The Longevity Blueprint: Daily Habits to Help You Live to 100 and Beyond

What would you do to add ten years to your life expectancy? How about twenty? Imagine these are healthy, disease-free years. During the added time, you’d still pursue your passions while enjoying the company of friends and family. 

Enjoying a prolonged lifespan isn’t science fiction. Because our longevity has far less to do with our genetics than with our choices. Want proof? Across the world there are pockets of people where living past the century mark isn’t unusual. Many others are healthy, active 80 and 90-year olds. Despite being separated by thousands of miles, they all live in a remarkably similar way. Their daily habits can easily be our own. Here are a few simple things you can do that will help you someday celebrate your 100th birthday. 

Secrets Of The Centenarians

Across the world, there are communities where centenarians are commonplace. Although separated by culture and time zones, they share commonalities. Researchers have been examining the habits of these communities for decades. Author and journalist  Dan Buettner was inspired by the pioneering longevity research of Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain who had determined that Sardinia, Italy had more males over the age of 100 than anywhere on the planet. The researchers drew a blue circle on a map outlining the extent of this prolonged lifespan. In 2004, Buettner named regions with high percentages of long-lived residents “Blue Zones.”

Although there are lingering doubts about how many residents of remote villages with poor record keeping are actually over 100, multiple peer-reviewed studies have validated the way they live as the key to extending longevity. What’s inspiring is that it doesn’t require complicated planning or a program. In fact, there are daily habits you could adopt immediately that might add years to your life.

Daily Exercise Is An Essential Part Of A Prolonged Lifespan

In places like Sedona, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, and Loma Linda, California the long-living residents exercise every day. They don’t drive to a fitness center for a workout or visit their personal trainer. They garden, and haul, walking several miles every day in the process. In these places, older citizens don’t go to retirement homes or rely on home health aid. They live independently long past the century mark usually with assistance from younger family members. 

Walking is the least expensive, easiest, and most beneficial exercise you can do. Begin with a morning or evening stroll around your neighborhood, increasing the distance over time. If you live close enough, walk to your hair dresser’s or a local shop. Developing a walking habit will pay outsized dividends. Recent research suggests that inactive people can gain an over a decade in lifespan just by taking up walking. Plus, it’s low impact – meaning you can do it every day without stressing your joints. 

That doesn’t mean other forms of exercise aren’t beneficial. Resistance training can help build muscle and increase the percentage of fat you burn no matter how old you are. Doing a variety of weight training and cardio activities will reduce boredom and increase your enjoyment. 

In a large examination of over 100,000 adults who self-reported physical activity outside of work over the course of 30 years, people who exercised between 300 to 600 minutes per week, had over a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality compared to those who did not exercise. 

In another longevity research study, sport participation was examined. Those who participated in aerobic endurance sports gained between four to eight years of extra life expectancy. Those who competed in team sports had a range of between five years lower to five years higher of life expectancy. 

The secret is not getting overwhelmed. It’s important to start small. Exercising for just 15 minutes a day could add three years to your life while each additional 15 minutes reduces your risk of premature death by four percent. Currently, studies show that engaging in moderate to vigorous activity between two and one half hours to five hours per week is ideal. In studies, how much people exercised had a bigger impact on lifespan than having a higher than normal body mass index or their level of alcohol consumption. 

You can actually estimate your life expectancy. It’s important even before embarking on any lifestyle changes to be aware of any hidden health hazards that can lower your lifespan. Even if you are completely free of worrying symptoms, unseen hazards can disrupt your progress. That’s why it’s important to begin your journey by learning your current state of health. The first step is to take a simple, at-home blood test. Many companies charge hundreds of dollars for similar tests, but Kyla’s is just $99. The cost may even be covered by your insurance. Start by taking a short quiz so you can choose the best test. After ordering, you’ll receive the testing kit along with instructions for sample collection in just a few days. Collect a few drops of blood and mail your sample back to our labs postage free. 

Soon, you’ll receive detailed results. You’ll learn if there were inflammation markers in your blood – a warning sign for elevated cancer risk. You’ll discover the current state of your hormonal and cardiovascular health along with how well your liver is functioning. There will be information about vitamin and mineral deficiencies. You can even discover your brain health risks and make changes to your lifestyle that will support cognitive function and overall well-being.

Best of all, by downloading the Kyla app you’ll be able to enjoy a brand new, cutting edge feature. By utilizing AI-powered analytics and advanced health testing, your lab results allow the Kyla app to estimate your expected lifetime duration. 

Remember, this number isn’t set in stone. You’re in control. It’s even possible to reverse aging by making some simple lifestyle changes. Using graphs on the app, you’ll be able to visualize your progress. And by making a few simple changes to your daily routine, you’ll learn how to lengthen your lifespan.  

