The Journal: Signals Worth Carrying Forward into 2026

By Dr. Kathryn Dundas, MD, CCFP

Sublime Life | The Journal

As we step into a new year, I’m less interested in predictions and more interested in signals.

Not trends.

Not noise.

But the quiet shifts in how we understand the body — and what actually supports a longer, more vital life.

2025 brought a few important reframes in longevity medicine. None of them were flashy. Most didn’t make headlines. But together, they point toward a more grounded, humane, and sustainable way of caring for ourselves.

Here are the ones I’m carrying forward.

The Most Important Longevity Signal of 2025

One of the most meaningful shifts this year was the continued reframing of the Women’s Health Initiative narrative.

For years, fear-based interpretations shaped how we approached hormones, aging, and women’s health. In 2025, the conversation continued to mature — with more nuance, better data interpretation, and a clearer understanding that timing, context, and individual physiology matter.

This wasn’t about reversing course.

It was about growing up as a field.

Longevity medicine is learning to hold complexity — and that’s a good thing.

The Best Health Tech of 2025

Interestingly, the most impactful health tools this year weren’t necessarily the newest or most advanced.

They were the ones people actually used.

Wearables that supported awareness rather than obsession.

Platforms that encouraged rhythm, recovery, and consistency instead of perfection.

Tools that helped people notice rather than control.

The takeaway was clear: technology only supports longevity when it strengthens the relationship between a person and their body — not when it overrides it.

The Quiet Breakthrough of 2025

This was the shift that mattered most.

Across research, clinical practice, and lived experience, there was growing recognition that nervous system regulation is upstream of nearly every chronic condition.

Presence. Rhythm. Safety.

These aren’t soft concepts — they are biological inputs.

When the nervous system is regulated, everything downstream works better: metabolic flexibility improves, inflammation quiets, hormonal signaling becomes more coherent, and energy becomes available again.

This wasn’t a single study or product.

It was a collective remembering.

What This Means Going Forward

What stands out to me most isn’t a supplement, a device, or a protocol.

It’s the growing understanding that longevity isn’t built through force.

It’s built through regulation.

Through consistency over intensity.

Through listening instead of overriding.

Through presence — practiced daily, imperfectly, and over time.

That’s the foundation I’m interested in this year.

Not doing more — but doing what matters.

Reflection

As you move into the year ahead, take a moment to pause and write:

Where in my life am I overriding my body instead of listening to it?

What signals have been asking for my attention lately?

If presence were my primary health practice this year, what might change?

No fixing. No planning.

Just noticing.

Make presence your protocol.

— Dr. Kathryn Dundas, MD, CCFP