Top 10 Habits for Healthy Ageing: Simple Lifestyle Changes for a Healthy Life

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Discover 10 habits for healthy ageing. Adopt habits—balanced diet, exercise, stress management, quality sleep—to boost vitality and ensure long-term wellbeing.

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As Euromonitor reports in their 2025 trends list, there has been a recent surge in interest in healthspan. Healthspan means ensuring that we are in good health and enjoy the extra years of life expectancy as we age. After all, who wants to live a long life in poor health? While genetics play a role in how we age, there are steps and habits we can engage in as early in life as possible to ensure that we remain as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Aging-related changes start early, so if we can take some actions to mitigate these changes, these efforts could help reduce the pace at which we age.

Weight training to Maintain Muscle Mass

According to the US Office on Women’s Health, 30 years of age is when the body starts to lose 3–5% of muscle mass per decade. The rate of decline increases more rapidly at 60 years of age. Muscles are considered one of the keys to staying healthy for longer, and this is because muscle loss can trigger a range of other health risks. Reduced fitness or mobility can affect the ability to carry out daily activities or participate in social events. There is also an increased risk of falls or injury with muscle weakness.

Other consequences of muscle loss include higher blood sugar levels and lower metabolism. A study has found a relationship between muscles and brain ageing, concluding that muscle-targeted intervention is promising for improving aging.

Strength training, including lifting weights, is an ideal way to maintain muscle mass and prevent advanced stages of muscle loss. According to Australian Government health guidelines, the recommendation is twice a week.

Cardiovascular exercise for heart health

Cardiovascular exercises such as jogging, walking, swimming, or other exercises that keep your heart rate up are important for heart health, maintaining a healthy weight, and lowering the risk of other health problems. Australian Government health guidelines recommend 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity, including walking, golf, lawn mowing, or swimming. Otherwise, adults can do 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous-intensity physical activity, such as jogging, aerobics, and soccer.

You can break up the exercise into several sessions of varying durations in the way it suits your lifestyle.

The side benefits of exercising are more energy and a boost in mood. Finally, stretching should also form part of an exercise regime. For example, in women, estrogen levels reduce with age, which can lead to tighter tendons and joint pain.

A healthy, nutritious diet

To support and maintain muscle, a diet that includes protein is ideal. Other key nutrients to focus on include:

Calcium and vitamin D to maintain strong bones
Fibre helps to support gut health, and according to Stanford University, research shows it is linked to overall health, such as immune health and inflammation
Plant-based foods contain polyphenols that act as antioxidants to fight oxidative stress from free radicals, which can damage cells.
Healthy fats, such as omega-3 fats, help to lubricate the joints, support heart health and reduce inflammation. Chronic inflammation can cause harm to the body, leading to health problems.

Focus on a diet consisting mainly of whole foods, which are minimally processed, such as lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meats, and healthy fats such as avocado and olive oils. Such foods can help nourish your body with the right nutrients for proper functioning and provide it with the energy it needs. The Mediterranean diet has been widely studied for its health benefits. It can be a helpful guide as it contains antioxidants to fight oxidative stress and nutrients like omega-3 fats to help reduce inflammation.

Manage stress

Although stress is sometimes necessary to achieve certain goals in life, chronic stress can trigger changes in our bodies that can accelerate aging. A weakened immune system, inflammation, insulin resistance, and poor metabolism are all examples of the negative impacts of stress.

Yale research indicates that chronic stress can shorten one’s lifespan. It found psychological resilience—such as intense emotional regulation and self-control skills—to be a factor in lower “biological ages.”

Unhealthy behaviours such as turning to alcohol or overeating can also have negative health impacts.

Another 2023 study highlighted that greater emotional stress is associated with advanced brain aging.

Taking whatever time you can afford for relaxation, even if it’s just five minutes, can be better than nothing and contribute to lower stress levels. This activity can be one that you enjoy and relaxes you, but popular choices include yoga, exercise, and meditation.

Ensure a healthy sleep routine

Harvard Medical School reports that insufficient sleep over time has been associated with a shortened lifespan. Lack of sleep is linked to poor health consequences such as weight gain, poor blood sugar control, and increased inflammation. During sleep, the body repairs and restores muscles, cells, protein, and tissue.

In addition, irregular sleep can lead to irregular mealtimes and physical exercise patterns. Results of a 2024 study published in the Sleep Journal indicate that sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration.

Try to maintain a regular sleep pattern, with a similar sleep time each day and aim for seven to eight hours each session whenever possible.

Stay hydrated

Longitudinal research shows that adults who stay hydrated appear healthier and live longer. In addition to preventing dehydration, drinking enough fluids plays an important role in lubricating the body’s joints to reduce the risk of injury. Not drinking enough can lead to tiredness, affecting daily activities. According to the Centre for Disease Control, hydration may also help prevent constipation, which is important for gut health.

The Heart Foundation also reports that hydration assists the body in expelling toxins, supports organ function, and transports nutrients to cells, all of which help maintain a healthy body.

To maintain a healthy fluid balance, Dietitians Australia recommends that most adults need around 2000-2500mls of fluid per day, equating to eight to ten 250ml cups daily. The recommended amount is higher for men than women. Stick to water as the primary fluid, although other liquids such as water, milk, juice, herbal tea, cordial, and soft drinks also count.

Maintain social connections

According to a new meta-analysis study from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) at UNSW Sydney, spending time with loved ones can have significant health benefits as we age. The study found that frequent interactions—monthly or weekly—with family and friends and having someone to talk to reduce the risk of poor mental health outcomes.

It found close relationships can have a stress-buffering effect because of the support received from these.

Family, friends, and community members can also positively influence healthy behaviours, for example, by encouraging participation in healthy activities together. So frequently make time to reach out and spend time with others or to have a chat.

Keep up regular health checks

Just like your car needs servicing, regular health checks are valuable, as they maintain your health and body. It is ideal to have them regularly even if you feel healthy, as some signs of health problems may not be visible or felt. They are a good chance to speak to your doctor about your lifestyle for any advice for improvement.

Simple health checks, such as blood tests, blood pressure tests, and weight and body mass index checks, can help monitor your health and act as a preventative measure to identify any early risk markers so that you can intervene early, such as with any necessary lifestyle changes. Other checks include heart health, skin, and dental checks.

Maintain a positive outlook

Research suggests that optimism is linked to a longer life. Studies have also found that more optimistic people tend to lead healthier lifestyles. Optimism is related to resilience and can help better manage stress. Authors Immaculata De Vivo and Daniel Lumera of “The Biology of Kindness” write, “The continuous wear and tear caused by elevated stress hormones like cortisol and noradrenaline leads to heightened levels of body inflammation.”

Optimism includes practising gratitude, trying to see the positive and silver lining in situations, and setting achievable goals. Harvard Medical School notes one psychotherapy technique: practising smiling for a few minutes daily.

Quit smoking and manage alcohol intake

A 2024 study reports alcohol could shorten lifespan. According to Harvard Medical School, what seems clear in most research on health benefits is that the amount is key. The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care notes that the risk of dying from alcohol-related disease and injury remains below 1 in 100 if no more than 10 standard drinks are consumed each week and no more than four standard drinks are consumed on any one day. The lesson is that the less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.

If you want a longer life, research shows that to gain the maximum benefits for life expectancy, it would be ideal to not only reduce but quit smoking as early as possible. The research, published in the journal Addiction, estimates that the average loss of life per cigarette smoked is approximately 20 minutes—17 minutes for men and 22 minutes for women.