Huffingtonpost iconHuffingtonpostSep 2, 2026 ~3 min source read

Five small daily habits a GP says can add years to your life

Dr Dominic Greenyer outlines five practical, modest changes—strength work, better sleep patterns, lower chronic inflammation, metabolic flexibility, and balanced enjoyment—that together influence ageing and long-term health.

Doctor Shares Five Simple Daily Habits That Could Add Years To Your Life

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Build and preserve muscle: strength training counters age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) and lowers risks like frailty, fractures, and possibly dementia.

Sleep consistently: aim for at least seven hours nightly and keep bed/wake times within about an hour to support recovery and cellular health.

Cut chronic inflammation and improve metabolism through whole foods, activity, stress management, and limiting constant snacking or alcohol.

The useful part

Doctor Shares Five Simple Daily Habits That Could Add Years To Your Life | HuffPost UK Life. It turns out that tiny changes – minutes more exercise, a few grams more veggies – can make a surprisingly large difference to your longevity and heart attack risk. Dr Dominic Greenyer, a private GP at The Health Suite, said that those lifestyle changes become medically obvious in time.

How it works

  • "If you followed two twins over time, you would often see clear differences in their skin, body composition, energy levels and overall health depending on how they live," Dr Greenyer said.
  • It's about how well the body is maintained." Here, he shared the five factors he feels make all the difference: 1) Building and maintaining muscle As we age, our muscles begin to wane – a process called...
  • If we do nothing to maintain or build it, some research says we're expected to lose half our muscle mass by 80.
  • "One of the biggest predictors of healthy ageing is muscle mass," Dr Greenyer said.
  • Advertisement 5) Enjoying life, in moderation There's lots of research to support the idea that enjoying ourselves – be it through socialising or even eating some candy – might help us to live longer.

What to take from it

Those who don't may face an increased dementia risk and a higher likelihood of frailty, fractures, and falls. 3) Reducing inflammation through lifestyle choices In and of itself, inflammation isn't a problem – it can help our bodies to heal and may be an important part of muscle growth. Luckily, strength training can reduce those risks.

Example or evidence

  • But "inflammaging" can occur when inflammation is chronic, and might contribute to conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and frailty.
  • Advertisement It "is influenced by diet, stress, alcohol intake and overall lifestyle," Dr Greenyer said.
  • Those who eat whole foods, stay active, and manage stress well may have less unwanted inflammation, he added.
  • 4) Maintaining "metabolic flexibility" This is the ability to respond well to changing metabolic demands.

Details worth keeping

What's Hot Skip to Main Content × Main Menu U.K. "It affects hormones, recovery, inflammation and even visible signs like skin quality." Experts think that following a "7-1" sleeping rule (getting at least seven hours of sleep a night, with no more than an hour's variance between bedtimes and wake-up times) could add years to your life. "When this is impaired, people are more prone to energy crashes, fat gain and insulin resistance," Dr Greenyer said.

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