**8 Lifestyle Tweaks That Could Lengthen Your Life**
Healthy habits like exercising, getting good sleep, and drinking in moderation could pay off not just in quality of life, but in length of life, too. New research presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual conference in Boston, Mass indicates that adopting these healthy habits could lead to a 13% reduction in mortality. Let’s take a closer look at these habits that could potentially extend your lifespan.
**Never Smoking**
Life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than nonsmokers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, if you quit smoking before the age of 40, you can reduce the risk of dying from a smoking-related disease by about 90%.
**Being Physically Active**
Getting 30 minutes or more of moderate or vigorous physical activity a day is considered being physically active. It should be noted that physically active individuals should be able to walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded.
**Not Regularly Binge Drinking**
Participants who consumed four or fewer alcoholic beverages in the past month were not considered binge drinkers. On the other hand, those who consumed five or more drinks in a single day on their heaviest drinking day in the past month were classified as binge drinkers.
**Getting Good Sleep**
Having an average of seven to nine hours of sleep per night without suffering from insomnia is considered to be good sleep. Insomnia is defined as having difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and/or early-morning awakenings. It also includes sleep that isn’t refreshing or experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness.
**Eating a Healthy Diet**
Following a plant-based diet is associated with having a healthy diet.
**Living a Minimal-Stress Life**
Chronic stress can potentially shorten one’s lifespan by advancing their biological clock. However, it is possible to set the clock in reverse through relaxation techniques.
**Having Positive Social Relationships**
Loneliness is a greater risk factor for early death than obesity and physical inactivity. Positive social relationships are important for overall well-being. Participants in the study were considered to have positive social relationships if they had someone to talk to, hug, or otherwise interact with at least 50% of the time.
**Avoiding Opioids**
Opioid use is associated with addiction and increased mortality rates. Medications are available to treat opioid use disorders, but accessibility can be limited.
The three most impactful habits in extending lifespan were exercising, not being addicted to opioids, and not smoking. Participants who lacked these healthy habits were 30%-45% more likely to die during the study.
Stress, binge drinking, poor diet, and inadequate sleep were associated with approximately a 20% increase in mortality rates. Additionally, a lack of positive social relationships increased the risk of death by 5%.
While adopting all eight factors by age 40 is ideal, researchers suggest that even adopting one or a few of these habits at any point in life can be beneficial. For example, a 60-year-old with all eight healthy habits could expect to gain just under 20 years of life expectancy, while an 80-year-old could gain around 10 years. Even a 40-year-old with four of the healthy habits saw an increase of about 10 years in life expectancy, and an 80-year-old saw an increase of around five years.
In conclusion, adopting healthy habits such as exercising, avoiding smoking and opioid use, getting good sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, managing stress, fostering positive social relationships, and avoiding excessive alcohol consumption can significantly contribute to a longer and healthier life. The earlier you adopt these habits, the better, but even small changes in your habits at any age can still have a positive impact on your lifespan.
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