Dr. Fauci Shared His Top Tips for Staying Sharp and Healthy at 80 Years Old
Anthony Fauci, M.D., the nation’s leading infectious disease doctor, shared his top wellness tips with The New York Times.
At 80, he urges the importance of exercise, sleep, and relieving stress.
“I do go out for a good three-to-four-mile power walk. Every night, I try as best as I can to get those walks every night,” he said.
It’s not often a doctor becomes a household name in the U.S., but as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. has done just that. He’s served seven presidents throughout his career as an epidemiologist and has helped manage everything from the HIV/AID crisis to the Ebola outbreak.
But nothing has been quite like the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve all turned to Dr. Fauci for new guidance, coronavirus updates, and signs of hope throughout the last year, so it’s hard to remember that he, too, needs to keep up with a healthy lifestyle to perform his best when he comes into work. (The man hasn’t had a day off in 14 months, he said in April.)
So, how does he manage to keep up with his fast-paced, high-stress job at 80 years old? Dr. Fauci recently chatted via Zoom with the The New York Times, and shared some wellness tips he’s learned during his decades-long career.
1. Consistency is key.
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic threw Dr. Fauci out of his usual routine. “In the first surges that we had in the late winter-early spring of 2020, I got so involved in the urgency of the situation that I was not sleeping more than four hours a night. I wasn’t eating. I wasn’t drinking water,” he revealed to The New York Times.
One thing that got him back on track was support from his wife, who urged him to focus on his own health and stay consistent. “It really took my wife to shake me and say, ‘hey, you know this is gonna be a marathon. You really have to pace yourself, because if you think you’re in a sprint you’re going to burn out fast,” he said.
So, he started finding little ways to stay on track, like sneaking in some extra sleep by taking a power nap in his office between appointments. “Now, I get anywhere between five and six [hours], which is not bad,” he previously told Men’s Health.
2. Pick a goal and stick to it.
Dr. Fauci knows he has a very disciplined personality. But if you’re not sure how to get started with an overall wellness routine, he says having a goal in mind—and really sticking to it—is vital to success. “You’ve got to focus on what your mission is, what your goal is, what your mandate is,” he told the Times. “If you let those other things distract you, you’re not going to be as efficient.”
3. Movement is medicine.
Dr. Fauci has always been a runner and emphasizes the power of movement—whatever that looks like for your fitness level. “Exercise is really important,” he said. “I think that the fact that I’ve been a marathon and 10k runner over the last multiple decades has been very important in my staying fit, looking fit, and feeling fit.”
In fact, when he was working 15-hour days during the AIDS epidemic in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Dr. Fauci would make time to run 7 miles at lunchtime (five or six days a week!) to stay in shape, get some time outdoors, and decompress.
At 80 years old, he now aims for a power walk every night. Not only does it help him keep up with exercise, but it’s a great stress reliever. “I’ve been pretty attentive. I’ve been a runner all my life. I’ve run multiple marathons. I’ve run a lot of 10Ks. I don’t do that now, because I’m 80 years-old, but I do go out for a good three-to-four-mile power walk every night. I try as best as I can to get those walks every night,” he said.
4. Enjoy life, but don’t do things to excess.
Life is meant to be enjoyed, and Dr. Fauci knows it’s not realistic to give up all the things we love in the name of health. “Take care of yourself, get some reasonable sleep, don’t get overcome with stress, [eat] a good diet; no excesses, don’t smoke, don’t drink too much. Enjoy life, but don’t do things to excess,” he said.
That, he adds, is the real secret for a strong immune system, he told Men’s Health. “If you don’t smoke, you only drink in moderation, you get a good night’s sleep, have a healthy diet, you exercise, and you do something to reduce stress, that’s going to keep your immune system healthy.”
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