Healthy Longevity: Living Well to 100 vs. “Don’t Die”

A long-lived Turkish refugee who asked bigger questions about our age

Longevity has become the new obsession of the wellness industry. It’s a word now bandied about in conversations about nutrition, recovery, biomarkers, nervous system regulation, and future health technologies. Once confined to labs, elite athletes, and Silicon Valley futurists, longevity has become a staple of well-being. However, there is an interesting divide beneath the trend, and two dominant schools of thought seem to be emerging.

What are the two ways to longevity?

On the one hand is a philosophy inspired by the world’s Blue Zone communities—those places where people live long and healthy lives, not through optimization protocols, but through simple, meaningful habits rooted in food, movement, purpose, and community. This is the “living well to 100” philosophy, which is less concerned with prolonging life at any cost and more concerned with maintaining vitality, joy and connection with our age. On the other hand, there is a more technological and disruptive idea promoted by biohackers like Brian Johnson, whose now-famous catchphrase “Don’t Die” represents longevity almost as a system for overcoming biological degradation. Here, aging becomes something to track, manage, and perhaps one day overcome.

Can you combine lifestyle and biohacking for longevity?

I find myself somewhere in between the two. I am drawn to the concept of the good life – embracing pleasure, community, nature, dancing under the stars, slow meals with friends and laughter that seems to add years. But I’m also fascinated by the possibilities of technology to help us understand and support our health. If innovations in recovery, sleep, inflammation reduction, and mental fitness help us feel and perform better, why wouldn’t we be curious?

Why visit Regnum The Crown for an experience of a lifetime?

This is why, when I had the opportunity to experience a long vacation focused on longevity Regnum The CrownI did not hesitate. The timing felt perfect because it was an off-season trip, which for me has become one of the great luxuries of travel. There is something deeply restorative about travel when destinations are quieter, when the weather is still warm but the atmosphere has mellowed. The pools are quieter, the restaurants are quieter, and there’s more space to relax the nervous system. After all, relaxation requires not only a beautiful environment, but also the absence of excessive stimulation.

Why is Turkey a growing welfare destination?

Turkey deepens its hold on me as a target. There is a warmth in the hospitality that feels genuine, a richness in the food, a generosity in the culture and a landscape that moves easily between mountains, sea and ancient history. More and more, it is becoming a serious place of luxury well-being.

How is the experience at Regnum The Crown?

Preparing for Regnum The Crown was an experience in itself. The reception space was extraordinary, with architecture and materials that felt almost otherworldly – ​​like stepping into one of those AI-generated hyper-real conceptual worlds, except for the text, light and calm. Walking through the hallways to my room felt like a trip to another cozy universe. The room itself was spacious and well thought out, with spacious dressing areas, elegant furniture and a bathroom so big it dwarfed my living room at home.

I could easily spend a weekend doing nothing but moving between the suites, the pools, and the various lounges, drinking Turkish coffee at one of the cafes around the resort, and considering just one longevity intervention. But the purpose of the trip was to explore the hotel’s advanced wellness technologies, so I went to Revive Wellbeing & Spa.

What is Revive Wellbeing & Spa?

What immediately struck me was the philosophy behind the resort. It treated wellness not as something to be fixed, but as quality time that is intentionally returned to itself. In a culture obsessed with productivity and self-improvement, there is something radical about spaces that allow the body to relax as it does.

The thermal areas, pools and private suites are beautifully designed, but it was the integration of next-generation technology that made the experience particularly enjoyable. One of the highlights was the RLX BrainGym™ effort by Gharieni Group. More than a relaxing seat, it is designed as a form of mental fitness using vibroacoustic frequencies, tactile sound and brain-enhancing audio to support cognitive recovery, emotional regulation and deep recovery. It felt sad and profound, as if the nervous system itself was being directed into a different state, reinforcing the idea that longevity is also about maintaining clarity, resilience, and mental vitality.

What treatments are available at the Regnum Carya Longevity Center?

The next day I visited the longevity center at Regnum Carya, where the experience took on a completely different energy. If The Crown spa felt sensual and pampering, it felt like walking into a futuristic research station dedicated to human optimization, with white corridors, blue floors and beautiful design.

My first treatment was G-VAC therapy, a vacuum-based treatment inspired by space recovery technology and designed to stimulate lymphatic drainage, improve circulation and support recovery. It was enjoyable and especially useful after the flight, supporting processes that the body already knows how to do.

I followed this up with the Metawell MLX i³Dome, a complete far-infrared recovery bed that uses targeted heat to support detoxification, anti-inflammatory benefits and recovery. It showed how modern wellness often enhances ancient principles, such as the healing power of heat.

What is cryotherapy and how does it feel?

There were still more treatments, including a facial sculpting massage and a floating tank experience, but it was the cryotherapy chamber that offered an unexpected revelation. Stepping into the Revocool Wolf Cryo with minimal clothing, the first chamber at minus 29 degrees was quite a shock, and after three minutes at minus 85. The feeling after that was extraordinary – euphoria, lightness and energy.

Beyond the physical benefits, the experience highlighted something deeper: the intense demands of the cold to surrender. You cannot dominate it; you can just breathe and believe it’s a powerful metaphor for aging.

Can wellness technology help you live longer?

Perusing the menu of treatments available at the Longevity Center, from ice therapy to infrared systems and restorative techniques, was eye-opening. It showed where hospitality and preventive health are increasingly coming together.

Did the long weekend of health technology convince me that I will live longer? No, not in any simple sense. But what it did do was open my eyes to the possibilities and help me identify tools that fit into everyday life. Red light therapy is now part of my weekly routine, and I’m revisiting G-VAC and RLX BrainGym™, recognizing that wellness is cumulative, small experiences repeated over time.

Is pleasure important to longevity?

And yet, some of the most rejuvenating moments of the trip had nothing to do with biohacking. They attracted sunshine, peace, Turkish coffee and conversation. They had fun.

Here the narrative of “The Undead” may feel incomplete. Life cannot be optimized and a long life without joy is empty.

How is the dining experience at Regnum The Crown?

This philosophy extends to Regnum The Crown’s kitchen. Food is part of the wellness experience and the main buffet feels like a culinary adventure with Mediterranean cuisine, Turkish classics and international dishes presented with elegance. In addition, the resort offers fine dining, beach experiences, pastries and cafes that integrate food into the rhythm of the stay.

My personal favorite was Lotus, a restaurant centered around organic ingredients, fresh desserts and hearty dishes that feel both light and satisfying. It’s a reminder that good food is a lifelong experience.

To live well to 100 or not to try?

So where does this leave the debate between living well to 100 and trying to die? For me, it remains in between. I believe in innovation and the role of technology in supporting health, but I do not believe that longevity should be a daunting endeavor to overcome aging.

Perhaps the real question is not how to live forever, but how to live long enough that longevity becomes a natural byproduct. This experience in Turkey did not provide definitive answers, but improved perspectives. The future of well-being may lie not in choosing between ancient wisdom and advanced technology, but in combining both to extend a worthy life. And if that gets us to 100, all the better.

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