Across the World Longevity and Diet Are Linked

Most of the Blue Zones are poor communities where people grow their own food and don’t expect help from outsiders. They eat progressively smaller meals throughout the day, with a final, healthy meal in the later afternoon or early evening. The diets of these places are remarkably similar. It’s a plant-based diet where meat is consumed very infrequently – with a few ounces of fish or pork served a few times a month. 

Along with fresh fruit and vegetables, they also eat whole grains, fiber, and tubers like sweet potatoes. As Buettner explained to NPR, “A cup of beans a day is associated with an extra four years of life expectancy.” 

Quoting Greek physician Hippocrates, one piece of longevity research said, “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food.” The healthy food enjoyed by Blue Zone residents and their advocates mirrors the advice provided through recent research. As one examination of longevity and diet noted, the longest-lived enjoy a “high legume, high whole grain pesco-vegan diet or mostly plant-based everyday diet including nut consumption which provides 45–60% of calories from non-refined complex carbohydrates, 10–15% from mostly plant-based proteins, and 25–35% from mostly plant-based fats. Together, these nutritional patterns promote low insulin and insulin resistance… can delay aging, and reduce the risk factors and/or incidence of age-related diseases including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.”

As the same study notes, “Since 1970, daily calorie intake in the U.S. has increased by 20% or by about 425 calories per day…With high calories comes also elevated sugar, starch, saturated fat and protein content. Collectively western diets result in elevated insulin, hyperglycemia, high insulin growth factor oneI and high cholesterol and triglyceride levels and on one hand activate pro-aging pathways and on the other hand promote insulin resistance and obesity…”

If you’re worried about your blood sugar, hormone, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels you don’t even have to leave your house to find out. Along with a lipid panel, Kyla’s at-home test examines your hormone and blood sugar levels along with kidney, heart, and liver health. Although some companies charge hundreds of dollars for similar tests, Kyla’s at-home blood test is just $99. 

Just download the Kyla app. You’ll be guided through a simple series of questions about your health history. You can also order the test online. You’ll not only discover the best test for your needs. You’ll also learn about simple lifestyle changes that can quickly improve your health.

Staying Engaged and Happy Lengthens Lifespans

Although the Blue Zone communities are isolated, the community members are not. Everyone is available to help. In Loma Linda, the Seventh Day Adventist Church forms a nexus, providing not just religious services but marriage and family planning, networking, and many other things that help members succeed, Experts advise adults to cultivate friendships with like minded, health-focused peers. If you once practiced a faith, consider restarting it. The social connections and interactions can make a real difference. In interviews, just a handful of the centenarians didn’t actively practice a faith. Buettner asserts that “Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.” 

Joining a hobby group where others have the same interests or a sport training class. Taking up tennis late in life can create new social connections along with increased life expectancy of over a decade.

There are other actions that can extend your lifespan. Not smoking or quitting smoking will add years to your life. Drink moderately. Red wine in particular has been linked to favorable health outcomes. Reduce your stress and anxiety. Prioritize sleep including napping.

By accessing the Kyla app, you can not only discover your anticipated lifespan but learn how to reverse aging and lower your biological age. Biological age is how old we appear – both inside and out. This measurement reveals the true age of our organs like the heart and liver. Our biological age is suggested by our posture and balance. It’s reflected in our skin. We can lie all we want about our chronological age. Our biological age always tells the truth. 

Reducing biological age is an important step toward achieving what is called age escape velocity. This is when your efforts at combating aging and disease will add more than a year of lifespan for every year you’re alive. 

By testing for numerous conditions that can reduce longevity and then taking proactive steps to slow down or even reverse many aspects of aging, you will be moving toward this challenging goal. That’s because the Kyla app empowers users to take a data-driven approach to improving their health, potentially enhancing longevity and well-being through personalized insights. So download the Kyla App today and start practicing these longevity extending habits. 

Source: 

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8. O’Keefe, Evan L et al. “Training for Longevity: The Reverse J-Curve for Exercise.” Missouri Medicine. July- August 2020. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7431070/
9. Berg, Sara. “Massive study uncovers how much exercise is needed to live longer,” AMA Connect. January 23, 2024. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/massive-study-uncovers-how-much-exercise-needed-live-longer
10. Reimers, C D et al. “Does physical activity increase life expectancy? A review of the literature.” Journal of Aging Research. July 1, 2012. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3395188/
11. Schimelpfening, Nancy. MS. “Daily Walks Could Help You Live Over a Decade Longer,” Healthline. November 19, 2024. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/daily-walks-help-live-longer
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