An Obvious Secret to Longevity That Most People Overlook

“Longevity” is the flexible term that can either mean just “lifespan” or both lifespan and healthspan—years spent in good health. The internet is flooded with articles that claim to tell you how to increase your longevity. And why not? Most of us want to live longer, especially if we can still possess the vitality of our younger years. In addition, research tells us that getting older brings with it a happiness bonus—a fact so amazing to me that I wrote a whole book about it.

Most articles on longevity emphasize the healthy habits you should be practicing or the unhealthy habits that you must change if you want to live longer and better. Of course, your genes might account for as much as half of your lifespan. And Lady Luck also plays a role.

But there is one secret to longevity that most writers on the subject (myself included) tend to overlook, and this factor is also critical for healthy longevity. I will reveal this secret below.

Healthy Habits and Longevity: The Great Eight

First, what are the healthy habits that promote longevity? So that you don’t miss the longevity cruise ship, here is a short summary of the major lifestyle habits that research has linked to a longer and healthier life:

1. Exercise. The gold standard, according to the World Health Organization, is 150 minutes per week of mild to moderate exercise, such as 20 to 30 minutes of walking five days a week. But any amount of exercise or physical activity—even just a few minutes per day—will increase your life expectancy, your energy, your mental health, and your health in general. Staying active helps, too, so get up and move around every hour or so.
2. Social connections. Coffee or lunch with friends, volunteering, taking classes, getting together with relatives, loving and being loved—any or all these activities will contribute to a longer, happier life.
3. Sense of purpose. Whether you want to improve your pickleball game, write a book, or make the world better in some way, having a goal that motivates you is linked both with longevity and to a reduced risk for cognitive problems.
4. Mental stimulation. Learning a new language or reviving your high school Spanish, doing crosswords, taking up a musical instrument, learning a skill, dabbling in a new hobby—anything novel or interesting is likely to provide enough brain exercise to help preserve your cognitive faculties.
5. Healthy eating. Adopt the famous motto of journalist Michael Pollan: “Eat (real) food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” To this, I would add: Everything in moderation. Control portions. Allow occasional treats.
6. Sleep. Most experts recommend seven to nine hours. More details here.
7. Stress management. Find ways to calm and replenish yourself, whether by meditating, exercising, spending time in nature, taking a nap, or talking to friends or a therapist.
8. The “Don’ts.“ Don’t smoke. (Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health.) Don’t take drugs. Don’t drink, or greatly limit drinking (Many experts now believe that no level of alcohol consumption is entirely safe.)

(Note: Overcoming addictive habits by yourself can be difficult. For support and help, call 988, the crisis hotline number. The 211 hotlines can also provide social service information and referrals.)

The following behaviors are also lifespan/healthspan boosters: using hearing aids or vision aids if needed; vaccinations; a yearly checkup to catch chronic conditions early; a positive attitude toward aging; reading; creative activities; helping others; spending time in nature; and positive self-talk.

Yes, there are experts—some real, some self-proclaimed—who claim to know the secrets to longevity. Some are selling supplements, others longevity resorts, and still others unproven medical procedures or medications. But the Great Eight have been validated by years of medical and psychological research.

Yet adopting every single habit above and choosing your ancestors wisely will not ensure your longevity. There is still something missing in this longevity puzzle. What is it?

The Missing Piece in the Longevity Puzzle

The missing piece is our environment, both physical and societal. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and our healthcare and social safety nets can all be critical factors not just for well-being and happiness but also for longevity.

We don’t usually think about longevity when we consider environmental issues such as air and water pollution. But the connection is obvious. Here are just a few brief examples of the ways the environment affects our longevity:

1. Air quality. Pollution from vehicles, factories, wildfires, and mining all affect the quality of the air we breathe. Poor air quality is a factor in asthma, various other respiratory conditions, heart health, ER visits, and, yes, premature death. In their annual “State of the Air” report, the American Lung Association writes that, “even after decades of successful efforts to reduce sources of air pollution, 46% of Americans—156.1 million people—are living in places that get failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.”

   I was shocked to learn that air pollution kills more Americans each year than vehicle crashes, according to this article in the New York Times.

2. Water quality issues. Water pollution from agricultural runoff, which can include deadly pesticides and herbicides, as well as toxic chemicals from landfills and other sources, can also cause deadly effects on human health. Lead pipes, such as those found to be ubiquitous in Flint, Michigan, can be harmful to all, but especially to the brains of developing children.
3. Social safety net. The lack of a strong social safety net has been a longtime problem in the U.S. Steven Woolf, the author of a global study on life expectancy, summarized the problem: “A fragmented, profit-driven health care system; poor diet and a lack of physical activity; and pervasive risk factors such as smoking, widespread access to guns, poverty and pollution” have all played a role in eroding American lifespan. Shockingly, in 2023, the U.S. ranked 55th in life expectancy out of 210 countries.

Traffic accidents, suicides, infant deaths, accidental poisonings, obesity, and drug overdoses also play a deadly role, illustrating the need for both more robust medical and mental health care.

Summing Up

Important as the “Great Eight” healthy habits are, a blueprint for a longer life has to include more than individual actions. Societal supports must play a role, too. It is baffling that large segments of our society advocate policies that would weaken environmental supports when they, too, will be affected by them. Air pollution, water pollution, and contagious diseases know no boundaries.

(c) Meg Selig, 2026. All rights reserved.