That said, you can control how long you’ll likely live more than you probably realize. The risks of many of the other leading causes of death (including cardiovascular disease, cancer and strokes) can be drastically reduced by having healthy habits in place.
Life-lengthening habits include eating a nutrient-rich diet, exercising regularly, not smoking, wearing sunscreen when you’re in the sun for extended periods of time, consistently getting enough sleep and having effective stress management habits in place.
That said, there’s one habit that’s so intricately connected to healthy lifespans that it’s hard not to believe that it’s one of, if not the, most important habit for longevity.
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The Habit That Matters Most for Longevity, According to Doctors
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“Physical activity doesn’t just strengthen your heart or burn calories. It reaches into nearly every organ system in your body and fundamentally changes your biology,” says Dr. Dawn Mussallem, DO, a lifestyle medicine doctor, Mayo Clinic consultant and chief medical officer at Fountain Life.
Longevity physicianDr. Jennifer Timmons, MD, echoes this. “It affects you on a physiological level by improving your cardiovascular system, lowering your blood pressure, improving blood flow and supporting your endothelial function, which is the lining of the blood vessels,” she says. Additionally, Dr. Timmons notes that living an active lifestyle lowers the risk of obesity, a medical condition that significantly reduces life expectancy.
Dr. Natalia Sadowski, MD, an internal medicine doctor, geriatrician and photobiomodulation advisor to Recharge Health, tells Parade that exercise improves health deep down at the cellular level, improving mitochondrial efficiency, which helps maintain the body’s ability to produce cellular energy as we age.
Dr. Timmons adds to this, saying that on a cellular level, being active protects DNA by keeping the telomeres in cells lengthened. “These naturally get shorter as you age, and walking and staying active increases telomerase activity, the enzyme that helps your telomeres stay strong,” she says.
Related: The One Thing That's More Important for Longevity Than Your Genes
How Much Exercise Is Needed To Actually Increase Longevity?
“Benefits begin at approximately 2,600 to 2,800 steps per day, which is roughly 20 to 25 minutes of walking. That’s where mortality risk starts to bend,” Dr. Mussallem says, citing a 2023 scientific study published in Cureus. Both Dr. Mussallem and Dr. Timmons explain that the benefits of exercising make an even more substantial impact on longevity when increased to getting at least 7,000 steps a day.
Dr. Sadowski emphasizes that physical activity doesn’t have to be super intense to add years to your life. She says regular walking can be a powerful form of moderate exercise because it activates large muscle groups, improves circulation and supports metabolic health without placing excessive stress on the body.
If you want to live a more active lifestyle, Dr. Sadowski recommends weaving movement into routines that already exist. This can look like walking after meals, while talking on the phone, parking farther away and choosing the stairs instead of the elevator.
Dr. Timmons is also a fan of “exercise snacks,” which are small bursts of movement throughout the day. “For example, every time you go to the bathroom, you could do 10 squats, or you could set an alarm and do 10 squats every hour when you get up from your desk,” she says.
“It’s important to find something you love to do that involves movement,” Dr. Timmons says. “That could be a sport or any activity that feels enjoyable, rather than just going to the gym and grinding through a workout. It’s even better if it’s social, like tennis, where you can combine movement with connection.”
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Sources
Leading causes of death. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionDr. Dawn Mussallem, DO, lifestyle medicine doctor, Mayo Clinic consultant and chief medical officer at Fountain LifeSaint-Maurice, P. F., Coughlan, D., Kelly, S. P., et al. (2019). Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Across the Adult Life Course With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Network Open. 2(3):e190355 Dr. Jennifer Timmons, MD, longevity physician and founder of Timmons WellnessDjalalinia, S., Qorbani, M., Peykari, N., et al. (2015). Health impacts of Obesity. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 31(1):239-242 Dr. Natalia Sadowski, MD, internal medicine doctor, geriatrician and photobiomodulation advisor to Recharge HealthMarino, F. R., Lyu, C., Li, Y., et al. (2025). Physical Activity Over the Adult Life Course and Risk of Dementia in the Framingham Heart Study.JAMA Network Open. 8(11):e2544439Arya, A. K., Garg, A., Pal, S., et al. (2023). Evaluation of Rapid Antigen Test as a Marker of SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity.Cureus. 15(3):e36962Hence then, the article about we asked 3 doctors what habit matters most for longevity they all said the same thing was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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