Shadowing Practice: The Longevity Toolkit: Peter Attia’s 5 Tactics to Improve Longevity - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Do you want to quickly walk through the tactics in your longevity toolkit?
2
And then from there, we can go into detail on each of them.
3
Yeah.
4
I mean, I think broadly speaking, there are five buckets of things that we have control over,
5
um, to, to impact all of these things we're talking about.
6
So one, we just talked about exercise and you can probably tell my biases that that's the single most important one, uh, for the most part.
7
So, um, the second in no particular order would be nutrition.
8
So what you eat matters.
9
Um, and, and we will talk about that, I'm sure in more detail.
10
Uh, the third one would be sleep.
11
So, um, you know, the difference between sleeping well and not sleeping well has an enormous impact on your brain, uh, but also on your metabolic health,
12
which then indirectly plays a great role in, in other diseases.
13
Um, the fourth would be all of the sort of medications and supplements, drugs, anything that your doctor prescribes or that you can buy over the counter.
14
And these are of varying degrees of efficacy.
15
Some of them are incredibly dubious.
16
Some of them can be lifesaving.
17
But again, all of those things we'd want to think about.
18
And then the final bucket would be kind of all the tools
19
that we would have at our disposal to improve our emotional health and wellbeing.
20
So we've already touched a little bit about why exercise is important, but for people in this audience, how can they start to safely exercise while also managing physical limitations?
21
It's hard to provide kind of a blanket statement on that because everybody's going to be different.
22
But I think it's safe to say that people are less fragile than they believe.
23
And, you know, it's...
24
I meet many people, for example, who have back injuries and say, look, I have a back injury.
25
I can't really do anything.
26
And the reality of it is when you sort of probe a little bit further, what you realize is nothing tends to make their back hurt more than inactivity.
27
Uh, you know, I, I don't remember who made the statement, but I, I loved it.
28
And I, I've paraphrased it or, uh, plagiarized it many times.
29
Sitting is to lower back pain, what bourbon is to alcoholism.
30
So, you know, and I think any of you whose back has hurt will probably think about that and go, you know, he's, he's kind of right.
31
Like when my back hurts, sitting is the one thing I don't like to do or after a long drive, it hurts worse.
32
And for most people, actually being active makes them feel better.
33
Now, let's be clear.
34
There are certain activities, like if you have no cartilage left in your knee, more walking won't make you feel better.
35
And so you're going to have to see an orthopedic surgeon.
36
They might need to do a knee replacement.
37
But boy, I will tell you, in this day and age in 2025, what can be done with a knee replacement, a hip replacement, even a shoulder replacement?
38
I mean, these operations have come along so far and they have restored so much quality of life to individuals.
39
So every one of these cases has to be managed individually.
40
But if you have a really good PT or rehab professional who knows what's fixable with more training or more conditioning versus,
41
hey, this actually does need some medical attention.
42
I think the aspiration should be, what can I do to get as active as possible?
43
Moving from exercise into nutrition, we saw questions come through that different diets are being talked about and they aren't sure which one they should follow.
44
So is there a diet that you think is best or does it depend on the individual?
45
I don't think there's a diet that is best.
46
I think there are principles that matter and everyone should find the diet that best allows them to adhere to the principle.
47
So what are the principles?
48
The principles are not to eat too much and not to eat too little.
49
That sounds dumb, but it's just the reality of it.
50
And I think everyone struggles with a different end of that spectrum, right?
51
There are some people who just don't like to eat that much.
52
They're like little birds.
53
And as they get older, that becomes a huge problem.
54
They are too frail.
55
At the other end of the spectrum, you have people like me who like to eat too much
56
and we will spend most of our life fighting against the urge to eat too much.
57
And that also becomes a problem as you get older because the heavier you are, the more weight you're putting on each and every one of those joints.
58
And again, we're thinking about all these things that are working against us as we age, not to mention other complications that come from eating too much.
59
But I would say that in an aging population, the most important thing I want to emphasize is getting enough protein.
60
First of all, I just think for many people, it's kind of hard to get enough protein in.
