For most of her adult life, Dr Alka Patel pushed her body to breaking point, working long hours, eating the odd biscuit to keep her from collapsing, and sleeping for no longer than four hours a night.
Until a fever of 42C sent her into multiple organ failure.
‘I thought I was going to die. As a GP myself, I knew how serious my condition was,’ she told The Times of her 2011 health scare.
With three children and a successful but often stressful career, Dr Patel admitted that she never slowed down enough to notice the red-flag warning signs that she was about to crash.
She was rushed to hospital by her husband—Mandish, a dentist—after her temperature continued to climb past 38C, where she underwent emergency abdominal surgery, as doctors suspected an abscess in her abdomen could be to blame.
But they found nothing.
After being discharged following a month-long recovery stint in hospital, Dr Patel knew something needed to change, as it dawned on her that her resilience to stress after years of pushing the brink of burnout was to blame.
Now 14 years later, aged 53, Dr Patel has turned back the clock and has an impressive biological age—the age of her cells—of a 20-year-old.
Dr Alka Patel was hospitalised as her organs began to shut down before she hit reset—tracking everything from her blood sugar, sleep and heart rate to turn back her biological clock
‘Strange as it sounds, science shows we can bring our age down in measurable ways,’ she said.
‘I’m proof of this. And while biohacking might bring to mind wealthy tech titans trying to live forever, many of the techniques I now tech clients as a longevity doctor are free, take minutes and can add decades to our lives.’
She added: ‘Your biological age is not an ego-fuelled number—it’s your health forecast. By dropping your biological age, we can liver longer, with less pain, more energy and agility and with fewer prescriptions.’
Here the Daily Mail breaks down her daily routine, in which she prioritises sleep, diet and exercise for a longer, healthier life.
The power of a good routine
Despite advising her patients to get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep a night, Dr Patel rarely got more than four hours a night, working long after her children had gone to bed.
But now, she has devised a night time routine that slows down ageing by allowing the body to repair cells, replenish depleted energy levels and clear toxic brain matter.
Every night she sets an alarm for 9.30pm which signals her screen curfew, before she gets into bed an hour later.
Dr Patel discovered that her stress levels, which contribute to inflammation when raised, were not dropping low enough at night to allow for deep restorative sleep
Scientists have long urged people to ditch screens before bed because the blue light they emit suppresses melatonin—a hormone produced naturally in the body that plays a crucial role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
In the evening, it can signal to your body that it’s still time to be alert, throwing off your natural wind-down process. But, experts have also warned that forcing yourself to go to bed with nothing to occupy your mind, can also impact your sleep and fuel insomnia.
This hour in between switching off the TV and putting her phone on do not disturb creates the perfect wind-down window, promoting the production of melatonin.
Book in hand, Dr Patel gets into bed calm and ready for a restorative 8 hours.
Morning
Dr Patel starts her morning with five stretches she holds for 50 seconds—including one that works on balance, such as calf raises—whilst brushing her teeth.
A study of 1,7000 people aged 50-75 found people who couldn’t stand on one leg for at least 10 seconds had an 84 per cent increased risk of death after seven years.
This forms a central part of Dr Patel’s biohacking, in which she ranks her most-used hacks from 1-10, with a correlating activity or time, to make them easier to implement—showing that no matter how busy you are, you can always find 60 seconds to turn back the clock.
Dr Patel recommends habit stacking to implement her most-used biohacks into her routine. For example, whilst cleaning her teeth she will perform calf-raises to improve her balance (file photo)
In the morning, she also practices her 1-10 hack which involves spending one minute in natural sunlight, followed by 10 seconds setting an intention for the day—with purpose being one of the key pillars of blue zone centenarians.
This is when she takes her first three sips of water, which she does every 30 minutes for the rest of the day—with one study finding those with lower fluid intake have a 21 per cent higher risk of dying early.
At 10am, Dr Patel has her first meal, restricting her eating to an eight-hour window to encourage autophagy—the medical term for cell repair.
Midday
After filling up on protein and fibre for lunch, Dr Patel goes for a walk or run followed by a quick dumbbell session, which she keeps under her desk at work.
This helps redirect blood glucose to the muscles, slashing the risk of diabetes by keeping blood sugar levels under control.
She also makes sure to switch up her posture, alternating between sitting and standing at her desk every 90 minutes to boost circulation and promote heart health.
Dr Patel keeps dumbbells under her standing desk at work which she uses every day after lunch to help keep blood sugar spikes under control
Evening
This is when Dr Patel practices gratitude and reflects on her day, to lower stress and improve cognitive function—implementing seven seconds of silence every 70 minutes.
‘Paying compliments, meanwhile, is important because it releases the bonding hormone oxytocin,’ she added.
Oxytocin has been shown to affect the same centre of the brain as physical pain and may play a role in reducing inflammation and feelings of loneliness.
This is followed by an early dinner, giving the body enough time to finish digesting and before going to sleep.
Eating too close to bed has long been linked to digestive issues, poor sleep and higher glucose spikes—all of which accelerate the ageing process.
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