Here Are the Top Strategies for Healthy Aging, According to 63 Experts

There’s never been a better time to aspire to live a longer life, thanks to medical advances and new insights into lifestyle habits that matter — no high-tech biohacking tools required.

The results were consistent with advice healthcare experts have shared for years. “We’re surrounded by messages telling us that we need to hack, track, and optimize our way to a longer life. Yet the habits that rose to the top are remarkably basic, and to some, boring,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, director and owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants, who participated in the survey.

That doesn’t mean there’s not a role for cutting-edge wellness tech, but many experts suggest sticking to the basics of healthy living.

Top 3 Habits for Healthy Aging: Diet, Exercise, Sleep

This was the overarching feedback from experts. When asked to rank the most important factors for healthy aging, a nutrient-dense, well-balanced diet and regular physical activity and exercise landed at the top of the list, with 89 percent of respondents listing each as equally important.

Restorative, high-quality sleep rounded out the top three healthy habits, with 30 percent of respondents ranking this as a crucial healthy aging habit.

Nearly half of experts (48 percent) said that an anti-inflammatory diet (for example, the Mediterranean diet) is the best way to manage the chronic, low-grade inflammation nicknamed “inflammaging,” a top driver of accelerated biological aging.

While supplements are a big industry, experts didn’t list them as an important part of wellness. But when asked to recommend one supplement or vitamin to support healthy aging, a multivitamin was the top choice, with 35 percent suggesting it. That was followed by vitamin D (22 percent), a nutrient that’s difficult to get from food alone.

“The basics work and, more importantly, they’re things we can actually sustain,” Taub-Dix says. “Moreover, these habits don’t have to cost a lot of money, if they require any expense at all.”

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Social Connection

In the latest survey, 59 percent of experts listed social isolation as the most underappreciated potential accelerator of biological aging.

“We tend to mostly think about longevity in terms of what we eat, how much we exercise, or what products we use on our bodies. But having people in our lives who make us feel connected, valued, and supported matters more than you may realize,” Taub-Dix says. “Sharing a meal, taking a walk with a friend, or simply having someone you can call is good for your emotional health and may support physical health as well.”

Staying socially connected “keeps your mind active and your heart happy,” says Damian Folch, MD, a family medicine doctor affiliated with Tufts Medicine Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts.

Optimize Fitness for Long-Term Mobility and Independence

Experts reiterated long-standing exercise guidelines: Each week, people should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two days of muscle-strengthening activity.

The surveyed experts also suggested that people under age 50 track certain markers of strength and fitness that offer clues about longevity:

• Grip Strength Researchers use grip strength as a proxy for overall strength and physical function. Higher grip strength is also linked with a lower risk of chronic disease.
• VO2 Max This is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise.
• Skeletal Muscle Mass Index A ratio of skeletal muscle in the body relative to height.

“In order to maintain your mobility, you need to improve not only your cardiovascular fitness, but also stay strong and keep your muscle mass,” Dr. Folch says. “Also, exercise stimulates neurogenesis — the production of new connections in your brain — hence improving brain health. It also makes you feel better.”

Staying fit and flexible may also help lower the risk of developing pain and discomfort as you age, Taub-Dix says.

Women Face Specific Barriers to Longevity That Have Been Overlooked

Experts flagged several undertreated factors as impacting a woman’s ability to age in a healthy way. The top three:

• Accelerated loss of bone density and muscle during perimenopause and menopause
• Delayed recognition and treatment of heart disease risk
• Inadequate menopausal hormone therapy management due to access barriers and education

“Women sometimes spend decades worrying about their weight when I’d much rather see more attention paid to maintaining muscle, protecting bone, and knowing their cardiovascular risk factors,” Taub-Dix says. “Those become incredibly important to strength and independence as we age.”

She says that hormone therapy can be helpful for some women, especially while dealing with symptoms of menopause. “It’s an individualized medical decision that should be discussed with a healthcare provider, rather than viewed as a blanket longevity strategy,” Taub-Dix says.

“Getting basic blood tests and a bone density test can also provide valuable information to help you make health-related decisions,” she says.

Experts Were Skeptical About Biohacking for Longevity

Biohacking, or the practice of using science and data to try to optimize health, is a big industry right now. But experts are wary of its actual impact on longevity.

While 40 percent of experts said there may be benefits to using wearable health or sleep trackers, another 31 percent said that biohacking tools — including wearable health trackers, continuous glucose monitors for people without diabetes, and full-body scans — generate more health stress than benefit.

“The problem with wearable trackers is that they are supposed to give you feedback and encourage you to accomplish goals, but they can also cause a lot of anxiety,” Folch says. “Some patients feel that if they do not achieve the goal, they are a failure.”

Taub-Dix gives the example of waking up feeling refreshed, only to have your smartwatch say you slept terribly. “Suddenly, you’re worried about something you weren’t worried about five minutes ago,” she says. “Data should help us live our lives, not make us anxious about whether we’re living them perfectly.”

Another poll finding: 26 percent of surveyed experts said that intermittent fasting could be helpful for longevity. “Some people may see intermittent fasting as a longevity strategy because of research looking at calorie restriction, metabolic health, and eating patterns,” Taub-Dix says.

However, she adds, “Human longevity research is still evolving, and fasting isn’t appropriate for everyone.”

Fasting can cause lightheadedness and dangerous low blood sugar in some people, she points out. “What you eat during your eating window still matters more than what you’re not eating,” she adds.

The Bottom Line

Experts stress that people don’t need to invest in new technology or supplements to age in a healthy way.

“You don’t need to turn longevity into another job or spend your life, or your life savings, chasing the next ‘anti-aging’ trend,” Taub-Dix says. “Eat foods that nourish you, move in ways that keep you strong, get the sleep you need, stay close to people you care about, and keep doing things that give your life meaning.”