Want to Live to 100? These 8 Daily Habits Might Be the Secret, Research Shows

1. Keep moving—even if it's just a daily walk.

As you age, it's normal to notice changes affecting your bones, muscles, and joints—and all of this can affect your mobility. However, research shows that people who live to 100 typically keep moving regardless of their age.

"Physical activity reduces many major mortality risk factors including arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer," explains a 2012 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Aging Research.

The analysis, which examined the results of 13 studies on the relationship between physical activity and mortality, found that physically active subjects reduced their risk of death from any cause by about 30 to 35 percent compared to inactive subjects. For active subjects, this translated into up to seven additional years of life.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Though, recent studies suggest that even small increases in physical activity can have a major effect on longevity.

For instance, a 2023 study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that getting in just 4,000 steps per day—the equivalent of a 30 to 45 minute walk—slashes all cause mortality risk and improves heart health. For every additional 1,000 steps you take after that, you can further slash your risk of premature death by another 15 percent.

2. Avoid ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods are typically high in saturated fat, sugar, and harmful additives and, therefore, are associated with a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). So, is it any surprise that avoiding these foods can make you more likely to live to 100?

A 2017 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that making dietary improvements, even in mid-life or later, can add over a decade to your lifespan. In fact, that study found that a 20 percent improvement in diet was linked with a 14 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.

To reap the benefits, aim to add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins while minimizing added salt, sugar, and preservatives.

RELATED: The 3 "Ultraprocessed" Foods You Must Avoid for a Longer Life, 30-Year Study Finds.

3. Adopt the Mediterranean diet.

One specific eating plan that minimizes processed foods is the Mediterranean diet, which promotes fish high in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon and mackerel, dark leafy greens, beans and legumes, extra-virgin olive oil, whole grains, nuts, and berries.

"The Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, certain cancers, and overall mortality due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties," explains Ramit Singh Sambyal, MD, a physician working with ClinicSpots.

In fact, a 2024 study that followed 25,000 healthy American women for 25 years found that those who followed a Mediterranean diet saw their all-cause mortality risk reduced by 23 percent.

4. Eat fewer animal products—and more beans.

Studies on Blue Zones—areas in the world that have higher than average numbers of centenarians—suggest that minimizing your meat intake could help you live to 100.

Those who study these longevity hot spots have determined that Blue Zone centenarians eat about two ounces or less of meat about five times per month, and most eat less dairy compared to the general population.

"People in four of the five blue zones consume meat, but they do so sparingly, using it as a celebratory food, a small side, or a way to flavor dishes," Blue Zone experts note. Therefore, their diets are about 95 percent plant-based.

To that end, blue zone diets tend to heavily feature legumes, such as beans, peas, and pulses.

A 2001 study determined that eating beans at least four times per week slashed heart disease by 22 percent, and a 2004 study found that people who ate one ounce of beans daily added approximately eight years to their lifespan.

RELATED: Longevity Expert Says Avoid Eating the "Poisonous 5 Ps" If You Want to Live to 100.

5. Stay social.

As you get older, another surprising way to add years to your life is by maintaining social connections with others. Intimate relationships with friends and loved ones are especially powerful, but research has shown that even friendly interactions with acquaintances can improve one’s health.

"Strong social ties have been linked to a lower risk of mortality," says family physician Phyllis Pobee, MD. "A meta-analytic review published in PLOS Medicine found that robust social relationships increase the likelihood of survival by 50 percent, equivalent to quitting smoking."

6. Keep stress levels low.

Keeping a positive attitude and low stress levels also appears to have a protective effect on longevity among people who live to 100.

"Despite the fact that centenarians are prone to chronic stress due to a progressive loss of self-sufficiency, more than a half of our centenarians were not depressed and had a low trait-anxiety: they showed an emotional tendency to react with a low anxiety-intensity to stressful conditions," explains a study in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. "Their good physical conditions may be explained by a positive character disposition and by strong adaptability to the adversities of life."

RELATED: Doctor Reveals the No. 1 Supplement to Take If You're Getting Older.

7. Sit on the floor.

Yes, you read that right. Aside from getting in your daily steps, there's one type of exercise that may be especially effective in adding years to your life—regularly standing up from a seated position on the floor.

The Blue Zones website explains that centenarians living in Okinawa, a small Japanese island, sit on the floor and then get up dozens to hundreds of times per day.

"This exercises their legs, back, and core in a natural way as they get up and down all day long," they explain. "Sitting on the floor also improves posture and increases overall strength, flexibility, and mobility. Studies correlate the 'ability to sit and rise from the floor without support' with a longer life expectancy."

8. Don't smoke.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco kills up to 50 percent of smokers who do not quit.

"Cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to the most common causes of death in the elderly and contributes to the higher death rate and disability rate associated with many chronic illnesses that are common in this age group," explains one study on the smoking habits of centenarians, which found that 83.8 percent of people who live to 100 have never smoked.

"The combination of smoking along with other risk factors like hypertension and diabetes increase high frequency disease, and disability as well as adding to an increase in mortality rate," the study continued.

Among the remaining 17 percent of centenarians, 13.5 percent were identified as former smokers. Only 2.7 percent of people who lived to 100 were current smokers.