Inside Nici's Healthy Ageing Routine: The Daily Habits Behind Nibu Naturals

Quick Answer

There is no perfect healthy-ageing routine.

For Nibu founder Nici, ageing well is built around a collection of everyday habits: getting up early, moving her body, looking after her skin, eating nourishing foods, spending time outdoors, practising mindfulness and prioritising rest.

Some of those habits are strongly supported by healthy-ageing research. Others are simply personal rituals that Nici enjoys and finds work well for her. And that distinction matters.

Healthy ageing isn't about copying someone else's routine. It's about building sustainable habits that support your own body and life.

What You'll Learn

In this founder feature, you'll discover: how Nici starts her mornings; why movement forms an important part of her day; the skincare ritual that reflects where Nibu began; how Nici approaches food and nutrition; why walking and time outdoors matter to her; how mindfulness fits into her routine; why sleep is part of the healthy-ageing picture; and what science can, and cannot, tell us about longevity routines.

There Is No Perfect Longevity Routine

Spend enough time online and you could easily believe that ageing well requires a complicated morning routine, an overflowing supplement cupboard and a diary organised around the latest wellness trend. It doesn't.

Healthy ageing is much less glamorous and, in many ways, much more reassuring. It is built largely through the things we repeatedly do: how much we move, what we eat, how we sleep, whether we maintain our muscle, how we manage stress, the relationships we nurture, the way we care for our skin and our wider health.

Nici's routine isn't presented here as the formula every woman should follow. It is simply a glimpse behind Nibu Naturals and the habits our founder has incorporated into her own life. And some of them help explain how Nibu became the brand it is today.

1. An Early Start

Nici typically starts her day at around 6am, although the first order of business isn't a complicated longevity protocol. It's her dogs.

That quiet time at the beginning of the morning is followed by meditation, which Nici uses to create a calmer and more intentional start to her day. She has previously enjoyed guided meditations from teachers including Joe Dispenza and Jim Curtis.

What does the evidence tell us?

You don't need to meditate at 6am to age well. However, practices such as mindfulness and meditation have been studied for their potential effects on stress, anxiety and psychological wellbeing. The important point isn't necessarily which meditation you choose — it's finding a way of creating space in your day that helps you manage stress and look after your mental wellbeing.

2. Movement Before the Day Gets Busy

Movement has long been part of Nici's morning. Her routine has included 30 to 40 press-ups after getting out of bed, followed by squats while she brushes her teeth, sometimes wearing a weighted vest.

It's an unconventional way of fitting movement into a morning, but it illustrates a principle we talk about frequently in The Nibu Journal: you don't have to wait until you're in a gym to use your muscles.

Why this matters as we age

Muscle isn't simply something that changes how our body looks. Maintaining muscle and strength becomes increasingly important for physical function, metabolic health, mobility and independence as we get older. Resistance exercise is one of the most valuable tools we have for helping preserve both.

Nici's press-ups aren't a prescription to do 40 before breakfast. The useful lesson is simpler: find ways to make strength and movement part of ordinary life. For one woman that might mean a gym session. For another it could mean resistance bands at home, lifting weights, Pilates combined with resistance work, gardening or a short strength routine before work. Consistency matters more than creating the most impressive routine.

Continue reading: Why Muscle Is an Organ of Longevity: Why Women Need to Protect It as They Age

3. The Skincare Ritual That Started Nibu

Skincare has a particularly personal place in Nici's morning. Because before Nibu became a wider women's healthy-ageing brand, Nibu began with astaxanthin skincare.

Nici's morning routine has included cleansing before applying Nibu's astaxanthin Glow Serum. Depending on the finish she wants that day, she may choose Glow Darker or Glow Deeper. For additional colour and luminosity, she sometimes uses Luna, including English Rose, Golden Delight or Bronze Chic.

Why Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring red-orange carotenoid produced by the microalga Haematococcus pluvialis. Its antioxidant properties are what originally made the ingredient so interesting to Nibu. Research has explored astaxanthin in relation to oxidative stress and several measures of skin health and visible skin ageing, although the strength of evidence varies depending on whether astaxanthin is consumed or applied topically, the formulation used and the outcome being measured.

