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Healthy aging is influenced by many factors. Genetics, for instance, is one of these that we cannot control. Others are within our reach, such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, seeing a doctor frequently, and taking care of our mental health. Research supported by NIA and others has identified actions you can take to help manage your health, live as independently as possible, and maintain your quality of life as you age. Continue reading to learn more about the study and the actions you can take to age in a healthy way.

Taking Care Of Your Physical Health

While scientists are still actively looking into ways to slow or prevent physical health declines with age, they have already discovered a number of ways to increase one’s chances of staying in good health later in life. Staying active, eating well, getting enough sleep, avoiding alcohol, and taking charge of your health care are all aspects of taking care of your physical health. Supporting healthy aging can be greatly aided by making even a few adjustments in each of these areas.

Get Moving: Physical Activity And Exercise

Whether you love it or hate it, physical activity is a cornerstone of healthy aging. There is scientific evidence to suggest that people who exercise on a regular basis not only live longer but may also live better, gaining more years of life without disability or pain. A study of adults 40 and older found that taking 8,000 steps or more per day, compared to only taking 4,000 steps, was associated with a 51% lower risk of death from all causes.

Activities that keep your body moving, like gardening, walking the dog, and taking the stairs rather than the elevator, can help you get more steps in each day. Exercise is an essential tool for maintaining a healthy weight, despite its numerous other advantages. Obese adults are more likely to suffer from a wide range of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as death and disability. However, being thinner is not always better for you. Being or becoming too thin as an older adult can weaken your immune system, increase the risk of bone fracture, and in some cases may be a symptom of disease.

Loss of muscle mass can result from both obesity and underweight conditions, which can make a person feel weak and easily tired. Muscle function often deteriorates with age. Older adults may not have the energy to do everyday activities and can lose their independence. However, even as people get older, exercising can help them keep their muscle mass. NIA’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging data from 2019 revealed that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity strongly correlates with muscle function across all ages. This suggests that exercise may be able to stop the deterioration of muscle function that comes with age.

Maintaining muscle mass can help older people live longer and improve their quality of life. Muscle mass was found to be a better predictor of longevity in adults over 55 than either weight or body mass index (BMI) in another study.

What Are Your Options?

Although many studies focus on the effects of physical activity on weight and BMI, research has found that even if you’re not losing weight, exercise can still help you live longer and better. There are many ways to get started. Try engaging in brief bouts of physical activity throughout the day or scheduling specific times each week to exercise. Yoga and brisk walking are two examples of inexpensive or free activities that don’t require any special equipment.

When you exercise, you’ll start to feel energized and refreshed rather than exhausted as you get more active. Finding ways to get moving and motivated is essential.

Healthy Eating

Make smart food choices can help you avoid certain health issues as you get older and may even improve how well your brain works. Eating well is not just about your weight, like exercising. It can be difficult to decide what to eat because there are so many different diets available.

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide healthy eating recommendations for each stage of life. Whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables are recommended by the Dietary Guidelines. A lot of research indicates that the Mediterranean-style diet, which includes fresh produce, whole grains, and healthy fats but less dairy and more fish than the typical American diet, may improve health.

A 2021 study analyzing the eating patterns of more than 21,000 participants found that people closely following the Mediterranean-style pattern had a significantly lower risk of sudden cardiac death.

A low-salt diet called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) has also been shown to deliver significant health benefits. The DASH diet has been shown to lower blood pressure, aid in weight loss, and lower the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The MIND diet, which combines DASH with a Mediterranean diet, is yet another eating plan that may help people age well. Compared to people who eat other ways, those who strictly adhere to the MIND diet have better overall cognition—the capacity to clearly think, learn, and remember.

What Are Your Options?

Try adopting one or two aspects of the Mediterranean-style eating plan or the MIND diet to begin with. Numerous studies have demonstrated that adopting even a portion of these eating patterns, such as eating more fish or leafy greens, can improve health outcomes.

A diet low in vegetable oil and high in fatty fish was found to reduce migraine headaches in 182 older adults who experienced frequent attacks. Another study that followed almost 1,000 older adults over five years found that consumption of green leafy vegetables was significantly associated with slower cognitive decline.

Even if you haven’t given healthy eating much thought until recently, changing your diet now can still help you feel better as you get older. If you are concerned about what you eat, talk with your doctor about ways you can make better food choices.

For healthy aging, learn more about healthy eating and smart food choices.

Obtaining A Sound Night’s Sleep

Getting enough sleep helps you stay healthy and alert. Even though all adults require seven to nine hours of sleep, older people frequently do not get enough. It can be difficult to fall asleep when you are sick or in pain, and some medications can keep you awake. Not getting enough quality sleep can make a person irritable, depressed, forgetful, and more likely to have falls or other accidents.