Try This 12-Minute Routine for 30 Days. Watch What Happens.

I'm going to give you a 12-minute routine that, if you do this every single morning for the next 30 days, could have a huge impact on your health—from your mood to your energy levels, the way you sleep, and even your motivation to take on the other things that I talk about on this channel that are all backed by really good solid research. This routine costs nothing. You don't need a gym, and you can start it tomorrow morning the moment you open your eyes. The clever part is that in those 12 minutes you'll tick off several of the biggest pillars of long-term health all at once before your day has even properly started. This one is aimed especially at those of you who are over the age of 50 or 55, something like that, because as you'll see, this is exactly the age where a routine like this starts to matter the most. If you're new here, then welcome to the channel. I'm Dr. Alex. I've worked in emergency medicine in the NHS in the UK for a decade, and I've become fascinated by the simple things that help us to live longer and stay healthy.

And so if you learn something from this video today, then please help me out by liking the video, giving it a hype as well, and subscribing to the channel.

All of those things are completely free, and it really helps me to keep this channel growing and churning out these videos for you. So, here is the challenge that I've got for you, and it is really simple. So for the next 30 days, as soon as you wake up, what I want you to do is to put your socks and your shoes on, put the rest of your clothes on as well. I want you to drink a large glass of water and head straight

out of that door. Then I want you to walk really briskly for the next 12 minutes. Every 2 minutes or so, I want you to stop and do 20 squats or 20 walking lunges, and then carry on walking. Walk for 6 minutes

away from your home, and then turn around and then walk the next 6 minutes back. And that is the whole thing. How easy is that? It sounds almost too easy, but let me talk you through what's actually happening in your body during

those 12 minutes because every single part of it has been chosen for a reason.

So, the first thing you're getting, depending on the time of year and where you are, but for most people the first thing you're getting is light in your eyes as soon as you go outside. And this is far more powerful than I bet a lot of

you actually realize. So, deep in your brain, you've got what we call your master clock. And it takes its cue from the light that hits your eyes first thing in the morning.

When that bright morning light lands in your eyes, it shuts off the sleepy hormone called melatonin and effectively starts a timer so that melatonin rises again at the right time, roughly 14 to 16 hours later, which is what helps you

to fall asleep later on that night. But this isn't just about sleep. That same morning light gives you a very healthy little surge of cortisol and a lift in the feel-good chemical called serotonin. And together, those leave you

with more energy and a brighter mood for the rest of the day. And let me tell you from experience, honestly, getting light into your eyes as soon as you wake up, getting out the door as soon as you can,

does enormous things for your mood and how you feel for the rest of the day.

Now, because it's summer when I'm recording this video, most of you are going to be living in a part of the world where the sun is already up well before you are. So, the light is sitting there waiting for you. But in the depths

of the winter, like I said, depending on where you are, this can be a bit different. And it might still be dark or only just getting light when you head out. But even then, the natural light during a sunrise outdoors is far better

than anything inside your house. So, just try and get outside as soon as you can. As soon as you can see that light starting to appear.

And this honestly does matter more as we age because our body clocks naturally get weaker and our sleep becomes more broken over the years. So, anchoring your sleep with morning light is one of the simplest ways to sleep better and

feel more awake during the day. And again, talking from personal experience, somebody who's done night shifts for years, getting morning light into your eyes really honestly does help you sleep better later on that night. Now, I just realized that I forgot to mention the

water that you drink as soon as you wake up. So, while you've been asleep for 7 or 8 hours, you've been steadily losing fluid that entire time through your breath and through your skin and you wake up very slightly dehydrated. And

so, your blood becomes a fraction thicker and a bit more viscous. So, that large glass of water, anywhere between half a pint to a pint, first thing in the morning, it rehydrates you, it supports your blood pressure and it

gets your brain working properly and it helps your kidneys sort of wake up and start flushing everything through.

This is a really tiny habit, but doing it before anything else means that it actually gets done. And I guarantee a lot of you watching this will be drinking far less water than you should be.

And then we've got the brisk walk itself. And the word that matters here is brisk. So, you want to be moving at a pace where you could still talk, but you wouldn't be able to speak really long sentences or sing, like a tiny bit out

of breath. That lifts your heart rate up into what we call zone two or a moderate zone. And as you know, your heart is a muscle. So, asking it to work like this on a regular basis every single morning makes it

stronger and more efficient over time. This daily brisk walk brings down your resting heart rate, and it slowly improves your fitness over time. And remember, heart disease is still the single biggest thing that kills us. So, anything this simple that protects the

heart every single day is absolutely worth doing. And now we've got the squats and the lunges. And for over 50s in particular, this might be the most important part of the whole routine. So, from around the age of 50, we start

losing muscle at an increasing rate, something like 1 or 2% a year unless you do something about it. And this is you doing something about it. Now, that slow wasting away of your muscle is what eventually leaves people very frail and

unsteady on their feet and struggling to get out of a chair or their bed or climb the stairs.

Squats and lunges work the really big, powerful muscles in your legs and your backside, your glutes, which are the exact muscles that you rely on to stand up and to walk and to catch yourself if you trip. The lunges in particular, and

you can search on YouTube for the correct technique. If you don't know what this looks like, just type in correct lunge technique and something will come up, I'm sure.

This challenges your balance. It can be a bit difficult if you're just getting used to it. And good balance is one of the best protections there is against the falls that can be so devastating later on in life.

