As you get older, it’s important to consider ways to preserve your health. Longevity is a trending focus for health enthusiasts these days, and there are a growing number of tools you can use to encourage long-term health. No matter how exciting or unique a healthy aging breakthrough might look, though, there are no replacements for basic health maintenance.

Mobility, brain health, and preventative testing are well-established ways to contribute to a long, healthy, well-lived life. Here are a few tips for basic ways to encourage healthy aging and longevity as you get older.

Move Your Body Consistently

Movement is your friend as you age. You don’t have to move every day (although that’s a great goal). Often, the recommendation is to aim for around 150 minutes of movement in total each week. Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests 30 minutes every day that you can manage it, broken into three 10-minute segments.

In either case, this doesn’t have to be high-intensity workouts. Look for moderate activities that you enjoy, like brisk walking or swimming. This is more than a way to generally “stay in shape.” It can preserve your strength, balance, and flexibility, as well as protect key areas, like your heart, muscles, and mobility.

Go Beyond a Well-Balanced Meal

Eating well is a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. But if you want to live longer, you need to think in terms of a longevity diet. Nutrition for longevity is about more than weight loss or muscle building. It’s a holistic approach to eating that seeks to optimize health through a well-balanced diet.

Longevity diets should include staples such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins. Harvard Health adds that the wrong foods can leave your cells more vulnerable to damage and poor function. With that in mind, limit added sugars, highly processed foods, unhealthy fats, and red meat. 

While there isn’t a specific recommendation, the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are popular options that align with many of these guidelines. You can also plug nutrition gaps with healthy aging supplements, like calcium or vitamin D, although it’s always wise to talk through your supplement regimen with your primary care physician.

Prioritize Sleep, Manage Stress, and Get Your Checkups

As you get older, it’s important to make sure you’re getting consistent sleep. This doesn’t have to be long. A healthy adult should get 7-9 hours of sleep each day. But make sure you’re practicing good sleep hygiene through routines and schedules, blackout curtains, and avoiding screens before bed.

More than half of Americans are also feeling stressed, left out, isolated, and lacking companionship. Use prayer, meditation, journaling, and exercise to be intentional about managing stress. Nurture relationships, serve or volunteer, and continue investing in hobbies and new skills, as well, to support mood and brain health. 

Finally, make sure you’re staying on top of your preventative health checkups, too. Women should continue with things like mammograms into their 70s. Men should also get consistent prostate exams. Everyone should start regularly checking for things like fall risk, vision, and hearing, as well.

Active Aging for Health and Longevity

A holistic approach to health and longevity is often referred to as active aging. Maintaining good sleep, exercise, and nutrition is important for basic health maintenance. Adding in participation in cultural, spiritual, social, civic, and economic areas of life can also help keep you sharp, capable, and independent as you age. 

The key is being proactive. If you can take control over the aging process, it can add years to your life and, just as importantly, add life to your years.