Programmers joke about "surviving on coffee." I took the joke seriously: over the past months I read through decades of sleep medicine, nutritional epidemiology, and neuroscience research β 111 studies, every one verifiable on PubMed β and turned them into a free, open-source, bilingual (EN/δΈζ) guide for developers.
Repo: DeepoMe/Awesome-Programmer-Longevity Β· Mobile ebook: deepkang.com/ebook/ebook.html
The one design decision that matters
Most health content gives every claim the same weight β "drink more water" and "take this compound" delivered in the same confident tone. This guide refuses to do that. Every single entry carries two ratings:
Ruler 1 β Evidence grade:
- A β hard human evidence (RCTs, large cohorts, meta-analyses)
- B β human evidence (observational, smaller samples)
- C β mechanism & preliminary (animal, cellular)
- D β tradition & hypothesis
Ruler 2 β Action tier: β do it / π§ͺ worth trying / π know it / πΈ don't spend money
Cross the two rulers and information becomes 3D: "a handful of nuts daily" is B/β ; "spermidine supplements" are C/πΈ (food sources worth trying, supplements β save your money).
If a claim can't survive being graded, it doesn't get in.
Three entries you won't find in other books
1. Your brain cuts its own DNA to form memories (Cell 2015 β Nature 2023/2024)
To write a new memory, a neuron deliberately breaks DNA double strands near specific genes so that immediate-early genes can fire β then a repair complex (NPAS4βNuA4) stitches the cuts back. Neurons that go through this break-repair cycle get recruited into the memory circuit.
That's why learning a new framework feels like an overloaded server: it literally is one, physically rewiring. Give it compile time (sleep).
Grade: C (top-journal chain, animal mechanism) / π know it.
2. Massaging your face and neck may help the brain drain waste (Nature 2025, mice)
The brain's metabolic waste rides cerebrospinal fluid out through a newly mapped route: orbital and nasal lymphatics converging into superficial cervical lymph vessels β right under the skin of your neck. In aged mice, gently pressing this channel with a calibrated device doubled CSF outflow.
The guide's massage routine follows this exact map. Why only grade C: the evidence is mice + a device. Nobody has tested human hands yet.
Grade: C / π§ͺ worth trying (free, harmless, mechanism intact).
3. "Yang-qi β mitochondria"? A food list the tradition never had (mapping D, foods BβC)
TCM describes yang-qi as warming, propelling, and protecting; mitochondria do thermogenesis, energy conversion, and quality control. Three-for-three (a Chinese team formally proposed this mapping in 2022 β hypothesis grade). Following the mapping, the guide prescribes a warming-food list the classics never had:
- Pomegranate & walnuts β urolithin A, activates mitophagy (positive human RCTs as supplements; food conversion depends on gut flora)
- Beets & spinach β dietary nitrate, makes human energy production more fuel-efficient (Larsen 2011)
- Mushrooms β ergothioneine; higher blood levels associate with lower dementia risk in cohorts
The mapping is graded D. Every food on the list is graded separately on its own human evidence (BβC). The guide also offers a falsifiable prediction: if the mapping holds, people who self-report "yang deficiency" should show lower brown-fat activity β testable by PET-CT.
What's inside
10 chapters, structured on the 12 hallmarks of aging (Cell, 2023):
- The Brain's Hidden Ops β lymphatic drainage, DNA breaks & memory, attention modulating inflammation, 40 Hz
- Yang-qi & Mitochondria β the mapping, a new warming-food list, Zone 2, ergothioneine
- Age Is Not a Number β facial biological age, methylation clocks, emotion & the genome
- Old Formulas, New Ruler β a TCM formula, Baduanjin, vinegar, NAC, singing bowls β all scored on the same evidence scale
- Ten Big Rocks of Longevity β the ten things that move lifespan most
- A Long Day β morning light, standing up, screen use, the caffeine red line
- Repair & Maintenance β sleep debt, screen curfew, workstation ergonomics
- Focus Engineering β flow, working memory, pomodoro, meditation
- Table & Supplements β nuts, omega-3, APOE4, spermidine (with "don't spend" flags)
- The Twelve Pillars β the hallmarks map, the book's closing atlas (one pillar honestly left blank: "no lifestyle-level lever yet")
How to read it
- GitHub (bilingual, English default): DeepoMe/Awesome-Programmer-Longevity
- Mobile ebook (tap left/right to flip pages, adjustable font, dark mode): deepkang.com/ebook/ebook.html
License: CC BY-NC-ND. Issues welcome β challenge a grade, request a topic, point out what's over- or under-rated. The grading is an index that sends readers to the original papers, not a final verdict.
This guide is health education, not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have a medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant/nursing, consult a physician before adopting any intervention. Individual variation is real; evidence grades describe population averages, not promises to you.
Update β this guide now runs a daily deep-dive series. One claim at a time, unpacked with its evidence grade:
#1: Your Brain Breaks Its Own DNA to Learn β Literally β learning physically cuts your genome; the survivors become the memory. (Grade C, Cell/Nature chain.)
#2: TCM Says βYang Qiβ Warms, Propels, and Protects. Your Mitochondria Do Exactly Those Three Things. β a 2,000-year-old TCM concept maps onto mitochondria with unsettling precision; the D-graded hypothesis that predicts a new warming-food list.
#3: Sitting Is Its Own Risk Factor, and Your Gym Hour Does Not Cancel It β sitting costs you on two separate accounts, and an hour at the gym does not pay off three unbroken hours in the chair. (Grade B.)
#4: The 2 P.M. Caffeine Rule: Your Afternoon Coffee Is Still in Your Blood at Midnight β a 5-hour half-life means a quarter of your 2 p.m. cup is still on your adenosine receptors at bedtime. You will not notice the hour it costs you. (Grade B.)
Follow @jxiong to catch the series.
