8 Habits To add Two Decades to your Life
Want to live up to an additional 24 years?
A new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, looked at the lifestyle behaviors of nearly 720,000 military veterans between the ages of 40 and 99. All were part of the Million Veteran Program, a longitudinal study designed to investigate the health and wellness of US veterans said adding the below 8 habits into your life at age 40 could add an additional 24 years!
Starting at age 50 instead? No problem, you could prolong your life by up to 21 years, the study found.
Age 60? You’ll still gain nearly 18 years if you adopt all eight healthy habits.
What are these healthy habits?
Exercise
Eat a healthy diet
Reduce stress
Sleep well
Maintain positive social relationships
Avoid or quit smoking
Limit alcohol intake
Don’t use drugs
“The earlier the better, but even if you only make a small change in your 40s, 50s or 60s, it still is beneficial,” Nguyen (Director of the study) said. “This is not out of reach — this is actually something attainable for the general population.”
Women saw increases in life span as well, Nguyen said, although the numbers added up differently than for men. Adopting just one healthy behavior added 3.5 years to a woman’s life, while two added eight years, three 12.6 years and embracing all the healthy habits extended a woman’s life by 22.6 years.
No matter what your age, it is never too late to become a healthier version of yourself. Sleep is underrated and so are vegetables!!