Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett interviews some of the most influential people on his podcast series, Diary of a CEO – from A-list celebrities to remarkable scientists and nutritionists which I love listening to on a weekly basis. In a recent episode I found particularly interesting, Steven sat down with Dr Daniel E Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist, where they discuss how sleep, nutrition and exercise affect your health and cancer risk. These are relevant topic areas to the work we do at World Cancer Research Fund.
One of the most important myths to debunk, as discussed on the episode, is the idea that as you get older you should be less active which as evidence suggests, is just not the case. Physical activity slows the ageing process and as you age, becoming less physically active can make you more vulnerable to a whole suite of diseases – including increasing your cancer risk. As we age, we tend to lose muscle mass which means we can get frailer. This is why it’s important to incorporate strength training as you get older – something I’ve started doing recently!
The biggest takeaway I took from this podcast episode is Dr Lieberman discussing another common myth for the need to sleep for 8 hours a night (which I’ve always believed to be true). Studies show that on average, 7 hours a night is the optimal amount of sleep needed, although there are variations to this. You can find out more information about sleep and cancer risk in a recent blog I wrote.