Why You Can't Shake Your Bad Habits

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Today’s Health Upgrade

• How to save your brain (from future decline)

• Your money is no good here

• The look that’s contagious

• Good habits, bad habits

Health
How Sleep Ages (Or Preserves) Your Brain 

You might not feel the effects of a bad night’s sleep right away, but your brain remembers — especially as you get older.

Scientists have discovered that poor sleep in your 40s and 50s is linked to accelerated brain aging, shrinking gray matter, and increasing signs of neurodegeneration years down the line.

The study examined self-reported sleep characteristics, including sleep duration, quality, and disturbances. Years later, MRI scans revealed significant associations between poor sleep and structural markers of brain aging.

Participants who reported shorter sleep duration, frequent awakenings, and lower sleep efficiency had reduced gray matter volume and more white matter lesions—both indicators of cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. 

The researchers believe chronic sleep disruption may impair your brain's ability to clear waste, reduce inflammation, and promote neuronal repair, all of which are crucial for maintaining cognitive function.

It’s important to remember that the study is just observational, so you can’t assume too much cause and effect. So, if you have moments when you don’t get enough sleep, that doesn’t mean you’ll have problems with your brain. 

The majority of research suggests that quality sleep is connected with overall brain health. So, your best bet is to prioritize sleep hygiene when possible to help limit your risk.

Your Money Is No Good Here 
Pomegranates: Not the Magic Recovery Fix?

Editor’s Note: Every month, dozens of sponsors knock on our doors, offering us money to promote their products. We vet everything closely, look at the research behind the products, and turn down most sponsors. To help you make healthier decisions, we’ll occasionally share why we don’t believe some products are worth your time or money. 

Despite their reputation as a superfood, pomegranates might not the solution to higher performance.

A new systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that while pomegranates are rich in antioxidants, they may not deliver the muscle-recovery benefits they promote.

Compared to placebo, pomegranate supplementation did not significantly improve neuromuscular recovery, muscle soreness, lactate levels, myoglobin, or creatine kinase (CK) levels.

The meta-analysis pooled data from multiple studies investigating the effects of pomegranate extract and juice on post-exercise muscle damage and recovery. While past research suggested that pomegranate’s polyphenols and antioxidants might help combat oxidative stress and inflammation, this systematic review found no significant advantages over control conditions regarding key markers of muscle recovery.

Even when analyzing biomarkers typically associated with muscle stress—pomegranate supplementation did not lead to faster recovery or reduced muscle soreness.

Pomegranates are still a nutrient-rich food with potential health benefits, and you won’t do any harm by having them after a workout. But if you’re looking for a proven recovery aid, you might want to stick to well-established strategies like protein intake, hydration, sleep, massage, compression, and good exercise programming that doesn’t create too much fatigue. From a supplemental level, if you’re covering your foundational needs, healthy fat (omega-3s) and tart cherries (or tart cherry juice) could help you bounce back quicker.

Together With Tecovas 
The Look That’s Contagious 

You’ve probably read that after he moved to the United States, Arnold’s uniform for years was polo shirts, jeans or khakis, and cowboy boots. He has talked over and over about how he loved cowboy boots because they reminded him of his image of America when living here was just a far-off vision.

To this day, he still rocks his cowboy boots for events. In his Governor’s office, when you looked around the different offices, you were just as likely to see cowboy boots as dress shoes, which surprised most people since this is California, not Texas. But his style choices were contagious.

That’s because cowboy boots are, as he would say, fantastic. You can dress them up, you can wear them with jeans.

That’s why Arnold’s Pump Club is excited to have an official cowboy boots partner. Tecovas is the fastest-growing Western brand in the world for a reason.

Their handcrafted boots look amazing and feel broken in when you put them on for the first time. And most importantly, they last. I know because Tecovas — when they were just starting — supported Arnold’s annual After-School All-Stars fundraiser at his house, which has raised tens of millions of dollars. It was western-themed, and my wife and I both bought Tecovas boots to thank them for their support. The boots still look new, and we both love them. 

