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People could live longer by making substantial changes to their lifestyles, often characterized by the stress of work. A study reveals that making it a habit to eat healthy and get a good night’s sleep can add another decade to your life.
The research, presented at the American Society for Nutrition annual meeting in Boston, revealed that even minor changes make an impact. “The sooner the better, but even if it only does a small change at age 40, 50 or 60, is still beneficialsaid Xuan-Mai T Nguyen, a health sciences specialist involved in the work at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study findings suggest that adopting a healthy lifestyle is important “for both public health and personal well-being,” the specialist said. The team adds that Combining the different positive habits manages to increase life expectancy.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists used data from questionnaires and medical records collected between 2011 and 2019, which belonged to 700,000 US veterans between the ages of 40 and 90, and who were also enrolled in Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program.
Analysis of the data indicated that people who adopted the eight lifestyle factors could gain between 23.7 and 22.6 years of life expectancy at age 40, compared to those who did not.
Due to the observational nature of the study, the link between the identified factors and differences in life experiences cannot be tested. However, Professor Naveed Sattar, an expert in cardiovascular and metabolic health at the University of Glasgow, noted that the information is relevant to prevent or control numerous chronic diseases.
“This means we can’t just take medication for good health and lifestyle is always important. So if the NHS can help people develop better lifestyle habits, this can reduce the costs of chronic disease and help people live more enjoyable and productive lives.”
lifestyle changes
- Eat well.
- Avoid cigarettes.
- Have a good night and sleep.
- Get physically active.
- Control stress.
- Avoid binge drinking.
- Avoid addiction to opioids.
- Have positive social relationships.
Physical inactivity, opioid use and smoking increase the risk of death by 30% to 45%, the research revealed. For its part, stress, binge drinking, poor sleep and unhealthy eating increases the risk by 20% in the period studied.
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