And there was a real bonus on top of all of that. Every time you stop and fire out 20 squats or lunges, your heart rate jumps up really sharply. And then as you walk on again, it settles back down

before the next burst of lunges or squats. That hard then easy then hard then easy pattern is essentially a very gentle form of interval training, almost like a little bit of a HIIT workout right in the middle of your walk. And those

are one of the most effective things that you can do for your heart and your overall fitness.

If you do this regularly, this kind of work helps to bring down your blood pressure and your resting heart rate.

And it improves something called your heart rate variability, which is one of the best signs of a healthy, resilient heart. And my Garmin watch tracks this every single day. So, you're not just building muscle here, you are essentially protecting your future

independence. Now, on top of all of that, there is also something really powerful a

before the next burst of lunges or squats. That hard then easy then hard then easy pattern is essentially a very gentle form of interval training, almost like a little bit of a hit workout right in the middle of your walk. And those

are one of the most effective things that you can do for your heart and your overall fitness.

If you do this regularly, this kind of work helps to bring down your blood pressure and your resting heart rate.

And it improves something called your heart rate variability, which is one of the best signs of a healthy, resilient heart. And my Garmin watch tracks this every single day. So, you're not just building muscle here, you are essentially protecting your future

independence. Now, on top of all of that, there is also something really powerful about simply being outside and moving first thing, rather than reaching straight for your phone. So, gentle, rhythmic exercise like walking lowers your stress hormones. And being out in

the fresh air, with a bit of greenery if you're lucky enough to live around that, has been shown to calm the nervous system down and lift your mood, as well.

So, the combination of light and movement and fresh air nudges up the brain chemicals that make you feel good and settled. So, you walk back through your front door in a better frame of mind and a better mood than when you

left out of it. And here's the extra benefit that took me a bit of time to fully appreciate, and one that I see clearly on my own glucose monitor. So, when you move and you use your muscles before you eat breakfast, you prime your

body to handle that breakfast far better. Contracting muscles like this, they can pull sugar out of your bloodstream almost like a sponge, and they can do it without needing much insulin at all. So, when you sit down to eat your breakfast,

you know, half an hour later, the spike in your blood sugar is noticeably greater than it would have been otherwise because that effect from your muscles from that contraction continues for around an hour or two, sometimes longer afterwards. So, if you do that

morning after morning, then over time you're improving the way your body handles sugar, which is one of the most important things that you can do to keep diabetes at arm's length. Now, you might be wondering why I'm so insistent on

doing all of this the moment you wake up. So, part of it is the sunlight which only does its job for your body clock if you get it really early on, but a big part of it is simply human nature.

If you bank this as an early win as soon as you wake up before you check your phone for emails or, you know, before you speak with your family or you put the TV on or you settle down with a nice

cup of coffee and a newspaper, you know, before these excuses have had time to pile up, it almost always gets done. If you do it straight away, you know, and get this into your routine, then you are going to be so much more successful at

keeping to it. If you leave exercise until later on in the day, then life just has a way of getting in the way and again speaking from personal experience, I'm much better exercising first thing in the morning because I know once I get

into the rhythm of work or I become a bit tired from everything I'm doing in a day, I'm less likely to actually do it.

So, if you do it first, it sets the tone for everything else that follows and within a couple of weeks, it stops feeling like a chore and it starts feeling like the natural way to begin a day. And when you add on the minute it

takes to throw on your clothes and your shoes, the whole thing literally should be 15 minutes or less at the very most. And that is really short enough to be done before anybody else wakes up. Or better still, you can do it with your other

half. Both of you set your alarm, or just one of you set your alarm. Both of you get up, jump out of bed, put your shoes and clothes on, head straight out of the door. And within 15 minutes, both

of you have already exercised, you've had a good workout, you've hydrated, you've got light in your eyes, you feel energized, and really happy with yourself, and you feel like you can do anything later to that day. You feel so

good about yourself. Now, for some people, obviously, especially if you're getting on a bit, or you're not really used to any sort of exercise, doing this 12 minutes might be all you can manage in a day. And if that's you, that is

honestly, genuinely, it goes without saying, that is a brilliant place to start. So, you got to begin very gently, and do what your body allows. Listen to your body, and build up slowly.

But for most people, the real idea here isn't that this replaces your exercise, it's that it sits on top of whatever you already do.

Think of it more like the foundation that you lay down before the day has even started, not the whole house, if that makes sense. And as always, this isn't personal medical advice. Like, if you've got heart problems, or joint

problems, or any other health concerns where you need to be taking things a bit more carefully, then just speak with your own doctor, who knows your medical history, who knows your medication list, before you throw yourself into squats

and lunges, and, you know, anything like that. Just be careful before you start this. But for most people watching this, this is about as much benefit as you can get out of 12 free minutes. You're getting your hydration, you're getting

your morning light, you're getting your cardio, your strength work, and a calmer mind, and also a flatter blood sugar, all before breakfast. So, that is my challenge to you. Give it an honest 30 days. Just try it every single day. Pay

attention to how you sleep and how you feel and how you move. And just watch what happens. And I promise you that for most people watching this, you will feel so much better for implementing this into your daily

routine. And my hope is that for the people who don't already do anything, this will give you a bit of a lightbulb moment. It'll give you the bug to start doing things more regularly and really taking charge of your health. Let me

know in the comments if you try this for 30-days and how you felt at the end of it.

Thank you so much and I'll see you next time.