8 Daily Habits That Improve Mitochondrial Health

When thinking about your health and wellness, you might picture your body as a bustling metropolis with you as the mayor. Your organs are like the neighborhoods, and your cells are like the individual buildings and corporations. But, how much does the average mayor really know about all the different operations happening in every single building and company across their city? Great leaders must rely on responsible executive officers to run the buildings and companies that make up a busy city. So, who are the executive officers of your human body?

Your mitochondria.

You probably remember mitochondria as the “powerhouses” of the cell, but you can also think of them as the CEOs of all the cells that make you, well, you. Mitochondria have many functions, including helping produce adenosine triphosphate^1,2 (ATP), the cellular energy your body uses to power many processes. Healthy mitochondrial function is therefore an important part of cellular energy production.

Like so many parts of the body, mitochondrial function can change with age. At the same time, everyday factors such as insufficient sleep, stress, and dietary patterns can influence the balance between cellular demands and the body’s ability to maintain healthy mitochondrial function. Thankfully, supporting your mitochondria doesn’t require an extreme routine or complete lifestyle overhaul. A few tweaks to your daily habits can help you better support your cellular health, and it can be as easy as trying one new habit each week, month, or whenever you feel comfortable.

Here’s a checklist of eight helpful habits to get you started!

Habit #1: Move Your Body Every Day

Mitochondria are big fans of a little movement. Regular physical activity is one of the most well-studied lifestyle approaches for supporting mitochondrial health, and exercise even stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis (the creation of new mitochondria) while helping with existing mitochondrial efficiency and cellular energy production.

Supporting mitochondrial function through physical activity doesn’t require marathon training or competition bodybuilding (thank goodness). Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, gardening, and other forms of moderate movement can all help you stay active. A varied routine that includes aerobic activity, strength training, balance work, and stretching can support your overall fitness while keeping things fresh and fun.

If you can, aim for around 20-30 minutes of moderate activity on most days. If that feels like too much, break your periods of activity into smaller chunks. A 10-minute walk after breakfast and another after dinner still gets you moving and helps form healthy routines.

Find more exciting and easy ways to get moving with our Active Lifestyle page.

Habit #2: Prioritize Quality Sleep

Sleeptime is maintenance time. Nightly rest gives your body an important opportunity to regulate, restore, and carry out processes involved in cellular maintenance. Research has also linked inadequate sleep with changes in oxidative balance, leading to oxidative stress, which may affect mitochondrial function over time.³

Free Radicals, Antioxidants, and Oxidative Stress

Free radicals are unstable molecules that steal electrons from other cells to balance themselves, while antioxidants are molecules that donate electrons to neutralize free radicals. When there aren’t enough antioxidants to keep free radicals in check, oxidative stress occurs. Some free radicals are a normal byproduct of cellular metabolism and everyday living, but unchecked oxidative stress can damage cells over time. Poor sleep is merely one factor that contributes to oxidative stress, but it’s often one of the easiest to impact.

The average adult should aim for roughly seven to eight hours of sleep per night (nine or more can potentially have negative effects), keep sleep and wake times relatively consistent, and avoid screens before bed. Even a few small tweaks in your nighttime routine can help you establish a more supportive rhythm.

Remember, just because your mitochondria never stop working, that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve some rest!

Habit #3: Get More Morning Sunlight

Some health habits can be as simple as stepping outside.

Morning light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, the internal timing system that influences the sleep-wake cycle. Because healthy sleep is an important part of overall cellular maintenance, getting consistent morning light can support mitochondrial health indirectly by helping reinforce healthy sleep patterns.

Natural sunlight also contributes to vitamin D production, and vitamin D has been studied in connection with mitochondrial health. How much vitamin D your body produces from sunlight varies based on factors such as season, geographic location, skin pigmentation, and sunscreen use.

Try spending 10-15 minutes outdoors in the morning when practical. Take your coffee onto the porch, walk around the block, or simply pop outside before starting your day. Better yet, combine this habit with another one, and take a morning walk, listen to a guided meditation or podcast while sitting outside, or use those few minutes to breathe and reset.

Habit #4: Manage Stress Before It Manages You

Stress is vilified, but it’s part of being human. Our goal isn’t to eliminate every stressful moment (wouldn’t that eliminate the act of truly living?), but rather to give the body regular opportunities to reset and recover.

When stress is prolonged, the body’s stress response can affect multiple systems, including cardiovascular, metabolic, and nervous-system function. Ongoing psychological stress has also been associated with changes in oxidative balance. That’s why stress management belongs on your mitochondrial health checklist.

To help find calm before, during, or after a stressful situation, you might try box breathing, meditation, short mindfulness breaks, journaling, connecting with others, taking a walk, comforting hobbies, or other stress-reduction techniques. An hour of meditation isn’t required to find your calm, and even a few deep breaths can have a noticeable benefit.

An hour of meditation isn’t required to find your calm, and even a few deep breaths can have a noticeable benefit.

