Experts › Longevity › Bryan Johnson

LongevityMeasure everythingEvidence: mixed

Bryan Johnson

Entrepreneur · founder of Braintree, Kernel and Blueprint · not a medical doctor or scientist

A tech entrepreneur who treats his own body as a measured experiment, following a strict daily routine of exercise, early sleep, plant-heavy eating and many tests, and sharing the results publicly.

In short

  • About 150 min moderate cardio plus intervals a week
  • Fixed early bedtime, screens off an hour before
  • Vegetables, legumes, berries and olive oil daily
Build my plan in Johnson’s style
Words explained (10)
Zone 2
Steady cardio at a pace where you can still talk in full sentences, but not sing.
Intervals
Short hard efforts with easy recovery in between, such as 30 seconds fast, 90 seconds slow.
Loaded carry
Walking while holding something heavy, like shopping bags or dumbbells.
Mobility
Moving your joints freely through their full range.
Creatine
A well-studied supplement that supports strength and muscle.
Omega-3 (EPA, DHA)
Healthy fats found mostly in oily fish such as salmon, herring and sardines.
Fibre
The part of plant foods you don't digest. It feeds healthy gut bacteria and keeps you full.
Time-restricted eating
Eating all your meals within a set window of the day, for example 8am to 6pm.
Glucose
Blood sugar.
Rapamycin, metformin
Prescription drugs that some experts take hoping to slow ageing. Not proven for that, and never part of your plan.

At a glance

Strength 30%Easy cardio 40%Intervals 20%Mobility & stability 10%

Training focus: our estimate from what they recommend.

Sleep-first, measure everything
Signature habit
~130 g a day
Protein
Measure everything
Training style
Mixed
Overall evidence

Background

Johnson studied international studies at Brigham Young University and later earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In 2007 he founded Braintree, an online payments company, which bought Venmo in 2012 and was sold to PayPal in 2013 for about 800 million US dollars.

He then started the OS Fund, a venture fund, in 2014, and the brain-technology company Kernel in 2016, putting his own money into both. Kernel built helmet-like devices that record brain activity.

In 2021 he announced Project Blueprint, a self-experiment aimed at slowing his biological ageing using a large team, frequent tests and a fixed daily routine. Blueprint later became a company selling foods, supplements and other products based on his routine. He publishes his protocol free online and promotes a wider 'Don't Die' message through a book, an app and social media.

Known for

  • The Blueprint daily protocol
  • Very early bedtime and sleep-first routine
  • Publishing his own biomarker and 'speed of ageing' results
  • The 'Don't Die' slogan
  • Trying experimental therapies on himself
  1. 2007Founded Braintree, an online payments company
  2. 2013Braintree acquired by PayPal for about $800 million
  3. 2016Founded Kernel, a brain-recording technology company
  4. 2021Announced Project Blueprint, his anti-ageing self-experiment
  5. 2023Blueprint published the book Don't Die
  6. 2024Stopped taking rapamycin, citing side effects
  7. 2025Netflix released the documentary Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever

Core ideas

  1. Ageing can be measured, and a daily routine should be judged by what it does to measurable markers.
  2. Sleep is treated as the foundation that every other habit is built around.
  3. Every calorie should earn its place, so the diet is built from nutrient-dense whole foods with a mild calorie deficit.
  4. Decisions about health should be handed to data and a fixed system rather than to willpower in the moment.
  5. Daily exercise that mixes strength, cardio, intervals, balance and flexibility is non-negotiable.
  6. He describes himself as running an experiment on one person and says it is not medical advice for others.

How Johnson lives

He publishes his routine in detail on his free protocol page. It centres on an early, fixed sleep schedule, a 60–90 minute morning workout and all meals eaten before about noon.

