The path to longevity is precarious, with chronic disease lurking at every corner. However, simple lifestyle changes are often the cornerstones of a long and healthy life.
Fortunately, a doctor has outlined three things that you can start doing today to boost your longevity.
Dr Anthony Youn, author of the book Younger for Life, took to his TikTok to offer tips, ranging from fasting to improving your sleep, for a longer life.
1. Give your gut a rest
The doctor’s first step is diet-related but it doesn’t involve eating or avoiding a specific food. Instead, he recommended fasting.
Speaking in the video, he said: “Every so often, take 12 to 16 hours where you don’t eat food. This will stimulate the process of autophagy, which is intracellular renewal.”
The doctor isn’t the first expert to point to the benefits of fasting for longevity. Dr Julia Jones, neuroscientist and author of the book F-Bomb Longevity Made Easy, previously revealed on ITV’s This Morning that not eating breakfast until 11am is a simple tweak that could add 20 years to your lifespan.
The eating regimen that the doctor described is also known as intermittent fasting, with some popular approaches to this diet including the 5:2 fast, where you eat a normal diet five days a week and fast two days a week, or daily time-restricted fasting, where you eat normally but only within an eight-hour window each day.
2. Strength trainining
Healthy diet and exercise are often the most important parts of the puzzle, so it’s probably no surprise that Dr Youn recommended getting some physical movement.
He said: “At minimum, do these three exercises: chest press, rows and leg press. This will work most of the main muscle groups to keep you nice and strong.”
A study, published in the British Medical Journal, also backs this finding. The research team found that weight-lifting done once or twice a week coupled with aerobic exercise could slash your risk of dying from any cause by at least 41 percent.
3. Improve your sleep
The last tip Dr Youn recommended is using blackout shades in your bedroom and turning the room temperature down to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 20 degrees Celsius . “These will help you sleep longer and deeper for a better rest,” he added.
