Age is a topic that concerns us all. From our early twenties to our late fifties, we notice changes in our bodies, in our mindset, and our overall health. We wonder if we are aging too quickly or if we can maintain our youthfulness a bit longer. The cliché that age is just a number seems like a comforting thought. But is age really just a number? Recent research has identified a vast difference between chronological age and biological age.

Chronological age is the number of years we’ve been alive, while biological age refers to how old our body’s systems appear to be at the cellular level. In simpler terms, biological age measures how quickly our body systems are declining. Recent studies found that most people age approximately one biological year for every chronological year. However, there are exceptions. Some people appear to be more biologically aged than others, with some individuals aging as quickly as three biological years for every calendar year.

While it is tempting to think of aging as a natural process determined by genetics, only 20% of our rate of biological aging can be attributed to our genetic code. The remaining 80% is based on environmental and lifestyle factors, which we can control.

Here are seven simple steps we can take to slow down the aging process and maintain our youthfulness.

1. Resistance Training

Regular resistance training has proved to be one of the most potent anti-aging strategies available. Muscle mass peaks around our mid-twenties and slowly begins declining from there. This age-related loss of muscle mass has been termed sarcopenia, which has been associated with declining strength, endurance, power, vigor, resilience, bone strength, and even cognitive decline. The good news is that recent research has started to question if sarcopenia is a natural fact of life or if it is merely the result of a lowered activity level. Several studies have shown that strength training programs can not only stop age-related muscle loss but also result in muscle gain even at the age of 70.

2. Mediterranean Diet

A Mediterranean diet has proven time and again to be protective against aging, particularly cognitive decline that comes with aging. Foods that are included in the Mediterranean diet are fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, seeds, nuts, legumes, and even alcohol in moderation.

3. Red Wine

Moderate consumption of alcohol has shown to help slow down aging, particularly red wine, which contains resveratrol, an antioxidant-like compound. Resveratrol has shown great promise as an anti-aging agent and is particularly concentrated in red wine. However, we get the anti-aging benefits of alcohol only with light to moderate consumption, regardless of the type of alcohol.

4. Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise stimulates the production and repair of the mitochondria and may help to offset causes of aging due to mitochondrial decay, which takes place in our cells as we age. Endurance training increases mitochondrial function, stimulates spontaneous physical activity, and is a viable approach to interrupt the vicious cycle of aging.

5. Sleep

Inadequate or restricted sleep increases as we age and is linked to many diseases. Cognitive ability, testosterone levels, and even your skin is ravaged by a lack of sleep. Good quality sleep is important, so make sure you get 6 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

6. Sex

Regular sex with a committed partner up to three times a week has shown to make someone look between four and seven years younger than their chronological age. Researchers are still trying to determine how or why regular sex has such an effect, but some theories suggest it increases intimacy with your partner or releases certain hormones that decrease as we age.

7. Everyday Physical Activity

Staying physically active daily is critical to protect against aging. Regular physical activity is perhaps the lifestyle-behavioral strategy for which there is the strongest overall evidence of function-preserving effects with aging. Keep your body moving by taking walks, doing yard work, swimming, playing sports, or anything else that gets you up and moving daily.

In conclusion, age is more than just a number, and taking the right steps to maintain our youthfulness is essential to living happily and healthfully in old age. Only a small part of our aging is determined by our genetics, while environmental and lifestyle factors contribute significantly to the process. By making simple lifestyle adjustments, such as exercise, a healthy diet, good sleep, regular sex, and staying physically active daily, we can slow down our rate of biological aging and maintain our youthfulness for years.