Adopting these eight healthy habits at 40 could add 24 years to your life, study reveals

Dr. Xuan-Mai T. Nguyen from the Carle Illinois College of Medicine shared the study's findings at the annual NUTRITION 2023 conference held by the American Society for Nutrition in Boston.

The study relied on health data and surveys from 719,147 participants registered in the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program, collated between 2011 and 2019. The analysis included adults aged from 40 to 99 and factored in 33,375 deaths.

The investigators pinpointed eight crucial habits for a healthier lifestyle, which include regular physical activity, avoiding opioid addiction, quitting smoking, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, keeping proper sleep hygiene, and maintaining positive social relationships.

Inactivity, smoking tobacco, and opioid usage were found to be associated with a 30-45 percent increased risk of death, while stress, excessive alcohol consumption, and poor sleep hygiene heightened the risk of dying by 20 percent. A lack of positive social connections also increased mortality risk by 5 percent.

Scientific research has demonstrated that choices regarding a healthy lifestyle significantly decrease the likelihood of chronic diseases. The findings also contribute to quantifying the extent to which adopting a healthier lifestyle can help reduce the risk of such conditions.

The study indicates that individuals who follow these eight core principles of a healthy lifestyle can expect to prolong their lives, regardless of when the changes were initiated. Although this positive effect diminishes over time, even after reaching 60, it remains noteworthy.

In women, sticking to healthy nutritional and lifestyle habits is also linked to an extension in lifespan, but this increase was assessed at "only" 21 years compared to the 24 years in men.