By Dr Chun Tang — MBChB (Manchester), MRCGP, MBA · Practising NHS & Private GP · Founder, Little Ox

Why the World's Most Driven Entrepreneurs Are Taking NMN — And What the Science Actually Says

I've been a GP for 26 years. I've also built a business from scratch. So I understand, from both sides, what sustained high performance actually costs the human body.

The demands of building a company are not evenly distributed across life. They tend to land hardest in your late 30s and 40s — exactly when your biology is quietly working against you in ways that nobody mentions in the startup playbooks. Your NAD+ levels are declining by roughly 1–2% every year. Your mitochondria are producing less energy per cell. Your capacity for overnight recovery — cognitive and physical — is measurably less than it was at 28.

This isn't a metaphor or a motivational framing. It's established cellular biology. And it's the reason that some of the most analytically rigorous founders and scientists in the world have made NMN a non-negotiable part of their daily routine.

The Founders and Scientists Who Take It

The NMN conversation started not in wellness circles but in research labs — specifically around the work of Professor David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of multiple biotechnology companies focused on ageing. Sinclair has taken 1 gram of NMN every morning for years, typically mixed into yogurt. He is the scientist most directly responsible for bringing NAD+ biology to mainstream scientific and public attention, and he is explicit that NMN is the supplement he has the highest confidence in from his own research. His book Lifespan: Why We Age — and Why We Don't Have To brought the science to a global audience.

Dr Andrew Huberman — Stanford neuroscientist, founder of the Huberman Lab podcast, and one of the most followed science communicators in the world — takes 1–2 grams of NMN daily, sublingually, alongside 500mg of NR. He reports measurable improvements in energy, faster hair growth, and better recovery. Crucially, Huberman is also one of the most scientifically cautious voices in this space. He consistently emphasises that the core lifestyle factors — sleep, sunlight, exercise — have a "huge outsized effect" compared to any supplement, and that NMN is a targeted add-on to an already solid foundation, not a replacement for it.

Bryan Johnson — founder of Braintree (sold to PayPal for $800 million) and Kernel (building neural interface technology) — has invested over $2 million in a team of physicians and scientists to optimise his own biology, with NMN as a core component of his Blueprint protocol. Johnson is the most data-driven self-experimenter on the planet, measuring dozens of biomarkers continuously. His inclusion of NMN is not based on intuition — it reflects the biological rationale for NAD+ restoration as a cellular metabolism priority.

Joe Rogan — entrepreneur, podcast founder, and one of the most influential media figures in the world — has publicly discussed taking NMN and NAD+ precursors as part of his health optimisation stack.

Dave Asprey — founder of Bulletproof 360 and widely credited as the person who popularised the term "biohacking" — has been taking NAD+ boosters including NMN for years as part of his cognitive and energy optimisation protocol.

Fortune magazine, reviewing the NMN landscape in 2026, noted that NMN supplements have rapidly gained favour among high-performing executives and professionals seeking smart solutions for wellness, energy, and longevity amidst demanding schedules.

What Entrepreneurship Actually Does to Your Biology

Before getting to what NMN does, it's worth being precise about what the founder lifestyle does — because it maps onto the biology more directly than most people realise.

Chronic cognitive demand depletes NAD+. The prefrontal cortex — the region responsible for executive function, decision-making, risk assessment and creative thinking — is one of the most metabolically expensive structures in the human brain. It requires consistent, reliable ATP production to maintain the sustained neural firing that complex thinking demands. When you are running at high cognitive output for twelve or fourteen hours a day, you are drawing heavily on the cellular metabolism systems that NAD+ supports. This is not a marginal effect.

Sleep deprivation accelerates NAD+ decline. Most founders sleep less than they should, particularly in the early years. NAD+ regulates the circadian clock genes that govern sleep-wake cycles, and chronic sleep disruption both depletes NAD+ and is worsened by depleted NAD+. It is a compounding cycle that gets harder to break the longer it runs.

Chronic stress activates PARP enzymes, which consume NAD+. PARP-1 is an enzyme involved in DNA repair — it is activated by the oxidative stress that chronic psychological and physiological stress produces. When PARP is chronically activated, it can consume NAD+ faster than the body replenishes it, directly reducing the cellular metabolism available for everything else. The founder life — with its sustained uncertainty, responsibility, and high-stakes decision-making — is exactly the kind of chronic stressor that keeps PARP active.