It isn't a miracle ingredient. But it is a fascinating one. And years later, astaxanthin remains at the heart of Nibu. What began with skin eventually led to a much bigger question: what does it really mean for a woman to age well, inside and out? That question now sits behind everything we do.

Continue reading: The Complete Guide to Astaxanthin: Benefits, Dosage, Safety and How It Works

4. Breakfast Isn't the Same Every Day

Nici's approach to breakfast varies depending on her appetite. Her routine has previously included coffee with MCT oil and grass-fed butter, sometimes with collagen peptides. When she wants a more substantial breakfast, she might choose eggs, cheese and avocado or steak with scrambled eggs.

These are Nici's personal food preferences, rather than a Nibu prescription for how women should eat. That's an important distinction.

What matters more for healthy ageing?

Rather than searching for a perfect breakfast, we prefer to look at the bigger nutritional picture. For women as they age, priorities include consuming enough protein, eating a varied and nutrient-dense diet, getting enough fibre, including plenty of plant foods and obtaining healthy dietary fats.

Protein becomes particularly interesting because maintaining muscle is such an important part of healthy ageing. Eggs, Greek yoghurt, kefir, cottage cheese, fish, tofu, beans and other protein-rich foods can all form part of a healthy breakfast depending on your preferences. There isn't one Nibu-approved breakfast.

Continue reading: Protein for Women Over 40: How Much Do You Really Need for Healthy Ageing?

5. Walking, Dogs and the Sand Dunes

One of the simplest parts of Nici's routine may also be one of the most valuable. She walks. Nici enjoys walking with her dogs, including tackling the sand dunes. It gives her physical activity, fresh air and time in nature all at once.

And walking deserves considerably more credit than it sometimes receives in the wellness world. You don't need an expensive machine or elaborate protocol to benefit from moving more. Regular physical activity is associated with substantial benefits for cardiovascular health, metabolic health, physical function and overall wellbeing.

Walking also complements rather than replaces strength training. Think of them as different pieces of the healthy-ageing puzzle. Walk. Lift. Move frequently. Find forms of activity you actually enjoy enough to continue doing.

6. A Few Quiet Minutes for the Mind

Nici also likes to journal and set intentions for the day. Again, there is no requirement to own a journal to live a long and healthy life. But the ritual represents something we shouldn't overlook when talking about longevity: healthy ageing includes the mind as well as the body.

Mental wellbeing, meaningful relationships, purpose, stress management and social connection all belong in the longevity conversation. Ageing well isn't simply about achieving perfect biomarkers. It's about continuing to have a life you want to live.

7. Winding Down at Night

Nici likes an early night, and her evening skincare routine provides a natural transition between the activity of the day and preparing for sleep. One of her favourite evening rituals is Nibu Glow to Sleep, our astaxanthin facial oil containing botanical oils including sesame, jojoba and rosehip alongside vitamin E and aromatic oils including rose, jasmine, geranium and lavender.

The skincare itself isn't a sleep treatment. Instead, the ritual represents something useful: creating familiar cues that tell your brain and body that the active part of the day is coming to an end. For some people that's skincare. For others it might be reading, stretching, dimming the lights or having a warm bath.

And sleep itself deserves to be taken seriously. Adequate sleep supports numerous aspects of health, including cognitive function, metabolic health, cardiovascular health, immune function and physical recovery.

Continue reading: Sleep and Healthy Ageing: What Happens to Your Body When You Don't Get Enough?

What Nici's Routine Doesn't Include: Perfection

This might be the most important part. Healthy ageing has become an enormous industry. We're constantly being presented with new devices, supplements, diets, tests and protocols promising to optimise us. Some innovations are genuinely interesting. Others have limited evidence. But none should distract us from the fundamentals.

You don't need to copy Nici's breakfast. You don't need to wake at 6am. You don't need to do press-ups beside your bed. And you certainly don't need to buy everything someone else uses. The better question is: which healthy habits could realistically become part of your life for years rather than weeks?

Nici's Routine at a Glance

Myth vs Fact

Myth: A healthy-ageing routine needs to be complicated.
Fact: Some of the most important behaviours associated with health as we age are remarkably ordinary: regular physical activity, resistance exercise, nutritious food, adequate sleep, not smoking, maintaining social connections and looking after our wider health.

