This Is What I Actually Do.
Not theory. Not what I recommend from a distance. These are the exact protocols I follow every week — the devices I use, the science behind each one, and what I've personally tracked and noticed. I share all of it because you deserve to see what living the Vitality Code actually looks like in real life.
Updated regularly as my research and results evolve.
I call my life the Living Study. Every protocol on this page is something I do myself — tracked with real data, grounded in peer-reviewed science, and refined over time based on what the research and my own biometrics tell me.
This is not a sponsored list. This is my life.
The Living Study
PROTOCOL 1 - HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY (HBOT)
What I do:
I have a hard shell hyperbaric chamber at home that pressurizes to 2 ATA. I do 90-minute sessions at least three times per week. I always fast before sessions — no food until after I'm done.
Why the science supports it:
HBOT at 2 ATA saturates the blood and tissues with oxygen at levels impossible to achieve through normal breathing. Peer-reviewed research shows it can stimulate neuroplasticity, reduce neuroinflammation, support mitochondrial function, and in some studies has shown measurable reversal of biological aging markers. For brain health specifically, the research on HBOT and cognitive performance in aging adults is among the most compelling in the longevity space right now.
What I've personally noticed:
Improved cognitive clarity, better recovery from hard workouts, and measurable improvements in my sleep data on WHOOP following sessions.
As featured in: Pensacola Magazine, January 2026
What I do:
I stop eating after dinner and don't eat again until after my morning workout — my first meal is always a protein drink immediately post-training. I've maintained this pattern for a couple of years. In addition, I do a 3-day extended fast at least twice a year.
Why the science supports it:
Time restricted eating activates autophagy — the body's cellular clean-up process — and supports metabolic flexibility, insulin sensitivity, and mitochondrial health. For brain health specifically, fasting periods reduce neuroinflammation and support BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is essentially fertilizer for brain cells. Extended fasting twice a year takes this deeper, triggering more significant cellular renewal processes that shorter daily windows don't reach.
What I've personally noticed:
Sustained energy through the morning without the blood sugar swings that come with early eating. Mental clarity during fasted states that I don't replicate any other way. The 3-day fasts are challenging and completely worth it — my cognitive sharpness in the days following is measurably different.
PROTOCOL 2 - FASTING & TIME RESTRICTED EATING
PROTOCOL 3 - SLEEP
What I do:
I protect the hour before bed without exception. My wind-down routine includes light stretching, my evening skincare routine, and reading — no screens, no content consumption, no work. I track my sleep stages nightly on WHOOP with a specific focus on REM sleep. REM is where I pay the most attention — it's the stage most directly tied to memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and cognitive repair.
Why the science supports it:
Sleep is the single most important recovery and repair process for the brain. During deep sleep the glymphatic system flushes metabolic waste — including the amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's. REM sleep specifically is critical for memory consolidation and emotional processing. Disrupted or insufficient REM is one of the most significant and underappreciated risk factors for cognitive decline.
What I've personally noticed:
The wind-down routine is non-negotiable for me. On nights I skip it, my WHOOP data shows it the next morning — lower HRV, less REM, higher recovery time. The data doesn't lie.
What I track:
WHOOP — sleep stages, REM percentage, HRV, recovery score
What I do:
Daily step target: 8,500 steps minimum
Strength training: Monday, Wednesday, Friday — weights
Cardio: Tuesday and Thursday — interval training
Optional Saturday cardio session
Why the science supports it:
Movement is the single most evidence-backed intervention for brain health and longevity. Just 3,000 steps per day has been shown to slow cognitive decline. Strength training preserves muscle mass — which is directly tied to longevity and metabolic health — while interval training produces BDNF, improves cardiovascular efficiency, and supports mitochondrial density. The combination of strength and interval work is the most powerful movement protocol the research supports for women in midlife.
What I've personally noticed:
My step count is the baseline that holds everything else together. On low-movement days my energy, mood, and cognitive sharpness all dip noticeably. The strength training has changed my body composition in ways that cardio alone never did. Interval training is hard and it is absolutely worth it.
What I track:
WHOOP daily activity and strain | Withings scale for body composition
PROTOCOL 4 - MOVEMENT
PROTOCOL 5 - NUTRITION
What I do:
I follow a hybrid of the Blue Zone and MIND diet principles. The focus is on whole foods, leafy greens, berries, legumes, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats — with animal protein used strategically rather than as the centerpiece of every meal. I target 30 grams of protein per meal to support muscle preservation and metabolic health.
