Name: Changes to make now for a longer and healthier life
Uploaded: 2024-03-19T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 4 min 31 s
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We are talking aging and steps we can take to not just live longer but live better.

Dr. Peter Ataya is... Attia, I'm sorry. I want to say Ataya every time.

He's a physician focused on increasing lifespan and wellness.

He's the author of the number one New York Times bestseller, "Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity."

Good morning. How are you doing? - Thank you for having me.

So, longevity. Obviously, you would first think this means a long life, but you say it's more than just age.

Yeah, longevity really has two pieces and one of them is just that it's lifespan, so the how long you live part which I think makes sense.

But I think an equally, if not maybe more important part, is health span, which is the "how well you live" piece.

And that really has kind of three pieces to it:

the physical piece, like how strong and fit your body is;

the cognitive piece, so you know how sharp your mind is;

and then kind of an emotional piece, which actually of the three is the only one that doesn't inevitably decline with age.

And you, thankfully, have a road map for everyone, which makes everything easier.

So what are your five steps for longevity?

Well, I mean, there's really five tools that we have because this is a hard problem to solve, right? - Yes.

I mean, everything is conspiring against us, so we want to bring in everything we've got.

And that basically means everything that nutrition has to offer, everything that exercise has to offer, sleep, all the tools around optimizing emotional health,

and then, frankly, everything that pharmacology and hormones have to offer as well.

We're reminded. I feel like there's no quick fix, right? That's part of what you're saying here. - Yep.

And we have a tradition around here on the Today Show, where Al Roker likes to celebrate 100th birthdays,

and people will swear by some wacky habits like a glass of whiskey every night before bed or waking up with a plate of bacon. That seems to go against everything you're saying.

Yeah, so there's a super rare set of the population, this subset of people called centenarians, who will indeed live to 100. Now, most of us are not in that group.

But you're right. If you look at the habits of centenarians, it's a collection of hilarious things.

The truth of it is, this has been studied scientifically, and I think I wrote an entire chapter in the book just on this phenomenon.

The punchline is this: these people are genetically blessed, and they live to a ripe old age despite these funny things that they do, and not because of them. - Yeah.

You say when it comes to drugs the most powerful drug we have in our arsenal is simply exercise. Why?

Yeah, I mean, I sort of say that to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course.

You know, exercise is not a drug per se, but when we understand, I mean, I think as people do, like pharmacology has revolutionized medicine over the last hundred years. I mean, we've literally doubled our lifespan.

It pales in comparison to the actual impact and magnitude that exercise can bring to both length of life and quality of life.

So, you know, I use that phrasing to get people familiar with the idea that, you know, you should always be thinking of what can I be doing to optimize my exercise to lengthen and improve the quality of my life.

Does it have to be that hard? I mean, could it be just some basic moves?

I mean, again, it all depends where you're starting from.

So if I'm talking to a person who isn't exercising at all, I say no problem.

Can we get you to do 90 minutes a week, right?

Because if we could, could we get you to do 30 minutes, six times a week, at even a modest pace, but that's going to reduce your risk of death from all causes by over 15%.

So again, regardless of you're starting, there's always an opportunity to kind of take it up.

Doctor, just quickly, for those of us who maybe have a lot on our plate and we say,  "Okay, we can't do everything," where do you think we should prioritize if we're going back to your tactics, your five steps?

I think it depends on where you're most deficient, so it sounds like for you, exercise might be the place that's most challenging.

Yeah, so then I would say for you that's where you need to focus.

There might be other people. I met somebody yesterday who exercises like crazy but then revealed to me he's sleeping four hours a night because of his job.

So I said, "You know you have to focus more on -- let's at least get you to six hours of sleep a night."

People are obsessed with this book. I think a lot of folks want to know how we can live this kind of lifestyle, so thank you so much for being here.