What People Who Age Well Do Every Day

There are roughly 100,000 people living in the United States who have already hit the century mark, and researchers keep circling back to ask them the same basic question. What are they actually doing, day to day, that the rest of us are not?

A major new survey just revisited that question a decade after first asking it, and the habits centenarians report today look noticeably different than they did in 2015. Some of the shifts are genuinely surprising.

None of what follows requires reaching triple digits to benefit from. Here is what people who age well are actually doing every day, according to the people doing it.

The Survey That Just Got An Update

UnitedHealthcare first surveyed centenarians in 2015, then went back and asked the same questions again a decade later. Dr. Rhonda Randall, the company’s chief medical officer, told NPR that the shift between the two surveys was striking.

A decade ago, 34 percent of centenarians reported doing strength training. In the new survey, that number jumped to 46 percent, nearly half of everyone surveyed.

That shift reflects a broader understanding of what actually protects independence in old age. Modifiable lifestyle factors account for more than 60 percent of successful aging, according to a review published in The Conversation, far outweighing genetics alone.

Movement Looks Different Than It Used To

Strength training was not the only form of movement centenarians reported. Roughly 42 percent said they walk or hike at least once a week, according to The Healthy, a habit linked in separate research to a meaningfully lower risk of premature death.

Gentler activities showed up just as often. Gardening and light indoor cardio were common weekly habits too, a reminder that movement does not need to be intense to genuinely count.

Stress And Connection Get Equal Billing

More than a third of centenarians surveyed said they meditate or use some other stress relief practice on a weekly basis. Researchers studying the world’s blue zones have found strikingly similar patterns, with long lived populations consistently prioritizing stress relief throughout the day.

One hundred year old Robert Earl Jackson, who lives in Prince George’s County, Maryland, credited part of his outlook to how he starts each morning. “I thank God for waking up a new day,” he said in the same NPR interview.

Social engagement rounds out the picture, with centenarians in the new survey reporting more social activity than those surveyed a decade earlier. Connection, it turns out, appears to matter just as much as anything happening at the gym or the dinner table.

None of these habits guarantee triple digits, and plenty of factors sit outside anyone’s control. But the people actually living it describe something refreshingly simple, move a little, manage stress, stay connected, and wake up grateful for the chance to do it again.