I go to bed at 8.30pm and sleep in a cage: One woman’s quest to live to 150

Kayla Barnes-Lentz, 33, says she has reduced her biological age by a decade – now she’s sharing her secrets so others can do the same

If you are an adult living in the UK today, chances are you will live to be around 80 (the average life expectancy is 79 for men and 83 for women), while children born today may live to 90. But at least one longevity expert based in Los Angeles plans to live to 150 – a potential increase of six decades – with the help of her biohack lifestyle. 
Kayla Barnes-Lentz, 33, is a co-founder of LYV The Wellness Space, a “biology upgrading clinic”, and creator and host of the Longevity Optimization podcast. She has designed a longevity protocol specifically for women. It involves going to bed at 8.30pm each night to ensure maximum deep sleep, as well as getting in 15,000 daily steps, working in 90-minute blocks and finding time for infrared saunas and cool plunges. Other hacks include using oxygen treatment to reduce oxidative stress and taking 20 supplements a day. 
Barnes-Lentz says she wants to live to 150 to ensure she has as many years as possible with her husband Warren Lentz, 36, who also signs up to her way of living. And she also wants to ensure her work has the biggest possible impact.
“I’m excited to have started this longevity journey so early on – and already my biological age is about a decade younger than I actually am,” she says. “I’m aiming to reach 150. There are so many technologies and advancements that are coming, especially with AI, and I think that living so healthily will mean I will be able to partake in these advancements during my lifespan.”While she realises her routine may seem “a lot” to some people, she says she feels “blessed” to live this life. “When I think of the state of health at the moment, we are in a health crisis; our system is not built to optimise health,” she adds. “Many people feel constantly tired and don’t know what it’s like to wake up bursting with energy. It’s exciting to see small lifestyle changes that can make such a difference.
Barnes-Lentz forms part of a growing industry dedicated to longevity, anti-ageing and even the pursuit of living forever. In recent years, the field has seen major investment from billionaires such as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman. 
The longevity and anti-senescence therapy market (designed to combat age-related disease) reached $27.1 billion (£20.8 billion) last year and is predicted to reach $44.9 billion (£34.5 billion) by 2031, according to market research firm InsightAce Analytic. Other anti-ageing biohackers include LA multimillionaire Bryan Johnson, 47, who claims death is no longer inevitable. He follows a “don’t die plan,” costing more than £1 million a year. 
Here, Barnes-Lentz shares her daily routine to help her – and other women – reach that 150-year goal. 
I wake naturally at around five and step on to my biometric smart scale, which measures my weight, fat mass, bone density (this is only an estimate; I have a proper DEXA scan annually) and water mass (the total amount of water in my body). It gives me a pretty good idea of where my body is at. My smart Oura ring also reveals my sleep metrics and where I am in my menstrual cycle. I typically have incredibly high sleep scores, such as very deep REM with no wake-ups. 
Afterwards, I begin my oral health routine. The oral microbiome is incredibly important for overall health. I scrape my tongue free from bacteria with a metal tongue scraper and, about three times a week, I do some coconut or ozone oil pulling, which means you swish oil around to make your teeth whiter and balance oral bacteria. Once a year, I also do platelet-rich fibrin injections. This is where my blood is extracted and spun, and then injected back in my gums to reduce gum inflammation and promote tissue regeneration. 
Next, I hook myself up to my Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy device. This reduces inflammation, which is known to be the cause of a range of chronic diseases and ageing. The therapy also improves my heart rate variability, which is the timing between heartbeats, and I find it very grounding. 
Typically, I will do some breath work, prayer or meditation. I then have a quick protein coffee (a drink that combines coffee with protein powder), which gives me about 20g of protein. Then, I head to my gym for a workout. I do a mix of strength and cardiovascular training. Once the sun is up, I head outside to get sunlight into my eyes, which really signals to the body and brain to wake up. This is very important.
Most days I have a sauna session, which promotes detoxification and blood flow. And three times a week, I use a sauna with red light therapy for about 15 minutes. This is good for mitochondrial health, which improves energy levels. It feels amazing. 