Check them out to spice up and Arnold-ize your look. Pump Club favorites include The Dean and The Cartwright. And if you think cowboy boots aren’t for you because of the slightly taller heel, take a tip I learned from Arnold years ago and go for a roper boot, like The Earl. 

If my years of working with Arnold taught me anything, the look might be contagious.

Adam’s Corner 
Good Habits, Bad Habits, And The Reality Of Behavioral Change

It feels like Atomic Habits has held the top spot on Amazon for a decade. That’s what happens when a book sells more than 20 million copies. 

James Clear masterfully hit the nail on the head regarding the importance of habits and how to build them. 

However, in all the discussions about building better habits and creating strong routines, something that could hold you back is often overlooked. If you want to create a foundation of better behaviors, health, and happiness, understanding how to build great habits is rarely enough.

You must also understand why your bad habits exist. 

We all have good and bad habits. And it’s easier to replace a bad habit than to extinguish it. 

But if you fail to recognize why you have bad habits or how so many pop up, it might feel like you’re trying to win a one-legged ass-kicking contest.

Many bad habits are coping strategies. But habit formation goes deeper than that. Most of us do not intentionally or knowingly choose to cope with something that does harm.

So why do you have habits that don’t serve you? Because you’re wired to seek instant gratification.

Most habits exist out of convenience. And others exist because of consequences — or, more accurately, the perception of a lack of consequences. Our brains are trying to identify what behaviors are beneficial or which behaviors are not all that costly. But here’s where our natural wiring can deceive us into embracing seemingly benign behaviors far more dangerous than we perceive. 

We are good at seeing clear and present danger and not seeing the compounding benefits or detriments of repeated behaviors. 

There are many reasons why so many people struggle with their health. The environment (especially the food environment) is a big part of it. And so are genetics, epigenetics, and socioeconomic status. 

But we also know that while certain factors make it harder to be healthier, everyone can be healthier, including those with genetic predispositions. 

From a behavioral standpoint, most people underestimate the benefits of small behaviors done repeatedly. We downplay the daily walks, extra protein and fiber, and social connection. And we celebrate the hacks, optimizations, and extreme diets. 

It’s a backward equation that results in people putting a lot of time, energy, and effort into the things that don’t make the biggest impact.

Mastery is based on doing foundational behaviors without thought. 

The majority of people don’t feel good because their diet is flawed, they don’t exercise consistently, they sleep poorly, they have a ton of stress, they are connected to their devices, and they struggle to balance the competing demands of life. 

This isn’t a judgment — it’s a reality of life.  

But healthier people understand that better outcomes aren’t waiting at the end of a cleanse, detox, or restrictive diet. 

They may also recognize that they must change their daily behaviors rather than give themselves excuses or escape accountability.

Creating better habits can happen when you accept the truth about your bad habits. And that requires zooming out, seeing the bigger picture, and mastering boring behaviors so everything else feels easier. 

At the same time, the same flaw that causes us to overlook the most important behaviors is what draws us towards behaviors that we don’t think will cause harm. 

Remember, your brain is trying to find things it can automate. Habits and behaviors exist because they make it easier for your mind to handle the endless demands of life. If you don’t have to think, then you can act. 

And you are judging what has a significant upside and little downside. But if you can’t see that some behaviors have significant downsides when repeated over time, the automatic processes you build into your life that you think are benign are the foundation of behaviors that hold you back. 

The good news is you don’t have to break all destructive behaviors. 

However, asking yourself why these bad behaviors exist can make a significant difference. Then, identify seemingly harmless ones that have been compounded to create habit-debt. 

That’s when you have what you need to experience a psychological shift. You’ll better understand how you arrived at where you are and can start to identify which behaviors might be best to replace. And that’s when the knowledge of building better habits can have an even more significant impact on your life. 

You don’t need to worry about what happened before. It does not determine what you can accomplish or who you can become. But if your attempts to change are filled with starts and stops, it could be that the potholes you thought you left in the rearview mirror still fill the road ahead. And if that’s the case, the path to a better future can be paved by finally understanding what stood in your way in the past. -AB

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Publisher: Arnold Schwarzenegger​

Editors-in-chief: Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchell