Author: José Vega
Longevity is more than the number of years you live!
It’s about living those years with vitality, clarity, and strength. While genetics contribute to how we age, research consistently shows that our daily habits have a far greater impact. The way you eat, move, rest, and recover all shape whether your body thrives as the decades pass or struggles under the weight of chronic disease and accelerated aging. The list is endless with regards to what one can do to improve their longevity.
Cultures around the world have demonstrated that individuals can live for a long time with great health, cognition, and strength. The stereotypical “you’re just getting old” mentality is leaving as science helps elucidate important strategies to improve longevity.
Below are five evidence-based strategies or “health hacks” that could help you not only extend your lifespan but, more importantly, your healthspan: the years you spend living with energy, function, and quality of life.
1. Prioritize Mitochondrial Health
At the center of healthy aging are your mitochondria, the microscopic power plants inside your cells. They convert nutrients into ATP, the energy currency your body runs on. With age, mitochondria become less efficient, contributing to fatigue, metabolic slowdown, and increased oxidative stress — all of which accelerate aging.
Support your mitochondria with targeted nutrients
Compounds like Coenzyme Q10, PQQ, and NAD3 (niacinimide) have been studied for their ability to support mitochondrial health and resilience. PQQ at supplemental dosages has been studied to improve mitochondrial biogenesis alongside improvements in BDNF production supporting healthy cognition.1,5
When you support your mitochondria, you improve not just energy levels, but also your body’s ability to repair and regenerate at the cellular level.
2. Stress Reduction and Recovery
Modern life is filled with stressors — long work hours, constant endless notifications, environmental toxins, and various financial pressures. While the body is well equipped to handle short bursts of stress, chronic stress keeps cortisol levels elevated, weakening the immune system, disrupting hormones, and fueling inflammation. Over time, this creates a biological environment that accelerates aging.
Take steps to build resilience
Even 10 minutes of deep breathing, meditation, or Tai Chi can shift your nervous system into a parasympathetic state — the “rest and digest” mode. Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of yoga, deep breathing, meditation or Tai Chi. Much of these effects have been attributed to the relaxation response (RR) which has been shown to reduce stress by shifting gene expression in ways that improve mitochondrial function, enhance energy metabolism, and downregulate inflammatory pathways.2
A recent study demonstrated that Tai Chi improved the levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase, as well as reducing the levels of lipoperoxides supporting an improved metabolism while reducing oxidative stress.6
Aging gracefully is less about eliminating stress and more about how effectively you recover from it.
3. Healthy Light Exposure
Humans evolved under natural light-dark cycles, yet modern living keeps us indoors under artificial lighting. Disrupted circadian rhythms impair sleep, metabolism, and hormone regulation — all factors that accelerate aging. Light exposure literally sets the clock for your body’s repair and recovery systems. It is for this reason that is an essential health hack for longevity.7
What healthy light exposure looks like:
- Morning sunlight: Within 30–60 minutes of waking, spend 10–15 minutes outdoors. This anchors your circadian rhythm and boosts serotonin.
- Midday light: Exposure to natural light during the day improves alertness and mood.
- Dark evenings: Minimize blue light at night to support melatonin production.
- Targeted therapies: Red and near-infrared light therapies are being studied for mitochondrial support, skin health, and recovery.
It is as easy as taking these simple steps daily. However, for many it is difficult due to the constraints of modern life. In such cases the use of supplemental circadian based lighting indoors can be useful. Many options exist on the market today to help support overall healthy light exposure indoors.
4. Sleep Your Natural Longevity Elixir
Sleep is often treated as optional, but it is arguably the most powerful longevity tool we have. During deep sleep, the brain clears metabolic waste through the glymphatic system, tissues repair, and hormones like growth hormone and melatonin are released. Without consistent, high-quality sleep, biological aging accelerates.3 Healthy sleep habits become critical in our strategy for longevity.
Practical steps for restorative sleep:
- Consistency matters: Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.
- Create a sleep sanctuary: Reduce blue light exposure at night, keep your room cool and dark, and avoid stimulating activities before bed.
- Take a time out, A short 20-minute nap or simply closing your eyes to reset can improve focus and resilience
Think of sleep as your nightly reset button. Protecting it is one of the most effective ways to slow down the aging process.
5. Build Muscle and Move Daily
When it comes to predicting healthy aging, muscle mass is one of the strongest indicators. Beyond strength, muscle acts as a reservoir for glucose, stabilizes blood sugar, supports hormone balance, and protects against frailty. While many avenues for improving our muscle mass exist the most useful could be the one we will do most consistently. For many this means incorporating daily movement practices that can be done regularly in relatively little to no time. They are movement habits that we can create to improve our overall movement throughout the entire day.
Stay active throughout the day
Longevity isn’t built only in the gym. Take movement breaks, walk after meals, and avoid long periods of sitting. Practice simply by squatting down to your comfort level 20-30 times or for roughly 1-2 minutes once a hour during your day.4
Muscle truly is “anti-aging tissue.” Protecting and building it throughout life is one of the smartest investments you can make in your future health.
Each of these strategies works synergistically, amplifying the others to slow the aging process and extend the years you live with vitality. Start small, stay consistent, and remember: longevity isn’t about simply adding years to your life. It’s about ensuring those years are filled with strength, clarity, and resilience.
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References
1 Baltic, S., Nedeljkovic, D., Todorovic, N., Ranisavljev, M., Korovljev, D., Cvejic, J., Ostojic, J., LeBaron, T. W., Timmcke, J., Stajer, V., & Ostojic, S. M. (2024). The impact of six-week dihydrogen-pyrroloquinoline quinone supplementation on mitochondrial biomarkers, brain metabolism, and cognition in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial. The journal of nutrition, health & aging, 28(8), 100287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnha.2024.100287
2 Bhasin, M. K., Dusek, J. A., Chang, B. H., Joseph, M. G., Denninger, J. W., Fricchione, G. L., Benson, H., & Libermann, T. A. (2013). Relaxation response induces temporal transcriptome changes in energy metabolism, insulin secretion and inflammatory pathways. PloS one, 8(5), e62817. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062817
3 Chong, P. L. H., Garic, D., Shen, M. D., Lundgaard, I., & Schwichtenberg, A. J. (2022). Sleep, cerebrospinal fluid, and the glymphatic system: A systematic review. Sleep medicine reviews, 61, 101572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101572
4 Gillen, J. B., Estafanos, S., Williamson, E., Hodson, N., Malowany, J. M., Kumbhare, D., & Moore, D. R. (2021). Interrupting prolonged sitting with repeated chair stands or short walks reduces postprandial insulinemia in healthy adults. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 130(1), 104–113. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00796.2020
5 Jonscher, K. R., Chowanadisai, W., & Rucker, R. B. (2021). Pyrroloquinoline-Quinone Is More Than an Antioxidant: A Vitamin-like Accessory Factor Important in Health and Disease Prevention. Biomolecules, 11(10), 1441. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11101441
6 Rosado-Pérez, J., Castelán-Martínez, O. D., Mújica-Calderón, A. J., Sánchez-Rodríguez, M. A., & Mendoza-Núñez, V. M. (2021). Effect of Tai Chi on Markers of Oxidative Stress: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(7), 3458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073458
7 Shen, J., & Tower, J. (2019). Effects of light on aging and longevity. Ageing research reviews, 53, 100913. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2019.100913