Longevity

Centr x Lifespan.io

Healthspan vs lifespan: is ‘getting old’ inevitable?

Strengthen your healthspan by training consistently with plenty of movement variety.

4 ways to help your healthspan today

These are the lifestyle factors that research consistently says are most powerful when it comes to slowing aging.

1. Mix up your movement

Exercise is one of the best anti-aging interventions we know of. One study found that women will live 5.6 years longer and men 6.2 years longer on average if they exercise between 1 and 2.5 hours per week.

Exercise will increase the quality of your years, as well as the quantity, and a mixture of styles provides the most comprehensive longevity benefits.

• Maintaining muscle mass through strength training is associated with better bone density and cellular health. There’s also emerging evidence that strength training can help your body to clear out junk from your cells.

• Cardio workouts are essential for maintaining heart and lung health, protecting you against the kind of cardiovascular diseases that kill 800 thousand people per year in the US alone.

• Don’t forget your mobility routine, which helps you to move with ease so you can maintain your hobbies and social ties – a massively underrated factor when it comes to longevity.

2. Mind your visceral fat

Not all fat is created equal. Stored deep in the belly, behind your abdominal muscles and around your organs, visceral fat is linked to health problems like heart disease, breast cancer and more.

Aside from exercise and a healthy diet, there’s evidence that including more polyphenols – think greens, berries, nuts and tea – in your diet could help to reduce visceral fat levels.

3. Eat like your future depends on it

When it comes to longevity, you cannot out-exercise a bad diet. No surprises here: If you want to slow down the aging process, the evidence is in favor of a diet high in whole food like veggies, fruit and legumes, and low in processed foods and sugar.

Sleeping well is a superpower for keeping your body and brain healthy. Regular deep sleep is essential for maintaining muscle and controling fat gain. It’s also necessary if you want to flush away the waste that harms brain health – potentially reducing your risk for dementia.

Chris explored cold water swims as a potential longevity strategy in his series Limitless from National Geographic.

The jury is out: future-focused longevity tactics

While more research is needed before we fully understand the impact of these tactics, early results suggest these habits could have a BIG impact on your healthspan.

• Fasting: We don’t have enough quality human research to say that fasting will help you to live longer, but early studies on the impact on the immune system, DNA repair and cognition are promising.
• Cold therapy: Many folks love the rush they get from a cold plunge and while research on the longevity impacts in humans is scarce, the logic checks out: animal studies show benefits for immunity, fat stores and adaptive stress.
• Heat therapy: With benefits for your heart and brain, as well as the potential to condition your cells to be more robust in the face of the stressors that drive aging, the sauna may be a useful tool for promoting longevity.

Disclaimer: This Centr content is adapted with permission from articles written by Lifespan.io. The content herein represents Centr’s interpretation of the original source material: 1, 2, 3.