Health News and Tips:

Longevity Hacks for Busy People:

Mohana Ravindranath

The fundamentals of healthy aging are no big secret: Regular exercise, eating well,

quality sleep, and a robust social life can all help you live better for longer. But doing these

things takes time — and when there’s only so much time in the day, it’s hard to know

where to start.

For one, experts say, don’t model your habits after the longevity influencers, with their

elaborate treatment schedules and strict regimens. People may be “overeager to pile a lot of different interventions on themselves,” and could end up discouraged when they

can’t stick to them, said Dudley Lamming, an associate professor of medicine at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, who studies aging.

Setting aside just a few minutes a day for healthier habits can be enough to lower your

mortality risk, said Dr Sara Espinoza, a director of the Diabetes and Aging Centre at

Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. And while some of the steps most likely to increase your life

span are neither quick nor easy (for example, quitting smoking or cutting down on alcohol

if you’re a heavy drinker), small, consistent behavioural changes can also add up, said

Linda Ercoli, a geriatric psychologist and interim director of the Longevity Centre at

U.C.L.A.

We asked experts to share which low-lift daily habits seem to impart the biggest longevity

benefits, and how to determine which will work best for you.

1. Prioritise your ‘why.’

If you’re unsure how to prioritise longevity habits, start by assessing your family history

and focus on behaviours that could help reduce your risk of diseases you’re predisposed

to, Dr Ercoli said. For instance, if you’re prone to diabetes, consider modifying your diet

and exercise regimen.

Another strategy is to ask yourself why you want to stay healthy and identify habits that

help you meet that goal, said Steven Kritchevsky, a professor of geroscience at Wake

Forest University School of Medicine. If you want to continue staying active with your

grandchildren, you might focus on fitness and agility; if you’re an avid bridge or chess player, you may want to prioritise preventing cognitive decline.

2. Be realistic and flexible.

Set approachable goals — whether it’s cutting down on ultraprocessed foods, learning

how to meditate or introducing a new exercise routine — and reassess them each week,

said Nathan LeBrasseur, the director of the Robert and Arlene Kogod Centre on Aging at

the Mayo Clinic.

And if you can’t hit those targets, be clear-eyed about why, he said: “Is it really not that

important to me? Is it just too hard? If so, what else can you do?”

3. Dedicate 3 per cent of your day to physical activity.

“If you had to pick one thing to do,” it’s exercise, said Dr Michael Fredericson, a sports

medicine physiatrist and a co-director of the Stanford Centre on Longevity. Exercise

lowers your risk of cardiovascular, cognitive and metabolic disease, in addition to

boosting mental health and improving sleep, so you get a big bang for your buck.

You may need less exercise than you think: Studies suggest that even just 30 minutes of

moderate physical activity a day — about 3 per cent of your waking hours — is enough to

move the needle, Dr LeBrasseur said.

And it doesn’t need to be all at once. Three-to-four-minute bursts of higher-intensity

exercise — like push-ups, squats or climbing the stairs — over the course of the day can

still lower your mortality risk, Dr Fredericson added.

4. Get out of bed at the same time each morning.

Poor sleep can increase your risk for a host of diseases that shorten life expectancy,

including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression and dementia. It can also slow your

metabolism and make it harder to exercise consistently, undoing other healthy habits you

may be practising, said Dr Zhaoping Li, the chief of the division of clinical nutrition at

U.C.L.A. Health.

Most people need about seven hours of uninterrupted sleep a night to reach the more

restorative stages that allow the brain and body to heal from stress, said Sara

Nowakowski, an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine who studies sleep.

One easy way to help you hit that target is to get up at roughly the same time each day,

even if you’re tired, Dr Nowakowski said. This forces your sleep hormones to operate on

a consistent schedule, which can make it easier to fall asleep the following night. “We’re

actually trying to build ‘sleep pressure,’ or this biological need to sleep,” Dr Nowakowski

said.

5. Practice an easy form of mindfulness.

Chronic stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness are all linked to a higher risk of age-

related disease and earlier mortality. Even just a few minutes of consistent mindfulness or

meditation, or a daily gratitude exercise, can train your nervous system to stay calm, even

under pressure, Dr Ercoli said. “These behaviours have a cumulative effect” on physical

stress, and can even help lower blood pressure and cardiovascular risk long-term, she

said.

You can quickly boost your mental and physical well-being with an “active noticing”

exercise each day, said Ellen Langer, a professor of psychology at Harvard University

who has written several books on mindfulness. Remaining in the moment is a way to stay

mindful: Take a few minutes to notice three new things about a friend or co-worker, or

walk outside and observe something new about your environment, she said.

“When you’re more mindful, you find and look for multiple solutions to problems, and

you’re less frustrated,” Dr Langer said. “Rather than trying to add more years to your life,

it would be best to add more life to your years,” she added.