“Longevity”
is
the
buzzword
of
the
moment
on
social
media.
Everyone
wants
to
live
longer
and
healthier.
And
while
some
factors
aren’t
in
your
control,
many
habits
will
greatly
impact
your
longevity
and
quality
of
life
as
you
age.

“It
really
is
a
lifetime
of
health
that
makes
you
have
healthy
aging
and
good
longevity
and
good
healthspan,”
said

Dr.
Elizabeth
Eckstrom,
a
professor
of
medicine
in
the
division
of
general
internal
medicine
and
geriatrics
at
Oregon
Health
and
Science
University
School
of
Medicine.

Even
aspects
of
your
early
life,
such
as
your
childhood
education,
can
affect
how
you
age,
according
to

Dr.
David
Nace,
a
geriatrician
at
the
University
of
Pittsburgh
Medical
Center.

That
said,
“no
matter
what
age
you
are,
you
can
start
now
and
still
have
huge
benefits
from
doing
things
—
don’t
let
anyone
think
it’s
too
late
to
start
with
lifestyle
changes,”
Eckstrom
noted.

Below,
geriatric
medicine
experts
share
the
habits
they
wish
folks
would
commit
to
throughout
their
lives,
whether
they’re
22
or
92.

1.
Prioritize
exercise.

Physical
activity
is
paramount
for
healthy
aging.
Nace
said
it’s
specifically
important
to
stay
active
through
midlife,
which
he
defined
as
ages
35
to
64,
though
you
should
prioritize
it
outside
of
this
timeframe,
too.

Getting
exercise
doesn’t
have
to
mean
going
to
the
gym
or
a
workout
class
(although
those
are
great
options).
It
can
mean
going
for
a
walk
or
gardening,
if
that’s
what
you
prefer,
Nace
said.

Staying
active
helps
you
sleep
better,
feel
better,
manage
your
weight,
and
reduces
the
risk
of
arthritis.
“It
just
has
benefits
all
the
way
around,”
Nace
added.

2.
Consider
trying
tai
chi.

“When
I
talk
about
exercise,
I
talk
mostly
about
tai
chi,”
Eckstrom
said.

Research
shows
that
doing
tai
chi
reduces
the
risk
of
falls
in
older
adults
by
about
60%.
“Falls
[are]
one
of
the
major
reasons
that
people
have
disability
and
death
over
age
65,”
Eckstrom
noted.

“But
some
of
our
newer
work
shows
that
it
also
improves
brain
function,
so
if
you
do
tai
chi
two
to
three
hours
per
week
on
average,
it
will
give
you
an
additional
three
to
six
years
of
healthy
brain
life.
That’s
a
lot,”
she
said.

Doing
tai
chi
regularly
also
lowers
blood
pressure
and
cholesterol
and
reduces
pain.
“So,
everybody
should
be
doing
tai
chi
…
start
young,
do
it
your
entire
life,”
Eckstrom
said.

3.
Protect
your
hearing.

According
to

Dr.
Kenneth
Koncilja,
a
geriatric
medicine
specialist
at
Cleveland
Clinic,
protecting
your
hearing
from
damage
as
you
get
older
is
crucial
for
healthy
aging.

“A
lot
of
people
wish
they
would
have
had
some
hearing
protection
when
they
were
younger
to
reduce
hearing
loss
when
they’re
older,”
Koncilja
said.

Hearing
loss
also
impacts
socialization
as
people
age.
“People
with
better
hearing
later
in
life
socialize
more,”
Koncilja
added.

There
are
also
cognitive
benefits
that
happen
when
you
protect
your
hearing.
“It’s
a
modifiable
risk
factor
for
dementia
—
so,
something
you
can
do,
preventing
hearing
loss
and
treating
hearing
loss
and
addressing
hearing
loss,
can
actually
reduce
your
risk
of
dementia,
which
is
a
big
deal,”
Koncilja
said.

4.
Address
vision
loss.

According
to
Koncilja,
it’s
also
crucial
to
address
any
vision
loss.

“If
you
can’t
really
see,
you
don’t
walk
as
much.
If
you
don’t
walk
as
much,
you’re
not
as
active,”
Nace
said.
And,
again,
staying
active
is
crucial
for
healthy
aging.

