Running experiments can be fun, but I would be a fool if I did not consider everything that could have an effect on the outcome. What follows is an overview of my current habits. These are important because I stick to them most of the time, but when I don’t it can have an impact on the measurements.
The habits described here will remain the baseline. I will log how well I stick to them and if any changes occur, I will document them.
“A confounder is a third factor that influences both the thing you're testing and the thing you're measuring, so it can produce an apparent effect that isn't really there — or hide a real one.” - Claude, in conversation while preparing this post1
With regards to sleep:
Sleep is one of those “non-negotiables” and one of the reasons I started this whole project.
I wake up after a good night’s rest (usually with an alarm) and I do not feel refreshed. I feel tired and want to go back to sleep. After I get out of bed this lasts for ten to fifteen minutes and then I am mostly fine and can go about my day.
Consistency is what I am aiming for right now. Every morning my alarm goes off at 0600. Sometimes I get up immediately. Sometimes I snooze, but I try to limit this bad habit. I never considered myself a morning person, but I do enjoy being able to get stuff done early!
In the evening I get in bed and go to sleep between 2200 and 2300. I usually read something before bed, wear blue-light-blocking glasses after 2100 and try to limit my screen time. Not always possible, since a daily video call with my girlfriend often takes place around this time as well. When I actually go to sleep, I put on a sleep mask (to block any remaining light), turn my air filter to sleep mode and open the window to let some fresh air in. Oh, and I sleep naked; this allows my whole body to breathe a bit at night ;)
This gets me between seven and eight hours of sleep per night, which is currently a good number for me to aim for. My energy levels seem fine and so does my sleep debt2. How on earth do I still wake up feeling tired?
Of course there are days when I cannot stick to these hard timings. Life happens, I am not a robot, and do not wish to be one. This happens perhaps a couple of times per month, but I rarely sleep less than seven hours. Exceptions will be documented, so the impact on a running experiment will be visible.
All of this matters, because sleep quality and duration strongly affect most physiological measures. My sleep might be good and stable now, but that could change in the future. Room temperature, for example, is one of the things I cannot control precisely and it will change with the seasons. If anything changes, it will be logged and published with the results.
With regards to sports:
Once upon a time I was very active and easily did over ten hours of sports per week. Right now I tend to stick to a minimalistic routine. Enough to keep me in shape, without taking up too much time.
I do three gym sessions a week for some strength training. These are usually somewhere between 1500 and 1700. Since I do not mind some repetitiveness, I mostly do the same exercises and I try to limit the whole to thirty minutes. After the training, the infrared sauna awaits me for a fifteen-minute session. Here I often play around with my breath; what else should I do?
For cardio I use my CAROL bike when I am at home, otherwise I will just go for a run. Three rides per week on the days I do not go to the gym, almost always in the morning before breakfast. A standard REHIIT training session takes about eight minutes and forty seconds. This is supposed to have the same effect as a 45-minute zone 2 run. I got the bike to test the claim, but so far I have not set up a protocol to do this. I enjoy the bike and I am under the impression my cardio remains decent.
When at home the consistency of the training sessions is pretty good so the training load should not vary much. It does, however, mean that most of my measurements will happen while my body is still recovering.
During the weeks I travel, about once a month, I try to keep a similar schedule, but I manage it less consistently. The sessions will be logged no matter what, so the impact can be analysed.
All of the above can have an impact on measurements. Breathwork affects the nervous system, my body is rarely fully unloaded and with the REHIIT I practise maximal effort three times a week. As mentioned, everything will be logged so it can be checked against the results.
With regards to meditation:
I usually practise Transcendental Meditation (TM) in the morning. I hope my teacher will not read this publication, because you are supposed to have two TM sessions per day. An afternoon session is just not that easy to fit in. I try to have at least one session daily, but this can be difficult when not at home.
The TM lasts for about twenty-five minutes, during which I focus on my mantra, while trying not to focus too much on my mantra.
The TM sessions are likely to affect the nervous system. The impact might not be as big as with two sessions per day, but it is nevertheless something to take into account. The number of daily sessions will be logged and published.
With regards to food and drink:
I stick to time restricted eating (TRE) as much as possible. This basically means I only eat during a specific timeframe and it is easier than it seems. My “eating window” is currently between 0800 and 2000. The other twelve hours of the day I am in a fasted state. I sleep about eight of these twelve hours, so only four waking hours are spent not eating. Around 0800 in the morning I break my fast.
Outside of my eating window I drink water, tea or coffee (not in the afternoon), with one exception. My morning coffee is always mixed with 5g of creatine and two out of three times I add butter and C8 MCT oil. Whether or not this really breaks the fast I am not sure, but it definitely could.
I try to pay attention to what I put in my body. The quality of the ingredients matters. In general I try to buy bio or organic and not too many processed things. This is negotiable though. It can be rather expensive and you can only control it when you make your own food.
As far as alcohol is concerned, I do not drink very often. When I do it is either at social occasions or the occasional glass of wine or beer at home.
The eating pattern is stable when at home and I try to adhere to it as much as possible when not. I keep a log with times and what I eat3. Days where I have alcohol or eat late will be marked so any effects will be visible.
With regards to supplementation:
The supplements I take are all linked to identified deficiencies and they will not change before getting my next blood work done.
A list of what I currently take:
Creatine: Body&Fit (Creapure), taken with my morning coffee
Omega-3 fish oil: Eqology Pure Arctic Oil
Vitamin D and K: Eqology K2+D3
Vitamin/mineral supplement: Eqology Nordic Energy Booster
Zinc: DeBa Pharma Zink-forte
Copper: Solgar Chelated Copper
On top of this I regularly take some chlorella/spirulina tablets, but these could be considered a food rather than a supplement.
Full disclosure: I have been using Eqology products since June 2026 and I have been a business partner since September 2026. I am not selling any products here, nor will I put up any links, but you should know.
Since these are stable, they are not really confounders. They are worth mentioning because they might be adapted based on blood tests. When this happens, it will be documented.
With regards to morning rituals:
After feeling horrible for a few minutes (perhaps a slight exaggeration), I finally get up and start my morning rituals.
I get out of bed and have a few sips of water. I go to the bathroom for a morning pee and afterwards get on the scale to check my weight. After the weigh-in I have a timeframe for logging experiments and once this is done, I start the TM I mentioned earlier.
About an hour after getting up it is time for my morning coffee and breakfast, so no caffeine before measurements. While I have my coffee and before I have my breakfast, I do my Duolingo (I have a streak to keep up, mind you), some brain training games (Lumosity) and read. This is also where I do a REHIIT session on the days I do not go to the gym.
Most of my mornings (over seventy percent) look like this. The remaining thirty percent is where the variation comes from and the reason for logging. I will always describe the experiment protocol beforehand and fit it neatly into this ritual.
To summarise:
All of the above makes my life seem very structured, but believe me, it is not. One or a few days a week I work; some days I am renovating my house. Meanwhile I spend quite some time in Sweden with my girlfriend and on top of that I am working on transitioning from the military to the sports/health sector. And there is always a chance I might fall ill. My life is very flexible right now.
This matters because it means a lot of variation that can have an impact on the experiments I will be running. No matter what, the variation will be logged and the confounders can be checked against the results.
Thanks for sticking with me, see you next week!
Yannick
I use Claude AI to brainstorm with and edit my writing; I do not use it to write content for me
Measured with a wearable, more on those next time
For the logging I use an app, which I will talk about next time