~6 h
exercise a week (his stated target)
2,250
kcal a day (his stated intake)
130 g
protein a day (his stated intake)
8:30 pm
in bed (his stated bedtime)
  1. Early morningWakes around 4:30 am and gets bright light (about 10,000 lux) for a few minutes
  2. MorningDrinks a supplement mix with creatine, then a breakfast of protein powder, nuts, berries, collagen and olive oil
  3. 6 amExercises for 60–90 minutes, covering balance, flexibility, strength and cardio
  4. DaytimeTakes 2–3 minutes of light movement every 30 minutes, plus two 10-minute walks
  5. Late morning to noonEats lentils, vegetables, olive oil and a sweet potato bowl, with the last meal at about noon
  6. EveningScreens off an hour before bed, dim red or amber light, a wind-down routine, and in bed by about 8:30 pm

The protocol

Training

  • About 150 minutes a week of moderate cardio (Zone 2, a pace where you can still talk)Strong evidence
  • About 75 minutes a week of vigorous work such as high-intensity intervalsStrong evidence
  • Strength training 3 times a weekStrong evidence
  • Balance, flexibility and mobility work included in the daily sessionSome evidence
  • 2–3 minutes of light movement every 30 minutes of sitting, plus two 10-minute walks a daySome evidence
  • He says even 20 minutes of exercise a day is worthwhile for people starting outNote

Go deeper: Strength (Brad Schoenfeld) · Heart & fitness (Benjamin Levine, Martin Gibala) · Mobility & balance (Mike Fitch, Jules Mitchell)

Eating

  • About 2,250 kcal a day, which he describes as roughly 10% below his energy needsSome evidence
  • About 130 g protein a day, much of it from plant foods, protein powders and collagenPersonal habit
  • Lots of vegetables, legumes (black lentils, chickpeas), berries, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil (about 1 tbsp per meal)Strong evidence
  • All food eaten between about 5:30 am and noonPersonal habit
  • Stops drinking fluids at about 4 pm to avoid waking at nightPersonal habit
  • Follows no named diet; he says he avoids labels such as vegan or ketoNote

Go deeper: Eating (Tim Spector, Chris van Tulleken)

Supplements

  • Creatine, 7.5 g a day in totalSome evidence
  • Omega-3 (EPA/DHA), 800 mg a daySome evidence
  • Fibre-type prebiotics (inulin, galacto-oligosaccharides, arabinogalactan) in his morning drinkPersonal habit
  • Ashwagandha and rhodiolaPersonal habit
  • Blueprint's own multi-ingredient capsules and antioxidant softgelsPersonal habit
  • Collagen powder; he suggests 20–30 g a day for skin and hairPersonal habit

Sleep & recovery

  • Fixed early schedule: in bed about 8:30 pm, up about 4:30 amStrong evidence
  • Screens off and a 60-minute wind-down before bedSome evidence
  • No caffeine for 8–10 hours before sleepSome evidence
  • Bright light soon after waking and dim red or amber light in the eveningSome evidence
  • Dry sauna at about 79 °C for 20 minutes dailySome evidence
  • Tracks sleep with a wearable and aims for a very low resting heart rate before sleepPersonal habit

Go deeper: Sleep (Matthew Walker, Colleen Carney)

Stress & mind

  • Uses a fixed routine so daily health choices do not depend on willpowerPersonal habit
  • Breathwork or reading as part of the evening wind-downSome evidence

Go deeper: Stress & connection (Elissa Epel, Robert Waldinger)

Strong evidence = trials or large studies · Some evidence = smaller or observational studies · Personal habit = their own choice, little evidence · Doctor only = prescription or blood-test dosing, never in your plan.

Where Johnson changed course

He took rapamycin for several years but said in September 2024 that he had stopped, citing skin infections, higher blood sugar and lipids and a raised resting heart rate. In 2023 he also dropped young-donor plasma exchanges after saying his tests showed no benefit.

Their best-known claims, fact-checked

Unproven

His routine has slowed his rate of ageing and reversed his biological age by several years.

These figures come from epigenetic clocks and biomarker comparisons on one person. Experts note the clocks vary and are not yet proven to show that a treatment adds years of life.

Lifespan.io (Arkadi Mazin), 2023, citing Steve Horvath and Morgan Levine

Unproven

Rapamycin can be taken to slow ageing in healthy people.

Rapamycin extends life in mice, but human evidence is limited. Johnson stopped it in 2024, citing skin infections, higher glucose and lipids and a raised heart rate.

Scientific American, 2026

Not supported

Plasma from young donors can rejuvenate an older body.

Johnson himself reported no benefit and stopped. The FDA has warned that young-plasma infusions have no proven benefit and may carry risks.

Fortune, 2023 (biochemist Charles Brenner); US FDA, 2019

Supported

About 6 hours a week of mixed exercise lowers the risk of dying early.

