Smoking is strongly linked to disease and early death Overall, people who smoke may lose up to 10 years of life and be 3 times more likely to die prematurely than those who never pick up a cigarette A recent review states that quitting tobacco before age 40 will prevent almost all increased risks of death from smoking.

One study reports that individuals who quit smoking by age 35 may prolong their lives by up to 8. Furthermore, quitting smoking in your 60s may add up to 3.

In fact, quitting in your 80s may still provide benefits 42 , Heavy alcohol consumption is linked to liver, heart, and pancreatic disease, as well as an overall increased risk of early death Wine is considered particularly beneficial due to its high content of polyphenol antioxidants.

In addition, one review observed wine to be especially protective against heart disease, diabetes, neurological disorders, and metabolic syndrome To keep consumption moderate, it is recommended that women aim for 1—2 units or less per day and a maximum of 7 per week.

Men should keep their daily intake to less than 3 units, with a maximum of 14 per week If you drink alcohol, maintaining a moderate intake may help prevent disease and prolong your life.

Wine may be particularly beneficial. Feeling happy can significantly increase your longevity In fact, happier individuals had a 3. A study of Catholic nuns analyzed their self-reported levels of happiness when they first entered the monastery and later compared these levels to their longevity.

Those who felt happiest at 22 years of age were 2. For instance, women suffering from stress or anxiety are reportedly up to two times more likely to die from heart disease, stroke, or lung cancer 56 , 57 , Similarly, the risk of premature death is up to three times higher for anxious or stressed men compared to their more relaxed counterparts 59 , 60 , However, both laughter and a positive outlook on life can reduce stress, potentially prolonging your life 62 , 63 , 64 , Finding ways to reduce your anxiety and stress levels can extend your lifespan.

Maintaining an optimistic outlook on life can be beneficial, too. Studies also link healthy social networks to positive changes in heart, brain, hormonal, and immune function, which may decrease your risk of chronic diseases 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , A strong social circle might also help you react less negatively to stress, perhaps further explaining the positive effect on lifespan 73 , Finally, one study reports that providing support to others may be more beneficial than receiving it.

In addition to accepting care from your friends and family, make sure to return the favor Nurturing close relationships may result in decreased stress levels, improved immunity, and an extended lifespan. Conscientious people may also have lower blood pressure and fewer psychiatric conditions, as well as a lower risk of diabetes and heart or joint problems This might be partly because conscientious individuals are less likely to take dangerous risks or react negatively to stress — and more likely to lead successful professional lives or be responsible about their health 79 , 80 , Conscientiousness can be developed at any stage in life through steps as small as tidying up a desk, sticking to a work plan, or being on time.

For instance, the polyphenols and catechins found in green tea may decrease your risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , Just remember that too much caffeine can also lead to anxiety and insomnia, so you may want to curb your intake to the recommended limit of mg per day — around 4 cups of coffee 97 , Therefore, if you have trouble getting enough high-quality sleep, you may want to shift your intake to earlier in the day.

Sleep is crucial for regulating cell function and helping your body heal. A recent study reports that longevity is likely linked to regular sleeping patterns, such as going to bed and waking up around the same time each day Too little sleep may also promote inflammation and increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

These are all linked to a shortened lifespan , , , But as we see in Okinawa, Japan , the newer generation has a more modern lifestyle and eat a more Western-pattern diet. And now they are starting to have the health problems of the Western world. You only have to look at the blue zones region of Loma Linda, CA, to understand that the blue zones are not geographic locations.

Loma Linda, a town about 60 miles away from Los Angeles, is surrounded on all sides by unremarkable California suburban towns. But Loma Linda residents live about a decade longer than other Americans, with much lower rates of chronic diseases and afflictions like dementia.

Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda have largely protected their lifestyle. The cafeteria at Loma Linda University is vegetarian, residents fought the introduction of fast food chains to the town, they remain actively involved in their faith and church community, and they are physically active into their 80s and 90s.

Stemming from extensive research, the Blue Zones Project came to life — an initiative that works with communities to introduce high-impact changes to make the healthier choice the easier choice. Based on the Power 9 longevity principles, permanent and semi-permanent changes are created aimed at affecting entire communities and future generations.

The results have been stunning. Albert Lea, MN , was the first Blue Zones Project city, and in just a year, residents added 2. Even as Silicon Valley and researchers spend billions trying to find the magic bullet to living longer and better, the best way to improve health and longevity are low-tech.

Instead, we need to go backward to move forward. We need to eat and live as our great-grandparents did. Sign up for the BLUE ZONES® free weekly email where we bring you exclusive interviews, cutting-edge longevity news, and fresh tips for living better, longer.

Related Articles. Living Longer in Costa Rica. In America, only one in seven women older than are able to take care…. Accompanying this is a mindset to follow the 80 percent rule: stop eating when your stomach is about 80 percent full. While all of Sardinia is a Blue Zone, the region of Barbagia is said to have the highest concentration of men who live to be or older.

Traditional dishes are at the fore, with a focus on olive oil, homemade staples like cheese and pasta, homegrown fruits and vegetables , grains and fish.

