It’s probably safe to say that we all know that exercise improves your health. It can get you in shape, help you lose weight, improve your balance, and reduce your chance of developing all sorts of nasty diseases like heart disease and diabetes. But in addition to just making your quality of life better, it also can extend it. That’s right, people that exercise may actually live longer.

1. Does Exercise Make You Live Longer?
By: Paul Claybrook, MS, MBA
https://SuperDuperNutrition.com
It’s probably safe to say that we all know that exercise improves your health. It can get you in shape, help
you lose weight, improve your balance, and reduce your chance of developing all sorts of nasty diseases

2. like heart disease and diabetes. But in addition to just making your quality of life better, it also can extend
it. That’s right, people that exercise may actually live longer.
How can exercise help you live longer?
First of all, let’s consider the shear logic. We know that exercise lowers your risk of heart disease, cancer,
heart attack, stroke and so on.1 Therefore, you are less likely to die from these illnesses and thus you’re
likely to live longer. However, a potential increase to your lifespan is not only due to a lower risk of
getting deadly diseases. Regular exercise causes cellular changes that make you look and feel younger.
You could live 11 years longer if you exercise regularly
Researchers at Brigham Young University examined the DNA of nearly 6,000 people and discovered that
active people had longer telomeres than sedentary ones.2 Telomeres are the end caps on chromosomes
that shorten with age and are a generally accepted measure of aging in the scientific community. This
study showed a nearly 11-year increase in lifespan for folks that jogged or ran for greater than 75 minutes
per week. Nearly 6.000 individuals were part of the study, providing significant credibility to the
research. Consider the equivalent of 75 minutes of exercise each week for 50 years is only 4 months. In
other words, 4 months of exercise for 11 years of extended life. Sign me up!
70 is the new 40
Another study looked at the heart, lungs, and muscles of active 70-year-olds, sedentary 70-year-olds, and
active 40-year-olds. They discovered that active older men and women had heart and lung capacity as
well as muscle strength comparable to individuals 30 years younger.3 This implies these folks in their
70’s have roughly the same disease risk as others nearly half their age!
Other exercise advantages
Of course, exercise is not just about living longer. Maybe more importantly, it's about quality of life.
Nowadays, medicine can keep us alive a lot longer than we normally would live. For some, that means
more misery and a reduced desire to live longer in the first place. Here are some effects of exercise that
will make you want to live longer:
• It reduces inflammation. Aging is related with inflammation of muscle and other bodily tissues.4
This impact can be mitigated through exercise.5
• Improves mood. Many studies show the positive psychological side-effects from exercise, such
as a decrease in anxiety and depression. 6

3. • Helps you sleep better. While there is a lot of debate about the details, the consensus is that
people that exercise sleep better.7 Why? This isn’t so clear, but just the fact that exercise tends
to decrease body fat is probably at least part of the answer.
• Boosts cognitive function. Whether you have cognitive impairment or not, exercise actually
helps your brain function better.8 This seems to be especially true among older folks.
• Reduces memory loss. People that exercise generally have better memories.9
• Improved digestive function. More stress means worse digestion, studies show.10 We already
know that exercise reduces stress and thus improves digestion. However, overtraining may
induce the opposite effect.11
• Strengthens your immune system. Especially right now, with COVID-19, immune function is a
subject of particular importance. We already know that exercise improves immune function but
we’re seeing a lot of people die from COVID. Who are they? A better question is, who AREN’T
they? Most often, they AREN’T regular exercisers.12
It's never too late to get into shape.
A lot of people have excuses. “I’m too busy.” “I’m too fat.” “I’m too old.” Nice try, but you’ve got no
excuse, even if you've been inactive for a long time. It is clear that even folks who are overweight or have
been sedentary for a long time can extend their lives by adding modest physical activity to their daily
routine. So, instead of thinking “how CAN I fit exercise into my day,” think “how WILL I fit exercise
into my day.” You’ll live a longer AND happier life; it’s that simple.
How much exercise do we need to live longer?
To increase your longevity, you don't have to become an outstanding athlete. Regular, moderate activity,
such as brisk walking, has been linked to a significant increase in life expectancy. For example,
exercising for 150 minutes or more each week extends life expectancy but even as little as 5 minutes per
day can significantly reduce disease risk and add years to your life. I’m not saying be a whimp about it,
but even something is better than nothing. The more you can exercise the better. So, stop making
excuses and get out there and do it. Live longer and live better.

4. References
1. Gleeson, M., Bishop, N., Stensel, D. et al.The anti-inflammatory effects of exercise: mechanisms
and implications for the prevention and treatment of disease. Nat Rev Immunol 11, 607–615
(2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3041
2. Blackmon, Christina M. and Tucker, Larry A. (2021) “Time Spent Jogging/Running and Telomere
Length in 5805 U.S. Adults,” International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings:
Vol. 14 : Iss. 1 , Article 68.
3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss1/68
4. Citation needs to be recovered
5. Chung HY, Cesari M, Anton S, et al. Molecular inflammation: Underpinnings of aging and age-
related diseases. Ageing Research Reviews. 2009;8(1):18-30.
6. Beavers KM, Brinkley TE, Nicklas BJ. Effect of exercise training on chronic inflammation. Clinica
Chimica Acta. 2010;411(11-12):785-793.
7. Wegner, Mirko; Helmich, Ingo; Machado, Sergio; Nardi, Antonio; Arias-Carrion, Oscar; Budde,
Henning CNS & Neurological Disorders – Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets – CNS &
Neurological Disorders), Volume 13, Number 6, 2014, pp. 1002-1014(13) Bentham Science
Publishers
8. Kelley GA, Kelley KS. Exercise and sleep: a systematic review of previous meta-analyses: Exercise
and sleep. Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine. 2017;10(1):26-36.
9. Sanders LMJ, Hortobágyi T, la Bastide-van Gemert S, van der Zee EA, van Heuvelen MJG. Dose-
response relationship between exercise and cognitive function in older adults with and without
cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Regnaux JP, ed. PLoS ONE.
2019;14(1):e0210036.
10. Loprinzi PD, Frith E, Edwards MK, Sng E, Ashpole N. The effects of exercise on memory function
among young to middle-aged adults: systematic review and recommendations for future
research. Am J Health Promot. 2018;32(3):691-704.

5. 11. Cherpak CE. Mindful eating: a review of how the stress-digestion-mindfulness triad may
modulate and improve gastrointestinal and digestive function. Integr Med (Encinitas).
2019;18(4):48-53.
12. Yuan X, Xu S, Huang H, et al. Influence of excessive exercise on immunity, metabolism, and gut
microbial diversity in an overtraining mice model. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(5):1541-
1551.
13. Nieman DC. Exercise is medicine for immune function: implication for covid-19. Curr Sports Med
Rep. 2021;20(8):395-401