Chris Paul: The Unexpected Truth About Getting Older in the NBA

Paul notes that younger players have an abundance of hormones and can get away with less structured strength work, but after 35 (and especially at 40), 'the days you take off, the body, you know, you don't use it, you lose it.' He schedules his lifts before team practice, often arriving at the facility by 6:30 a.m. to get it done. This is part of his larger work-ethic mindset: you fall in love with the monotony, and the early morning grind is non-negotiable.

Paul describes his recovery as something he likes to vary precisely because so much of athletic life is monotonous—'I try to change things up.' What he values most is not just the physiological benefit but the mental space: the sauna or red light bed forces him to be without his phone, to just sit and daydream. He compares it to riding in the backseat of a car as a child, staring out the window and letting the mind wander. He believes this disconnection is rare in modern life and contributes to his on-court focus. He’s open to any technology that helps, having tried hyperbarics (even a home version) and contrast therapy, but he doesn’t overcomplicate it. The core is consistent investment in recovery as a discipline equal to practice.

Paul admits he rarely gets eight hours of sleep at night, so he strategically uses naps. He also applies sleep-science lessons to his home: he used to let his wife sleep with the TV on, but now insists it be off because any screen light or sound disrupts brain recovery. He pairs his napping with Oura ring tracking, which gives him a daily readiness score; after a great night's sleep, it once told him 'Bring it on,' and he went out and had a monster game. The nap is a non-negotiable appointment—doors closed, phone off, total darkness. He views this as a learnable skill that has paid off in his later career.

Mark Hyman, the host, created this program. He describes it as a short, sharp intervention that gives people a concrete experience of how food affects their symptoms. He brings it up in response to Chris Paul's discussion of food sensitivity testing and the dramatic changes he saw when he cleaned up his diet. Hyman notes that he's done group versions and that you can use Function Health before and after to see biomarkers improve. The concept is to make the invisible visible, both in how you feel and in lab data.

Paul learned that his wife’s habit of sleeping with the TV on was harming her sleep, so he now insists it be turned off. The Oura ring provides a daily score and readiness feedback; it once alerted him to elevated body temperature before COVID symptoms. He admits the ring sometimes tells him to wind down when he's about to play a high-stakes game, which makes him laugh, but he values the overall accountability. His wife, who slept with the TV due to anxiety from being home alone for years, has adjusted to dark, quiet sleep and likely benefits from improved rest.

Paul describes being at the top of his game early in his career and thinking, 'I ain’t got to change nothing.' But after two hamstring tears in critical playoff games with Houston, he felt he had to try something drastic. He went plant-based virtually overnight ('cold tofu') and within three days his nose started running uncontrollably, which he took as mucus leaving his body. He also looked back at photos from his New Orleans days and saw that his face was 'so much fuller' due to inflammation, even though he weighed less. He emphasizes that the body is 'amazing' and that too much of anything can be bad, but experimenting to find what works is essential. He connects this to the broader African-American experience: families often accept high blood pressure, diabetes, and gout as inevitable because 'my mom had it,' when in reality it’s the recipes and habits—sweet tea, fried chicken, processed food—that get passed down. He now views inflammation as the enemy of athletic performance and recovery, and sees food as the primary lever to control it. His shift not only reduced injuries but also improved his daily energy, mood, and on-court feel.

He shares that when he was a kid visiting his great-uncle in South Carolina, he saw the man’s foot hugely swollen from gout and later learned it was diet-related. He says the saying in his family was 'I got this because my mom had it,' but after learning about inflammation and gut health, he’s convinced that what’s passed down is recipes, not genes. He points to his own father: after simply cutting back on juices and drinking more water, his dad’s vital numbers improved so dramatically that the doctor asked what he’d been doing. His father called him crying because at his age he was losing friends to illness, and he saw it could be different. Paul also says he’s '0.00001% of my family that’s gotten the opportunity' to learn this, and he feels a responsibility to bring the information back. He emphasizes that many Black men avoid the doctor out of fear, but having data from something like Function Health gives them a non-intimidating on-ramp to take control. He is now trying to influence his crew back home with a group health challenge.

After Paul went plant-based and partnered with Just Egg, his father—just by being around that influence—made subtle changes like drinking more water and cutting back on sugary juices. On his 60th birthday, he went for a checkup, and the doctor asked what he was doing differently because his numbers had markedly improved. His father, overwhelmed, called Paul crying. Paul pulled over his car to take the call. He reflects that for his dad, it wasn’t just the numbers; it was the realization that he didn’t have to follow the same path as his peers who were getting sick and dying. Paul also mentions his wife’s Function Health results, noting that women’s tests require two blood draws (during and off their cycle), which highlighted the complexity of female health to him. He sees Function Health as a tool that gives people a dashboard for their health—like a bank account you check regularly—and believes information is king. He says the company is getting smarter at guiding people on what to do with their data, and at a dollar a day, it’s accessible to many.

His first test came back with 27 red and yellow foods—stuff he ate all the time. Each season, the whole team would get tested, and guys would compare results. On the plane, they’d carry little SnackWell cookies, and when the ingredient showed up on someone’s red list, they’d throw the cookies at that teammate as a joke. Over time, as his diet changed, the number of reactive foods dropped, which he sees as proof that healing the gut reduces food sensitivities. He now views this testing as a foundational tool that everyone should try, because you don’t know what you don’t know.