My family recently added an aquarium to the house, so I’ve been logging a lot of time watching tiny red cherry shrimp make their way among the plants and rocks. Their legs are constantly moving, doing whatever they do (cleaning? eating?) to keep themselves alive.
In a way, these shrimp are true longevitymaxxers. Every ounce of energy they exert has a purpose: to keep themselves alive. They waste no time watching Netflix, doomscrolling the internet, or comparing themselves to the other shrimp. They eat, move, sleep. And then they do it all over and over again.
Humans, in contrast, have created lives that leave lots of room for ease and comfort. Within that life, many tempting treats put us at odds with longevity. We have couches and processed foods, for example, and we’ve automated many of the tasks that make up daily living. On top of that, we’re caught in a cycle of buying anything and everything.
The shrimp don’t even know what it means to buy something. They don’t have stuff to distract them from their survival.
In this issue of Chicago Health, our writers explore how we can be more like shrimp.
And even though aquariums don’t come up at all in this issue, research over the past decade has shown that spending time around aquariums, watching fish swim, lowers people’s heart rates, improves mood, and reduces stress. So give it a try. Or if an aquarium isn’t readily accessible, get outside, which has similar effects. Just read this issue first, so you have something to think about along the way.
Originally published in the Fall 2026/Winter 2027 print issue.
An award-winning journalist, Katie has written for Chicago Health since 2016 and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief.