61
Even I have to pay attention to it and I don't have a problem eating, but I need to be mindful of, hey, did I get enough protein?
62
It's really easy for me to get all the carbs in the world.
63
It's not, I don't have to go out of my way to eat more fat, but I do have to be cognizant of getting enough protein.
64
And enough protein is a pretty big number, right?
65
It's about one gram per pound of body weight.
66
So I would challenge each of you to pay attention to, hey, if you weigh 150 pounds,
67
are you getting 150 grams of protein a day?
68
And I would bet that especially for the women here, that's even harder.
69
Now, if you fall a little bit short of that, it's okay.
70
But if you're at half of that, you're really not getting the optimal amount of protein.
71
And as we age, we develop something called anabolic resistance,
72
which means that it is harder and harder for our muscles to synthesize
73
and grow new muscle cells with the given amount of amino acids, which are the building blocks in protein that we get by eating protein.
74
And therefore, we actually need more and more protein to overcome that.
75
So, you know, we talk a lot about obesity.
76
We talk a lot about osteoporosis and osteopenia.
77
But there's another condition of aging called sarcopenia, which is the condition of muscle loss.
78
And that's a huge problem.
79
And there's really two ways to, in concert, two ways to address that.
80
One is consuming enough protein and the other is doing enough resistance training.
81
So again, it doesn't matter if you're a vegetarian, doesn't matter if you like a Mediterranean diet, doesn't matter if you like steak and potatoes.
82
If you can adhere to those principles, that's going to make your life easier.
83
Is it harder to adhere to those principles if you're a vegan?
84
Yeah, it's a lot harder, but it's not impossible.
85
I know lots of people who have done it.
86
Um, but you know, looking at a food tracking app in your phone is a
87
great way to spend a week evaluating how many grams of protein you're getting.
88
And I think you'll be surprised, um, that for many of us, it's, we're probably underdoing it.
89
Now, moving on to sleep, um, sleep is something that you've written a lot of, a lot about, and you said that you didn't use to take it very seriously,
90
but now you do take it very seriously and that's true.
91
He goes to bed at like eight every night.
92
So why do you think it's so important?
93
I think I'm up till nine these days.
94
Um, yes, sleep is important.
95
Uh, and you're right.
96
I used to probably until 12 years ago, I think my mantra was I'll sleep when I'm dead.
97
And I, um, you know, just would try to sleep as little as possible.
98
Um, but, but the evidence are pretty overwhelming, especially for both near -term and long -term function of the brain,
99
that sleep is very important.
100
Now, I think at your age, a couple of unique challenges emerge.
101
Again, I think most people, once they're over 65 or 70, they're not fighting the will to sleep because they want to be out partying all night.
102
It's more that other things are getting in the way, right?
103
So we know that as a person ages, they tend to sleep a little bit lighter and their sleep architecture tends to change a little bit.
104
We also know that other things get in the way, especially for men, which is it gets harder
105
and harder to make it through a night without having to get up to pee.
106
And I mean, I'm already at that stage where at least two out of the seven nights a week, if I am not mindful about when I had my last glass of water,
107
I'm going to be up at two or three in the morning to pee.
108
And sometimes that's harder to go back to bed after.
109
So, um, what are the things that we have under our control?
110
Well, one of them is absolutely timing of water.
111
Um, now again, water is super important.
112
The older a person gets, the more susceptible they are to dehydration.
113
The older a person gets, the less reliable thirst is as an indicator for fluid status.
114
So at Olivia's age, you don't really believe it or not need to pay attention to how much you're drinking, thirst will be the guide.
115
But that becomes less and less true as you age.
116
So you're juggling a narrow problem, which is on the one hand, you have to be mindful about drinking enough.
117
But at the other hand, you can't drink too much too close to bed, and that's going to keep you awake.
118
Another thing that makes a huge difference in sleep quality is timing of food.
119
So the longer you can have between when you have dinner and when you go to bed, the better.
120
So we eat dinner really early because we have young kids in our house.