More,
you
don’t
read
as
much
or
go
out
as
much
if
you
can’t
see
well,
either,
which
makes
isolation
more
common,
he
said.

This
is
an
important
way
to
lower
your
dementia
risk,
added
Nace.

5.
Follow
a
nutritious
diet.

What
you
eat
is
important
all
throughout
your
lifespan,
and
the
best
diet
to
follow
is
the
Mediterranean
diet,
according
to
Eckstrom.
This
is
a
meal
plan

that’s
high
in
fruit,
veggies,
nuts,
seeds,
whole
grains,
beans,
plant-based
proteins
and
fish.

“There
are
lots
of
other
fad
diets
out
there,
but
if
you
100%
follow
the
Mediterranean
diet
for
your
lifetime,
there’s
pretty
good
evidence
that
you
can
probably
reduce
your
risk
of
Alzheimer’s
dementia
by
at
least
50%
just
from
diet
alone,”
she
said.

6.
Don’t
use
tobacco
products.

“Don’t
smoke.
Don’t
vape.
No
cigars.
None
of
it
is
better
than
any
of
the
rest
of
it,”
Nace
stressed,
noting
that
these
behaviors
add
up
and
have
a
detrimental
effect
on
your
health.

Tobacco
products
are
linked
to
cancer,
and
smoking
is
particularly
linked
to
lung
cancer.

“I
think
one
of
the
things
most
people
don’t
realize
…
there’s
also
stroke,
heart
disease
and
peripheral
vascular
disease,
and
one
of
the
things
that’s
very
clear
is
that
vascular
disease
is
related
to
the
onset
of
dementia,”
Nace
said.

“If
you
want
to
age,
don’t
smoke.
And
if
you
want
to
age
well,
don’t
smoke.
And
if
you
are
smoking,
get
help
to
quit,”
Koncilja
added.

7.
Limit
your
alcohol
use.

Excessive
alcohol
intake
is
also
bad
for
aging.

“There’s
a
lot
of
arguments
back
and
forth
as
what
a
healthy
alcohol
intake
is,”
Nace
said,
but
making
sure
you
limit
your
alcohol
use
is
important
for
healthy
aging.

According
to
the
World
Health
Organization,
“there
is
no
form
of
alcohol
consumption
that
is
risk-free.
Even
low
levels
of
alcohol
consumption
carry
some
risks
and
can
cause
harm.”

“The
newest
evidence
reports
that
we
should
only
be
having
two
alcoholic
drinks
per
week,”
Eckstrom
said.
“It
markedly
increases
your
risk
of
dementia.
So,
if
you
drink
six
drinks
per
week
instead
of
two
drinks
per
week,
your
risk
of
dementia
goes
up
by
16%.”

And
the
more
you
drink,
the
more
your
dementia
risk
increases.

“It’s
also
carcinogenic,
and
if
you
drink
more
than
two
drinks
per
week,
it
increases
your
risk
for
cancer,”
she
noted.
It
also
causes
heart
disease,
liver
disease,
high
blood
pressure
and
many
other
illnesses.

8.
Stay
active
when
you
retire.

“Don’t
retire
and
just
sit.
That’s
the
worst
thing
in
the
world,”
said
Nace.

Staying
active
when
you
retire
—
cognitively,
physically
and
socially
—
is
key,
Nace
noted.

Your
cognition
suffers
when
you’re
isolated
and
not
challenging
yourself
in
your
day-to-day
life.
Keeping
your
mind
active
is
one
way
to
reduce
your
risk
of
dementia.

“Staying
active,
it
gives
you
meaning
in
your
life
[and]
that
has
benefits
cognitively,”
Nace
said.
“The
brain
is
still
resilient
and
still
can
learn,
and
physically
I
think
that
also
becomes
important.”

During
retirement,
give
yourself
something
to
look
forward
to,
whether
that
is
babysitting
grandkids,
volunteering
at
a
local
food
pantry,
helping
out
at
church
or
joining
a
book
club
with
your
neighbors.

“So
often,
I
see
people
who
just
kind
of
withdraw,
and
that’s
a
recipe
for
disaster,”
Nace
said.