From the general public to researchers, there is a steady interest in what it takes to live a long, healthy life. From cookbooks to research papers to hundreds of articles easily accessible with a Google search, there’s a tremendous amount of information to digest and advice to take in.
But if you want to live to be 100, there are simple approaches and simple changes you can make.
For nearly two years, I’ve been reporting on longevity and the lifestyle choices I think can help you live longer. Here are five habits that stand out.
1. Eat a healthy diet
“Diet is by far the most important factor” in longevity, Valter Longo, who has researched longevity for about 20 years, told CNBC Make It earlier this year.
Countless experts who study the world’s longest-lived communities can’t stress enough how much the food you eat can impact your longevity. The one most recommended by longevity experts is an eating pattern similar to the Mediterranean diet.
According to Longo and Dan Buettner, a longevity expert who interviews centenarians and visits Blue Zones, a diet for longevity should be primarily plant-based and include: .
Legumes, especially whole grains like beans, nuts, oats, and lean meatsA healthy amount of vegetables, especially leafy greens
“I recommended a 12-hour fast every day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or) by 7 a.m. (and) eating by 7 p.m.,” Longo said. According to an interview with Make It magazine in March, Buettner also eats within 10 or 12 hours.
2. Move your body frequently
Some longevity experts recommend daily exercise, while others recommend daily exercise with low-intensity physical activity.
Strength training twice a week and aerobic exercise three times a week (even just 10 minutes a day) are among the daily habits that increase a person’s chances of survival to age 90, according to the New England Centenarian Study. That’s what it means.
In the Blue Zones, physical activity is less intense, but centenarians still move every day, Buettner said in the Netflix documentary “Living to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.” Blue zone residents are typically able to engage in low-intensity physical activity every day as they walk from place to place, making things with their hands and tending their gardens, he said.
3. believe in something
By the end of 2023, Buettner has interviewed 263 centenarians in his lifetime. All but five of the centenarians belonged to faith-based communities, he wrote in an article for Make It.
“People who go to church, temples and mosques live four to 14 years longer than non-religious people,” Buettner said on an episode of “Dan Harris’ 10 Percent Happier.”
According to Arthur C. Brooks, a leading expert on happiness who teaches a free online course on joy at Harvard University, people who have a faith or philosophy of life are happier than those who don’t. was found to be high. He explained in the course that following religion and spiritual practices can help you find meaning in life.
4. Maintain good relationships
According to 86 years of Harvard University research, having positive relationships in your life is the best way to live a longer, happier life. But it’s just as important to channel those connections and strengthen them, what researchers call “social fitness.”
In 2023, Harvard University Research Director Mark Schultz and Robert Waldinger, Ph.D. No,” he wrote.
Responding to social connections is also a value of Blue Zones centenarians. “People in the Blue Zones prioritize their partners, nurture relationships, and invest,” Buettner said in the documentary. “Having the right friends is the biggest secret for people in Blue Zones to do the right thing and avoid the wrong thing.”
5. Prioritize purpose and lifelong learning
In Okinawa, Japan, one of Japan’s blue zones with many people over the age of 100, ikigai (roughly translated as “the happiness of being constantly busy”) is highly valued. The book “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life” is one of the most popular books on longevity, even becoming an international bestseller.
“Ikigai” means finding your purpose and working toward it every day. And that’s exactly what Buettner recommends for longevity. “People with a sense of purpose live about eight years longer than those without a sense of purpose.”
Brooks’ Happiness Course introduces seven habits discovered by researchers at Harvard’s 86-year Adult Development Study that will help you stay happy and healthy as you get older, rather than becoming sad and sick. I explained that there is. One such practice is to develop a growth mindset by investing in lifelong learning and education.
Dr. George E. Vaillant, a former director and one of the pioneers of this research, wrote in the Harvard Gazette in 2001 that “Aging happily and healthily, rather than being sad and sick, is at least to some extent possible.” It’s under the control of the individual.”
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