For my meals, I only eat organic and regeneratively-grown foods (an approach to farming that aims to improve soil health). For breakfast, I typically eat organic eggs and then fermented foods, such as carrots, and also a salad. I aim to eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight, so I eat around 120g protein a day.
I might follow that with a small coconut yogurt with dark berries. You want to have the protein and healthy fats prior to eating anything with sugars so you maintain more stable blood sugar. I only drink spring water out of a glass to avoid microplastics.
Now it’s vitamin time. I take around 20 supplements a day, dictated by my quarterly bloods. I also take longevity supplements, such as NMN, which helps the body produce energy and power, and spermidine, which is important for cell growth. 
Once a week, I may do other biometrics, such as doing lung health testing with a spirometer, which measures the amount of air you can breathe out in one second. I also do my blood pressure and grip strength; poor grip strength is linked to a range of diseases. 
I try to fit work into 90-minute segments. If it is desk-based, I keep my phone on the other side of the room so I don’t get distracted. I will do breathing exercises to reduce stress and also use a NanoVi device – a biohacking tool with a nasal cannula  – to reduce oxidative stress and repair everyday cell damage. I also use an Anthros chair which is good for posture. 
If my work involves a call, I will do it while out walking in the Los Feliz hills where I live. This is really good for the cardiovascular system and I typically get in about 15,000 steps a day. 
When back, I then do a cold plunge for a midday energy burst. I have my bath at around 55F (13C), so it is not an ice bath. I feel this might be a better temperature for women, and I only do it during the first half of my menstrual cycle as I’m not that resilient in the second half.
I used to do much colder plunges, but a lot of these protocols were designed by men for men, and I am trying to optimise health for women. Sometimes I will also take time out to focus on my skin longevity, such as having microneedling or laser therapy. 
I spend a few minutes on a whole body vibration plate, which helps the lymphatic flow detox the whole body and improves bone density. Then I spend an hour a day in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Research shows this increase in air pressure can improve blood flow and oxygenate cells. Personally, I also feel it gives better cognitive function and focus. 
After working for another hour or so, I then start preparing dinner. My husband gets home at about 5pm or 5.30pm and we often eat straight away. It’s good to eat early, as you want to give your body three to four hours to digest your food before you go to bed so that it’s easier for it to get into the deepest stages of sleep. 
We eat a variety of food, so sometimes it’s wild caught salmon or scallops or grass fed rib-eye with a side of greens, avocado or roasted tomato. I mainly buy my food from a healthy LA store called Erewhon. Sometimes I make a bone broth and a few times a week, we eat a smart carb, such as a roasted sweet potato. 
My husband and I then go on a 50-minute walk in the hills without our phones. It’s great for blood sugar levels, but it also allows us a chance to catch up. The walk reduces stress, as it’s nature bathing. I know community is a key pillar of longevity, so every Thursday my girlfriends and I also get together. They mostly come to my house for dinner; friends know that I eat early and don’t eat out, so they fit in with me. And I generally see other peers once a week at a health and longevity event. 
My husband and I watch the sunset together. This is good for your circadian rhythm as it is giving our bodies advice as to what time it is. At this point, we switch all our lights to “red”. Blue light exposure can block melatonin, which is needed for good sleep, and the red light helps put us in a parasympathetic state where we are calm and relaxed. 
My husband and I will usually wind down with reading or watching a relaxing show together. I didn’t used to have a TV in the house, but he is in the entertainment industry so likes to stay up to speed on things. 
This is a hard stop. We go to bed and are asleep by 9pm at the latest. This gives us deeper and better sleep. We also sleep in a Faraday cage, which is an enclosure used to block some electromagnetic fields. Our bedroom is completely blacked out to the point I can’t see my hand. We also have multiple air filters throughout the house, and two in our bedroom to maintain air quality. We use an organic mattress with a grounding pad on it, which helps reduce inflammation. This ensures I get an excellent night’s sleep, which sets me up for the next day.