121
And that's why I can get away with going to bed at nine
122
because it's still been three and a half hours or three hours since I ate.
123
Another thing is alcohol.
124
So some of you probably drink alcohol and the less alcohol you have in your system when you sleep, the better you're going to sleep.
125
Having a super dark room, having a super cold room is going to make a big difference.
126
And perhaps the biggest thing to sort of make a point about here is consistency of timing.
127
especially on the wake up.
128
So if you could tether yourself to one time, it's what time do I wake up?
129
And if you force yourself to wake up at the same time every day
130
and don't allow yourself to take a nap during the day, and this is a big ask because I know naps can be tempting,
131
it's going to regulate when you end up going to bed by building up enough sleep pressure.
132
So if a person tells me I'm struggling to sleep at night and I find out they're napping during the day, the first thing I want to do is get rid of the nap, right?
133
I want them to, and then I want to, I'm going to fix the wake up time, eliminate the nap, and then actually let them get into a better sleep cycle that way.
134
Are there any good sleep supplements that you recommend taking and that are like not damaging to you?
135
Yeah, there are.
136
I mean, and I think one has to be very careful with this stuff.
137
We, you know, there's certainly evidence to suggest that as we age, melatonin levels go down and therefore melatonin can aid at least with sleep initiation.
138
But it's important to know that melatonin really is only the signal to initiate sleep.
139
It's not going to necessarily keep you asleep all night.
140
So if you're not doing all of the other things correctly, melatonin is, is going to be limited in its, in its efficacy.
141
So before I go down the route of supplements, I want to get everything we just talked about vis -a -vis the hygiene completely dialed in.
142
And then, yeah, if there's still an issue falling asleep, I think melatonin can be, can be a viable tool.
143
Although I'd really want to make sure it's the lowest dose you can buy.
144
They tend to sell this stuff in high enough doses to kill horses.
145
It's not necessary.
146
You know, The lowest dose, which is maybe 300 micrograms is probably all you need at most twice that dose, but you don't need anything north of a milligram.
147
I think one has to experiment a little bit with other things.
148
I find ashwagandha a little bit helpful for others, maybe not so much.
149
Okay.
150
And then we'll quickly touch on the last one, which is emotional health.
151
And a lot of people think that this is not really something that kind of matters in longevity, but But you talked about this in the last chapter of Outlive
152
and how it's really important to you and that you've recently discovered it.
153
So do you want to talk a little bit about that and how it's important as people are aging?
154
Well, I think it's actually important at any age.
155
And I think that, you know, what I imagine is
156
so appealing about living at a place like this is you have a built -in system of friendship
157
and i would imagine that that's probably a great source of well -being
158
that that many of your peers would be missing out on
159
if they were living alone um you know i think about how little i see my parents
160
because we live in a different country um and
161
so i can imagine that things that we take for granted
162
when we're young like being close to our children or our grandchildren aren't guaranteed when we grow older.
163
Now, of course, she's signed a contract that says she can't leave Austin.
164
So this won't be a problem for me.
165
But I think a social support network
166
and some sense of purpose might be the single most important
167
part of the emotional health toolkit as it pertains to living longer.
168
Every one of us knows the story of the couple that had been married for 70 years.
169
One of them passes away and then the other one dies within a year.
170
I don't think these are just anecdotal.
171
I really think there's an understanding of why that happens.
172
So you can do everything right.
173
You can eat the right diet.
174
You can sleep right.
175
You can exercise but if your emotional health is lacking, then it's like, you won't live as long.
176
It's possible.
177
But I would say even more than that, regardless of how long you live, if it's, if it's unhappy, why bother?
178
You know what I mean?
179
Like I, so, so let's say you, let's say you do live a long time, but you're alone or you're miserable.
180
In some ways that would be the ultimate purgatory.
181
I'm Peter Atiyah.
182
This podcast relies exclusively on premium subscribers for support, which allows us to provide all our content without taking a single penny from advertisers.
183
I believe this keeps my content honest, making it a trusted resource for listeners like you.
