A recent study uncovered good daily habits to help you live longer. In fact, doing so could give you more than two decades of life.

Many start-ups and laboratories are investing millions of dollars in the search for the “miracle cure” that will slow the ageing process and increase life expectancy. Cellular reprogramming, or drugs that target cellular mechanisms, is being discussed.

But, while we wait to see who will emerge victorious in this frantic race for eternal life – or simply a longer life – a scientific study has identified some simple but effective lifestyle changes that can be implemented at any age to gain an average of 20 years of life.

All you have to do is live a healthy lifestyle, eat a balanced diet, avoid smoking, and practise stress management.

Men can expect 24 years more

The study, which was presented at Nutrition 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, is based on data from 719,147 people who participated in the Million Veteran Programme, a large survey that collected medical and genetic information from over a million US veterans.

The study focused on adults aged 40 to 99, and 33,375 deaths were observed during the follow-up period, according to the researchers. The findings of this study are clear: adopting eight healthy habits as part of daily life by the age of 40 could allow men to live an average of 24 years longer, and women to live an average of 21 years longer, than those who had not adopted any of these lifestyle habits.

Interestingly, it is never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle, as the estimated gain in life expectancy decreases with age but remains significant.

So, what can you do to live a longer life? According to the scientists’ findings, nothing out of the ordinary. Being physically active, not smoking, managing stress, eating well, sleeping well, not drinking alcohol excessively on a regular basis, not being dependent on opioids, and maintaining positive social relationships are all important.

In other words, following the recommendations of most national and international health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), should be sufficient to maintain good physical and mental health.

While the researchers were not surprised by the nature of these habits, the estimated increase in life expectancy appears to be far greater than what they had anticipated when embarking on this large-scale study.

“We were really surprised by just how much could be gained with the adoption of one, two, three, or all eight lifestyle factors,” said Xuan-Mai T. Nguyen, health science specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs and medical student at Carle Illinois College of Medicine, in a statement.

“Our findings suggest that leading a healthy lifestyle is beneficial to both public health and personal wellness.” The earlier you start, the better, but even small changes in your 40s, 50s, or 60s are beneficial.