11 Health Habits



11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100 

One of the biggest factors that determines how well you age is not your genes 

but how well you live. Not convinced? A study published in 2009 in the British 

Medical Journal of 20,000 British folks shows that you can cut your risk of having 

a stroke in half by doing the following four things: being active for 30 minutes a day, 

eating five daily servings of fruit and vegetables, and avoiding cigarettes and excess 

alcohol.
While those are some of the obvious steps you can take to age well, researchers have 

discovered that centenarians tend to share certain traits in how they eat, move about, 

and deal with stress—the sorts of things we can emulate to improve our own aging process. 

Of course, getting to age 100 is enormously more likely if your parents did. (Recent 

research suggests that centenarians are 20 times as likely as the average person to have 

at least one long-lived relative.) Still, Thomas Perls, who studies the century-plus set 

at Boston University School of Medicine, believes that assuming you've sidestepped genes 

for truly fatal diseases like Huntington's, "there's nothing stopping you from living 

independently well into your 90s." Heck, if your parents and grandparents were heavy 

smokers, they might have died prematurely without ever reaching their true potential 

lifespan, so go ahead and shoot for those triple digits. Follow these 12 habits and 

check out Perls' lifetime risk calculator to see how long you can expect to live.

1. Don't retire.
"Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of 

obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement," says Luigi Ferrucci, director 

of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The Chianti region of Italy, which has a 

high percentage of centenarians, has a different take on leisure time. "After people 

retire from their jobs, they spend most of the day working on their little farm, 

cultivating grapes or vegetables," he says. "They're never really inactive." Farming 

isn't for you? Volunteer as a docent at your local art museum or join the Experience 

Corps, a program offered in 19 cities that places senior volunteers in urban public 

elementary schools for about 15 hours a week.

2. Floss every day.

That may help keep your arteries healthy. A 2008 New York University study showed that 

daily flossing reduced the amount of gum-disease-causing bacteria in the mouth. 

This bacteria is thought to enter the bloodstream and trigger inflammation in the 

arteries, a major risk factor for heart disease. Other research has shown that those 

who have high amounts of bacteria in their mouth are more likely to have thickening 

in their arteries, another sign of heart disease. "I really do think people should floss 

twice a day to get the biggest life expectancy benefits," says Perls.

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3. Move around.

"Exercise is the only real fountain of youth that exists," says Jay Olshansky, a professor 

of medicine and aging researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "It's like the 

oil and lube job for your car. You don't have to do it, but your car will definitely run 

better." Study after study has documented the benefits of exercise to improve your mood, 

mental acuity, balance, muscle mass, and bones. "And the benefits kick in immediately 

after your first workout," Olshansky adds. Don't worry if you're not a gym rat. Those who 

see the biggest payoffs are the ones who go from doing nothing to simply walking around 

the neighborhood or local mall for about 30 minutes a day. Building muscle with resistance 

training is also ideal, but yoga classes can give you similar strength-training effects if 

you're not into weight lifting.

4. Eat a fiber-rich cereal for breakfast.

Getting a serving of whole-grains, especially in the morning, appears to help older folks 

maintain stable blood sugar levels throughout the day, according to a recent study 

conducted by Ferrucci and his colleagues. "Those who do this have a lower incidence of 

diabetes, a known accelerator of aging," he says.

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5. Get at least six hours of shut-eye.

Instead of skimping on sleep to add more hours to your day, get more to add years to your 

life. "Sleep is one of the most important functions that our body uses to regulate and 

heal cells," says Ferrucci. "We've calculated that the minimum amount of sleep that older 

people need to get those healing REM phases is about six hours." Those who reach the 

century mark make sleep a top priority.

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6. Consume whole foods, not supplements.

Strong evidence suggests that people who have high blood levels of certain nutrients—

selenium, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E—age much better and have a slower rate of 

cognitive decline. Unfortunately, there's no evidence that taking pills with these 

nutrients provides those antiaging benefits. "There are more than 200 different 

carotenoids and 200 different flavonoids in a single tomato," points out Ferrucci, 

"and these chemicals can all have complex interactions that foster health beyond the 

single nutrients we know about like lycopene or vitamin C." Avoid nutrient-lacking 

white foods (breads, flour, sugar) and go for all those colorful fruits and vegetables 

and dark whole-grain breads and cereals with their host of hidden nutrients.

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7. Be less neurotic.

It may work for Woody Allen, who infuses his worries with a healthy dose of humor, 

but the rest of us neurotics may want to find a new way to deal with stress. "We have a 

new study coming out that shows that centenarians tend not to internalize things or dwell 

on their troubles," says Perls. "They are great at rolling with the punches." If this 

inborn trait is hard to overcome, find better ways to manage when you're stressed: Yoga, 

exercise, meditation, tai chi, or just deep breathing for a few moments are all good. 

Ruminating, eating chips in front of the TV, binge drinking? Bad, very bad.

8. Live like a Seventh Day Adventist.

Americans who define themselves as Seventh Day Adventists have an average life expectancy 

of 89, about a decade longer than the average American. One of the basic tenets of the 

religion is that it's important to cherish the body that's on loan from God, which means 

no smoking, alcohol abuse, or overindulging in sweets. Followers typically stick to a 

vegetarian diet based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts, and get plenty of exercise. 

They're also very focused on family and community.

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9. Be a creature of habit.

Centenarians tend to live by strict routines, says Olshansky, eating the same kind of 

diet and doing the same kinds of activities their whole lives. Going to bed and waking 

up at the same time each day is another good habit to keep your body in the steady 

equilibrium that can be easily disrupted as you get on in years. "Your physiology becomes 

frailer when you get older," explains Ferrucci, "and it's harder for your body to bounce 

back if you, say, miss a few hours of sleep one night or drink too much alcohol." This 

can weaken immune defenses, leaving you more susceptible to circulating flu viruses or 

bacterial infections.

10. Stay connected.

Having regular social contacts with friends and loved ones is key to avoiding depression, 

which can lead to premature death, something that's particularly prevalent in elderly 

widows and widowers. Some psychologists even think that one of the biggest benefits 

elderly folks get from exercise the strong social interactions that come from walking 

with a buddy or taking a group exercise class. Having a daily connection with a close 

friend or family member gives older folks the added benefit of having someone watch their 

back. "They'll tell you if they think your memory is going or if you seem more withdrawn," 

says Perls, "and they might push you to see a doctor before you recognize that you need to 

see one yourself."

11. Be conscientious.

The strongest personality predictor of a long life is conscientiousness—that is, being 

prudent, persistent, and well organized, according to The Longevity Project, coauthored 

by Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin. The book describes a study that followed 1,500 

children for eight decades, collecting exhaustive details about their personal histories, 

health, activities, beliefs, attitudes, and families. The children who were prudent and 

dependable lived the longest, Friedman says, likely because conscientious types are more 

inclined to follow doctors' orders, take the right medicines at the right doses, and 

undergo routine checkups. They're also likelier to report happier marriages and more 

satisfying work lives than their less conscientious peers.