Large studies show clearly lower death rates at 150 minutes a week of activity and more, with further benefit at higher amounts.

Arem et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015

Partly supported

Regular sauna use protects the heart and lowers death risk.

A large Finnish study linked frequent sauna use to lower heart and overall death rates, but it was observational and included only middle-aged Finnish men.

Laukkanen et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015

Partly supported

Eating slightly fewer calories slows ageing.

The CALERIE trial found moderate calorie restriction slowed a pace-of-ageing measure by a few per cent over two years, but no trial has shown longer human life.

Waziry et al., Nature Aging, 2023

Commercial ties: Johnson founded Blueprint, which sells foods, olive oil, protein products, supplements, skincare, haircare and testing services based on his routine. Many items in his published protocol are Blueprint products.

Johnson’s style in your plan

Choose “Follow one expert” and we keep this balance of training and the methods above, then fit them to your age, your available time and your health screen.

What goes into your plan

  • Aim for about 150 minutes of moderate cardio and some vigorous intervals each week, plus strength training 2–3 times a week
  • Break up sitting with a few minutes of light movement every half hour and take short daily walks
  • Build meals around vegetables, beans or lentils, berries, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil
  • Keep a fixed sleep schedule, turn screens off an hour before bed and stop caffeine 8–10 hours before sleep
  • Get daylight or bright light soon after waking
  • Consider creatine (about 3–5 g a day) alongside strength training, after checking with a doctor if you have kidney problems

What we leave out, and why

  • Prescription drugs such as metformin, empagliflozin, acarbose, tadalafil, oral minoxidil and cholesterol-lowering injections: medical, only with a doctor for a diagnosed condition
  • Rapamycin: a prescription immune-suppressing drug, unproven for ageing in humans and dropped by Johnson himself because of side effects
  • Young-donor plasma exchange: no proven benefit, FDA warning, and Johnson reported no effect
  • Follistatin gene therapy, stem-cell joint injections and Cerebrolysin injections: experimental medical procedures with no proven anti-ageing benefit
  • Hyperbaric oxygen and shockwave therapy for longevity: medical treatments that need specialist supervision and lack evidence for healthy ageing
  • Stopping all fluids at 4 pm and eating only before noon: risk of dehydration and too little food for many adults over 50
Build my plan in Johnson’s styleCompare with other experts

The research behind it

How much exercise lowers death risk

Adults who did at least the recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity a week had clearly lower death rates, with extra benefit up to about three to five times that amount.

Arem et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015

Sauna use and heart health

Finnish men who used a sauna more often had lower rates of fatal heart disease and death from any cause, although the study cannot prove cause and effect.

Laukkanen et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015

Mild calorie restriction and pace of ageing

In the CALERIE trial, two years of moderate calorie restriction slowed an epigenetic pace-of-ageing measure (DunedinPACE) by about 2–3% in healthy adults.

Waziry et al., Nature Aging, 2023

Olive oil and heart disease

A Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts led to fewer heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths than a lower-fat control diet.

Estruch et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2018

Honest about weak spots

  • His results come from one person doing many things at once, so it is hard to tell which part works. Scientists including Nir Barzilai (Nature, republished by Scientific American, 2026), who said science can't rest on a single person, and Morgan Levine (quoted in Vice, reported by Lifespan.io, 2023) have made this point.
  • His 'speed of ageing' and biological-age figures come from epigenetic clocks and biomarker comparisons. Researchers such as Steve Horvath have noted that some of these clocks predict health outcomes less well than others, and none is yet proven as a measure of whether a treatment extends life.
  • Several therapies he has tried, such as young-donor plasma and rapamycin, he later dropped himself. The US FDA has warned that young-plasma infusions have no proven benefit and may cause harm.
  • He sells many of the foods and supplements in his own routine through Blueprint, which is a commercial conflict of interest.

Where experts disagree

  • Eating window: Johnson eats all his food before about noon. Peter Attia is sceptical of time-restricted eating as a general tool.
  • Protein: Johnson eats about 130 g of protein a day. Valter Longo suggests about 0.8 g per kg of body weight, mainly from plants, for most adults under 65.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us at hello@lifelongmethod.com and we’ll correct it.

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