Why the science supports it:
The MIND diet — Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay — has been shown in peer-reviewed research to reduce Alzheimer's risk by up to 53%. Blue Zone eating patterns are associated with the longest healthspans on earth. The 30g protein per meal target is grounded in research showing that muscle protein synthesis requires a threshold dose — and that women in midlife are chronically under-eating protein, which accelerates muscle loss, metabolic slowdown, and cognitive vulnerability.
What I've personally noticed:
Consistent energy without spikes and crashes. Mental clarity that I can directly correlate to what I ate the day before. The protein target was a game changer — it changed my body composition and my recovery from workouts in ways I didn't expect.
What I use:
Vitality Code Tracker — my number one tracking tool. I built this myself centered around the 8 Vitality Code Keys. It's what ties everything together — not just biometrics, but the full picture of how I'm living across all 8 dimensions. Every other device feeds into this bigger view. (Coming soon as an app.)
WHOOP — my primary biometric device. I monitor HRV daily, sleep stages with a specific focus on REM, recovery score, and strain. WHOOP has changed how I make decisions about training intensity, rest, and recovery. When my HRV is low, I adjust. The data tells the truth even when I think I feel fine.
Withings Scale — tracks body composition including muscle mass, body fat percentage, and bone density trends. Weight alone is a meaningless metric. Body composition over time tells the real story.
Fitbit — I keep myself in a specific weight window and when I see it creeping up I reel it back in. Simple, consistent, effective.
Apple Health — I pull summaries occasionally to cross-reference data across devices and look for patterns over time.
PROTOCOL 6 - WEARABLES & TRACKING
I don't take supplements blindly. Every item on my daily list is chosen based on peer-reviewed research, tested on myself, and tracked against my biometric data.
Here is a link to exactly what I take and why.
PROTOCOL 7 - SUPPLEMENTS
PROTOCOL 8 - HOT TUB
What I do:
104°F, at least three times per week. I use it primarily for sleep preparation and recovery — especially after hard training days.
Why the science supports it:
Hot water immersion raises core body temperature, and the subsequent drop in temperature as you cool down after signals the brain to initiate sleep. Research shows this drop in core temperature is one of the most reliable sleep-onset triggers available. For recovery, heat therapy reduces muscle inflammation, improves circulation, and accelerates tissue repair. It's also a parasympathetic nervous system activator — it shifts the body out of stress mode, which directly supports HRV and sleep quality.
What I've personally noticed:
On nights I use the hot tub before bed my WHOOP data consistently shows better sleep quality and higher HRV the following morning. After hard training days it noticeably reduces next-day soreness. It is one of the simplest and most effective protocols I follow.
Every protocol on this page connects directly to one or more of the 8 Vitality Code Keys:
HBOT → Move It to Improve It / Deep Rest to Feel Your Best
Fasting → Eat Smart to Stay Sharp / Stay Stable to Stay Capable
Sleep → Deep Rest to Feel Your Best
Movement → Move It to Improve It
Nutrition → Eat Smart to Stay Sharp
Supplements → Stay Stable to Stay Capable
Wearables → Know Yourself to Reclaim Health
Hot Tub → Deep Rest to Feel Your Best / Calm the Mind to Realign
Want to know which of your 8 Keys needs the most attention right now?
Why tracking matters:
THE VITALITY CODE CONNECTION
Subjective experience is unreliable. How we think we feel and what our physiology is actually doing are often two different things. Tracking removes the guesswork and gives me real data to make real decisions.
It also creates accountability — it's much harder to skip a protocol when you can see the impact in the numbers. And it creates a longitudinal record of who you're becoming — which is exactly the point.
The Vitality Code Tracker sits above all of it because the goal was never to optimize one metric. It was always to protect brain health and longevity across all 8 Keys — and see the full picture of how those keys are working together.
The Vitality Code Tracker app is coming soon. Stay tuned.
What you do now determines who you'll be at 90. This is what I'm doing. And I'm sharing every step of it.
— Dr. Cheryl Russell, PhD
Brain Health & Longevity
Midlife isn't a crisis — it's a return. Dr. Cheryl Russell PhD helps women 45–68 protect their brain health and build the vitality to live fully at 90. Through The Vitality Code Framework, YouTube content, and a growing community — this is where your next chapter begins.
Fearless After Fifty, LLC © 2025-2026. All rights reserved. What You Do Now Determines Who You'll Be at 90.
with Dr. Cheryl Russell
Inquire
hello@drcherylrussell.com