Many people seeking to remain youthful wonder what they can do in order to live a longer and healthier life. There are many studies that indicate that a few lifestyle interventions can help to effectively prolong both health and lifespan. Some of these show that exercise is one of the most effective lifestyle interventions.
Move more
Sorry folks, there are no shortcuts or magic pills yet, so you are going to have to put in some work. Many studies in recent years have provided strong evidence that simple and achievable lifestyle changes can help us to remain healthy for longer and decrease the risk of premature death, and living an active lifestyle is a big part of this.
Healthful lifestyle choices
The American Heart Association suggests that there are 8 essential lifestyle choices that can help to slow the rate of biological aging, lengthen lifespan, and decrease the risk of developing heart issues as well as age-related health conditions. Life’s Essential 8 is following a healthy diet, staying physically active, avoiding nicotine exposure, getting adequate restful sleep, having a healthy BMI, and managing your cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels.
“Eating a heart-healthy diet, exercising, getting good sleep, and not smoking can lead to a reduction in blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. All of these things will lead to reduced weight, which allows people to be more active,” said Dr. Joyce Oen-Hsiao, assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation Services, at Yale New Haven Hospital Heart & Vascular Center. “Keeping an active lifestyle is not only good for the heart, but also the bones/joints. People will have fewer joint issues/muscle aches if they are active consistently daily. Weight loss will take the strain off the joints as well, which will allow for even more activity.”
What kind of exercise?
A paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed data from 500,705 participants for a median of 10 years examining the effects of exercise on mortality risk indicated that a balanced combination of exercise worked best at reducing the risk of mortality. This study examined the effects of moderate aerobic physical activity, such as walking or gentle cycling, vigorous aerobic physical activity, such as running, and muscle-strengthening activity, like weight lifting.
This study found that 75 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, with more than 150 minutes of vigorous exercise, combined with at least a couple of strength training sessions per week were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. The researchers suggested “combining a minimum of 150–225 minutes of moderate physical activity with around 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, and two or more strength training sessions per week.”
What’s the bare minimum?
Some research suggests that engaging in as little as 2 minutes a day of vigorous exercise can help to slash the risk of cancer or cardiovascular event death. This study was published in the European Heart Journal and found that those who never engaged in vigorous exercise had a 4% risk of dying within 5 years, but engaging in less than 10 minutes of vigorous activity weekly halved this risk. To add to this, their risk of death was halved again for those who engaged in at least 60 minutes of exercise per week.
Another study also suggested that any amount of any form of exercise is better than none when it comes to heart health and a sedentary lifestyle.
Take away
Exercise and longevity go hand in hand, think of it as sweat equity. For most people, maintaining an exercise routine can be done at any age. Staying active helps to improve brain health, improves moods, promotes better sleep, assists with weight management, increases energy, supports bone and muscle health, decreases stress, and there is less risk of dementia, heart disease, and diabetes with controlled blood pressure from regular exercise.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6027933
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6683051
https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8
