Thirty years into his career as a Mayo Clinic neurologist, Dr. David Dodick decided to make a change.
As a neurologist, Dodik said he treated patients with memory loss and strokes. “Knowing that these diseases were brewing for decades before patients finally walked through the door, we felt like we could do more to optimize patient health and prevent them from coming to the hospital with strokes or memory loss,” Dodik says.
Seven years ago, Dodik began expanding his research focus to preventive medicine. This includes studying the causes of chronic diseases and tailoring health recommendations to patients to ideally delay the onset of diseases such as dementia and cancer. “That got me interested in the whole longevity field,” he says.
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By researching preventative approaches to neurology, he learned that “to protect the brain, you also have to protect the rest of your body,” he says. Drawing on his expertise in brain health, Mr. Dodik has written 13 books since 1994, published numerous scientific papers, and presented on cognitive longevity and dementia prevention at the 2025 Aging Research and Drug Discovery Conference, an annual longevity medicine conference.
He currently serves as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of Atria Health and Research Institute, a member-based healthcare organization dedicated to longevity medicine and preventive care.
Here, Dodik talks about how many of the habits he recommends to his patients are also part of his own health routine. Always consult your doctor before making any changes that may affect your health.
“Exercise is the best prescription I can write, and the best prescription you can fill.”
CNBC Make It: What is your go-to for keeping your body healthy?
David Dodick: Eating, sleeping, exercise and movement, cognitive training, and managing stress. I wasn’t always like that either, but sleep is a non-negotiable. We’re all busy and we’re not perfect. But if you can get it right 80% to 90% of the time, that’s what matters.
Exercise is the best prescription I can write, and the best prescription you can fill. Do at least 150 minutes of Zone 2 exercise per week. This is the kind of exercise that isn’t all that intense and allows you to carry on a conversation, but it definitely gets your heart rate up. I try to do it at least three times a week.
I do aerobic exercise every day. I also go for a run. Sprint for 60 to 90 seconds, then brisk walk or jog for 60 to 90 seconds, repeat for about 6 to 10 minutes. Then there’s strength training. We lose muscle mass as we age, and muscle is important for brain health, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic health.
CNBC Make It: You mentioned the benefits of strength training for brain health. Are there any other habits you do specifically for your brain?
Dodik: Exercise is important. Deep sleep and sleep duration are important. Cognitive training is also important. Whether it’s learning a new instrument or a new language, the brain loves when it’s asked to do something new. It’s also great when you combine a motor activity with a cognitive activity like dancing or boxing that requires coordination and concentration. It’s a cognitive challenge, but also a physical exercise.
Then there’s stress management. We all have stress in our lives, but we can train our bodies to adapt and respond physiologically to stress in a healthy way. Some meditate, some pray, and some do yoga or Pilates.
Whether it’s learning a new instrument or learning a new language, the brain loves when it’s asked to do something new.
I meditate, practice deep breathing, and use a biofeedback device that visually simulates waves crashing, wind blowing, and trees bending when I’m feeling stressed or anxious. By practicing deep breathing, you can change the simulation to a calm environment with sunshine and a gentle breeze. When you do this, you will see your heart rate variability increase.
CNBC Make It: Diet is a big topic in the longevity field. What does your daily meal look like?
Dodik: I basically follow a 7-day meal plan that follows the MIND diet. Focus on simple foods such as legumes, legumes, fish and poultry, vegetables, and fruits. It’s also important to prioritize nuts and olive oil and avoid ultra-processed foods and excessive consumption of alcohol.
The MIND diet has been shown to reduce the relative incidence of dementia, depending on how strongly you follow it. My advice: Try 1-2 days a week to start. And after doing it for 30 days, incorporate it more and more into your daily eating routine. You don’t have to do everything at once.
CNBC Make It: One thing we haven’t touched on yet is social fitness. We often hear about the importance of connecting with people who make you feel your best. How is your social adaptability?
Dodik: I interact with people all day, every day. If not, you should definitely get in touch with your friends.
I’m always involved with my family. I FaceTime my friends and parents. Last night, my wife and I went for a walk in Central Park (New York City). We took a long walk of 8,000 steps. And for the past week or so, I went to a museum exhibit with my wife and a group of really good friends. We went for dinner probably about 3 times.
I stay socially connected and engaged with society almost every waking moment of every day, and that is extremely important.
CNBC Make It: We love finding out what longevity experts are reading these days. what are you reading now?
Dodik: I just finished reading Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity by Dr. Eric Topol, and I think it’s a great book. I’ll cover some of the things I talked about today.
The book I’m currently reading is “The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence” by Sebastian Mallaby. We will explain the background of the history of artificial intelligence up to the present.
Health routines from longevity experts and neurologists
In summary, here are the highlights of Dodik’s daily habits for longevity:
For physical health: Get the right quality and quantity of sleep and prioritize exercise multiple times a week. For mental health: Engage in cognitive exercise by learning new things and managing your stress levels using methods such as biofeedback devices. For daily meals: Follow the MIND diet of beans, nuts, vegetables, fruits, fish and poultry. For social health: Walk in the park with your wife, go out to dinner with friends, call your parents and family often. For the media diet: Read new books and research on longevity and the future of AI in healthcare.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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