The choices you make daily partially determine how long you will live. Knowing the best tips for longevity empowers you to make the right decisions for your overall health and wellness.
Fortunately, most of these “secrets” aren’t well hidden. However, some others might surprise you. While human physiology hasn’t changed dramatically over the past 50 years, society has — bringing with it new health risks. What you eat and how you move still matter, but other factors play a more significant role today than in years past.
What conditions lead to a long, healthy life? Here are six of the best tips for longevity.
best tips for longevity
Following the tips below won’t guarantee you live to 100 or older. However, addressing each improves your overall wellness and chances for a long, healthy life.
1. Exercise
Is sitting the new smoking? Human bodies crave physical movement, not remaining behind a desk all day. People with sedentary lifestyles face a 20%-30% higher risk of death from all causes compared to those who engage in regular, moderate physical activity. Inactivity is linked to 3.2 million deaths and 32 million disabilities each year, and the problem intensifies in wealthy nations.
How much movement do you need? The World Health Organization recommends that those aged 18 through 64 perform at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity. That equates to 30 to 60 minutes per day.
What is moderate and vigorous-intensity activity?
Aerobic activity is anything that gets your heart pumping. Experts use various measures to determine exercise intensity, but the talk test is the easiest to self-gauge. Moderate-intensity activities should allow you to talk but not sing, whereas vigorous activities should leave you breathy and able to say only a few words at a time. Examples of moderate-intensity activities include:
- Walking
- Yoga
- Most forms of dance
- Gardening
- Cycling
- Elliptical training
- Exercise bikes, rowers, and other cardiovascular machines
Vigorous activities include:
- Hiking (can be moderate or intense)
- Running
- HIIT
- Jumping rope
- Stair or mountain climbing
The trick to sticking with your exercise plan is finding movement that you love. Working out should feel like stress relief, not a chore.
Also, bringing a buddy increases accountability, and some people find the mere act of joining a gym inspires them to work out more often — they want to get their money’s worth.
However, introverts and those pressed for time or cash can easily meet their fitness requirements with a daily walk, bodyweight exercises, and stretching.
2. A diet rich in real food
Everything you consume affects your body’s chemistry. Why should you emphasize real, whole foods, not rely on prepackaged convenience? Recent research compared those with a light consumption of ultra-processed foods (three servings per day) to those with heavy consumption (seven or more daily servings). Those who ate the most ultra-processed items had a 4% higher risk of death and an 8% higher risk of neurodegenerative disease.
Whole foods contain the nutrients your body needs and deliver them in absorbable forms. According to Alice H. Lichtenstein, senior scientist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, getting nutrition from food instead of supplements prevents consuming too much of any single nutrient and meeting all your varied needs.
Many nutritionists recommend the Mediterranean diet as one of their best tips for longevity. This diet emphasizes plant-based foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. It includes ample seafood, a light smattering of dairy and red meat, and sweets only on special occasions.
For example, a healthy Mediterranean-style lunch might consist of a spinach salad with salmon, slivered almonds, and chia seeds. Spinach contains 181% of your vitamin K requirement and a healthy dose of vitamin A, manganese, and folate. Salmon is an omega-3 powerhouse, a healthy fatty acid, and a brain-boosting superfood most Americans don’t eat enough of. Almonds contain magnesium for brain and mood health, and chia seeds provide an extra dose of omega-3 and plant-based protein.
3. Healthy personal relationships
Your mind and emotions impact your physical health. Perhaps the most significant influences on your mood and mindset are your close personal relationships. Relationships can even affect your nutrition choices.
Although single people face higher mortality rates than their married counterparts, that doesn’t mean you should rush into a relationship to live longer. The quality of your union may matter more. For example, millions of women experience traumatic brain injuries resulting from abusive relationships. They seldom receive the support or medical attention they need, putting them at risk of dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease.
Furthermore, those who live with narcissistic abuse also experience brain changes impacting their amygdala and hippocampus. It also increases the risk of developing PTSD or C-PTSD, trauma-related disorders that affect daily function.
Be careful who you let into your circle and nurture positive relationships when they occur. Seek people who are:
- Trustworthy
- Consistent
- Willing to admit fault
- Willing to be vulnerable
- Open to improvement and working together to build a strong union
4. Financial security
Why is financial security one of the best tips for longevity? The United States remains the only wealthy country without a health care system that covers everyone despite paying twice as much as those in comparable nations. It only takes one severe illness to recognize the importance a little money in the bank has on overall wellness.
Cumulative poverty kills more Americans each year than dementia, obesity, chronic lower respiratory infections, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. Sadly, illness makes cumulative poverty — lasting more than 10 years — more likely.
Unpaid medical bills lead to housing insecurity, and rising rents make it harder to find a suitable replacement after losing your home. Sickness also makes it harder to maintain steady employment, and job loss often means losing medical coverage. Even those who qualify for aid suffer treatment interruptions, having to find new doctors unfamiliar with their health history and dealing with formularies that may not cover needed medications.
The best tip many can follow for longevity is to obtain health coverage if they lack it by checking their options at Healthcare.gov. Insurance isn’t an automatic failsafe against high healthcare costs, but it can often prevent the worst financial strain.
5. Adequate rest and relaxation
Regularly getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best tips for longevity. Research indicates that men who get adequate sleep live 4.7 years longer, and women add 2.4 years to their life span by getting their z’s.
Quality sleep comes easier when your autonomic nervous system isn’t in overdrive. This body system has two sides — your sympathetic or fight-or-flight response and your parasympathetic or rest and digest function. Chronic stress can keep you stuck in sympathetic mode, robbing you of sleep and causing other potential health woes, such as:
- Burnout
- Anxiety and depression
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
- Diabetes
The problem is that modern stressors don’t quickly fade like the fear early humans felt when fleeing from hungry critters. Unpaid bills or relationship, child care, and work woes can seem inescapable. Fortunately, you can tap into the parasympathetic side of your autonomic nervous system by participating in the following activities:
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Healthy, relaxing hobbies like gardening
- Massage — swap one with your partner
- Moderate physical exercise
For example, try implementing a calming yoga and meditation routine before bedtime. Perform gentle stretches accompanied by deep breathing followed by a mindful body scan to ease you into sleep.
6. A purpose for living
Perhaps the best tip for longevity is finding a reason to stay alive. Philosopher Fredrich Neitchze once wrote, “He who has a why to live can withstand almost any how.” Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl says finding meaning in life helped him endure the horrors he faced.
Your purpose does not need to involve changing the world. It might be becoming the best possible parent to your children or spreading kindness to at least one other person each day. It may not have anything to do with your career, although pursuing your passions outside of work can make a less-than-ideal job more tolerable — it’s a means to fund your interests.
The trick is to find something bigger than yourself to bring meaning to each day. Doing so motivates you to keep going through adversity, helps you avoid bad decisions like overusing substances that damage your health, and inspires you to find hope, even in dark times.
Incorporate these best tips for longevity into your life
Adding years to your life doesn’t require donning your detective hat. The best tips for longevity aren’t secrets at all — think of them as a guide for making the most of this human incarnation. Each day is a gift, and you can unwrap more of them by making the right choices.
If you enjoyed reading about longevity, check out this post about neuroplasticity and its relationship to healthy aging!
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