8 Lifestyle Changes Can Add 20 Years to Your Life, Report

According to research, making eight lifestyle changes—such as eating healthily and getting enough sleep—could extend your life by more than 20 years.

The study found that people were more likely to live longer if they made small changes, even if they didn’t start the healthier habits until middle age.

According to Xuan-Mai T Nguyen, a health science specialist with the US Department of Veteran Affairs who was involved in the research, adopting a healthy lifestyle is crucial for individual and societal wellness.

The earlier you start, the better, but even small changes in your 40s, 50s, or 60s are still advantageous, she continued.

The study was shown at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Boston. It was based on information from surveys and medical records from 2011 to 2019. The records included information on more than 700,000 US veterans who were enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Programme and were between the ages of 40 and 99.

Nguyen and her coworkers looked at the data to find out which lifestyle choices were linked to a longer life span. Medical records collected for the project show that 33,375 people who took part in the study died while it was going on.

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The team went on to say that when taken together, the lifestyle factors could significantly affect life expectancy, extending a person’s lifespan by decades.

The authors write that men and women who adopted eight therapeutic lifestyle factors at age 40 could increase their life expectancy by 23.7 and 22.6 years, respectively, compared to those who didn’t adopt any lifestyle factors.

The three lifestyle choices that were most strongly associated with early death were smoking, using opioid drugs, and being physically inactive: participants who had these characteristics had a 30%–45% higher risk of passing away during the study period. During the study period, stress, drinking too much, not getting enough sleep, and eating poorly were all linked to a 20% higher risk of death.

But because the research was only based on what was seen, it is impossible to say that the factors found cause differences in lifespan.

Prof. Naveed Sattar, a University of Glasgow cardiovascular and metabolic health expert who was not involved in the study, warned that because the research did not involve a trial, several factors could be muddying the results.

Sattar nevertheless appreciated the task. These findings support the idea that how we live our lives matters just as much as if not more than, the medications we take to prevent or treat many chronic diseases, he said. This means that lifestyle factors are always essential and we cannot simply medicate ourselves into good health. Therefore, if the NHS can assist people in adopting healthier lifestyle habits, this may reduce the costs associated with chronic diseases and enable people to lead more fulfilling and productive lives.

The 8-way of life adjustments that could lengthen your life

• Eat well

• Refrain from smoking

• Have a restful night’s sleep

• Engage in some exercise

• Relieve stress

• Refrain from bingeing

• Be unaddicted to drugs such as opioids

• Maintain a positive social relationship