When it comes to health, wellness and fitness, we often train for events during specific times in our lives or try to lose weight for special occasions in our lives, whether it’s a 10k run, a bike race, a tennis tournament, a wedding, a milestone birthday, a family reunion or something else. However, what if we focused on training for longevity? What if our ultimate goal was to increase our lifespan and live healthier, happier and more productive lives? Sounds pretty compelling to me!

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 60% of the factors that correlate to an individual’s health and quality of life point back to their lifestyle. And the lifestyle choices we make can impact our biological age, giving our cells the opportunity to actually be younger than our chronological age if we choose healthy behaviors. Therefore, let’s consider the following four lifestyle factors we can prioritize at any stage in life, to increase our longevity and overall wellbeing.

1. Fitness and Movement: One of the single most important secrets to longevity is having a consistent fitness regimen, which includes daily movement for at least 30 minutes, most days of the week. Ensuring we’re getting cardiovascular activity for stamina and positive heart health, strength training for muscle mass, bone density and an increased metabolism, and stretching for flexibility and mobility, are key. As we age, our muscles can start to atrophy, our metabolism and digestive systems can start to slow down, and we can lose flexibility and functionality in our bodies.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Regular exercise can combat all of these changes, so we can keep our muscle mass, metabolism and digestive systems intact. Find activities you enjoy such as walking, hiking, biking, swimming, Pilates, barre, yoga, dancing, bootcamp, weight, resistance and bodyweight training and more. If you enjoy what you’re doing, have a community of accountability partners, see and feel results, you’re more likely to keep going.

2. Nutrition and Healthy Eating: Another important element for longevity is our nutrition and our behaviors around healthy eating. While it’s okay to occasionally indulge so we can enjoy life, being disciplined about what we put into our bodies most of the time is important for disease prevention and management. Eating nutrient-dense, plant-based, whole and natural foods will allow us to feel and function at our best. Prioritizing fruits, vegetables, protein, fiber, whole grains and healthy fats can help optimize our health.

It’s also important to ensure we’re staying hydrated, by drinking half our body weight in ounces of water. For example if you weight 120 pounds, you’ll want to drink 60 ounces of water a day. If you’re in hot weather, exercising vigorously or sweating profusely, you may need more, and may need to replace lost electrolytes as well. In addition, taking supplements can help increase your nutrition. Check with your doctor to determine if taking a multivitamin or specific vitamins such as vitamin B, C or D, magnesium, zinc, omega 3- fatty acids, etc., are needed to round out your nutrition.

3. Mindfulness and Stress Management: In order to live longer, practicing mindfulness and managing stress on a daily basis is also critical. Stress can increase cortisol in our bodies and prolonged or chronic stress can lead to many physical and mental diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, anxiety and more. Take the time to understand the cause of the stress and determine if it’s day-to-day stress that can be managed, or if it’s more severe. If it’s more severe, seek professional help through your healthcare providers as needed.

If it’s day-to-day stress, focus on meditation, yoga, journaling, calming music, talking to a loved one or spending time in nature. Protecting our physical and mental health from unhealthy stress is another important part of training for longevity. Managing our stress through mindfulness practices, along with healthy nutrition and daily movement, can put us in a positive position for creating a longer lifespan.

4. Recovery and Sleep: As we get older, we often start to understand the importance of recovery and sleep. However, these are important behviors to learn at any age. When you’re physically active or feel any ailments or injuries in your body, take the time for physical therapy, massage, cold plunging, steam room and sauna treatments, foam rolling and more. These practices can help soothe your muscles and joints and help promote healthy blood circulation, cell turnover and more.

In addition to recovery practices, getting sufficient sleep of seven to nine hours of REM, deep and light sleep is also important for longevity. We need quality sleep to manage our blood sugar, inflammation, muscle repair, heart health, memory, cognitive functioning and more. Practicing good sleep hygiene and setting consistent bedtimes and wake-up times are all ways to promote healthy sleep to increase the quality and quantity of our life.

These four lifestyle factors can go a long way in increasing our longevity and lifespan, so try incorporating as many of them into your daily life as you can!