Age compounds everything. The average founder who builds their most significant company in their late 30s or 40s is doing it while their NAD+ levels are at 50–60% of what they were in their mid-20s. The cognitive stamina, overnight recovery and metabolic resilience that felt effortless at 27 require active management at 42. This is not a question of willpower or work ethic — it is a biological reality that the most successful founders are increasingly taking seriously.

What the Clinical Evidence Shows

The NMN evidence base has grown substantially in the past three years. Here is what is directly relevant to the performance and longevity concerns of founders and executives:

Physical stamina and performance: A 2024 randomised, placebo-controlled trial found that NMN supplementation significantly improved six-minute walking test performance — a validated measure of aerobic capacity and physical stamina — compared to placebo, at doses of 300mg, 600mg and 900mg daily. The same trial showed improved SF-36 quality of life scores and confirmed substantial increases in blood NAD+ levels at all doses. A separate August 2024 meta-analysis of nine studies covering 412 participants found NMN had significant effects on muscle function and gait speed.

Fatigue — the afternoon crash specifically: A 2024 clinical trial found that afternoon NMN supplementation significantly improved fatigue markers and lower limb function. For founders who describe the energy collapsing in the mid-afternoon — when the most important decisions of the day are often still ahead — this is the most practically relevant finding.

Recovery and overnight routine: A 2024 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found NMN supplementation significantly improved recovery and overnight routine in older adults after 12 weeks, including measurable reductions in daytime dysfunction. Better overnight recovery means better executive function the following day — the compound effect of this over months is significant.

Metabolic health — insulin sensitivity: The landmark 2021 Science paper — one of the most prestigious journals in medicine — demonstrated that NMN improved muscle insulin sensitivity in postmenopausal women with prediabetes. Insulin resistance is not just a diabetes risk factor. It is also a driver of energy instability, cognitive fog and afternoon fatigue in otherwise healthy adults in their 40s. Improving insulin signalling has direct implications for cognitive performance consistency.

Safety profile: Across all completed human trials, NMN at 500–900mg daily has been consistently well-tolerated with no significant adverse effects. Long-term safety data is still accumulating, which is why I recommend the standard 500mg dose rather than the higher doses some biohackers use.

The Sinclair Protocol — Why NMN Plus Resveratrol Makes Biological Sense

Sinclair takes NMN alongside resveratrol deliberately, and the rationale is worth understanding. NMN raises NAD+ levels — providing the fuel that sirtuins (the proteins that regulate cellular health, DNA repair and metabolic efficiency) need to operate. Resveratrol activates those sirtuins — particularly SIRT1. The combination is designed to both supply the fuel and activate the engine simultaneously.

This is exactly what our NMN Plus formulation provides: 500mg high-quality β-NMN, independently tested for purity alongside Trans-Resveratrol, at £9.99 a month. The Sinclair combination at a fraction of what most premium brands charge for either ingredient alone.

What I Take Myself — and What I Recommend to Founder Patients

I take NMN every morning. I've been doing it for two years. I also run a supplement business alongside a clinical practice, which means long days with high cognitive demand, a lot of decisions, and never quite enough hours. I am 26 years into a career and I need to perform at a level that my 26-year-old self would recognise. NMN is one of a small number of supplements that I am genuinely confident is doing something measurable for my cellular metabolism.

For founder patients who ask me about NMN, this is what I suggest:

The Honest Caveat

I want to be clear about one thing, because intellectual honesty is the whole point of Little Ox.

NMN is not a substitute for sleep, exercise, or sensible nutrition. Andrew Huberman — who takes more NMN than almost anyone — says consistently that these fundamentals have an "outsized effect" compared to any supplement. He is right. NMN addresses a specific cellular biology problem. It does not address the lifestyle architecture that makes cellular metabolism possible in the first place.

If you are sleeping five hours a night, not exercising, and running on caffeine and cortisol, NMN will not save you. Fix the architecture first. Then NMN becomes a meaningful addition to a body that is already reasonably well-maintained.

If you are doing the basics — sleeping reasonably, moving regularly, eating adequately — and you are in your late 30s or beyond, noticing that your energy and cognitive stamina are not what they were, NMN is one of the most biologically coherent additions you can make. The people who have done the most rigorous analysis of what to put in their bodies — Sinclair, Huberman, Johnson — have all arrived at the same conclusion.

That is a meaningful data point.

Shop NMN Plus — £9.99/month → Shop NMN Pure — £7.99/month →

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. NMN is a food supplement, not a medicine. The supplement routines described for public figures are based on their own public statements and do not imply endorsement of Little Ox. Consult your GP before starting any new supplement, particularly if you are taking prescription medication or have an underlying health condition.