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You’re rushing through the airport, late for a flight that you can’t miss. Turning the corner to sprint down the terminal, you find a moving sidewalk spanning the length of the hallway. As you hop on, your normal running pace doubles or triples as it combines with the forward momentum of the walkway. It’s like you’re moving in fast-forward, except you’re not exerting a single ounce of extra effort.

Until May 6, 1954, everyone considered running a four-minute mile impossible. This obstacle even had a name: the four-minute barrier. But thanks to British runner Roger Bannister and 1,400 other incredibly talented athletes following his example, the four-minute mile has now become the professional standard.

Check the greeting card aisle at any Hallmark or grocery store, and what do you find on the cards designated for 40th and 50th birthdays? “How to Tell When You’re Getting Old…” “Better to Be Over the Hill Than Buried Under It!” “Here Lies My Youth, R.I.P.” Birthday card after birthday card, perpetuating the myth that you have to “get old” and “feel old” after 50.

We’re living in the information age, where almost any question can be answered with a split-second Google search. Except for questions about your own body and health. Those answers are more elusive, and not even Google can tell you how your blood sugar levels impacted your quality of sleep last night. Until now.

  I don’t often begin a medical discussion by contemplating philosophies, but we can’t separate the emotional experience of being a human from the practice…