184
As a premium member, you'll get immediate access to our entire back catalog of AMA episodes
185
and all future AMA episodes you'll get longevity focused premium articles
186
packed with actionable insights you'll get unrivaled show notes for each
187
and every episode of the drive every topic every study every
188
resource from each episode carefully curated for you you'll get quarterly
189
podcast summaries where you'll learn my biggest personal takeaways from the previous 90 days of expert guest episodes and much more.
190
This journey doesn't have to be navigated alone.
191
We can take these steps towards a better, longer life together.
192
Become a premium member today at peteratiamd .com forward slash subscribe to join me in a shared commitment to a healthier future.
✨ Recommend Video
C11
781 sentences
How Do I Reverse Brain Rot?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C16
384 sentences
Dr. Andy Galpin: Does Cardio Ruin Muscle Growth?.
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C111
42 sentences
Nutrition for a Healthy Life
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
710 sentences
The truth about peptides, NAD, & other longevity treatments | Rachele Pojednic, Ph.D.
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
46 sentences
The Best Ways to Prevent a Stroke | Ask Cleveland Clinic's Expert
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B24
207 sentences
Why Walking Every Day Changes Your Body (Doctor Explains)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
C14
131 sentences
The medicine myth | Denis Noble, Nessa Carey, Guy Brown
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
259 sentences
Talk Back: Why Arguing With Yourself Can Help You Flourish
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
253 sentences
How to Stop Procrastinating (Forever)
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
530 sentences
Human Immortality 4K | Can Science Defeat Aging?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
407 sentences
I Went From 500 to 857 Testosterone at 48 (5 Simple Tips)
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C1353
58 sentences
Taking Care of Mental Health - C1 Listening Lesson for Advanced ESL Students
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “The Longevity Toolkit: Peter Attia’s 5 Tactics to Improve Longevity”. This video has 192 sentences and 2759 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:30. The speaker talks at a natural 178 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| principle noun | /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ | A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief. |
| replacement noun | /ɹɪˈpleɪsmənt/ | A person or thing that takes the place of another; a substitute. |
| premium noun | /ˈpɹiː.miː.əm/ | A prize or award. |
| dose noun | /ˈdəʊ̯s/ | A measured portion of medicine taken at any one time. |
| muscle noun | /ˈmʌs.əl/ | A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement. |
| knee noun | /ni/ | In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank. |
| supplement noun | /ˈsʌp.lɪ.mənt/ | Something added; especially, such an addition added to make up for a deficiency. |
| gram noun | /ˈɡɹæm/ | A unit of mass equal to one-thousandth of a kilogram. Symbol: g. |
| adhere verb | /ædˈhɪə/ | To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united. |
| longevity noun | /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/ | The quality of being long-lasting, especially of life. |
| resource noun | /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ | Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel. |
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| spectrum noun | /ˈspɛktɹəm/ | A range; a continuous, infinite, one-dimensional set, possibly bounded by extremes. |
| podcast noun | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | A program, especially an audio program, produced on a regular basis, delivered over the Internet in a compressed digital format and designed for playback on… |
| nutrition noun | /njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ən/ | The organic process by which an organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and maintenance. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| wake up verb | /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ | To stop sleeping; to awake. |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. | |
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| buy over verb | To gain the support of (a person) through bribery. | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| come through verb | To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- I can't really do anything.
- Is it harder to adhere to those principles if you're a vegan?
- So why do you think it's so important?
- I think I'm up till nine these days.
- You know what I mean?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | didn't use to take · used to probably |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who just · acids, which are · sarcopenia, which is |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've already touched · I've paraphrased · has hurt |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | can be done · be managed · being talked |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 67 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thirst /θɝst/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, orthopedic /ˈɔɹθəpidɪk/, synthesize /ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/, tether /ˈtɛðəɹ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: nutrition /njuːˈtɹɪʃ.ən/, friendship /ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/, medication /mɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/, initiate /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: longevity /lɒnˈd͡ʒɛv.ɪ.ti/, efficacy /ˈɛf.ɪ.kə.si/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/, experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like principle, replacement, premium.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.