4 Expert Tips for Healthy Aging

1) Keep Moving

Regular movement may be the most important thing you can do physically as you age. You don’t have to become a marathon runner, says Lipman: “Just get up and move around. Getting out of your chair, walking up the stairs, just doing basic day-to-day things — it’s all extremely important.”

On top of that base­line, Lipman also recommends strength training. “As we get older, we lose muscle mass; we get weaker,” he notes. “We need to work harder.”

Studies from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University have suggested that the best way to improve physical function and avoid disability as we age is a combination of walking and resistance training.

2) A Little Less

A diet rich in whole foods, with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats, is important at any age. It’s also vital to get ample protein as we grow older: It helps counteract the loss of muscle mass.

Lipman also recommends eating less overall as our caloric needs and digestive power decline in later life. “Eating less is one of the factors that have been studied the most in the promotion of longevity,” he says. “The more food, the more work you need to do to break it down properly, and our digestive mechanisms are less efficient as we age. Less food is less strain on the system.”

He suggests frequent 16-hour overnight fasts to let the digestive system rest. This can be as simple as eating an early dinner and waiting to eat again until lunch the next day.

He also recommends cutting back on refined sugar to reduce inflammation as well as the risk of insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. This may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, which some research has linked to insulin resistance.

(See “Can Reducing Calories Really Help You Live Longer?” for more.)

3) Improve Your Sleep

The National Institute on ­Aging states that older adults need just as much sleep as anyone else — seven to nine hours a night — but it’s often harder to get.

As it ages, the body’s production of many hor­mones decreases, and one of those is the sleep-­supportive hormone melatonin. “If you’re sitting in front of a screen or in bright lights, your body is not going to secrete any melatonin at all, and it’s hard for your body to adjust to a quick transition between bright light and darkness,” Lipman explains. “So, a gradual transition from light to dark can be helpful — it will help your body start secreting the melatonin it needs.”

This can be as simple as avoiding screens and lowering the lights in the last hour before bed, which gives your body a chance to wind down.

Other ways to support good sleep include maintaining a routine bedtime, avoiding long naps, keeping your bedroom cool, and avoiding caffeine and large meals late in the day. (For more sleep-supportive strategies, visit “How to Stop Insomnia.”)

4) Stay Hydrated

Hydration becomes more of an issue as we grow older. “It’s not necessarily because we need more water,” says Lipman, “but because our capacity to sense that we are dehydrated decreases. We don’t get as thirsty.”

Hydration is critical for the human body. It keeps tissues flexible and healthy and reduces inflammation by flushing toxins.

Hydration is also key for protecting the joints,  because water accounts for about 80 percent of their cartilage. (Find more ways to support joint health at “What to Eat for Healthy Joints.”)

Try these useful tricks for maintaining hydration:

• Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
• Invest in an attractive water bottle that you enjoy using.
• Keep a hydration log.
• Set “drink water” reminders on your digital devices.
• Drink a glass of water before any meal.
• Check the color of your urine. Clear or light colored signals good hydration.