The habits that add decades to your life - and the ones that shorten it. Take ... trends now

Air pollution, plastic residues, worrying too much, sitting too much, forgetting to floss, drinking coffee, eating burgers – sometimes it can feel as if everything in life is conspiring to kill us.

Last week a team of US researchers announced that anyone born after 1965 is more likely to be on a shorter life-expectancy ticket. They said the increased exposure to 'various risk factors and environmental insults' of modern life means if you are under the age of 50 you are likely to have a biological age (the approximate age of your body and brain) that is considerably older than your chronological age.

Junk food consumption is cited in the study as one major contributing factor and it may be no coincidence that the mid-60s heralded the launch of Pop tarts, processed cheese and Doritos. But our increasingly stressful lifestyles, poor mental health, obesity and lack of activity also play a part.

Luckily, in recent years, numerous studies have isolated some of the many different lifestyle factors which might help to counter this effect by slowing your rate of aging and shrinking back your biological age.

One study by the University of Michigan in 2021 even worked out that although a single hot dog might reduce your life expectancy by 38 minutes, a piece of salmon could extend it by 70 minutes.

You could be forgiven for thinking it might be possible to eat your way to immortality – one avocado at a time - but unfortunately, the maths doesn't work like that.

However, health benefits do accumulate, and it's never too late to start.

A big study published last year (2023) identified the most important factors for shrinking your biological age to be regular exercise, a healthy diet, stress reduction, good sleep, positive social relationships, no smoking or drug addiction and controlled alcohol consumption.

Adopt all eight of these factors at the age of 40 and you could live an extra 24 years, the researchers found. Pick up the mantle at 50 and you get an extra 21 years, and even delaying until you're 60 still gives you potentially 18 extra years.

The good news is you don't have to adopt a clean sweep of lifestyle changes because the study shows those benefits accumulate with each one you try: one healthy behaviour could add 3.5 years to a woman's life, two adds eight years and three 12.6 years, the study said.

So dip into our science-backed 'pick and mix' of life-enhancing factors to see how you could slow your aging process, lower your biological age and actually ADD good heathy years to your lifespan.

SLEEPING WELL + 4.7 years

Poor sleep (less than seven hours a night) has been shown to impact heart health, your hormones as well as your immune and nervous systems increasing your risk of disease, depression and even cancers. A 2023 study by Harvard Medical School found sleeping 7-9 hours a night, every night, could increase life expectancy for men by 4.7 years and added 2.4 years for women.

DRINKING MODERATELY + 1 year

Frighteningly, scientists refer to alcohol as a 'carcinogenic neurotoxin' because it is toxic to your nervous system, and it can trigger cancerous changes in the digestive tract. Modest drinking (no more than one unit of alcohol per day) is linked with a relaxed demeanour and sociable nature which means an occasional glass of wine or beer could add one year to your potential lifespan (or shrink your biological age by a year). But every drink over the recommended limits (14 units or six glasses of wine or six pints of beer per week) increases your risk of disease and cuts your lifespan. A 2018 study by the University of Cambridge found four units a day over that safe limit (ie three glasses of wine a night) was enough to lower life expectancy by two years.

HAVING REGULAR SEX + 4-7 years

In a long-term study published in the book Secrets of the Superyoung, Dr David Weeks, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital said the stress reduction, heightened levels of contentment and better sleep that comes with regular sex, could be enough to add 4-7 years to your lifespan.

BEING ACTIVE + 4 years

Many of us struggle to meet recommended activity targets of 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week but good news is, activity – of any sort – adds years to your life. A Polish study published last year found 4000 steps a day is enough to 'significantly' reduce death from any cause, and according to a big review published in 2012 in the Journal of Aging Research, regular physical activity can increase your life expectancy by 3.9 to 4.4 years.

DRINKING PLENTY OF WATER + 15 years

Doctors know that dehydration increases levels of salts in the blood which can speed the aging process and accelerate chronic disease. In studies of mice mild dehydration was enough to cut life expectancy by six months – which is equivalent to 15 years in human terms.

EATING LOTS OF FRUIT, NUTS AND SEEDS + 10.8 years

There is no doubt about the impact of a good diet on our health, and according to a study from the UK Biobank, published in the journal Nature in 2023, switching from an unhealthy diet to a healthy one high in wholegrains, nuts, fruits, fish, legumes, and low in meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats, can add up to 10.9 and 10.4 extra years in life expectancy for men and women respectively.

QUITTING SMOKING + 10 years

Doctors estimate that a smoking habit can knock ten years off your life expectancy, but when you stop, that risk quickly disseminates.

'The number of

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