Most people want to live longer lives, but are there any scientifically proven behaviors that can help? Can eating, sleep, and exercise truly improve your longevity?
The good news is that there are numerous modifiable risk factors. There are numerous strategies to boost your chances of living a longer, healthier life. Continue reading to learn about 14 habits that will help you live longer and what adjustments you can make.
1. Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep is critical since inadequate sleep raises your chances of obesity, heart disease, accidents, and dementia. During sleep, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that bathes your brain and spinal fluid flows in slow waves, removing toxins linked to an elevated risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).
But how do you know how much sleep is enough, given that everyone's needs differ? Simply go to sleep when you're exhausted and get up without an alarm to get a rough idea of how much you require.
2. Eat Enough Fiber
Eating adequate fiber can also help you live longer since it lowers your risk of developing colon cancer. Fiber is also beneficial to the health of the friendly bacteria that dwell in your gut (microbiota), which play a significant role in cardiovascular risk.
Eating 30 grams of fiber each day is recommended to lower your chances of developing colon cancer. If you're not sure what this looks like in practice, you can download a free cheat sheet online.
3. Have a Healthy Diet
A balanced diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fermented foods, and omega-3 fatty acids will help lower your risk of chronic inflammation, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and dementia. As a result, you should make it a habit to incorporate these items into your daily diet.
4. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is critical, as overeating and obesity have been related to an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes. In animal experiments, calorie restriction was linked to enhanced longevity. These have not yet been recreated in humans, but the fact that they help minimize the likelihood of the aforementioned health problems is worth considering.
5. Socialize Frequently
Social isolation has been related to a 50% higher chance of getting dementia. Hearing loss can also contribute to this, as it has been linked to a decreased ability to socialize.
6. Add Nuts and Oils to Your Diet
Many people avoid nuts and oils because they are thought to be fatty, but a huge study called PREDIMED discovered that if you are over 55 and at a high risk of cardiovascular disease, a Mediterranean diet with more olive oil or nuts may lower your risk. If you are not in this category, the impacts are less evident. However, similar diets focusing on whole grains, healthy fats, and fruits and vegetables show similar positive results.
7. Be Physically Active
We're all aware that we should exercise, but did you realize that physically active persons have a 30 to 35% decreased risk of dying from any cause? Exercise lowers the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, which helps you live longer. Physically active adults can enhance their life expectancy by 0.4 to 4.2 years simply by exercising regularly.
Anything is better than nothing, but try to get in 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week and two sessions of weight-bearing activity.
8. Cognitive Resilience
Lower cognitive reserve and resilience are related to a higher chance of developing dementia. Cognitive resilience in later life can be improved by developing brain reserve earlier in life through education and other intellectual activities. Education promotes nerve cell branching and plasticity (the ability to alter through growth and reorganization), resulting in increased brain reserve. Higher education levels are related to a lower risk of late-life dementia.
9. Intermittent Fasting and Time-Restricted Eating
You may believe that a healthy breakfast is the foundation of healthy eating and that skipping breakfast is harmful, but several preclinical studies in animals have shown that intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating (eating only within a six to eight-hour window) can reduce a variety of chronic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and neurodegenerative brain diseases.
These effects have also been replicated in humans, and there is now evidence that intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating cause cells to activate a coordinated stress response, resulting in increased expression of antioxidant defenses, DNA repair, higher protein quality control standards, and lower inflammation.
Eating three meals per day is based on cultural norms rather than scientific facts. So you should try time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting.
10. Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Low-carbohydrate diets are increasingly popular. They involve taking less than 26% of daily energy from carbohydrates, as opposed to the government's healthy eating standards, which recommend roughly 50% of daily energy from carbohydrates.
There are other slightly different low-carb diets in the media, including the Keto and Atkins diets, which have gained popularity due to short-term weight loss. Ketosis is a metabolic condition that occurs when people consume an extremely low-carbohydrate diet. Cells are pushed to break down fat rather than carbs, which are the body's primary energy source. When this happens, certain molecules known as ketone bodies or ketones are produced, which is why the process is known as ketosis or ketogenesis.
There is evidence that using these diets for a short period may result in weight loss, but there is no evidence of superior long-term weight loss. A low-carbohydrate diet has been linked to improved short-term blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes, but there is insufficient data to support long-term benefits.
Low-carbohydrate diets rich in plant-based protein and fats have been linked to lower mortality and cardiovascular risk, whereas low-carbohydrate diets high in animal fat and protein have been linked to higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular risk. Overall, low-carbohydrate diets have several advantages and disadvantages.
While a high-fat diet may sound appetizing, if you want to lose weight quickly, I would recommend a more balanced diet of wholegrain carbohydrates, fruit, and vegetables as a less restrictive strategy to achieve long-term health.
11. Avoid Smoking
Smoking raises the risk of all-cause death and cancer. It has also been linked to decreased longevity, with an estimated 10-year reduction depending on how much and how long you smoked. Stopping smoking before the age of 40 (and preferably far before the age of 40) eliminates more than 90% of the excess mortality caused by continued smoking, whereas quitting before the age of 30 eliminates more than 97%.
12. Avoid Alcohol Consumption
In 2016, alcohol usage was the sixth largest risk factor for both mortality and disability-adjusted life years, accounting for 2.2% of female deaths and 6.8% of male fatalities. There is no safe level of alcohol use, and it is associated with an increased risk of cancer, liver disease, and cardiovascular disease. The risks outweigh any theoretical benefits.
13. Avoid Too Much Stress
Chronic stress is expected to impact up to a quarter of the population. Stress appears to affect overall food consumption in one of two ways: overeating or undereating. Interestingly, this is determined by the degree of the stressor.
Chronic life stress is linked to a larger preference for energy and nutrient-dense diets, such as sugary and high-fat foods. Studies on males have found that persistent life stress may be associated with weight increase. It also affects the gut microbiota through the bidirectional gut-brain link. This is connected with an increase in chronic inflammation. Chronic stress is a major health concern in society, since it has been linked to a variety of diseases, an increased risk of cancer, and an increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression.
14. Stay Away From Processed Meat
Red meat refers to uncooked cattle, lamb, and pork. Processed meat is not merely formed flesh; it is also preserved, similar to bacon and sausages. Eating processed meat is associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer. Bowel cancer affects approximately 61 out of every 1000 people in the UK.
Furthermore, persons who consume the least quantity of processed meat are likely to have a lower lifetime risk than the general population (approximately 56 instances per 1000 low-meat eaters). Among 1000 people who eat the most processed meat, 66 are expected to acquire bowel cancer, which is 10 more than the group who consumes the least processed meat. The link to red meat is less apparent, although it appears to raise the risk of colon cancer.
This is assumed to be related to naturally occurring compounds in beef that, when cooked, can cause damage: heam, nitrites, nitrates, heterocyclic and polycyclic amines. Switching to organic meat does not lessen the risk, however, eating meat without preservatives may cut it marginally. Red meat is a wonderful source of iron, but so are many plants. Consuming less red meat reduces the risk of colon cancer over time.
Bottom Line
I hope you found this post helpful. You should now understand that there are numerous strategies to minimize your long-term risk of disease and extend your longevity by changing your diet, exercising, and staying mentally engaged.
