Well, that’s exactly what I am doing.

If you’ve read some of my previous articles you may know that I have meandered through various topics concerning health and well-being. I believe we work best when we stay present and enjoy life, keeping things simple, respecting nature (including our own), and avoiding anything over-engineered or overly processed.

I have tried to simplify exercise (which can get complicated) by studying it and working out what the key functional movements we need are (hence, my minimal workout), nudged my diet toward whole foods and a more plant-based diet (if not 100%) and tried to understand injuries and illness without overcomplicating any of it.

Again and again, the same themes come up: sleep well, move like a human, and nourish for fuel rather than comfort. In a world of abundance, that last one matters more than ever.

Across all my experiments and note-taking, three numbers stand out as enough to give me a clear picture of my health: Sleep Score, Vascular Age, and Body Fat %. When these are in a good place, the rest usually is too. Right now mine, taken together, are “OK” — one of them is stubborn — but the idea I think is a sound one: It is my opinion that these 3 numbers already cover everything else I need to track to be healthy, hence the only 3 numbers I need to worry about. If these are good (i.e. all 3 of them), then I reckon my health is.

1) Sleep Score

If there’s a foundation, this is it. I’ve written recently about why sleep is non-negotiable. The short version: you can “catch up” on tiredness, but you don’t get back the lost deep, restorative work your body and brain were supposed to do. That’s why I aim for a sleep score of 95–100%. I don’t always hit it, but I steer everything else to help me get there: earlier wind-down, less late light, and no alcohol (even a tiny amount dents my score that night). When stress or blood pressure creep up, sleep slips first — so this number is my early warning.

How? I track my Sleep Score with a very simple health watch though there are many devices these days that will give you a sleep score, there’s nothing particularly special about the one I use.

2) Vascular Age

This is the hardest one for me to shift. I want my vascular age to be lower than my actual age; at the moment it hovers around it, sometimes a touch higher. It’s a simple read on arterial flexibility and long-term cardiovascular risk. In the modern world I described in this recent article: Humans — We Were Not Made For This World We Have Created, long sitting, little daylight, constant alerts, late screens — our baseline stress rises and our daily movement falls. Over time, that shows up in stiffer vessels. My counter is unglamorous but hopefully effective: regular walking, some strength work, occasional heart-raising effort, day-time light, and genuine wind-down in the evening. When this number improves, blood pressure should behave too.

How? I track Vascular Age with body scales (apparently with the scales I have it’s very accurate) – again there are lots of devices available these days that will tell you this.

3) Body Fat %

I don’t give the bathroom scale much power. Body Fat % tells me what I need to know. If fat is low and weight is a bit higher, it’s likely muscle — better metabolism, better mood, better protection from injury. If fat is high, a low weight doesn’t impress me. If my fat% is high, it doesn’t matter how low my weight is, it is an indicator that I am not in good health. So I track my fat%, not my weight. This number is farily good for me at the moment (already quite low); I’d like it a touch lower, but I’m not chasing it — I’m nudging it, patiently.

How? My body scales also tell me Fat% (apparently not so accurate but if they are out by a given amount at least I can track the trend and adjust). Again, many devices available that do this.

I still check blood pressure now and then, but if my sleep score and vascular age look good, BP tends to follow. The point of these three numbers is to keep a clear, honest picture of my health without drowning in data. They also guide gentle course-corrections: if sleep dips, I fix that before I worry about anything else; if fat % creeps up, I simplify meals and make sure I’m getting enough exercise. Don’t ask me about vascular age … I’m working on it but this is stubborn and (understandably) taking longer to improve.

Could your three be different? Possibly. If you have specific needs — glucose, HRV, step count, pain score — your set might change. But for most people, I suspect these three cover a lot of ground. Until strong evidence tells me I’m missing something, these are my three key numbers.