10 Everyday Habits That Are Harming Your Longevity The Most

Living a long, healthy life is a popular goal, but it’s not easy to achieve. It’s common for folks to develop conditions like dementia and chronic pain, in addition to mobility issues and cardiovascular problems, as they age.

While certain uncontrollable factors (like genetics) play a major role in many of these issues, everyday habits can also contribute to a less-than-ideal aging process. And some of the habits you probably follow every day or every week are actually getting in the way of healthy aging and a long life.

Here’s what they are, according to doctors:

1. Skipping preventive care.

According to Dr. Heather Whitson, director of the Duke Aging Center in North Carolina, neglecting to stay up to date on preventive care — including things like mammograms, colonoscopies and vaccines — is not good for your long-term health.

“It’s like not taking your car into the shop,” Whitson said. “It’s probably not going to last as long if you don’t keep up with the routine maintenance.”

You can chat with your primary care doctor about what preventive tests are right for you.

2. Not cultivating social relationships.

“We know that socialization helps with your brain and with your longevity,” said Dr. Lee Lindquist, chief of geriatrics at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. The more time you spend interacting with other people, the more it can benefit your life span.

“I always joke… that you need to socialize with happy people, because we all have toxic people in our lives,” she said. Toxic people can bring anxiety and sadness, which won’t help you age well.

“The more socialization you can do with people that bring you joy or bring you happiness, those are things that will definitely help you age healthy and age well and improve