Longevity has become big business. Supplements, wearables, cold plunges, peptides and increasingly expensive technology all promise to help us live longer, recover faster and somehow slow down ageing.
But living longer is only part of the picture. The more useful goal is healthspan, staying strong, mobile, independent and well for as many of those years as possible.
And before you spend thousands trying to optimise every biomarker, it’s worth getting the fundamentals right. Many of the habits with the strongest evidence behind them are also some of the simplest.
1. Move every day
You don’t need an extreme training program to benefit from movement.
Australia’s current 24-hour movement guidelines recommend adults get 30 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on most days, alongside several hours of lighter movement. They also recommend limiting sedentary time and breaking up long periods of sitting.
Make it easy: Walk to get your coffee. Take the stairs. Go outside at lunch. Walk after dinner. A 20-minute walk is infinitely more useful than waiting for the perfect 90-minute workout you never get around to doing.
2. Lift something heavy at least twice a week
Cardio gets plenty of attention in longevity conversations, but staying strong matters too.
Australian guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days each week, as well as regular activities that support mobility, balance and coordination.
That becomes increasingly relevant as we age because maintaining muscle helps us keep doing the things we often take for granted: carrying groceries, climbing stairs, getting off the floor and remaining physically independent.
Make it easy: Two full-body strength sessions a week is a great place to start. You don’t need to live in the gym.
3. Put protein on every plate
Training gives your muscles a reason to stay strong. Protein gives them the building blocks.
Healthdirect notes that adults over 70 need more protein than younger adults. Australian recommended daily intakes rise to 81g for men and 57g for women aged 70 and over.
Protein-rich foods include meat, fish, eggs, dairy, tofu, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Make it easy: Instead of building a meal and wondering where the protein is afterwards, start with it. Eggs at breakfast, Greek yoghurt, beef, chicken, fish, legumes or another quality source.
And when life gets busy, convenient food doesn’t have to mean highly processed food. Chief is built around real ingredients and real food, with convenient protein options designed to make eating well easier when cooking from scratch isn’t realistic.
Explore Chief’s real-food range
4. Eat mostly real food
There is no single perfect longevity diet.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend eating a wide variety of nutritious foods including vegetables, fruit, mostly wholegrain foods, lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and dairy or alternatives. They also recommend limiting foods and drinks high in saturated fat, added salt and added sugars.
In other words, you probably don’t need another exotic superfood before you’ve nailed the basics.
Make it easy: Look at what you eat across the day and ask a simple question: how much of this is recognisable, nutrient-dense food made from real ingredients?
That’s also a big part of how we think about food at Chief. Convenience is useful. A long list of unnecessary ingredients isn’t.
5. Protect your sleep before obsessing over your sleep score
Wearables can be useful. Sleep trackers can teach you a lot. But none of them replace actually sleeping.
Australian movement guidelines recommend 7 to 9 hours of good-quality sleep for adults, with consistent bed and wake times.
You can optimise your bedroom temperature, track your HRV and buy every recovery gadget available, but if you’re routinely giving yourself five hours in bed, you’ve skipped the most important part.
Make it easy: Work backwards from when you need to wake up. Protect enough time for sleep first, then worry about optimising it.
6. Make plans with people you love
This one doesn’t come in a supplement bottle.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that loneliness and social isolation can affect both mental and physical health and have been linked with dementia, poor sleep, physical inactivity and premature death. In 2024, Australians aged 35 to 44 had the highest reported rate of loneliness, at 17%.
Longevity isn’t particularly appealing if becoming “perfectly healthy” means eliminating the people and experiences that make life enjoyable.
Make it easy: Call your friend. Have dinner together. Join a run club. Go for a walk with someone instead of doing everything alone.
Social connection belongs in the health conversation too.
7. Get outside, and yes, take your shoes off if you want to
Grounding, or earthing, has become a major biohacking trend. You’ll now find grounding mats, sheets and devices marketed with claims around sleep, inflammation, stress and recovery.
There is published research exploring grounding, and some studies have reported interesting physiological effects. But the evidence base is still small and is nowhere near as established as the evidence behind exercise, nutrition or sleep. It should not currently be treated as a proven anti-ageing or longevity intervention.
There is, however, broader evidence supporting time spent in nature. A recent umbrella review of 36 systematic reviews found associations between greenspace exposure and outcomes including mental health, cognitive function and mortality, although the authors also noted limitations in the quality of the existing research.
So you probably don’t need to buy a grounding mat before you’ve tried the free version.
Make it easy: Take your shoes off at the beach. Walk on the grass. Sit outside. Get some fresh air and step away from your screen.
Worst case? You spent more time outside.
8. If you smoke, quitting beats almost every longevity gadget
It might not generate as much excitement as the latest biohack, but the numbers are difficult to ignore.
In 2024, tobacco use was the second-leading risk factor contributing to disease burden in Australia, responsible for 7.6% of total disease burden. It contributed more to fatal disease burden than any other risk factor measured by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Make it easy: If you smoke, getting proper support to quit is likely to be a far more meaningful longevity investment than another supplement, wearable or recovery device.
Before you biohack...
There’s nothing wrong with being curious about new technology, supplements or emerging longevity research. Some of it may prove genuinely useful.
But these things should sit on top of the foundations, not replace them.
Move. Lift. Eat enough protein. Choose real food. Sleep. Stay connected. Get outside. Don’t smoke.
None of these are particularly revolutionary. That’s the point.
Healthy ageing is unlikely to come down to finding one magical intervention. It’s much more likely to be the result of simple, useful behaviours repeated consistently for years.
And that may be one of the biggest lessons from this week’s Chief Life podcast too: before buying the hype, look at the evidence and get the basics right first.
References
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. 24-hour movement guidelines for all Australians.
- Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Recommendations for adults aged 18 to 64 years.
- Healthdirect Australia. Healthy eating over 60.
- Australian Government, Eat for Health. Australian Dietary Guidelines.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Social isolation and loneliness.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024.
- Chevalier G, et al. Earthing: health implications of reconnecting the human body to the Earth's surface electrons.
- Greenspace exposure and associated health outcomes: a systematic review of reviews.
