Longevity Wiki

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An introductory reading path through the basics of longevity in 13 articles, from how much of lifespan is inherited to sleep, exercise, diet, alcohol and tobacco, blood pressure, the brain, relationships and the biology of aging. Each article on the path ends with a link to the next one.

1. 1
   Family history and genetics

   Family history records which diseases occurred in close blood relatives and at what age; it predicts several diseases far better than it predicts lifespan.

2. 2
   Sleep physiology

   The biological systems that regulate when sleep occurs, the stages of a night of sleep, and the links between sleep duration, disease and risk of death.

3. 3
   Sleep duration and mortality

   How habitual sleep length, sleep regularity and sleep disorders relate to the risk of death in long-term population studies.

4. 4
   Exercise and longevity

   Evidence linking physical activity, aerobic fitness and muscle strength to lifespan, with the main studies, types of exercise and study limitations.

5. 5
   VO2 max

   VO2 max is the highest rate at which the body can take in and use oxygen during all-out exercise, and one of the strongest known predictors of early death.

6. 6
   Resistance training

   Resistance training is exercise in which muscles work against a load, such as weights, elastic bands or body weight, to build strength and muscle.

7. 7
   Dietary patterns

   Dietary patterns are the overall combinations of foods people habitually eat, studied for their links to heart disease, cancer and lifespan.

8. 8
   Smoking

   Tobacco smoking shortens life by about ten years on average, and stopping at any age recovers much of that loss.

9. 9
   Alcohol

   Alcohol (ethanol) is a widely used sedative drug whose health risks rise with the amount drunk, including cancer, heart disease, liver disease and injury.

10. 10
    Blood pressure

    Blood pressure is the force of circulating blood on artery walls; persistently high blood pressure raises the risk of stroke, heart disease and early death.

11. 11
    Dementia risk factors

    Dementia risk rises with age and genes, and about 45% of cases worldwide are attributed to 14 factors across life that could potentially be changed.

12. 12
    Social connection

    Strong relationships are linked to 50% higher odds of survival, and isolation and loneliness to higher risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia.

13. 13
    Inflammation and aging

    Chronic low-grade inflammation rises with age and is linked to heart disease, frailty and death; drug trials test whether lowering it prevents disease.

Sleep

Main article: Sleep

Sleep is a recurring state of reduced awareness and responsiveness to the surroundings.

• Sleep physiology
• Insomnia
• Sleep duration and mortality
• Sleep quality
• Naps

Exercise

Main article: Exercise

Physical activity is one of the most consistently studied influences on lifespan.

• Exercise and longevity

Diet and nutrition

Main article: Diet and nutrition

Diet is the combination of foods and drinks a person habitually consumes, and nutrition research studies how that intake affects health and lifespan.

• Dietary patterns
• Dietary fiber
• Meal timing
• Hydration
• Coffee, tea and energy drinks

Alcohol and tobacco

Main article: Alcohol and tobacco

Alcohol and tobacco are the two most widely used recreational drugs, and both are leading preventable causes of death.

• Alcohol
• Smoking

Heart and metabolic health

Main article: Heart and metabolic health

Heart and metabolic health covers the state of the heart and blood vessels and the body's handling of blood sugar, blood fats and body fat, which are closely linked.

• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood pressure
• Cholesterol
• Metabolic health and type 2 diabetes
• Body weight
• Heat exposure

Brain health

Main article: Brain health

Brain health refers to how well the brain's abilities, including memory, reasoning, language and attention, are maintained across the lifespan, and to the absence of diseases that impair them.

• Dementia risk factors
• Cognitive aging
• Hearing and vision loss

Mental health and relationships

Main article: Mental health and relationships

Mental disorders are among the largest causes of lost health worldwide.

• Mental health conditions and lifespan
• Stress and anxiety
• Social connection
• Adverse childhood experiences
• Pet ownership

Digestive and oral health

Main article: Digestive and oral health

Digestive and oral health covers the digestive tract from the mouth, where the teeth and gums begin digestion, through the stomach to the colon and rectum, where water is absorbed and the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in the bowel) ferments undigested food.

• Colon health
• Oral health
• Helicobacter pylori

Skin and hair

Main article: Skin and hair

Skin and hair are the most visible parts of the body to change with age.

• Skin aging
• Hair loss

Environment and safety

Main article: Environment and safety

The places where people live and travel affect their health and survival alongside personal habits and medical care.

• Green space
• Road safety

Longevity theories

Main article: Longevity theories

Aging is the progressive loss of physiological integrity (the normal structure and working of the body) that leads to impaired function and greater vulnerability to death, and it is the main risk factor for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease.

• Telomeres
• Inflammation and aging
• Family history and genetics

Browsing the wiki

• Graph view: every article as a point and every link between two articles as a line, grouped by topic.
• Tags: 22 tags that group articles across topics, such as fitness tests or cancer.
• Search: the search box at the top of every wiki page matches article titles, summaries and section headings.

Deep dives and quizzes

Most articles link to a longer YapSpan deep dive on the same subject and to a quiz or chart that applies the evidence to one person's answers.

• Deep dives: long-form articles on single subjects, each with its study figures charted.
• Quizzes: short checks on sleep, exercise, diet and other habits.
• What Matters: charts of how much each factor changes the risk of the main causes of death.