Wanting a long life is about as universal as wishes get. Longevity science, the study of how and why we age and what might help us live longer and healthier, has become a booming field, and a booming business. This guide sorts what's known into three piles: what has strong evidence, what's promising but unproven, and what's mostly hype.
Lifespan vs. healthspan
Researchers now talk about two numbers:
- Lifespan: how long you live.
- Healthspan: how long you live in good health, able to do the things you care about.
Most people, when they say they want a long life, really mean a long healthspan. Nobody dreams of an extra ten years in poor health. Much of modern longevity research is aimed at closing the gap between the two.
How long can humans live?
The longest confirmed human life is Jeanne Calment's, who died in France in 1997 at age 122. Very few people reach 110. Average life expectancy has risen enormously over the past two centuries, mostly because fewer people die young from infections, childbirth, accidents and heart disease. But the outer limit of human life hasn't clearly moved. Longevity science is partly about whether it ever can.
What has strong evidence for a longer, healthier life
These aren't new or exciting, but they're backed by decades of research and recommended by major health organizations.
Don't smoke
Smoking is one of the largest preventable causes of early death. Quitting at any age helps, and the earlier the better.
Move your body
Regular physical activity lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, several cancers and depression. Walking counts. Strength training helps you stay independent as you age.
Eat mostly whole foods
There's no single "longevity diet," but eating patterns heavy in vegetables, fruit, beans, whole grains, nuts and fish, and light on processed meat and sugary drinks, are consistently linked to better health.
Sleep, alcohol and weight
Good sleep, little or no alcohol, and a healthy weight all lower the risk of the diseases that shorten lives.
Stay connected
Strong relationships and a sense of purpose are linked with longer lives in many studies. Loneliness is increasingly treated as a real health risk.
Use medicine well
Vaccines, blood pressure control, cancer screenings and treating problems early save a lot of lives. A good relationship with a doctor is one of the best longevity tools there is.
Avoid accidents
Seatbelts, not driving impaired, smoke alarms and fall prevention for older adults all prevent early deaths.
What's promising but unproven
These areas get lots of headlines. They're real science, but none is proven to extend human life yet.
- Rapamycin. Extended lifespan in mice in well-run studies. Human studies are early, and it has side effects.
- Metformin. A common diabetes drug that some researchers want to test against aging itself, in a proposed trial called TAME. Whether it slows aging in people without diabetes is unknown.
- Senolytics. Drugs that clear worn-out cells. Encouraging in mice; human results so far are limited.
- Calorie restriction and fasting. Eating less extends life in many lab animals. In people, the long-term effects are still being studied, and it isn't right for everyone.
- Cell reprogramming. Turning back the clock in cells using special genes has worked in some mouse experiments. It's far from use in humans.
If you're interested in any of these, talk to your doctor. Don't buy them from websites or "longevity clinics" based on animal studies alone.
What's mostly hype
- Supplements claiming to "reverse aging."
- Expensive tests that promise to tell your "biological age" and then sell you products to lower it.
- Infusions or injections without good trials behind them.
- Anything promising you'll live to 150.
A good rule: if a product really added years to human life, it would be headline news worldwide, not an ad in your feed.
Places where people live long lives
Writers have pointed to regions such as Okinawa in Japan and Sardinia in Italy, sometimes called "Blue Zones," where unusually many people live into their 90s and beyond. Common threads include daily movement, plant-heavy diets, close communities and a sense of purpose. Researchers still debate how much is lifestyle, genes, or record-keeping, but the habits themselves are healthy for anyone.
Beyond a long life
Longevity science is about adding years. Some people also think about what might happen after the end of a long life: whether they'd want any chance at revival if science ever made it possible. That's a separate and much more speculative question, covered in will science ever bring people back after death? and would you want to be brought back?
The bottom line
The best-proven path to a long life is simple, if not always easy: don't smoke, move, eat well, sleep, stay close to people, and see your doctor. The research frontier is exciting, but it isn't ready for your shopping cart. And whatever you hope for at the end of a long life, writing it down helps your family. The Revival Registry is one private, free way to record your answer.