Read More: Easy Stress Management Tips

Habit #5: Pack Antioxidants in Your Diet

Your mitochondria are busy producing cellular energy all day, and that process naturally generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), including free radicals as a byproduct⁴. Antioxidants help support the body’s ability to maintain a healthy balance of free radicals and prevent oxidative stress. This is why dietitians and nutrition experts are always singing the praises of antioxidant-rich foods.

One of the easiest ways to support your antioxidant intake is to add more colorful, nutrient-dense, whole foods to meals. Berries, leafy greens, bright vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and fatty fish can all contribute important nutrients to a balanced diet. Try loading up on these foods rather than focusing on what you need to eliminate (for example, add berries to breakfast, greens to lunch, or a handful of nuts as a snack instead of trying to overhaul your entire diet at once). For some people, supplementation may also complement (but not replace) dietary intake when nutritional needs are difficult to meet through food alone.

These foods can all contribute important nutrients to a balanced diet. Try loading up on these foods rather than focusing on what you need to eliminate (for example, add berries to breakfast, greens to lunch, or a handful of nuts as a snack instead of trying to overhaul your entire diet at once). For some people, supplementation may also complement (but not replace) dietary intake when nutritional needs are difficult to meet through food alone.

Find more healthy, flavorful food tips with our Eating Well Hub.

Habit #6: Limit Processed Foods

You don’t have to swear off tasty treats forever to support your mitochondria. The real goal is to make whole and minimally processed foods the foundation of your diet. Diets high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs), particularly those with high amounts of added sugars, refined grains, and certain fats, have been associated with oxidative stress.

Unfortunately, in our current society, UPFs make up 55% of the average American’s daily caloric intake and comprise a significant portion of the national food supply, making them difficult to avoid. In lieu of growing all your own food, you can make simple swaps where you’re able. Choose whole fruit instead of fruit-flavored snacks, whole grains instead of refined grains, and nutrient-rich foods in place of highly processed options. Each choice can help improve your diet without forcing you to abandon your entire routine.

Habit #7: Stay Hydrated

Water may not get as much attention as exercise or nutrition, but it’s foundational to normal cellular and metabolic processes, including those involved in cellular energy production. Staying hydrated also supports digestion, nutrient absorption, and other essential functions throughout the body. Need we remind you that you’re actually about 60% water?

An individual’s fluid needs vary based on factors such as body size, activity level, climate, and diet, so there’s no single amount that works for everyone. Keep a reusable water bottle handy, drink regularly throughout the day, and incorporate liquid-rich foods such as cucumber, watermelon, and soups to help support your body’s basic needs from the inside out.

Read More: 5 Ways to Get More Water Every Day

Habit #8: Supplement With Kaneka Ubiquinol^®

You can eat well, move regularly, sleep like a log, and conquer all stress, but you’ll still be forgetting a piece of the cellular energy puzzle: the nutrients your body naturally uses to support these processes. Just like any business needs both workers and electricity to run, your body needs the raw cellular energy your mitochondria can turn into viable power.

Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is a naturally occurring compound that exists in two primary forms: ubiquinone, the oxidized form, and ubiquinol, the active antioxidant form. Your body converts ubiquinone to ubiquinol and back to ubiquinone as part of the cellular energy production process, but its ability to produce CoQ10 and ubiquinol, and maintain adequate levels, can decline with age.^5,6 Ubiquinol remains just as important with age, since it both promotes the mitochondrial processes involved in cellular energy production and helps support the body’s defenses against oxidative stress.

Unlike other antioxidants, foods are quite low in CoQ10 and ubiquinol, meaning most adults cannot maintain adequate CoQ10 and ubiquinol levels through diet alone. This makes supplementation necessary to replenish ubiquinol levels that decrease with age.⁷ A daily ubiquinol supplement can help protect cellular health, maintain the efficiency of cellular energy production, and protect against an excess of free radicals. That’s where Kaneka Ubiquinol^® can help.

Kaneka Ubiquinol^® is the globally-trusted source for the active antioxidant form of CoQ10. It is bioidentical to the ubiquinol naturally produced by the human body. Kaneka Ubiquinol^® is also 3x better absorbed than conventional CoQ10 supplements.

Learn more about how to get started with Kaneka Ubiquinol^® with our free Ubiquinol Buyer’s Guide.

Small Habits, Big Impact on Your Mitochondrial Health

The science of the mitochondria is the result of almost two centuries of biology, but supporting these cellular leaders can be remarkably ordinary. Small steps as simple as taking a walk instead of staying at your desk, getting outside with your morning coffee, adding berries to breakfast, or giving yourself permission to go to bed a little earlier can all contribute to greater overall health. No vows are required, and you don’t even have to abandon your favorite foods or give up lazy Sundays on the couch. All you have to do is create more consistent opportunities for your body to support healthy mitochondrial function.

Don’t try to change everything tomorrow or cause yourself undue stress trying to make a difference. Pick one or two habits that feel realistic, make them part of your routine, and build from there.

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