Let’s be honest: midlife often feels like a collision of exhaustion, chaos, and a creeping sense that you’re unraveling faster than you can hold it all together. The good news? It’s not just you. It’s physics.

That’s right. The same laws that govern falling apples, orbiting planets, and the slow heat death of the universe also explain why your muscles weaken when you stop moving, why clutter multiplies like gremlins in your kitchen, and why your inbox feels like an unsolvable crime scene.

And here’s the kicker: those same laws also point us toward solutions. Enter: the Radiant 5 — five foundations of health that are less about wellness trends and more about fighting back against the most relentless forces in the universe.

Let’s talk Newton. Let’s talk entropy. And let’s talk about how you can use both to reclaim some radiance in this second act of life.

Newton’s First Law: Inertia (a.k.a. Move It or Lose It)

You’ve heard it before: “A body at rest stays at rest, and a body in motion stays in motion.” That’s Newton’s First Law of Motion, also called the law of inertia.

On paper, it’s physics. In practice, it’s why sitting on the couch for “just one episode” somehow leads to three hours of Netflix, potato chips, and the distinct feeling that gravity is stronger than it used to be.

Now, technically, human behavior isn’t governed by physics equations alone — habits and psychology play a role too. But the metaphor holds: once momentum gets going, it’s easier to stay in motion; once stagnation sets in, it’s harder to restart. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world (Lally et al., Eur J Soc Psychol, 2010)

The law of inertia doesn’t play favorites. It rewards momentum and punishes stillness. Which is exactly why movement is one of the five foundations of the Radiant Five.

- Walk daily, and walking becomes easier.

- Skip movement for weeks, and suddenly getting off the floor feels like Olympic training.

Motion begets motion. Stagnation begets stagnation. Newton told us so back in 1687.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy (a.k.a. The Universal Slide Toward Chaos)

Now, onto the heavy hitter: the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In simple terms:

Entropy always increases.

That means energy in a closed system tends to spread out, moving from order to disorder. Ice cubes melt. Coffee cools. Cells age. Houses get messy. Bodies break down.

Strictly speaking, your body is not a closed system — it’s an open system, constantly importing energy through food, light, and air. But if you stop adding that energy and care? Disorder still wins. Biogerontology: research status, challenges and opportunities (PMC)

Entropy is why your teenager’s room never spontaneously organizes itself. It’s why your once-toned muscles feel a little softer when you skip the gym. It’s why, left unchecked, life drifts toward chaos.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: entropy never takes a day off.

But — and this is where it gets hopeful — entropy is not the end of the story. Because while you can’t stop it entirely, you can resist it. You can slow it down. You can build systems that push back.

That’s where the Radiant 5 comes in.

The Radiant Five: Your Daily Rebellion Against Entropy

The Radiant 5 isn’t a cute checklist. It’s a survival strategy against entropy. These foundations — sleep, sunshine, hydration, nutrition, and movement — are how you reintroduce order into your personal universe every single day.

1. Sleep: The Nightly Reset

Sleep is when your body does its deepest entropy-fighting work. Cells repair. Memories consolidate. Hormones regulate. Skip it, and entropy wins: brain fog, inflammation, and that delightful midlife irritability.

- Science says: Sleep deprivation increases oxidative stress, literally accelerating cellular disorder. NIH: Brain Basics – Understanding Sleep

- Radiant takeaway: Guard your sleep like it’s a non-negotiable meeting with your future self.

2. Sunshine: The Anti-Entropy Signal

Your circadian rhythm is like a conductor keeping your biological orchestra in sync. Sunlight hitting your eyes in the morning tells your body, “It’s time to function.” Without it, your internal clocks drift into chaos.

- Science says: Morning light exposure anchors circadian rhythms, boosting mood and metabolic stability. The mediating role of sun exposure on the association between sedentary behavior and sleep

- Radiant takeaway: Get outside and let real light hit your eyes (without sunglasses, at least for those first few minutes). Your body needs the signal to set your inner clock.

3. Hydration: Flow Beats Friction

Water is the solvent of life. Every metabolic reaction depends on it. Dehydration is basically entropy’s fast pass — things start grinding, misfiring, and breaking down.

- Science says: Even mild dehydration impairs cognitive function and physical performance. Dehydration and cognitive performance (Grandjean, J Am Coll Nutr, 2007)

- Radiant takeaway: That third cup of coffee doesn’t count. Keep actual water in rotation.

4. Nutrition: Energy Reloaded

Entropy burns through resources constantly. You can’t recycle 100% of energy. That’s why your body needs regular refueling with real nutrients, not just empty calories.

