5 Simple Daily Habits To Make You Live Longer
Our time on this world is limited and I’m sure if there was a single pill that we could take to extend our stay we would all take it in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately are bodies are a lot more complex and require a more holistic healthy lifestyle approach that will hopefully lead to the longest and healthiest life possible.
In this article we’ll look at 5 daily habits to make you live longer which are backed by science which you can start implementing today, some of which you probably are already doing.
We first need to understand why the aging process happens before we can look into how we can slow the aging process down.
What Causes Aging?
At the end of our chromosomes we all have protective caps called Telomeres.
Telomeres are commonly compared to the tip at the end of a shoelace and just like the tip stops the shoe lace from fraying, the telomere kind of has the same function.
Telomeres are there to protect our genetic data by stopping them from sticking to each other and destroying our genetic information.
When we are born we have telomeres about 15000 base pairs long which drop to under 4000 base pairs long as we reach old age.
Telomeres shorten every time cells divide but are also shortened by oxidative stress caused by bad lifestyle choices such as smoking, diet and stress.
When the telomere becomes too short it can no longer divide and dies.
The shortening process of telomeres is associated with chronic diseases, cancers, aging and a higher risk of death.
If shorter telomeres are associated with aging, is it possible to slow the shortening process down or even lengthen telomeres to make us biologically younger?
Below are 5 possible ways that this can be done.
Drink Coffee
Coffee tends to get a bad rap with a lot of conflicting information out there.
Is it good for us?
Is it bad?
Well according to this study Coffee Consumption Is Positively Associated with Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length.
In the study, data from 4780 nurses was gathered from validated food frequency questionnaires and analysed against blood samples to determine relative telomere length.
What they found was that drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day is associated with longer telomere length.
This study concludes that coffee is not only good for you but will slow down the aging process.
Exercise More
We all know that exercising brings many positive physical and mental health benefits but how exactly does exercise impact the aging process.
This study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, set out to see how exercise affects telomeres length.
Similarly to the coffee study, data was collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to determine health and exercise habits and cross-examined with blood sample which measured telomere length in white blood cells.
A massive amount of data was gathered from 6500 people ranging from the ages of 20 to 84 and then categorized and scored based on their responses to the amount of physical activity they had undertaken in the past month.
The more types of activity undertaken resulted in more points.
The lowest scoring group (one type of exercise) was only 3 percent less likely to have very short telomeres compared to someone who led a sedentary lifestyle and didn’t exercise at all.
The group who reported two types of exercise where significantly less likely to have shorter telomeres at 24 percent.
The group who reported three types of exercise only showed a modest jump to 29 percent.
The very active group who reported four types of activity showed a substantial decline in the risk of having shorter telomeres at 59 percent compared to someone who didn’t exercise at all.
This is pretty significant and clearly shows how living an active lifestyle and exercising can drastically reduce the risk of having shorter telomeres which translates into a lower biological age.
Interestingly for anyone approaching middle age, these associations were strongest among people between the ages of 40 and 65 meaning that between these ages it is a critical time to stay consistent with a fitness regime because it seems that it’s between these ages that we can have the biggest positive impact on telomere length.
Take multivitamins
Multivitamins can be an important dietary supplement as they can provide us is with the recommended daily allowance of micro nutrients which can modulate oxidative stress and protect from disease and cancers, especially if we are not getting the adequate amount from the food we eat.
According to this study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, taking a multivitamin on a regular basis will increase your lifespan by 10 years.
In the study, multivitamin use and nutritional intakes were assessed from 586 women between the ages of 35-75 years of age and relative telomere lengths were measured.
What they found was that subjects who took multivitamin supplements containing antioxidants had 8 percent longer telomere length than normal.
Conversely, supplements that only contained B vitamins had no effect on telomeres and pills only containing iron actually shorten telomeres.
The study concludes that multivitamin use is associated with longer telomere length in women but only with multivitamins which provide a complete range of vitamins and minerals in smaller quantities as opposed to supplements that provide high doses of only one or two micronutrients.
Sleep more
I’m sure you know that groggy feeling of lack of sleep where you can’t quite get it together and feeling like your not firing on all cylinders.
Well, you’re not alone as It’s reported that 30% of Americans suffer from lack of sleep, sleeping less than the recommended 8 hours, but this is also a worldwide problem with the average being 6.8 hours.
The long-term negative effects of lack of sleep can actually be very damaging and can lead to serious chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
This study explored the relationship between lack of sleep and telomere length from a sample of 434 healthy men and women with an average age of 63.3 years.
Men who slept 5 hours or less had on average 6% shorter telomeres compared to those who slept more than 7 hours a night.
This was independent of all other possible factors such as age, weight, health and mental state showing a clear relationship between amount of sleep and telomere length.
Interestingly, this study found no association between sleep duration and telomere length in women although this research from The Journal of Aging Research also found a relationship with poor sleep quality in middle-aged women and shorter telomere length.
Eat more nuts
Eating nuts is a healthy way to snack because they are jam-packed with fibre, protein and essential fats.
Are nuts simply just a good addition to a well-balanced diet or can they really provide us with more long-term health benefits.
This study set out to test the relationship between nuts and telomere length from a cross-section of 5582 randomly selected people.
What they found was that consuming nuts and seeds does result in longer telomere length.
Telomere length was 5 base pairs longer for every 1 percent of total energy that was derived from nuts and seeds. This translates to 1.5 years of reduced cell aging when they consumed 5 percent of their overall energy from nuts and seeds.
Something you might want to consider when you choose to snack on chocolate chip cookies instead of a small handful of nutritionally packed nuts
Meditate
Meditation has picked up steam in the last few years and seems to be a staple of many highly successful people’s morning routines.
It is well documented that meditation brings on many psychological benefits such as reduced stress and anxiety, improved memory and concentration along with improved sleep and relaxation, but can meditation actually have any physiological benefit.
A study by Jacobs et al set out to find if meditation can have any effect on telomere length with some interesting findings.
In the study participants were enrolled in a 4 week meditation retreat and telomeres lengths measured before and after the intensive meditation program.
The results showed a significant increase in telomere length after only a short 4 week intensive meditation program.
De-stressing and having a clear mind it seems, has even more powerful long-term health benefits than we thought possible.
What Is the Best Way to Stay younger and Live longer
In a paper published in Lancet Oncology, 30 men took part in comprehensive lifestyle change program.
‘The program included a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet high in fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains, legumes, and low in refined carbohydrates; moderate aerobic exercise, stress management (gentle yoga-based stretching, breathing, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation techniques), and group support sessions.’
After 3 months of comprehensive lifestyle change they found a statistically increase in telomerase which is the compound responsible for reversing the shortening of telomeres.
An increase in telomerase activity is also associated with a decrease in psychological distress and lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
I mentioned at the start of this article that if there was a single pill that we could take to prolong our lives in a healthy manner we would all take it.
This study showed thought that there isn’t just one answer or antidote that will get us the desired result. It has to be a complete lifestyle overhaul with each adjustment making its own small incremental change which together will compound into us hopefully living a longer more prosperous life and allow us to flourish.
There unfortunately isn’t a magic pill you can take but these 5 simple daily habits to can make you live longer will be a great way to start.