A typical diet includes sheep's milk, cheese, fennel, fava beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, almonds and milk thistle tea. Subscribe to Wholicious Living to stay up-to-date with the latest health and nutrition advice. Nicoya, Costa Rica. Nicoyan centenarians live a holistic life abundant in whole foods, family, and purpose.

They eat most of their food in the first half of the day, limiting calorie intake in the evenings, with foods focused on a traditional Mesoamerican diet such as corn, beans, squash, and tortillas, plus an abundance of fruits and vegetables such as yams sweet potatoes , bananas, papaya, and peach palms.

Nature plays a big role in their lives too with sunshine and physical labour a mainstay in the Nicoyan lifestyle. Family and friends are at the heart of it all, giving them a sense of purpose and belonging.

So, what do people in Blue Zones do differently? And what secrets can we learn to help us live longer? Plant slant - Plant power is the real deal when it comes to living longer. According to research by Dan Buettner , a National Geographic fellow and Blue Zones Project founder, 95 percent of the diet in the Blue Zones is composed of plant-based foods, with an emphasis on beans.

Although Blue Zones are scattered around the world, each hotspot naturally prioritises a diet rich in beans , including fava, black, lentils and soy, and grains such as oats, barley, brown rice, and corn as well as leafy green veggies like spinach, kale, collards and chard. Meat is limited, consumed on average once a week in small servings — about the size of a deck of cards.

Rather, incidental exercise is the norm and physical labour is common. People living in Blue Zones often belong to a faith-based community giving them much of both.

Their research also revealed attending faith-based services several times per week can add as much as 14 years to life expectancy.

We need to eat and live as our great-grandparents did. Sign up for the BLUE ZONES® free weekly email where we bring you exclusive interviews, cutting-edge longevity news, and fresh tips for living better, longer. Related Articles. Living Longer in Costa Rica. In America, only one in seven women older than are able to take care….

People in the blue zones grow old — and reach — without the chronic…. How to Live Longer. If you were on your deathbed and someone gave you a formula to add eight….

The Right Outlook: How Finding Your Purpose Can Improve Your Life. Quick, can you sum up your life purpose in one phrase? If you can, research…. Load More. Get the Blue Zones Meal Planner!

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But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Their proxies ranked them a bit higher on neuroticism, as well as on hostility. At the same time that crankiness, judiciously deployed, can be adaptive, its polar opposite—cheerfulness and optimism—may be less so.

Worried people are likelier to be vigilant people, alert to a troubling physical symptom or a loss of some faculty that overly optimistic people might dismiss. Friedman and his collaborator Leslie R.

Martin, a professor of psychology at La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif. It is O. to fret—if in a responsible manner. One tip for long life that is not coming in for quite so much revisionist thinking is exercise—and some seniors are achieving remarkable things. Take Ginette Bedard, 84, of Howard Beach, N.

It was a drizzly morning last Nov. So she decided to become one of them. She began training daily until she could run the full Few physicians would recommend that all octogenarians pick up a three-hour-a-day running habit, but adding even a small amount of movement to daily life has been repeatedly shown to be beneficial, for a whole range of reasons.

Thomas Gill, director of the Yale Program on Aging. It also provides a benefit to psychology, by lifting spirits. Exactly how much—or how little—exercise it takes to begin paying dividends has been one of the happy surprises of longevity research.

A study found that exercising even just two days a week can lower risk for premature death. Similarly, year-old Ashdown phones her takeout orders into Tal Bagels on First Avenue, not some trendy vegan joint.

Martin notes that while most centenarians eat different but generally healthy diets, one consistent thing he has picked up from work with his plus crowd is breakfast.

Alcohol has its place too. A study found that women over age 50 who were categorized as normal weight, but reported fluctuating dropping more than 10 lb. and gaining it back at least three times were 3½ times more likely to experience sudden cardiac death than those whose weight stayed the same.

Finally, as long as seniors are enjoying themselves with some indulgent food and drink, they may as well round out the good-times trifecta with a little sex. Friedman and his colleagues, working with the Terman group, found something similar—though not quite as dramatic—for women.

A study from Michigan State University was less sanguine, finding that older men who had sex once a week or more were almost twice as likely to suffer a cardiovascular event than men who had less sex; that was especially so if the more active men were satisfied with the sex, which often means they achieved orgasm.

For older women, sex seemed to be protective against cardiovascular event. The problem for the men was likely overexertion, but there are ways around that. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.

In this and other dimensions of aging, Kennedy cites pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who died at age 86 and was still performing into his 80s. Conceding the limitations of age, he left the most demanding pieces out of his performances; of those that remained, he would play the slower ones first, making the faster ones seem faster still by comparison.

But there are independent centenarians and happy centenarians and centenarians who have had a rollicking good ride. The same is true for people who will never reach the year mark but make the very most of the time they do get. The end of life is a nonnegotiable thing.

The quality and exact length of that life, however, is something we very much have the power to shape. Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey. kluger time. Maciek Jasik. By Jeffrey Kluger and Alexandra Sifferlin. February 15, AM EST. Why People Love Snow So Much Taylor Swift Is TIME's Person of the Year Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More?

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