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The Hidden Cost Of Being “Perfectly Healthy” (& What To Do Instead)
For a while, Jason Karp was doing everything “right.” He had the schedule, the wearables, the supplements, the precision of a military operation. Wake at 6 a.m., journal, electrolytes, review the day, perfectly timed meals, perfectly optimized sleep. And still, something felt off.
“I was so insanely neurotic,” Karp admits on the mindbodygreen podcast. “If I didn’t get to bed by 10, I’d look at my sleep score and think, ‘Today’s going to be a bad day.’” As a former hedge fund manager turned health entrepreneur, Karp was no stranger to high performance, but his foray into peak wellness started to feel like a trap.
“I believe we all need to have flexibility in our lives,” he says. “We need to have some grace for just the way life goes.”
It wasn’t the tech or tools themselves that were the problem; it was the stress they added. Karp began to realize that the constant pursuit of perfection was, in itself, a form of chronic stress. And it was harming his health more than helping.
The invisible weight of stress
We tend to think of stress as being late for a meeting or having a rough week at work. But Karp is talking about something subtler and more pervasive, what he calls a constant state of hypervigilance. It's the mental load of optimizing every second, checking every metric, fearing every deviation from your plan.
In fact, he believes chronic stress is one of the most underestimated drivers of disease. The impact isn’t just psychological. It shapes how your body functions.
“If you take two identical twins and subject one to chronic stress and the other to rest and joy, and feed them the same food, the way their bodies metabolize it will be completely different,” he explains.
Karp doesn’t dismiss the value of nutrition or fitness—in fact, he built his company, HumanCo, on high standards for food and ingredients. But without addressing the underlying stressors? “You could be on the strictest, most perfect diet imaginable, and you’re still not going to have optimal health.”
So what does real health look like?
It’s surprisingly simple. According to Karp, the most impactful health tools are often free: sunlight, movement, community, connection. Not fancy, not Instagram-worthy, but profoundly healing.
“Almost everything you need to live a healthy, vibrant life is free,” he says. “You don’t need biohacks. You need to live like a human.”
Citing research1, Karp points out that loneliness is a stronger predictor of early death than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And yet, unlike cigarettes, there’s no warning label for isolation.
“Being with each other has incredible health benefits,” he says. “And the more time I spend in places like Europe, the more I see this in practice. People are happier, less stressed, and they live longer—not because of what they avoid, but because of what they prioritize.”
The takeaway
Karp’s message isn’t about rejecting health tools or ignoring science. It’s about rebalancing the equation. Health isn’t just about what you track or cut out—it’s about how you feel and function day to day. It’s about creating a life full of ease, joy, and a deeper connection to yourself and others.