Myth: You need to copy the routine of a healthy person.
Fact: There is no universal longevity routine. Your health, age, responsibilities, preferences and circumstances matter.

Myth: Healthy ageing is mainly about looking younger.
Fact: Skin health can be part of ageing well, but healthy ageing is much bigger. Strength, mobility, cardiovascular health, cognition, metabolic health, independence and quality of life all matter.

Myth: Supplements can replace healthy habits.
Fact: Supplements may have a useful role in particular circumstances, but they sit alongside nutrition, movement, sleep and other lifestyle foundations. They don't replace them.

Key Takeaways

• Nici's routine reflects her own preferences rather than a formula everyone should follow.
• Movement and strength are deliberately built into her day.
• Walking and spending time outdoors provide another regular source of physical activity.
• Skincare is particularly meaningful because Nibu began with Nici's interest in astaxanthin.
• Nutrition should be considered across the whole diet rather than through individual "superfoods".
• Mindfulness and journalling form part of Nici's approach to mental wellbeing.
• An evening routine helps her transition towards an early bedtime.
• Sustainable everyday habits matter more than chasing the perfect longevity routine.

The Nibu Longevity Take

Healthy ageing rarely happens because of one extraordinary thing. More often, it is built through ordinary things repeated for years. Moving your body. Protecting your strength. Eating nourishing food. Looking after your skin. Sleeping. Spending time outside. Connecting with people you love. Finding moments of calm.

Nici's routine is uniquely hers. Yours should be uniquely yours.

Nibu began with astaxanthin skincare, but our understanding of ageing well has grown far beyond what we put on our skin. Today, we think about the woman as a whole: her skin, muscles, brain, heart, nutrition, sleep, confidence and quality of life.

You don't need a perfect routine. Build a handful of good habits you can imagine still doing ten years from now. That is where healthy ageing really begins.

Continue Reading

• The Complete Guide to Astaxanthin: Benefits, Dosage, Safety and How It Works
• Astaxanthin Benefits for Skin: The Science Behind a Natural Glow
• Why Muscle Is an Organ of Longevity: Why Women Need to Protect It as They Age
• Protein for Women Over 40: How Much Do You Really Need for Healthy Ageing?
• Sleep and Healthy Ageing: What Happens to Your Body When You Don't Get Enough?
• What Is Longevity? A Beginner's Guide to Living Longer and Healthier
• Healthy Ageing After 40: 10 Evidence-Based Habits Every Woman Should Know
• How to Choose & Apply Your Astaxanthin Serum

References

1. World Health Organization. WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020.
2. Bull FC, et al. World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;54:1451–1462.
3. Izquierdo M, et al. International Exercise Recommendations in Older Adults (ICFSR): Expert Consensus Guidelines. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 2021;25:824–853.
4. Li J, Vitiello MV, Gooneratne NS. Sleep in Normal Aging. Sleep Medicine Clinics. 2018;13(1):1–11.
5. Black DS, Slavich GM. Mindfulness meditation and the immune system: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2016;1373(1):13–24.
6. Davinelli S, Nielsen ME, Scapagnini G. Astaxanthin in Skin Health, Repair, and Disease: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. 2018;10(4):522.
7. Ng QX, et al. Effects of Astaxanthin Supplementation on Skin Health: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies. Journal of Dietary Supplements. 2021;18(2):169–182.

About The Nibu Journal

The Nibu Journal is the educational home of Nibu Naturals, created to help women make more informed decisions about healthy ageing. Nibu began with astaxanthin skincare and has grown into a wider healthy-ageing philosophy encompassing skin health, nutrition, movement, supplements, women's health and lifestyle.

Our approach is simple: Educate first. Support second. Sell naturally.

Medical Disclaimer

This article shares Nici's personal routine for general information and inspiration. It should not be interpreted as medical advice or as a recommendation that readers follow the same diet, exercise routine, skincare practices or wellness interventions. Individual health needs vary. Speak to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional if you have questions about exercise, nutrition, supplements, sleep or any medical condition.