7 Simple Tips (Backed By Science) to Help You Live Past 100 and Beyond

No one achieves a long and fulfilling life without being happy, conscientious and following healthy habits. Several studies have shown that people who want to slower their internal aging clock and live a longer and more fulfilling life need to make some simple and healthy changes in their lives.

Here are 7 best tips to live past 100 and beyond :

1. Vegetables, Vegetables, and Vegetables :

Extensive research done on the topic of mortality rate comparisons between different dietary habits followed by people around the world shows that diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables help in preventing diseases and work wonders toward maintaining a healthy body weight. The 2016 study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that mortality rates were lowest for people who eat fish occasionally, followed by general vegetarians, and vegetarians who eat dairy and eggs.. Consuming a wide variety of plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and beans, may decrease disease risk and promote longevity. In conclusion, eating plenty of plant foods is likely to benefit your health and longevity in the long term.

2. Start being physically active :

Do you live longer if you exercise? The answer is — — yes you guessed it — it’s absolutely yes. Studies expanding over several years of rigorous scientific research show that when someone says that you should work out a bit otherwise, you’ll get ill is kind of true. Exercising for even half the recommended time can add almost two to three years to your life expectancy. And it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still gain benefit from exercise. In totality, aim for at least 10 to 15 minutes of regular exercise everyday to relive your muscles and keep you active, happy and healthy.

3. Make more friends and start connecting with new people:

Making friends makes us healthy? Yes, it does. Studies has shown that staying connected with your friends and loved ones has physical benefits such as lower stress level, lower blood pressure, stronger immune system and even reduced inflammation. Therefore, maintaining strong social connections and relationships is very important not just for our mental well-being but also for our physiological health.

4. No smoking and drinking alcohol :

Smoking and heavy drinking are strongly connected to disease and early death. Remember it’s never too late to quit. Heavy alcohol consumption and regular smoking are linked to a host of deadly diseases such as lung, liver, heart, throat, and pancreatic disease. One study reports that individuals who quit smoking by age 35 may prolong their lives by up to 8.5 years (source). 29-year-old study results showed that people who preferred wine were 34% less likely to die early than those who favored beer or spirits (source). If you don’t drink or smoke already, consider not starting at all just for your own sake.

5. Enjoy every moment of your day :

Avoiding stress and anxiety can significantly increase your longevity. Maintain an optimistic outlook on life. In addition, conscientious people tend to engage in healthy behaviors like exercising, eating well, and avoiding risky activities like smoking and driving too fast. Journaling or writing a diary, meditating, and learning to relax are wonderful to take all that stress out of your shoulders. Finally, a review of 35 studies showed that happy people may live up to 18% longer than their less happy counterparts (study-source). So, next time you see yourself stressing out over life then maybe you should give that vacation you had been thinking about another thought.

6. Stop Overeating :

Limiting your calorie intake might benefit you for some extra years and protect you against certain diseases. Although, there is still a lot of research to be done on this topic, prior and ongoing studies have shown a promising connection between calorie intake and longevity. They illustrate that calorie restriction may help reduce belly fat and excess body weight, both of which are connected with shorter lifespans. Research of human demographic famous for longevity also notice links between low-calorie intake, an extended lifespan, and a lesser likelihood of disease catching (1, 2, 3).

7. Improve your sleep schedule:

Prioritizing your sleep is one of the most crucial things that you could do to set yourself up for an active and healthy life. Current research shows that sleeping for at least seven to eight hours a night helps prevent serious health issues as well as avoid negative moods and de-motivation. For instance, sleeping less than 5–7 hours per night is linked to a 12% greater risk of early death, while sleeping more than 8–9 hours per night could also decrease your lifespan by up to 38% (1, 2). So if you want a greater chance of living up to 100, give yourself a regular bedtime.

Conclusion

Living past 100 isn’t a myth or a joke, it’s entirely possible. Eat well, exercise regularly, work on building a strong social life and you would find yourself enjoying your 100th birthday and beyond!