the comfortable escape of YouTube algorithms and Netflix binges.
This shift in perspective didn’t happen overnight. You could say it’s been in the making since I was a child. An insatiable curiosity has always driven me to understand how things work. As a kid, I’d spend hours carefully dismantling tape recorders and computers with a screwdriver set.
This childhood curiosity evolved into a career in software engineering, where I’ve spent years debugging complex systems and optimising code. But recently, I’ve found myself turning this analytical gaze inward towards the most intricate system of all – the human body.
Debugging the Human Operating System
My approach to health and longevity, though deeply influenced by my engineering background and interest in wearable tech, also resembles the work of a pathologist. As a pathologist examines tissues and fluids to diagnose disease; I analyse data and code to diagnose bugs.
To give a recent example. After upgrading my Raspberry Pi Debian OS, I was inexplicably locked out of SSH connections. What followed was a deep dive into system logs and configuration files.
The root cause? An unexpected interaction between a previously installed application, OpenMediaVault, and the Debian upgrade. OpenMediaVault had modified the SSH configuration in a way that became incompatible with the new Debian version. Adding to the complexity, Debian SSH maintainers renamed the SSH user group from “ssh” to “_ssh” in July 2021 (to avoid potential clashes with usernames -I’m looking at you, “Sasha Spencer Hughes”).
Solving this problem required a quick configuration change, but understanding why is where the learning happened is the approach I’m now applying to health and longevity.
Just as I traced the SSH issue through layers of software and configuration, I’m approaching health as a complex system with interconnected components.
Debugging Health: Early Experiments and Recent Discoveries
My journey into “debugging” my health didn’t start with this recent epiphany. I’ve been experimenting with various health optimisation techniques for years, much like how I’ve tinkered with different coding paradigms and technologies throughout my career.
Ketones and Cognitive Function
In my late 20s, I delved into the world of ketogenic diets and fasting. My primary goal wasn’t weight loss but rather to optimise my cognitive function (shedding a few kilos was a bonus). Maintaining steady concentration levels throughout the day is crucial for a software engineer. By manipulating my diet and eating patterns, I found that I could significantly reduce the mental highs and lows that often accompany a typical workday.
The process of tracking ketone levels and adjusting my diet accordingly wasn’t unlike debugging a program. I’d make changes, observe the results, and iterate. Even now, I still use fasting as a weekly tactic and occasionally return to a ketogenic state when I feel I need a “carb break” to reset my system.
Heartrate Variability
More recently, my focus has shifted to more nuanced metrics. While I’ve been a long-time user of various fitness trackers (Fitbits, Apple Watches, and Google Pixel watches), in 2024, I started paying closer attention to heart rate variability (HRV).
HRV has become my new favourite diagnostic tool. By comparing my HRV and RHR on nights following workouts versus recovery days or particularly stressful days, I’ve gained insights into my body’s recovery processes. It’s fascinating how this single metric can provide a window into my overall state of rest and recovery.
From Tinkering to Metabolic Mastery
Reading Peter Attia’s “Outlive”, has made me see my past health experiments in a new light. This book’s focus on the major pillars of longevity - cardiovascular health, metabolic health, brain health, and cancer prevention - suddenly gave new context to my earlier tinkerings.
My experiments with ketogenic diets and fasting, initially aimed at optimising cognitive function, now took on new significance. I realised these weren’t just productivity hacks but powerful tools for metabolic health. The steady energy levels I experienced were likely a result of improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic flexibility - key factors in long-term health that Attia emphasises.
The attention I’d paid to heart rate variability and resting heart rate wasn’t just about fitness tracking but about understanding my body’s stress responses and cardiovascular health. As Attia points out, these metrics can be early indicators of overall health and longevity.
Even my weekly fasting routine, which I’d adopted primarily for focus, now revealed itself as a potential method for promoting autophagy - the cellular cleaning process Attia describes as crucial for longevity.
These realisations have ignited a desire to dig deeper. If my amateur experiments could yield such insights, what might a more systematic, informed approach uncover? This is where my engineering mindset kicks into high gear. Just as I would approach a complex software system, I now want to understand the intricate workings of human metabolism.
The metrics I’ve been tracking - ketones, heart rate, HRV - are just the tip of the iceberg. They’re like the basic logs of a system, providing useful but limited information. I’m eager to dive into the more advanced metrics: blood sugar, blood pressure, lipid profiles, inflammatory markers, and more. These are the detailed diagnostics of the body’s operating system.
Moreover, I’m fascinated by how these various systems interact. In software, we often deal with microservices - small, interconnected systems that work together to create a larger application. Our body’s systems work in much the same way. Understanding how sleep affects glucose metabolism or how exercise influences lipid profiles is akin to debugging a complex, interconnected system.
This systems-thinking approach to health, coupled with the meticulous tracking and experimentation familiar to any engineer, feels like the perfect next step in my health journey to understanding and improving the entire system.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be exploring these topics in more detail, always with an eye towards how they interconnect and how we can use this knowledge to “debug” our health.
A Journey of Discovery
In this series of posts, we’ll embark on a journey to “debug” the human operating system. We’ll explore various aspects of health and longevity, viewing them through the lens of a tech-minded problem solver. We’ll question assumptions, analyse data, and perhaps even “science the shit out of this” to borrow Mark Watney’s phrase from Andy Weir’s book “The Martian”.
Now, let me be clear: I’m no health practitioner. My experience with healthcare has largely been limited to the occasional doctor’s visit for acute illnesses. In this series, I aim to share my thoughts on the information I’ve been consuming, along with anecdotes from my own health-related experiments.
Remember, I’m learning alongside you. I am not offering medical advice but rather sharing my journey of discovery at the intersection of technology and health.
What’s Next?
I’ve already picked a few topics for further research, so as we continue this journey of discovery, Here’s a sneak peek at what’s to come:
Blood Glucose - We’ll explore the intricacies of glucose metabolism, how to effectively monitor blood sugar levels and strategies for maintaining optimal glycemic control.
Blood Pressure - Understanding the factors influencing blood pressure and how to interpret the numbers.
Cholesterol and lipids - A deep dive into this collection of molecules and what they do.
Sleep - Sleep architecture, understanding the different stages of sleep and their functions, Circadian rhythms: How our internal biological clocks operate and influence various physiological processes.
Electrolytes - We’ll examine the key players (sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc.), what they do and how to keep them balanced.
Stay tuned as we continue to debug the human operating system.