How Much Time Should You Spend Understanding Your Body?

Most of us move through life with a simple assumption: when it comes to health, the experts know best. We trust our doctors, we follow their prescriptions, and we often don’t think twice about how our body works—until something goes wrong.

In a world filled with work, responsibilities, and endless distractions, it’s a valid question:

How much time should we actually spend understanding our body?

Or perhaps more realistically:

What’s the least amount of time we can spend learning about our health and still stay functional?

That’s how many people approach it. Outsource your health to the professionals. Let them do the thinking. They went to school for it, right?

But here’s the problem: science doesn’t back that up.

Data shows that the people who take the time to understand their own health—who learn about their condition, take accountability, and engage in their care—consistently have better outcomes. Not just marginally better. Dramatically better.

So maybe the real question isn’t: What’s the least amount of time I can spend thinking about my body?

Maybe it’s: What’s the right amount of time?

My Own Health Journey

I used to be someone who trusted the medical system implicitly. I believed that if I followed the rules, saw my doctor regularly, and stayed inside the lines, I’d be fine.

Then I hit a wall.

I went through a painful chapter that shook my faith in conventional care. From that moment, I made a choice: to understand my own body as deeply as I could. I started reading the literature. I dove into data. I began experimenting with protocols, supplements, training, and recovery tools. Eventually, I found a few doctors who were willing to collaborate with me—as a partner, not a passive patient.

This process of self-education—of discovery—became joyful. Fascinating. Empowering. I found my tribe in people like Andrew Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Ben Patrick, Bryan Johnson, Peter Attia. People who are obsessed with optimizing how the body works. Not just to prevent illness, but to thrive.

I don’t expect everyone to go to the same extremes. But I do believe this: you owe it to yourself to be an active participant in your own health.

Where to Begin

If you’re just starting out on your own health journey, here are a few guiding principles:

• Find teachings that feel empowering. When something clicks—when it both makes sense and makes you feel good—lean into that.

• Study the underlying systems. You don’t need a PhD, but understanding basic physiology, nutrition, and recovery helps you make smarter decisions.

• Experiment.
  

• Journal what you eat, how you sleep, what you feel.

• Try changing one variable at a time—whether it’s diet, a supplement, sleep timing, or exercise.

• Give changes time—some take days, others weeks.

• Pay attention to patterns. Your body is always giving you data.

Final Thought: Keep Searching

Everyone struggles—until they’re ready not to. Some people go their whole lives without finding the answers to their health problems. That’s their path.

But if you’re reading this, maybe you’re different. Maybe you want to feel stronger, clearer, and more in control.

If so, I encourage you:

Keep searching. Keep learning. Don’t give up.

Your body isn’t just a machine to be maintained. It’s a gateway to energy, vitality, and joy.

You just have to get to know it.