The Ultimate Human founder and longevity expert shares essentials for productivity, sleep and home wellness
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Humans have been chasing the Fountain of Youth long before the wellness marketing world adopted the term “longevity” as its latest buzzword. The Ultimate Human co-founder Gary Brecka is among the experts who have emerged as the face of biohacking to live not just longer, but — in his own words — “better.”
“People think longevity is about stretching out the clock or worse, that it’s something you can buy in a bottle. That’s completely backward,” Brecka tells Athletech News. “Longevity isn’t just more years, it’s better years. It’s cellular integrity, methylation, oxygen utilization and inflammation control. If your biology is breaking down, extra years don’t matter; they won’t feel good. True longevity is about making your body age slower on the inside than the calendar on the outside.”
Here, the human biologist, podcaster and ATN Innovation Summit 2025 speaker shares just a handful of essentials that he can’t live without and the new product he’s developing that he says will “change the sleep industry.”
Athletech News: Biohacking is deeply personal, as it depends on each person’s biology. That being said, what’s something that you recommend anyone can start their day with?
Gary Brecka: Every morning I start with three things: hydrogen, minerals and amino acids. I mix an H2Tab, Baja Gold Salt, and Perfect Amino in a glass of water. That combination hits hydration, cellular energy and protein synthesis before anything else. It’s one of the simplest “universal” stacks anyone can adopt.
ATN: What are your essentials for productivity?
GB: Anything that protects my circadian rhythm or helps me understand my recovery.
My Whoop keeps me accountable to my biology, and blue-light-blocking glasses keep my brain’s clock from getting destroyed by artificial light at night. The more you protect your circadian rhythm, the more productive you become — physically and cognitively.
ATN: What features of the Whoop 5.0 do you find yourself relying on most?
GB: The biological age score is one of the most valuable metrics in consumer wearables right now. It doesn’t just count steps or track sleep; it interprets how your body is actually aging using recovery, strain, sleep quality, and cardiovascular performance. I look at that number constantly. It’s the closest thing we have to a real-time report card on your internal biology.
ATN: When you’ve had a long day and want to do nothing but head to bed, what products do you use to squeeze in one last bit of recovery before resting?
GB: If I want a phenomenal night of sleep, I’ll do a quick cold plunge. The Cold Life is my go-to followed by a short contrast sauna session. Then I put my phone on a red-light filter to block blue light. It’s simple, fast and it dramatically improves deep sleep quality.
ATN: What’s a new longevity product that you just discovered and are excited about?
GB: Most people don’t realize they spend a third of their lives lying on a chemical-filled mattress that off-gasses directly into their airway. I’ve been developing a non-toxic, chemical-free mattress with Snooze, and I’m telling you this is going to change the sleep industry. It’s one of the biggest “silent exposures” we deal with, and we’re finally fixing it.
ATN: What home goods and decor products are part of your at-home wellness routine?
GB: My home is built around recovery and biological optimization.
I sleep under an EMF-blocking canopy, use biocentric lighting that adjusts with the sun, run whole-home water filtration, and use HVAC filters with carbon and UV-C light to keep the air clean. Everything in my environment either supports health or destroys it, so I structure my home to function like a recovery lab, not just a place to sleep.
Shop More Products Inspired by Gary Brecka’s Routine
Sans Air’s Whole Home Purifier features HEPA 13-filtration, activated carbon and UV-C light to remove dust, pet hair, dander and other allergens from the air. The lightweight and quiet air cleaner is suitable for spaces up to 1,854 square feet.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes, “there is some evidence that blue light [from computer and phone screens] affects the body’s circadian rhythm, our natural wake and sleep cycle.” The organization suggests that blue light-blocking eyewear can help reduce exposure to sleep-disruptive blue light in addition to using your device’s “night” mode (which uses warmer colors and lowers screen brightness) and avoiding screens two to three hours before bedtime. (It’s worth noting that the AAO says that blue light does cause eye damage.)
This HVAC air purifier is equipped with a 16″ 30-watt UVC light that helps reduce mold, fungi, viruses and bacteria in your air ducts, preventing allergens and contaminants from circulating into your home.
Related: Is Plunge’s Inflatable Cold Plunge Tub Worth Buying?
Naturepedic’s organic hybrid mattress is made of 100% GOLS-certified organic latex and 100% GOTS-certified organic cotton and wool; and contains no flame retardants, glue and polyurethane and memory foams.
Clearsource’s three-stage filtration system removes or reduces sediment, rust, viruses, lead, chlorine, VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and other contaminants from your entire home’s water using 5-micron and a .5-micron coconut shell carbon block filters and an electrical charge.
