A day in the life of acupuncturist Johnny Childs

I wake up at about 6.30am without an alarm , but I set one in case of emergency.

My cat often wakes me up by licking my face.

The first thing I do is hydrate.

I have a pint of water because the morning is when we are most dehydrated.

Once I’ve done that, I see my two dogs, Axel and Prince.

They’re 13 and 14 years old, so I try to play with them and keep them active and healthy.

I used to take about 20 supplement pills in the morning but I have got that down to eight
I used to be a get-up-and-go person, but now that I’m in my forties I prefer a slower morning.

I like to have a “sitting” — I don’t call it meditating because that puts pressure on it.

I sit in a meditative position and focus on breathing and emptying the mind.

It’s all about presence.

I used to take loads of supplements , but now I’ve honed it down after doing a lot of research.

I take vitamins D3, K2 and E, as well as an omega three and a probiotic.

I used to be the kind of person who takes about 20 pills in the morning, but I’ve got it down to eight.

After years of trying different things, I know how to eat intuitively now.

I can get obsessive about various plans, whether food or fitness, so I like to keep things simple.

Sometimes I’ll have a craving for dark greens, or need something high in protein .

I have a PT who I see maybe twice a week.

I’ve been seeing him for 12 years, so I joke that he’s my longest-standing relationship.

He’s good at responding to my mood and knows that if I’m exhausted, I don’t need someone shouting at me.

He’s a bit like my therapist too.

I used to be a martial artist years ago and even though I don’t do it anymore, flexibility is still key.

I like to do random stretches throughout the day between patient appointments.

I don’t want to become stagnant.

A few months ago I came across an adult gymnastics class in north London and it was so much fun.

I’d like to get back into that and enjoy finding different ways to keep moving, as the gym can be quite repetitive.

I don’t use wearable tech because I can easily become obsessed and overly reliant on that kind of data.

For me, an Oura Ring or something similar would feel like extra admin.

I’m not particularly tech-savvy, so I base my progress on how I feel, as opposed to what data is telling me.

I have five-element acupuncture once every six weeks , which keeps me in check.

I also do things like walking the dogs, being around trees and listening to birdsong.

That brings me back into the present moment and I can feel stress dissipating.

The £300 hydrogen water bottle that promises to transform your life
Reverend Richard Coles reveals how he lost 15% of his bodyweight
We need urgent action now to stop losing workers to ill health
Discover a hidden island paradise in the Indian Ocean
Over the past couple of months, I’ve developed a nice habit of having friends over who love cooking.

Or we’ll go to a pub around the corner from us and take the dogs.

There’s a great sense of community around where I live in Marylebone.

I might also watch something in the evening, and I am a 1990s man at heart, so Sex and the City is my kind of thing.

I try to keep life admin and work admin at the clinic and always shut the laptop at about 10pm.

I try to be asleep by 11pm.

In the philosophy of five-element acupuncture, each organ has a time of day when it functions the best.

The gall bladder’s time of day is 11pm and that’s our “decision maker” organ.

So if you’re asleep by 11pm, all the decisions you’re thinking about come together while you’re asleep.

It’s how I bio-hack the “owner’s manual” nature has installed in me.

Johnny Childs practises Five-Element acupuncture at the Kite Clinic and Liberty; johnnychilds.co.uk