5 Healthy Habits That Could Add Over a Decade to Your Life

Here’s a question worth asking: if you could add more years to your life and keep them healthy, would you? According to new research, adopting just a handful of daily habits could do exactly that helping you not only live longer but sidestep major illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Physical Health Aug 19, 2025 0 69 Add to Reading List

5 Healthy Habits That Could Add Over a Decade to Your Life

Because let’s be real—what’s the point of tacking on an extra decade if those years are spent in and out of hospitals?

The Research Behind It

Scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health dug into decades of data from two massive long-term studies:

73,000 women tracked for 34 years (Nurses’ Health Study)

38,000 men tracked for 28 years (Health Professionals Follow-Up Study)

What they found is almost astonishingly simple: five lifestyle choices can dramatically boost both life expectancy and quality of life.

Here are the five golden habits:

Eat a healthy diet – Lots of plants (fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains, healthy fats, omega-3s) and fewer processed foods, red meats, and sugary drinks.

Move your body daily – At least 30 minutes of moderate activity (think brisk walking, cycling, or swimming).

Maintain a healthy weight – A BMI in the 18.5–24.9 range is the sweet spot, though even small weight improvements matter.

Never smoke – No amount of tobacco is safe. Quitting (or never starting) makes a massive difference.

Drink in moderation – If you drink, keep it light: up to one drink per day for women, two for men.

Even practicing one of these habits extended life expectancy by about two years. Those who consistently stuck to all five by age 50 gained, on average, 14 more years for women and 12 more years for men.

That’s not just a few extra birthdays, that's a whole chapter of life.

But Are Those Extra Years Healthy?

Here’s where the study gets even more interesting. Researchers didn’t just measure lifespan; they looked at healthspan the years lived without serious disease.

The results? Practicing at least four of the five habits gave people an extra decade free from major illnesses like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and cancer.

That’s huge, because these chronic diseases often bring not just physical decline but also loss of independence. Conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are among the leading causes of nursing home admissions in the U.S.

Start small:

Eat mostly plants. Aim for fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Think more home-cooked, less fast food.

Plant-based diet: Nuts, Seeds, Legumes - Powers Inc.