There are many examples of people ageing like fine wine around us, while the rest of us worry about choosing the right anti-ageing treatment and feeling disappointed for not winning the genetic lottery.
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However, that is not the sole reason why individuals age differently, claimed Dr Vassily Eliopoulos, a longevity expert trained at Cornell University and co-founder and chief medical officer of Longevity Health.
Taking to Instagram on March 14, Dr Vass stated, “Biological age and chronological age are not the same thing.” While the birth year is fixed, recent studies have shown that how people age is greatly influenced by core habits that are done consistently, even if not perfectly.
The five habits to age well that Dr Vass noted are listed as follows.
Habit 1: Protect sleep like a non-negotiable
Sleep is not a luxury but a biological requirement. “During deep sleep, your brain clears toxic waste through the glymphatic system, the same waste linked to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration,” explained Dr Vass. “People who age well treat sleep as their highest-performance tool.”
- Getting insufficient sleep can have the following effects on the body:
- Poor sleep accelerates telomere shortening
- One bad night spikes inflammatory markers measurably
- Chronic sleep debt ages your immune system by years
According to Dr Vass, people who age well do not sacrifice sleep for productivity, as sleep is vital for productivity in the first place.
Habit 2: Maintain muscle
Muscles are not just for aesthetic purposes, noted Dr Vass, they are “metabolic armour.” After the age of 35, the average person loses one to two percent of muscle mass per year without deliberate resistance training.
In order to age well, it is important to lift consistently for decades. Greater muscle mass provides the following benefits:
- Better regulates blood sugar
- Protects bone density
- Drives growth hormone production
According to the physician, muscle mass is the single strongest predictor of longevity in adults over the age of 50.
Habit 3: Manage inflammation early
“Inflammation is the common thread behind almost every age-related disease. Cancer. Alzheimer’s. Heart disease. Metabolic dysfunction,” cautioned Dr Vass.
Chronically elevated inflammatory markers are commonly found in people who age poorly, often appearing years before any health issue gets diagnosed.
According to Dr Vass, people who age well:
- Know their CRP, IL-6, and homocysteine levels
- Eat in ways that don’t chronically spike insulin
- Address stress as a biological, not just emotional, issue
It does well not to wait for symptoms and start making lifestyle changes by tracking the upstream signals.
Habit 4: Stay metabolically flexible
Though metabolic flexibility is one of the strongest markers of long-term health we can measure, it often remains untested. Dr Vass observed that most people are “metabolically rigid, entirely dependent on carbohydrates, crashing without constant fuel, unable to access their own fat stores.”
The bodies of people who age well can burn both glucose and fat efficiently. To gain this ability, it is important to train the metabolism like one trains their body. That includes:
- Occasional fasting windows
- Low-processed-food diets
- Stable energy without constant eating
Habit 5: Work with data instead of guesswork
If one wants to age well, it is important to check how healthy they are rather than simply assuming it. Numbers are important in detecting problems early and taking steps to correct them. Things to keep in check as one ages include:
- Cholesterol
- Hormones
- Inflammatory markers
- Biological age scores
- Nutrient levels
- Cognitive baselines
“Ageing well isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about knowing which inputs matter most and being consistent with them long before you have a reason to worry,” Dr Vass noted as parting advice.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
