© Magnific
September 2, 2026
PMC Redaktion
Why do some people age more healthily than others? Exercise, nutrition, and sleep all play a role, as do mental and social well-being. Research is also exploring how certain micronutrients and plant compounds could support healthy aging.
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Anyone who explores the world of longevity quickly comes across biological age tests, supplements, cold-water immersion, and promising new active compounds. Yet the true foundations of a long and, above all, healthy life are far less dramatic. Physical fitness, nutrition and sleep all play a part, as do psychological resilience and social connection. Add to this a rapidly evolving area of research: micronutrients and plant compounds that may influence specific biological processes involved in aging.
The precise contribution of any individual factor cannot simply be converted into extra years of life. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear which areas are most closely tied to health and longevity.
Few factors have been studied as thoroughly as physical activity. Regular exercise reduces the risk of numerous conditions that can rob us of healthy years — including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. It also helps preserve mobility and physical function in old age.
Cardiorespiratory fitness plays a key role here — that is, the capacity of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system to deliver oxygen to the body during exertion. A large 2024 review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicinepublished review article pooled data from 199 cohort studies encompassing more than 20.9 million observations. People with high fitness levels had a significantly lower risk of death than those with low fitness. Each one-MET increase in cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with an 11 to 17 percent reduction in all-cause mortality risk.
This makes physical capacity an important factor for healthy aging. There is no need to become a competitive athlete — what matters is maintaining that capacity across as many years of life as possible.
Physical health is not just about endurance. As we get older, muscle mass and, crucially, muscle strength naturally decline. This can undermine mobility and independence while raising the risk of falls.
Strength training is therefore one of the most important tools for countering this functional decline. A network meta-analysis published in 2025 of 151 randomized studies involving more than 6,300 participants found that resistance training can improve physical function, muscle mass, muscle size, and strength in older adults. Notably, even a comparatively low training volume produced meaningful effects on physical function and muscle mass.
The goal for healthy aging is not to build the largest muscles possible. What matters is being able to climb stairs, carry groceries, rise from a chair, and move independently for as long as possible.
When it comes to nutrition, searching for a single longevity food is unlikely to be worthwhile. What appears to matter far more is how we eat over years and decades.
This was demonstrated by a 2025 study published in Nature Medicinepublished study involving more than 100,000 women and men. The researchers compared eight different dietary patterns over a period of up to 30 years. They defined healthy aging not simply as a long life, but as reaching older age free of serious chronic disease and with good physical, cognitive, and mental health.
Greater adherence to healthy dietary patterns was associated with a higher likelihood of healthy aging. What these dietary approaches had in common was a high proportion of plant-based foods — such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and legumes — as well as unsaturated fats. Higher consumption of trans fats, sugary drinks, and red and processed meat was negatively associated with healthy aging.
As we age, adequate protein intake also becomes increasingly important. Together with physical activity, it helps preserve muscle mass and muscle function for as long as possible.
Sleep is far more than a nightly rest. While we sleep, a host of regenerative and regulatory processes take place, affecting — among other things — metabolism, the immune system, the brain, and the cardiovascular system.
Beyond sleep duration, research is increasingly turning its attention to another factor: regularity.
A prospective study of nearly 61,000 participants from the UK Biobank analyzed more than ten million hours of objectively measured sleep data. People with more consistent sleep-wake times had a lower risk of dying during the follow-up period. In this study, sleep regularity was even more strongly associated with mortality risk than sleep duration alone.
For healthy aging, it may therefore not only be important to get enough sleep — maintaining a stable sleep-wake rhythm could also play a meaningful role.
Healthy aging does not stop with muscles, nutrition, and sleep. Mental well-being also shapes how healthily people age. It directly affects quality of life and is closely intertwined with physical health, behavior, and social relationships.
This is particularly well illustrated by the concept of "purpose in life": the sense that one's life has meaning, direction, and goals.
A meta-analysis published in 2026 combined 25 samples from the United States, Europe, and Asia, covering nearly 489,000 people in total, with follow-up periods of up to 32 years. A stronger sense of purpose in life was associated with a lower risk of premature death. Even after accounting for health-related and behavioral factors, the association held.
A sense of purpose cannot be prescribed like a medication. The findings nonetheless reinforce that healthy aging depends not only on physical condition but on mental well-being too.
Few topics come up as frequently in the longevity debate as stress. Chronic strain can affect multiple bodily systems and is associated with both mental and physical illness.
Stress itself is initially a normal response of the organism. It becomes problematic when burdens persist over time and there is insufficient opportunity for recovery.
This is where resilience also comes into play — not in the sense of enduring stress as stoically as possible, but in the ability to adapt to challenges and recover after difficult periods. Several pillars of healthy aging intersect here: exercise and sleep can support psychological stability just as much as strong social relationships can.
Friendships, partnerships, family ties, and a sense of belonging to a community may seem less medical than physical fitness at first glance. Research shows, however, that social health is closely linked to both health and life expectancy.
