
The 5 lifestyle habits that could add a decade to your life
By Liz Connor. Published 2020-04-17
BOLD-WellbeingScientists say that living a long life could be as simple as making a few changes to your daily routine.
Humans are always on the lookout for the secrets of a long and happy life, and experts have long analysed all manner of factors that could increase our time on Earth: from adopting a vegan diet and staying single, to drinking a glass of wine every day and keeping a positive mental attitude.A study claims it has calculated the five major pillars of a long lifespan, suggesting that if you adopt them early enough, they can add more than a decade to your life.Researchers at Harvard University cross-examined lifestyle questionnaires and medical records from 123,000 study participants, over a 30 year period, to work out how much longer people could live if they made simple changes to their daily routines.The study, which was published in the journal Circulation, found that participants who followed these healthy rules over the three decades had a dramatically higher average life expectancy than those who adopted none of them.In comparison to those who lived an unhealthy lifestyle, men who adopted all five habits saw an extra 12 years added to their life expectancy, while women gained an extra 14. Researchers also found that women and men who maintained the healthiest lifestyles were 82% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 65% less likely to die from cancer, in comparison to those with the least healthy lifestyles.So what are the five habits you should be following?