How to Live Longer and Age Gracefully—Healthy, Science-Backed Tips

Aging gracefully, embracing the years, seasoned with style, growing older with ease—you’ve heard the phrases we wrap around the idea of how to live longer and healthfully while optimizing quality of life. But what does healthy longevity actually look like? How do we properly prepare for aging and live a long, meaningful life?

Medicine and science are certainly helping us understand what it means to age in a healthy way, but there are also personal steps and longevity considerations. If figuring out how to live longer and reveling in older age is on your agenda, here are some important things you can do to make the most of your years.

Table of Contents

• Understanding Biological Age – The Key to Aging Gracefully
• Is it possible to ease or reverse aging?
• Many of the Optimizations for How to Live Longer are in Your Direct Control
• 10 Tips for How to Live Longer and Age Gracefully
• We’re Here to Help You Age Gracefully and Live Longer

What You Need to Know About Healthy Aging and How to Live Longer

Seventy is the new sixty, right? For many people, it certainly can be. Before we get into the weeds of how to live longer and age gracefully, we have to address the two definitions of age and longevity: chronological age and biological age.

Chronological age is simply that—the number of minutes, hours, days, years you’ve been alive. Chronological age is why we have and acknowledge birthdays. This fixed data point tallies up at the same rate for every human being, without accounting for health or lifestyle differences.

Then there’s biological age, and this is where things get interesting and our ability to affect how we age comes into play. Biological age refers to a person’s physiology or, in other words, is an estimate of how old a body seems to be given certain physiological and functional markers.

Unlike days on a calendar, biological age is measured by a variety of factors, including cellular health, organ health and function, physical strength, endurance and mobility, cognitive function and metabolic health. Of course, genetics, lifestyle and environment also play a part.

The Key to Aging Gracefully Revolves Around Understanding Biological Age

One way to think about biological age is quality versus quantity of years. Instead of simply stating how long you’ve been alive (chronological age), assessing how well you’re living is the best determining factor for biological age.

Aiming to keep your biological age younger than your chronological age helps you stay more independent as you grow older, remain active, thriving and connected to family and community. Viewing aging through this lens shifts the focus from less wrinkles to more fun, energy, mobility and vitality. This is a core factor in how to age gracefully.

A younger biological age helps facilitate functional independence. Still love to hike? Go for it. Considering swing dance lessons in your 70s? Why not? Maintaining your ability to move, think and recover keeps you young, even as you get older, and reduces the risk of an earlier onset of limitations.

Another way to think of biological age as it relates to how to live a longer, more comfortable life is to consider your “healthspan” instead of your “lifespan”.

Biological age puts focus on the years you live in good health, or your healthspan, rather than just how long you’ve actually been alive. Lowering biological age through healthy habits, wholesome community and energy-boosting activity makes aging gracefully and optimizing for longevity more attainable.

Your mind and mental health play a critical role in lowering your biological age and optimizing the way you age. Nutrition, movement and fitness, sleep and stress management bolster mood, cognition and emotional health. They are critical to living longer. Inner balance radiates outward, letting you and others know you’re comfortable with your age, at any age.

Is it possible to ease or reverse aging?

Recent scientific evidence does point to some aspects of the aging process being modifiable or eased, and in some contexts, potentially reversible.

The caveat here is that much of this longevity optimization science is still in the early stages. Most of the evidence regarding reverse aging has resulted from animal-based studies or small human trials or biomarker-based proxies. That said, some of the results are promising.

Epigenetic Reprogramming

Epigenetics studies how various factors such as environment, behavior and life experience can affect gene activity and expression without changing the actual underlying gene sequence.

Researchers are starting to use epigenetic clocks that measure DNA methylation patterns to put a number on biological age. Deterioration of epigenetic information is a primary cause of aging.

One way to think of epigenetics is this—if your DNA is the computer, epigenetics is the software that tells the computer what to do. As we age, these epigenetics, or DNA software, can become scrambled and lose efficacy, which is part of why our cells lose function as we get older.

Epigenetic reprogramming resets or alters these chemical instructions to restore cells to a more youthful state. Think of it as a full system reboot for your body’s internal hard drive.

Scientists consider this one of the most exciting, but also still one of the most experimental, areas of longevity science and aging gracefully.

Metabolic, Dietary and Lifestyle Interventions

Recent studies and trials have shown daily omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, along with vitamin D and regular exercise, slowed biological aging, while fasting-mimicking diets have also demonstrated notable results. One such trial showed an approximate 2.5 years reduction in biological age over three months in participants from 18–70.

Stem Cell and Immune Cell Therapies

There has been a lot of scientific buzz around stem cell and immune cell therapies in recent years with the growing aging optimization and longevity movement. And while there’s growing evidence these bioscientific practices might help maintain or restore function in aged tissues, these practices are still considered very early stages or preclinical.