Loneliness and social isolation have been particularly well studied. A meta-analysis published in 2025 analyzed 86 longitudinal studies of older adults. Loneliness was associated with a 14 percent higher overall mortality risk. For social isolation, the figure was 35 percent, and for living alone, 21 percent.
An important distinction: being alone is not automatically the same as feeling lonely. A person can live alone and still have close friendships and a robust social network. Conversely, one can be surrounded by many people and still feel profoundly lonely.
For healthy aging, the goal is therefore not to accumulate as many contacts as possible. What matters are meaningful relationships, social participation, and a genuine sense of connection with others.
The Longevity research is currently focusing intensively on substances involved in key aging processes — including energy metabolism, inflammatory responses, DNA repair, and epigenetic mechanisms. The aim is no longer simply to correct classic nutrient deficiencies.
Vitamin D3, nicotinamide, and betaine are being studied in this context, as are plant compounds from moringa and the lesser-known bee balm. But what does the research so far tell us about their possible role in healthy aging?
Bee balm (Monarda didyma) is a relatively new subject of interest in healthy aging research. It contains a range of bioactive plant compounds, including the flavonoid glycoside didymin.
In 2025, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in GeroScience was published on this topic. A standardized bee balm extract was examined with respect to, among other things, leukocyte telomere length and DNA methylation age — two biomarkers used in aging research.
Supplementation was associated with favorable changes in these biomarkers: telomere length increased, while DNA methylation age remained more stable compared to the placebo group. Participants also reported improvements in quality of life, particularly in the physical domain. Accompanying laboratory analyses suggested effects on oxidative stress, DNA damage, cellular senescence, and endothelial function.
Moringa oleifera has long been recognized as a nutrient-rich plant. In addition to vitamins and minerals, it provides polyphenols and numerous other bioactive plant compounds. What makes moringa particularly interesting for healthy aging research is its potential to act on several fronts simultaneously: glucose metabolism, inflammatory processes, and cardiovascular health.
Promising human data are now available. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2026 of 20 clinical studies found that, in people with metabolic disorders, moringa was associated with more favorable values for fasting blood glucose, long-term blood glucose HbA1c, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The blood pressure findings are particularly noteworthy. A further meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials from 2026 also yielded positive results: on average, systolic blood pressure fell by 6 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 7.3 mmHg. Moringa could therefore influence several factors relevant to healthy aging at the same time.
Betaine, also known as trimethylglycine, is found in beets, spinach, and whole grain products, among other foods. In the body, betaine helps transfer so-called methyl groups — small chemical building blocks that are needed for numerous metabolic processes, including the breakdown of homocysteine. Elevated levels of this amino acid are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
A 2025 network meta-analysis published in Nutrition Reviewspublished network meta-analysis analyzed 16 randomized studies with a total of 1,369 participants across various dietary supplements. Betaine was found to significantly lower homocysteine levels compared to placebo or no treatment.
A second function is relevant to aging research: methyl groups are also involved in epigenetic processes. In simple terms, these influence which genes in our cells are more or less active — and such changes in gene regulation play a role in aging as well.
Nicotinamide, also known as niacinamide, is a form of vitamin B3. The body requires it to produce NAD+, a molecule that is essential for cellular energy production. NAD+ is also needed for DNA repair processes and plays a role in regulating cellular stress — functions that are particularly relevant to healthy aging.
NAD+ metabolism can change as we age. For this reason, researchers have been investigating for several years whether targeted modulation of this system might support cellular function and metabolism.
A 2026 systematic review published in Ageing Research Reviewspublished systematic review summarized 113 preclinical and clinical studies. In human studies, various NAD+ precursors were able to increase NAD+ availability or related biomarkers. Possible effects on energy metabolism, vascular health, muscle function, and physical performance were also examined.
Nicotinamide is itself an NAD+ precursor and thus part of this central cellular metabolism. Its potential benefit for healthy aging lies primarily in supporting the processes that depend on NAD+, from energy supply to DNA repair.
Vitamin D3 is one of the most intensively researched micronutrients. Its importance for bone and muscle function is well established, and vitamin D also fulfills important physiological functions in the immune system.
Vitamin D is attracting fresh attention in healthy aging research through data on telomeres. In 2025, results from a substudy of the large randomized VITAL trial were published. In 1,054 participants, telomere length in white blood cells was measured at baseline and again after two and four years. Participants had received either 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 or a placebo daily.
After four years, the shortening of telomeres in the vitamin D group was significantly lower. The researchers view this as an indication that vitamin D3 may influence a biological aging process.
Exercise not only keeps muscles and the cardiovascular system in shape, but can also improve sleep and psychological well-being. Social relationships can help buffer stress, and a healthy diet provides the foundation for countless metabolic processes. The individual pillars are therefore difficult to separate from one another. At the same time, research into micronutrients and plant compounds is expanding the traditional picture of healthy aging.
The foundation for healthy aging remains remarkably straightforward: exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mental and social well-being. Supplements can complement this foundation and may play an even more targeted role in healthy aging in the years to come.
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