- Science says: Quality nutrition reduces oxidative stress, inflammation, and cellular breakdown. Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation (Calder, PMC, 2022)

- Radiant takeaway: Food isn’t indulgence. It’s daily maintenance against decay.

5. Movement: Momentum vs. Decay

And we’re back to Newton. Muscles follow the “use it or lose it” rule. So do bones. So does your cardiovascular system. Movement is your daily rebellion against both inertia and entropy.

- Science says: Physical activity improves mitochondrial function, the literal power plants of your cells. Exercise is muscle mitochondrial medicine (Vitale et al., 2021 PDF)

- Radiant takeaway: Motion is medicine, and entropy hates it.

Radiant Creative Living: Fighting Entropy Beyond the Body

Here’s the thing: entropy isn’t just about biology. It’s about everything.

- Leave a website untouched, and it feels outdated in six months.

- Stop feeding energy into your creative work, and your ideas scatter into digital dust.

- Neglect your systems, and chaos multiplies.

That’s why Radiant Creative Living exists. The same principles that keep your body radiant also keep your life, your home, and your creativity from slipping into entropy.

You can’t eliminate disorder — in health, home, or habits. But you can build intentional foundations and rhythms that push back.

And that’s the throughline: whether we’re talking about your mitochondria or your morning routine, the principle is the same.

Entropy is inevitable.

Radiance is intentional.

The Physics of Midlife Radiance

So here’s your reminder: midlife chaos isn’t proof that you’re failing. It’s proof that you’re human — and subject to the same universal laws as everyone else.

Newton explains why momentum matters. Thermodynamics explains why disorder creeps in. And the Radiant Five? That’s your daily toolkit to push back against both.

- Sleep like it’s sacred.

- Chase the sunlight.

- Drink the water.

- Fuel your body with real food.

- Keep moving, even when inertia whispers, “don’t bother.”

Because while entropy may rule the universe, radiance is yours to claim.

Want more support in developing the foundational habits that fight entropy? Download the free Radiant 5 guide, the first in our Midlife Rewrite E-Magazine series.

If you want more structure and support we have two levels of premium options available: The Radiant Toolkit which includes printable trackers, quick cheat sheets, FAQ guide, quick walkthrough and more.

If you’re looking for a truly immersive wellness journey, the Radiant 5 Digital Experience offers full multimedia and multi-sensory learning with guided meditations for each of the five foundations of health: Sleep, Sunshine, Hydration, Nutrition and Movement, a customizable Notion Tracker—plus one month of GLORIA VIP access and all the exclusive benefits of our complete Digital Experience.

Love the science? Dig Deeper:

Sources

[1] [PDF] How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world https://centrespringmd.com/docs/How%20Habits%20are%20Formed.pdf

[2] How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.674

[3] (PDF) How Habits are Formed - Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/39279827/How_Habits_are_Formed

[4] How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/journalArticle/How-are-habits-formed-Modelling-habit/99783513802346

[5] Making health habitual: the psychology of 'habit-formation' and ... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3505409/

[6] Biogerontology: research status, challenges and opportunities - PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6179011/

[7] [PDF] Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep https://mc3michigan.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Brain-Basics_Understanding-Sleep.pdf

[8] Blue light has a dark side - Harvard Health https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side

[9] [PDF] HYDRATION AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE https://cieah.ulpgc.es/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Art_revision_03_Secher-M.pdf

[10] Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight ... https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/dietary-factors-and-lowgrade-inflammation-in-relation-to-overweight-and-obesity-revisted/32D1C8A0CAF5B4BF3E81F8CBFAA3A55D

[11] [PDF] Exercise Is Muscle Mitochondrial Medicine https://exerciseismedicine.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Exercise_Is_Muscle_Mitochondrial_Medicine.1.pdf

[12] How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/How-are-habits-formed:-Modelling-habit-formation-in-Lally-Jaarsveld/c1104763806894bd668e3bf09b93669acaaf31d3

[13] [PDF] 8712 Goldsmith corr.indd http://2.mol.bio.msu.ru/biokhimiya/contents/v87/pdf/BCM1405.pdf

[14] Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-understanding-sleep

[15] How does Blue Light Affect Us? - Natural Foods https://www.naturalfoodsofkearney.com/blog/how-does-blue-light-affect-us

[16] Dehydration and cognitive performance - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17921464/

[17] Dietary factors and low-grade inflammation in relation to overweight ... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9044216/

[18] Impact of Resistance Training on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial ... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5605648/

[19] [PDF] Introducing the Habit Theory and Application Special Interest Group https://www.ehps.net/ehp/index.php/contents/article/download/3346/1225

[20] A synopsis on aging—Theories, mechanisms and future prospects https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5991498/