Do these 5 simple things to add 10 years to your life

What would you do to add 10 years to your life? No deals with the devil are necessary – just five simple things that, frankly, we all know we should be doing.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health studied approximately 30 years of data to determine the life expectancy impact of adopting low-risk lifestyle factors. Their results showed that people who adhered to the following five lifestyle habits could add 10 or more years to their lifespan:

1. Not smoking
2. Maintaining a healthy weight/body mass index
3. Regularly exercising (defined as moderate or vigorous activity for at least 30 minutes per day)
4. Eating healthy
5. Practicing moderation in alcohol use

Those who followed all five were 74 percent less likely to die during the study period compared with those who didn’t follow any of the habits.

“The research findings reiterate the significance of a healthy lifestyle, which can be achieved by these five simple habits,” says Amit Parkhe, a nurse practitioner at Advocate Medical Group Primary Care in Roanoke, Ill. “These are simple things that are easy to instill in our daily lives with rich dividends.”

The study showed that women who maintained all five of the factors gained, on average, 14 years of life, while men gained 12 years, compared to those who did not adopt all the healthy habits.

The findings also showed that those who followed all five habits were 82 percent less likely to die of heart disease or stroke, and 65 percent less likely to die of cancer.

“This study underscores the importance of following healthy lifestyle habits for improving longevity in the U.S. population,” said Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study.