Senolytic Drugs

According to the National Institute on Aging, senolytic drugs, which selectively eliminate senescent cells (damaged, aging cells that no longer divide and can affect the health of nearby cells), have shown improved cognitive and metabolic function in animal studies. A human trial was begun in 2019, but further research is still needed before the drugs become widely available.

Many of the Optimizations for How to Live Longer are in Your Direct Control

While you can’t stop the clock, there are steps you can take to slow the rate at which your mind and body age. When it comes to aging gracefully, vibrantly and with independence and clarity, add these powerful tools to your “how to live longer” toolkit.

10 Tips for How to Live Longer and Age Gracefully

Whether you’re looking for how to age gracefully or optimize the way you age, these core healthy aging tips are the foundation to living a fulfilling life in your golden years and preparing for the adventures yet to come.

Healthy Ways to Optimize the Way You Age and Live Longer

1. Seek lifelong learning and mental stimulation – Keeping your brain in shape is an important part of aging well and living longer. Devote plenty of time to reading, writing, learning a new language or skill or playing an instrument. Sprinkle some cognitive training into your daily routine in the form of puzzles, memory games, the daily crossword or strategy-based tasks.
2. Cultivate social engagement – Meaningful relationships with people you love and enjoy stimulates emotional regulation, empowers empathy and nurtures brain health. Strong social connections have been linked to reduced dementia risk and a longer, stronger healthspan.
3. Incorporate stress management – Stress management is a core pillar of any strategy for living longer. Keeping stress levels low through meditation, yoga, deep-breathing exercises and physical movement helps avoid chronic stress that can accelerate aging.
4. Establish good sleep practices – When it comes to optimizing to live a long life, don’t skimp on sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep and establish a healthy sleep routine and hygiene. This down time allows your body to clear your brain of toxins.
5. Exercise and move regularly – Keeping your body moving and strong is essential to living a long life. Create a heart-healthy routine that combines balance and flexibility (yoga, tai chi or Pilates), strength training (especially important to protect against muscle loss and lower bone density) and aerobic activity, which supports heart, lung and mental health.
6. Focus on diet and nutrition – As you age, it becomes increasingly important to nourish your body and mind with wholesome, heart-healthy food. Our healthy aging tip? Prioritize whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats. Limit or avoid processed and ultra-processed foods and added sugar. Also consider consulting with a dietitian about establishing a diet that contributes to your health span and your longevity goals. And as mentioned, talk to your doctor about the benefits of intermittent fasting.
7. Avoid harmful substances and exposures – There are the obvious ones, like not smoking and limiting alcohol or eliminating it all together. When optimizing the way you age, it’s also important to be aware of how much time you spend in the sun, and to be diligent about wearing sunscreen when you do. Also avoid harmful environmental toxins when possible.
8. Stay on top of preventive healthcare – Make sure to talk with your primary care provider about scheduling regular screenings. These include blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and cancer screenings appropriate for your age. Make sure you’re up-to-date on all vaccinations and wellness checks to help prevent disease and do everything within your power to live longer.
9. Control inflammation – As you get older and the trail miles and life milestones continue to add up, your body can become more prone to inflammation. Chronic inflammation can propagate both mental and physical aging. Talk with your doctor and dietitian about the dietary, fitness, sleep and stress reduction factors that can help lower your inflammatory load and aid in living a longer life.
10. Live with positivity and purpose – People with a strong sense of purpose tend to live longer, healthier lives. Consider incorporating a mindfulness practice, gratitude journaling, therapy, group activity or other dedicated personal pursuit into your life to help optimize the way you age and promote longevity.

Here to Help You and Yours Age Gracefully and Live Longer

Empowering longevity, learning how to optimize the way you age, and thriving into your later years means being surrounded by the people, places and activities that keep you feeling young. At Aspen Valley Health (AVH), we’re here to do just that.

Whitcomb Terrace offers a small senior living community in Aspen, where each apartment opens onto personal outdoor living space and panoramic mountain views. It’s living well with the community and support you desire, emphasizing social, cultural, educational and spiritual engagements.

Outings and adventures keep residents feeling young, lively and healthy. Wholesome chef-prepared meals and other amenities and comforts ensure your focus is on connecting with the people and activities you love. Whitcomb Terrace provides a rich social, cultural and mental stimulation to keep life fun, joyful and engaging.

And then, of course, there’s the easy access to AVH’s world-class healthcare facilities and passionate providers. Your doctor is never far away, providing peace of mind in knowing we’re looking out for you as you ease into the joys of aging and look ahead to the many incredible and rewarding years of life to come.