Easy Ways to Live A Longer Life

I just came across some interesting information reported by a group of Danish researches a couple years ago. They studied the destructive behavior people take part in and translate the information into the average number of years lost in relation to a human’s lifespan.

Four Ways to Die Young

The researchers estimate that:

• Heavy smoking on average decreases length of life by 8.7 years on average.
• Physical Inactivity (or lack of exercise) sheds on average 5.3 years off of life expectancy.
• Heavy drinking decreases longevity by 4.7 years.
• And obesity (as defined as separate from inactivity) decreases your estimated life span by 2 years.

Combined; if people fall into all categories, then they are reducing their life spans by roughly 20.7 years!

Considering the average developed world human lives approximately 78-82 years then that means that these destructive practices are weighing down the average potential life span of humans significantly.

Live A Longer Life

Let’s just say half of the population falls into some combination of these categories and as a result sheds 10 years off their lives then that means the other half of the population doesn’t lose ten years. This transitive thought process would mean that without these human conditions average life expectancy should be at least 5 years higher. The life expectancy should be 83-87 years rather than 78-82.

The amazing part of these estimates is that they do not consider the practices that we could do to extend life expectancy such as eating the right foods and sleeping regularly. The Mediterranean Diet alone has been shown to decrease mortality rates across the board by 9 percent. If this diet were paired with avoiding these vices then the average life expectancy would easily be approaching 90 years or higher.

Expect to Live Into Your Nineties

People typically expect to live into their 70’s but increasingly the 80’s are the decade most people expect to die in. This is unfortunate because the habits and daily practices to reach the 90’s are so easy to do. Just imagine if Calorie Restriction (CRON) was practiced as well. This could extend life even more dramatically. Of course it is a more difficult practice to keep up for a lifetime, but even still, for those willing to do what it takes for the body to perform optimally this is a valid option.

The 90’s should be approachable to anyone, regardless of genetics, in my opinion. I wonder what your thoughts on this are. Let me know in the comments.